With this offseason so far, it has been absolutely insane and this is looking like it could turn out to be one of the greatest NBA seasons of all time. Outside of Lou Williams, no relevant players have retired so far. On top of this, it was a very exciting draft, with stars like Brandon Miller and Ausar Thompson entering the league, and that’s without even mentioning Victor Wembanyama, the #1 overall pick for the Spurs, who some veterans of the sport are saying could end up being better than Wilt Chamberlain, Hakeem Olajuwon or even Patrick Ewing! However, with all these changes, some could make the mistake of believing that just because a team or player was god awful last season, they won’t be an absolute breakout star this season. We have seen the inverse in the past, with one of the biggest drop offs in recent years being the Warriors, who lost Kevin Durant in the 2019 offseason to Brooklyn, and early in the season had to deal with an injured Stephen Curry. To avoid this mistake, I’ve compiled a list of five teams and five players to look out for this season.
Teams
1: The Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers have not been lucky in the 2010s and 2020s. Ever since losing Paul George, they’ve just kind of been there. Things were looking up in 2022 they drafted Tyrese Haliburton, a point guard coming out of Iowa State, where he averaged a cool 34.6 ppg on his career. However, without much of a supporting cast for Haliburton, they didn’t make it far, missing the playoffs. This can be changed this season though, as this offseason they acquired Obi Toppin for 2 second round picks. Historically most second round picks do not end up being much, so this trade backfiring for Indiana would be nothing short of lightning strike bad luck. Now, with Haliburton and Toppin leading Indiana, a playoff appearance, and maybe even a decently sized playoff run, can be expected from the Pacers this season.
2: The Milwaukee Bucks
Now you may be asking yourself: Wait, Milwaukee? THE Milwaukee Bucks? With a 2021 ring and a two time MVP in Giannis Antetokounmpo? Yes, they’re on the list. Somehow, someway, the Antetokounmpo led Bucks had a first round exit in the playoffs last season. It was really anomalous, as the Bucks had Antetokounmpo as previously stated, as well as veterans Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez. However, in this offseason, they made one acquisition and one acquisition only: Robin Lopez. Brother to the previously mentioned Brook, Robin Lopez is an absolute warhorse. He is a hustle factory, leading games played for 2 seasons of his career and games started for 3, not to mention his prior chemistry as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks as well as brother to Brook. The Bucks were already a goated, star studded team, they simply choked the playoffs. They are what they were before with an added veteran player who knows how to get work done and be a leader for younger players, meaning that any coming rookies will have yet another leader on the Bucks if he decides to stick around. Keep your eye out for those trademark dark green and white jerseys this season.
3: The Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls as of late have not been holding up to the standard that they’ve set for themselves throughout NBA history, with stars like Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Artis Gilmore, and the elephant (or Bull) in the room, his airness Michael Jordan. That’s not to say they’ve been awful either though, building a decent mix of young and old players with players like Zach Lavine, Lonzo Ball, Demar Derozan, Nikola Vucevic, Andre Drummond, and Alex Caruso. All of these players could be very good as sidekicks to a bigger superstar, but the problem with the Chicago Bulls is that their “stars” are not star material. However, they do have one young point guard who has been on the rise ever since getting drafted that could lead this club to their former glory. Enter Coby White, the 2019 number 7 overall pick. He has not yet entered his prime, but he is definitely close to it. While some have written him off as a bust, it’s not outside of the realm of reality to see a player grow into superstardom. The previously mentioned Antetokounmpo was by no means all star material when he was first drafted, and the same can be said about current Boston Celtic Kristaps Porzingis, who had Knicks fans absolutely livid when he was drafted, including one gentleman who went viral for cursing out the Knicks front office while infamously referring to Porzingis as “Tingus Pingus.” While the comedy of the video aged like a fine wine, the opinion that Porzingis was a bad pick aged like spoiled milk. Within three years, Porzingis was the objectively best player on the Knicks, and an all star. Coby White now has 4 years experience of NBA level basketball under his belt. He is a ticking time bomb of talent, and any season now he is bound to become a breakout star. Coby White will most likely become a leader for Chicago this season, and combined with all of the sidekicks on his team, we could be looking at a Chicago Bulls dynasty very, very soon.
4: The Toronto Raptors
While at first glance, the Raptors losing Fred VanVleet may look like a death sentence, they added another severely underrated point guard to their lineup, that being Dennis Schroder, as well as drafting rookie Gradey Dick. He is currently looked at as sort of a wild card talent wise, however he may simply need a push. Making the NBA is no small task, and being a first round pick is a big title. I don’t imagine he would be too happy with being labeled a bust, and so if he has enough drive he may very well become a good supporting cast member. This team also has Pascal Siakam at the helm, who has shown that he is capable of making rapid improvement to his game on the fly. With tons of developing players, the Raptors can be described as a talent factory. They are currently sitting on a gold mine, now all they need is for their coaching staff to pick up their pickaxes and get to work.
5: The Portland Trailblazers
The Portland Trailblazers going into the 2023-2024 NBA season are underdogs in every sense of the word, with them being written off by everyone for having no supporting cast for Damian Lilliard. However, Those people are completely forgetting about a young, up and coming shooting guard recently acquired from the City of Brotherly Love, that being Matisse Thybulle. He recently resigned with the team this offseason, signing a 3 year, 33 million dollar deal with the City of Roses. Also, esteemed NBA columnist Adrian Wojnarowski mentioned on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he had heard whisperings of Portland signing Kelly Oubre Jr, recently of the Phoenix Suns, where he was a key piece of that big three with Chris Paul and Devin Booker. If this turns out to be true, then Portland will have a serious threat to the western division on their hands.
Players
1: Keldon Johnson
Keldon Johnson has already risen to the occasion way more than he was expected to, as he was drafted extremely late in the first round of the 2019 NBA draft, and usually in the draft you will have a few players who go on to have all star careers, and that’s it. However, so far, Johnson’s career has been nothing short of a miracle for the San Antonio Spurs, Becoming a key member of their big three going into the 2023-2024 NBA season. His stat sheet has been nothing but improvement, as the only stat he’s ever gotten worse at during his NBA tenure has been rebounds, going from 6.1 a game in the 2021-2022 season to 5 flat the following season. Other than that, he has seen massive improvement on scoring and assist stats. Last season, he averaged 22 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists a game. If he can simply stay healthy, Keldon Johnson can very well have an all star season for San Antonio, and with the help of Victor Wembanyama, he may even get a chip for the house that Popovich built this season.
2: Danilo Gallinari
In case you didn’t hear, Danilo Gallinari is now a Washington Wizard. The now 35 year old has been in the league since getting drafted 6th overall by the New York Knicks in the 2008 NBA draft. He is currently one of the top 30 oldest active players in the league, meaning he is most likely nearing the end of his time in the league. He is currently nursing a torn ACL, however he has shown in the past that with guidance from a better player, he can be something special. While Kristaps Porzingis is no longer in the Capital, Kyle Kuzma is. Kuzma has played with Lebron in the past, and he has shown what some would call arrogance, urging King James publicly to play defense, but what could also be called initiative. He has not really gotten a leadership role up until now, Playing with D’angelo Russell, then James, Then Russell Westbrook, and most recently Porzingis. He has always been overshadowed by someone older in the league and with more experience, but he finally has a team for his own, a chance to prove himself alone. If Kuzma can show the leadership he was praised for in Utah during his college years, then some of that could rub off on Gallinari, leading to the rooster going all the way off in what could be his final NBA season.
3: Ja Morant
Let’s talk about what everyone is thinking… when the season starts up, Ja Morant will be continuing to serve a 25 game suspension issued to him by the NBA during last season’s playoffs for inappropriate conduct on Instagram Live. Due to this, he will miss the first few games of the Memphis Grizzlies’ season. However, that does not take away from his talent at all. It is not unusual for a rookie to not quite play on the caliber that they will come to be known for later on in their career. If you look at the Black Mamba Kobe Bryant himself, in his rookie season he only averaged 7 points a game. Through play later on in his career, he would turn this into 25 points a game. If you were to look at his rookie stats without knowing it was Kobe Bryant, you would be forgiven for thinking that you were looking at a player who turned out to be a nobody. However, this usual phenomenon was not the case for Morant. In his rookie season, he led rookies in assists per game, averaged 17 points per game, made the all rookie first team, and was awarded rookie of the year. His points per game got a 2 point boost the following season. He then had what has been the real meat and potatoes of his career so far, which was his 2021-2022 season, where he averaged 27 points per game. He took a slight dip in scoring this past season, however he has an opportunity to prove once and for all that he is capable of having a franchise built around him this season. While a 25 game suspension may sound like a curse, it could be a blessing in disguise as the Grizzlies will have to operate without him for a little while, therefore their primary players will be the out of prime Steven Adams and the sidekick Jaren Jackson Jr. If when he comes back Ja Wick can show a turnaround for the Grizzlies as far as winning, he could very well have an MVP season.
4: Anthony Davis
With Lebron Getting up there in years, and with word from the man himself that he will be leaving L.A if his son, Bronny, is drafted by another team next offseason due to him wanting to be the first father son duo in NBA history, The Lakers could very well soon be A.D’s team to lead. Last season Anthony Davis averaged a double double, with 25 points and 12 assists, something he has only achieved once since joining the Lakers in 2019. While he has been good in the yellow and purple, he hasn’t quite achieved the numbers that he was getting in New Orleans, and this could turn out to be a return to stride for him. If you don’t recall, in 2020 he won a chip with the Los Angeles Lakers, but due to this being in the Covid era, where all games were played without fans, with no home court advantage, and a bunch of different changes that made it a psychologically different game from normal NBA basketball. Some believe it was luck that they knocked off the Miami Heat, who had Jimmy Butler for the first time this season and would later again make the finals in this past season, before again falling short, this time to the Nikola Jokic led Denver Nuggets. However, with the improvements to A.D’s game, this season could end up being a chance once and for all for Davis to prove himself as one of the league’s best, a “last dance” for Lebron so to speak, and just another day at the office for the L.A Lakers’ already rich franchise history.
5: Josh Hart
Josh Hart in his NBA career so far has been very blah. Traded here, there, and everywhere, whether for a superstar or for cap space, he has been a model journeyman. That’s not to say, however, he doesn’t have potential. In the 2021-2022 season, his first season with the Portland Trailblazers, he averaged 19 points a game, and was a key point in their offense. Last offseason, he ended up in the concrete jungle where dreams are made of, New York. He helped RJ Barrett turn what had been for the entirety of the 21st century a losing team, into playoff contenders, stopped at the conference semifinals by the finals bound Miami Heat. This all happened even with a serious numbers dropoff for Hart, who ever since his career high 2021-2022 season has gone down to just 10 points a game. It has been absolutely inexplicable, and if he can simply get back to the bar he’s set for himself we could see flashes of the Ewing, Sprewell and Starks late 90s era Knicks.
