The NBA season has just started back up and so much has already happened in the first week. Posterizers, ankle-breakers, back-board pins, and game-winners have started to flood television and social media, highlighting the exciting action the NBA offers every year. It seems like it was only yesterday that we were watching the Denver Nuggets win their first ever NBA title as Jokic acted like it was no big deal. With the summer gone by quickly, the next 8 months of NBA basketball has arrived, packed with generational highlights, unpredictability, jaw-dropping stories, and crazy amounts of fun.
Leading up to this season, the French 7’4” phenom, Victor Wembanyama, became one of the most anticipated players/rookies in NBA history. The game of basketball has never seen someone like Wembanyama doing the things that he does at his height and size, which is why fans and players are so excited to see him play. The last time people were this excited was the year Lebron James entered the league, and yet the anticipation of Wembanyama has completely reigned over what was going on in 2003.
Drafted 1st overall by the San Antonio Spurs, Wembanyama is having fans absolutely astonished with the attributes he has to offer. It’s not common to see a 7-footer shoot the way Victor does, dribble the way he does, block shots the way he does, and to just have the freak athleticism he possesses at his size. In his first week as an NBA player, we have seen Wembanyama catch lobs from the middle of the paint, dunk the basketball like he’s playing on a miniature basketball hoop, hit side-step 3 pointers, and collect countless blocks on the defensive end. Fans are already comparing his stats of his first week to the first week stats of Lebron James.
Although Wembanyama has had a great first week in the NBA, the question still arises if he will live up to the hype. Will Victor be able to stay consistent throughout the season? Will he improve year after year if he stays in the NBA? Luckily enough, Wembanyama has been drafted by one of the greatest organizations in NBA history. With the championship culture the Spurs possess, they also have one of the best environments for player development. Wembanyama should be able to grow and thrive in the NBA through this organization, especially being under the wing of one of the greatest coaches in basketball history, Greg Popovich. If all goes right and if Victor is able to stay the course, we could possibly be witnessing one of the greatest basketball players to ever touch the floor.
Speaking of basketball legends, these past few seasons, Stephen Curry has been able to separate himself from the typical NBA superstar to one of the greats among the game of basketball. Entering his 15th year in the league at 35 years old, many would think that his career has passed the peak and is starting to wind down towards the end. But for Curry, it’s pretty much been the opposite from what we’ve seen in the first week. He’s already averaging over 30ppg, putting the Sacramento Kings to sleep with his “night-night” celebration, absolutely torching Dillion Brooks, and having a stellar red-hot 43-point performance against the New Orleans Pelicans.
It’s amazing to witness a generational player like Steph getting better year after year. And the scary thing is, it looks like he’s not stopping anytime soon. The face of the NBA changes every era and it seems as though we’ve entered the new shift. From Jordan, to Kobe, to Lebron, and now to Steph Curry, he has shown amazing impact on not only the NBA but also the Warriors organization as well, allowing them to always be in the conversation of the season’s potential champions. Almost like how the rapper Lil Wayne said sitting courtside at the Lakers game, “counting Steph out is like how it used to feel when you count [Tom] Brady out.”
Now, with the addition of Chris Paul to the Warriors, Curry now has even more help to bring back an NBA title to the bay. However, many fans have mixed feelings if this new asset to the Warriors will truly help them win games and make it back to the NBA finals. On the negative side of things, some say that Paul is getting too old and starting to slide down towards the end of his career. People also express the concern of the very small size the Warriors will be competing with when adding the 6’0” guard to their roster. But the positives show that Paul can be a great floor general for the Warriors whilst alongside Draymond Green, 2 of the greatest shooters to ever play the game are on the court being an incredibly dangerous combo. But with this first week going by, it seems like Paul can help the Warriors mainly through the bench by leading the 2nd team on the court, something that is huge for the Warriors when it comes to their depth.
Along with the crazy trade of CP3, another trade that’s even more impactful for NBA teams is Damian Lillard joining forces with Giannis Antetokounmpo. This duo could potentially be the end for the NBA as two concrete legends of the game are now on the same team. However, the scarier thing is the fact that they both possess skills drastically different from one another. Lillard is an elite scorer and shooter, being able to hit deep 3 pointers with ease, while Antetokounmpo is a slashing, athletic freak that’s nearly impossible to stop when going downhill. With these two players on the court at the same time, it could be nearly impossible to stop this team offensively. But the Milwaukee Bucks’ record has not been proof of the effectiveness of this duo with them only being 2-2 and 5th in the Eastern Conference. It’s only the first week of the season, but the Bucks should definitely be taking advantage of the two hall-of-famers they have right now and learning how to use them the right way because, if they do, the NBA is in for a real treat with “Dame Time” and the “Greek Freak.”
But why are all these teams building such stacked teams? The Warriors gained CP3, Bucks got Dame, and Phoenix pulled Bradley Beal to join KD and Booker. It’s because teams are trying to reign over the Denver Nuggets, the defending champs of the NBA. The Nuggets have become a dangerous team with Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokic, and it seems like they are getting better every year. Now with championship blood in their DNA, the Nuggets are coming into this season with more fire and tenacity than any other year prior.
The start of the NBA is one of the greatest times in sports, as we are able to witness the new and exciting action of NBA basketball. Anything could happen this NBA season, which is why this season has become much more anticipated than any other year, with young talent entering the league and superstars on different teams. Like always, the NBA will amaze us day after day, week after week, month after month, giving us another amazing season of basketball.
