NBA

Completely arbitrary stat…but maybe speaks to the parity and depth of this era of NBA hoops?? First 4 champs of each decade listed below. CANT WAIT FOR THE SZN

2020s Lakers Bucks Warriors Nuggets

2010s Lakers Mavericks Heat Heat

2000s Lakers Lakers Lakers Spurs

1990s Pistons Bulls Bulls Bulls

1980s Lakers Celtics Lakers 76ers

1970s Knicks Bucks Lakers Knicks

1960s Celtics Celtics Celtics Celtics

1950s Lakers Royals Lakers Lakers

Edit: With hindsight, I would likely replace 34 KD and 22 Rose with MJ. I standby the rest of my picks

This is not a ranking! am treating every individual season like it’s their only season. This is not based on talent or eye test, simply stats, accomplishments, accolades. I will be going by what your age is at the All-Star break in February of that season. Skipping teenagers because that’s just Kobe and Lebron, take your pick.

20: Luka Doncic 2020. Averaged 28.8 PPG on 58.5 TS%, 9.4 RPG, 8.8 APG. Most Triple doubles by a 20 year old ever, averaging 31 points in the playoffs.

21: Shaquille O’Neal 1994. 81 games, 29.3 PPG, 13.2 RPG, 60.5 TS%, Led his team to 50 games, All-NBA.

22: Derrick Rose 2011. 25 PPG on 55 TS% with 7.7 APG, league MVP and All-NBA. Led his team to 62 games and was the focal point of that offense.

23: Dwight Howard 2009. DPOTY, All-NBA, rebounding and blocks leader, 20.6 PPG on 60 TS%. 59 wins, brought down the 76ers, the super team Celtics, the MVP Lebron on the 66 win Cavs, then faced Kobe in the finals. Amazing season

24: Michael Jordan 1988. MVP, DPOTY, 35 PPG scoring title on 60.3 TS% with 82 games started, steals leader, 50 win team…Any questions?

25: Kevin Durant 2014. Scoring title, MVP, 59 win team that made it to the conference finals against the beautiful game spurs. 32 PPG on 63.5 TS% is historic efficiency and volume while playing 81 games.

26: Steph Curry 2015. League MVP, scored 23.8 on 63.8 TS% leading his team to 67 wins and the eventual championship over Lebron and the Cavs with his PPG jumping up to 28.3 on 60.7 TS%.

27: Shaquille O’Neal 2000. Maybe the most unstoppable single season performance. 67 wins, MVP, scoring title with 29.7 PPG on 57.8 TS%. Won finals MVP after averaging 38 PPG and 16 rebounds in the finals.

28: Lebron James 2013. MVP, 26.8 PPG on 64 TS% while grabbing 8 boards and 7.3 assists. 66 win team, won the title in 7 while winning finals MVP averaging 25.9 on 58.5 TS% in the playoffs.

29: Michael Jordan 1993. Scoring title, All NBA and All Defensive team. Led the Bulls to 57 wins and the title. Won finals MVP averaging 41 PPG on 55.8 TS% in the finals.

30: Kobe Bryant 2009. Played 82 games, 26.8 PPG on 56.1 TS%. All NBA and All defensive 1st team. 65 wins, won the title with Kobe elevating to 30.2 PPG on 56.4 TS% grabbing finals MVP.

31: Hakeem Olajuwon 1994. MVP, DPOTY, Finals MVP. 58 wins with 27.3 PPG on 56.5 TS% with 11.9 boards. Elevated to 28.9 PPG on 56.8 TS% in the playoffs, and a defensive rating of 97.3 (!!!)

32: Hakeem Olajuwon 1995. Only champion in history lower than a 3rd seed. Averaged 27.8 on 56 TS%. Casually elevated to 33 PPG on 56 TS% in the playoffs while knocking out Karl Malone, Barkley, league MVP David Robinson, and aforementioned Shaquille O’Neil in 4.

33: Lebron James 2018. Took a cast of uber drivers to the finals while averaging 34 PPG on 61.9 TS% in the playoffs.

34: Kevin Durant 2023. Quietly had a 50-40-90 season while averaging 29.1 PPG and helping the Suns make the playoffs.

35: Lebron James 2020. All-NBA and finals MVP while averaging 25.3 PPG on 57.7 TS%. This elevated to 27.6 on 64.7 TS%.

36: Tim Duncan 2013. All-NBA first team, All-defensive team. 17.8 PPG on 55.4 TS% with 9.9 boards. 58 wins and a game 7 finals loss.

37: Kareem Abdul Jabbar 1985. Finals MVP, All-NBA. 22 PPG on 62.8 TS%

38: Lebron James 2023. Uncharted territory, y’all know the story.

$15 a month is it worth it? Or should I just rely on streaming non televised games? And stream it on my tv via apple airplay…?

Most of the lakers game will be nationally televised this year too.. what should I do guys? Anyone else pay $15 for nba league pass just for Lakers lol ?

Who will win the 2023-24 Rookie of the Year?

1. Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio – 50%

2. Scoot Henderson, Portland – 27%

3. Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City – 20%

4. Sasha Vezenkov, Sacramento – 3%

» Last year: Paolo Banchero – 79%

Which head coach runs the best offense?

1. Mike Brown, Sacramento – 33%

2. Steve Kerr, Golden State – 23%

3. Michael Malone, Denver – 17%

4. Chris Finch, Minnesota – 13%

5. Rick Carlisle, Indiana – 7%

» Also receiving votes: Nick Nurse, Philadelphia; Quin Snyder, Atlanta

» Last year: Steve Kerr – 62%

Which head coach has the best defensive schemes?

1. Erik Spoelstra, Miami – 40%

T-2. Taylor Jenkins, Memphis – 13%

T-2. Tom Thibodeau, New York – 13%

T-4. J.B. Bickerstaff, Cleveland – 7%

T-4. Tyronn Lue, LA Clippers – 7%

T-4. Frank Vogel, Phoenix – 7%

» Also receiving votes: Mike Brown, Sacramento; Mark Daigneault, Oklahoma City; Joe Mazzulla, Boston; Nick Nurse, Philadelphia

» Last year: Erik Spoelstra – 34%

Who is the best assistant coach in the NBA?

1. Jordi Fernandez, Sacramento – 31%

T-2. Terry Stotts, Milwaukee – 10%

T-2. Kevin Young, Phoenix – 10%

T-4. Sam Cassell, Boston – 7%

T-4. Charles Lee, Boston – 7%

» Also receiving votes: David Adelman, Denver; Kenny Atkinson, Golden State; Chris DeMarco, Golden State; Darren Erman, New York; David Fizdale, Phoenix; Royal Ivey, Houston; Alex Jensen, Dallas; Chris Quinn, Miami; Jay Triano, Sacramento; Will Weaver, Brooklyn

» Last year: Kenny Atkinson / Charles Lee – 34%

Which team is the most fun to watch?

1. Denver Nuggets – 30%

2. Golden State Warriors – 23%

3. Sacramento Kings – 20%

4. Phoenix Suns – 7%

» Also receiving votes: Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder

» Last year: Golden State Warriors – 52%

Which team has the best home-court advantage?

1. Denver Nuggets – 37%

2. Golden State Warriors – 17%

3. Sacramento Kings – 13%

4. Utah Jazz – 10%

T-5. Boston Celtics – 7%

T-5. New York Knicks – 7%

T-5. Toronto Raptors – 7%

8. Philadelphia 76ers – 3%

» Last year: Toronto Raptors – 21%

Which team will have the league’s most efficient offense this season?

1. Denver Nuggets – 34%

2. Sacramento Kings – 21%

3. Golden State Warriors – 14%

4. Boston Celtics – 10%

T-5. Milwaukee Bucks – 7%

T-5. Phoenix Suns – 7%

» Also receiving votes: Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat

» Last year: Golden State Warriors – 38%

Which player is the fastest with the ball?

1. De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento – 57%

2. Ja Morant, Memphis – 37%

» Also receiving votes: Kyrie Irving, Dallas; Jaden Ivey, Detroit

» Last year: Ja Morant – 62%

None of the 5 writers at the NBA.com consider the Mavericks to be among top 8 teams in the Western Conference this upcoming season. Luka said the team is better than last year.

I think Exum, Lively and especially Williams are noticeable improvements but in all honesty (and fear) I still think our defense and rebounding will still be one of the worst in the league, unless Kidd comes up with some good defensive schemes. Luka & Kyrie have a lot to prove this year and I believe they are (at least Luka) hungry. At the end, everything will come back to how good we will be at the defense.

What are your thoughts on NBA article?

https://www.nba.com/news/trending-topics-nba-standings-west-predictions

I noticed this setting in MyLeague on 2k where it’ll just take the top 16 teams from overall record and seed them into the playoffs instead of East vs West and it got me wondering how desirable/feasible would that be in real life.

From a feasibility point travel is definitely much easier these days than whenever the postseason rules were first developed and you already have teams like Minnesota that basically play in the wrong conference. Clearly, it’s not that big of an issue to the point where it would be unworkable. It might be a bit unfair to take the overall record because teams don’t play each other the same number of times so that would probably have to become slightly more even if this was actually implemented.

However from a desirability standpoint it would help avoid the scenarios when you have a weaker conference e.g. the East in the 2000s where the finals is underwhelming and the WCF basically decided the championship. It would probably also mean that regular season play matters more because you get an easier 1st round matchup in 1-16 than you do when it’s 1-8 if you’re a top seed so we might see more competitive games / less load management.

Curious to hear people’s thoughts

Edit: I’m loving this suggestion from a bunch of folks about top seeds getting to draft their opponents. The vibes, trash talk and narratives would be epic

Not bad shooters who became good, specifically talking about guys who shot a flat ball developing good arc.

Some of these flat shooters were good shooters in college like Cade Cunningham or DeAndre Ayton(in the midrange).

While we’ll need to see them in the regular season, it appears to me these guys still shoot a flat ball. Who’re some guys that have actually fixed this problem?

List

1. Franz Wagner (34.4%)

2. Cade Cunningham (32.8%)

3. Jalen Green (22.4%)

4. Mikal Bridges (20%)

5. Evan Mobley (11.2%)

6. Shaedon Sharpe (10.2%)

7. Jabari Smith Jr. (9.6%)

8. Keegan Murray (8.8%)

9. Austin Reaves (6.8%)

10. Desmond Bane (6.4%)

11. Jaden McDaniels (5.6%)

12. Josh Giddey (4%)

13. Dillon Brooks (3.2%)

14. Walker Kessler (1.2%)

15. Jordan Poole, Tyus Jones, Nic Claxton, Scottie Barnes (0.8%)

You can use the Suns live NBA ID to log into the NBA League Pass app on Apple TV, Roku, shield, smart TV, etc. That way you can rewind, watch live and other stuff