Flames

With the 2024-25 NBA season just days away, the Western Conference is locked, loaded, and ready for battle. The offseason drama has settled, rosters are finalized, and every team is gearing up for what promises to be a fierce and competitive race. From reigning contenders to rising underdogs, the West is stacked with talent and ambition. Let&rsquo;s break down the top 15 teams in the West as we head into this thrilling new season&mdash;no frills, just what you need to know.
<ol>
<li> Minnesota Timberwolves The Timberwolves are turning a new page after trading away longtime cornerstone Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo and are now fully embracing Anthony Edwards as the franchise cornerstone. The T-Wolves&rsquo; mix of young talent and veteran leadership gives them a balanced roster around Edwards. Rudy Gobert remains a defensive anchor as a 4-time DPOY, Edwards is primed for a superstar leap, and if the supporting cast, including Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid, steps up, the Wolves could be ready to take the top spot in the West.</li>
<li> Oklahoma City Thunder The Thunder&rsquo;s rebuild is no longer a long-term project; they&rsquo;re ready to compete now. However, due to Isaiah Hartenstein&rsquo;s injury to start the season, we&rsquo;re placing the Thunder at no.2 for now. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is already an All-NBA guard and arguably a top 5 player in the league. Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams figure out to be the dynamic inside-out duo around SGA. Add in Hartenstein and Alex Caruso, the two new acquisitions this offseason with their capable role players Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe, this young core is as versatile as it is exciting. OKC&rsquo;s depth and versatility on both ends of the floor could propel them into serious title contention.</li>
<li> Phoenix Suns The Suns have loaded up for a title run, and with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal leading the charge, Phoenix has one of the most dangerous offensive trios in the league. They have added their most significant hole which is the PG spot with a solid pick up in Tyus Jones, and they have one of the best offensive coaches in the league in Mike Budenholzer. The Suns&rsquo; questions lie in their depth and health, but if they can manage those concerns, they&rsquo;re built for a championship push. Their offensive firepower is unmatched, and if they click, the Suns will be a team no one wants to face.</li>
<li> Memphis Grizzlies Memphis has weathered their offseason storms and enters the season with a gritty identity intact. Ja Morant is back after his injury and suspension last year and he will now play with last season&rsquo;s addition Marcus Smart. Together with the continued growth of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane, the Grizzlies are primed to be competitive and come back from their prime two seasons ago where they won 50+ games. Memphis&rsquo; defensive dominance paired with offensive firepower ensures they can be one of the top teams in the West with a deep bench with solid role players.</li>
<li> Denver Nuggets After falling short to Minnesota in 7 games last playoffs, the Nuggets will enter the season with their core mostly intact. Nikola Jokić remains the most dominant center and the best player in the game. With Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. healthy, the Nuggets are poised for another deep run. But perhaps their biggest loss this season was losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to free agency and that might be a hit so they&rsquo;re currently ranked at no.5 to start the year. It could be a lot to ask for young players like Christian Braun or Julian Strawther to fill the void left by KCP, so it will be interesting to see how Denver handles his loss this season.</li>
<li> Dallas Mavericks Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving experiment is back after a successful season last year, where Dallas entered the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011 &ndash; when they won the title. The two stars can mesh to create one of the league&rsquo;s most potent offenses and with the continued internal development of young players like Dereck Lively, the Mavs can build on that Finals appearance. With newcomer Klay Thompson set to provide historic spacing for their dynamic duo, Dallas has the talent to climb the standings and challenge the top teams in the West.</li>
<li> New Orleans Pelicans The Pelicans&rsquo; fate will always hinge on Zion Williamson&rsquo;s health. When Zion plays, New Orleans is a force to be reckoned with. Now paired with newly-acquired point guard Dejounte Murray, they have a balanced attack capable of competing with any team in the conference with Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum still on the fold. If Zion stays on the floor, the Pelicans could find themselves rising up the ranks, but his availability remains the biggest X-factor.</li>
<li> Golden State Warriors The Warriors are clinging to their championship window with Stephen Curry still playing at an elite level. The addition of capable veterans in Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield, and DeAnthony Melton gives them depth and personnel that can play in their offense to surround the core of Curry and Draymond Green for their foundation. Health and age are concerns, but if their veterans stay intact, Golden State can&rsquo;t be counted out.</li>
<li> Sacramento Kings The Kings struggled a bit last season after making their long-awaited playoff return two seasons ago, and they&rsquo;re looking to build on that momentum. They have signed DeMar DeRozan and he should bring a new wrinkle to their motion and three-hunting offense. DeRozan&rsquo;s mid range ability should be a welcome addition to Sacramento&rsquo;s offense. De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis still lead an explosive offense, but defense remains a question mark. Sacramento&rsquo;s high-flying, fast-paced style makes them a regular-season juggernaut, but they&rsquo;ll need to tighten up defensively if they want to make a deep playoff run.</li>
<li> Los Angeles Lakers The Lakers are counting on LeBron James and Anthony Davis staying healthy for a full season. With the front office standing pat on making moves this offseason, the Lakers&rsquo; success will hinge on their superstar duo. If LeBron and AD can avoid injury, Los Angeles will be a formidable playoff team, but health is always a looming concern with this group.</li>
<li> Houston Rockets The Rockets added veterans Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks to guide their young core last season and this season could be the time for them to step up. They finished strong last year behind defensive minded coach Ime Udoka and the result could be a team that surprises many. Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun have star potential, and younger players Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson add even more excitement. The Rockets also drafted Reed Sheppard with the 3rd pick and Houston is hoping to lay the foundation for success and could push for a Play-In spot this season.</li>
<li> San Antonio Spurs Victor Wembanyama enters his second season, and the Spurs are fully embracing their rebuild around the budding star. While Wembanyama showed flashes of brilliance as a rookie, San Antonio is still in the development phase. But with the addition of Chris Paul, the Spurs now have a capable PG to feed Wemby and the other guys, possibly unlocking a new level to their games. With their young core, the Spurs may not be a playoff team yet, but their future looks incredibly bright with Wembanyama leading the way.</li>
<li> Los Angeles Clippers The Clippers&rsquo; fortunes rest on the health of Kawhi Leonard&mdash;again. After losing Paul George for nothing, Leonard is left to fend LA off by himself in their new arena at Intuit Dome. Gone are the days when LA has the talent to compete with anyone as they&rsquo;re just but a shell of themselves. Leading the way for the injured Leonard will be a 34-year-old James Harden and that might be too much to ask of the aging superstar. However, if Kawhi can return healthy and he can avoid the injury bug, the Clippers will be in the playoff mix, but that&rsquo;s a big &ldquo;if&rdquo; for this squad.</li>
<li> Portland Trail Blazers With Damian Lillard long gone, the Blazers will fully commit another season to their rebuild. Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons, and Shaedon Sharpe form a promising young core, but Portland will likely spend this season focusing on player development. While they won&rsquo;t be in playoff contention, the Blazers are positioning themselves well for the future, with an eye on growth and improvement.</li>
<li> Utah Jazz The Jazz are continuing their rebuild, with Lauri Markkanen emerging as a cornerstone player. While they have some intriguing young pieces like Taylor Hendricks and Keyonte George, Utah isn&rsquo;t ready to compete just yet. This season will be about development and finding which young players can be part of their long-term plans. The Jazz may not win many games this year, but they&rsquo;re building toward a brighter future.</li>
</ol>

Let’s break down the top 15 teams in the West as we head into this thrilling new season.

2024-2025 NBA Western Conference Power Rankings: A race at the top to start the year

The Boston Celtics and the Denver Nuggets played two games in the Middle East for the NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2024 and here are some key observations from both teams after their first two preseason games.
Celtics vs Nuggets: Battle of the Champs
In a matchup between the past two NBA champions, the Celtics (2024 winners) prevailed twice over the Nuggets (2023 winners). The first one was a thriller, 107-103, while the second one was a blowout, 130-104.
Despite it still being the preseason, the Celtics showed their ability to win in both kinds of games, whether it was close or blowout. They proved their caliber against a fellow NBA champion that was hypothetically a matchup to watch out for, especially with the two teams being from different conferences.
The Celtics are really, really good &ndash; they did not miss a beat&nbsp;
The Celtics are back and are looking more dangerous than ever &ndash; at least from what they&rsquo;ve shown in these two games. They are really, really good and they mean business this year. This seems impossible after coming off a championship, but the Celtics appear to be hungrier for a chip than they&rsquo;ve ever been and they&rsquo;re looking to prove everyone wrong after a somewhat question-mark season last year, with all the injuries their opponents have endured. The Celtics ought to prove that the championship win was not a fluke, and this starts in the preseason by showing their usual dominant selves.&nbsp;
No championship hangover for these Celtics
The Celtics mean business, and when I say business, that&rsquo;s Jaylen Brown gesturing a too-small sign on Jamal Murray after scoring a tough bucket inside over him.
Jaylen Brown is back better than ever, and after that intense underwater basketball workouts and at just 28 years old, the Finals MVP is firmly in his prime and should play his best basketball ahead of him.
Jayson Tatum comes in with an edge after the Olympics run where he did not play twice, and gunning for the Finals MVP he did not win.
Jrue Holiday and Derrick White are Boston&rsquo;s ever-reliable do-it-all guys and they&rsquo;re gonna do everything that&rsquo;s asked of them.
The whole Boston core, with big men Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis, along with crucial bench pieces Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser, just appear to be ready for this title defense.
Mazzulla ball is in full effect &ndash; even if it&rsquo;s just the preseason
The Celtics under Joe Mazzulla make it to a point to shoot as many open threes as they could, and in Game 1 vs the Nuggets, they shot a whopping 61 attempts, making 20 of them; and in Game 2, shot 47 attempts with 18 makes &ndash; a respectable 38 percent clip.
This style of play has brought them a championship and should be rightfully used as such until teams find a way to counter Boston&rsquo;s offense. This is the kind of game that Mazzulla wants to play for the Celtics and they have the roster and the men to do it &ndash; a loaded roster of shooters and floor spacers.
The Celtics still have room for improvement &ndash; and that&rsquo;s scary
&ldquo;Defensively, just got to be a little more tighter on that end,&rdquo; Derrick White said post-game. &ldquo;With some of our communication and the things that we&rsquo;re doing, and I think that comes with time. Offensively, just continue to make the right read and make the right play.&rdquo;
This should be bad news for the rest of the NBA as the defending champions themselves feel they still have something to fix and improve as the season goes on &ndash; a never-ending learning and lessons that can only be taught through game experiences.
Nikola Jokic is still really good
This should be another MVP type of season is on the horizon for the 3-time MVP as he has shown no signs of slowing down and is getting even better and smarter with each game that he plays.
In two games vs Boston, the Joker averaged over 20 points and 8 rebounds in just a little over 18 minutes of playing time. The Celtics haven&rsquo;t found a solution against Jokic inside and that resonates with the entire NBA as well.&nbsp;
Jokic&rsquo;s MVP campaign this season could come from him having to carry this roster more with some key departures from the team. He will have more responsibility on the offensive end and Jokic should just be dominant and assert himself to lead Denver to the upper echelon of the West.&nbsp;
Life after Bruce Brown and KCP for Denver
The Nuggets have now lost two key figures in their championship run in back-to-back offseasons, and if this is any indication, the past champs that lost their key role players struggled in the seasons to come. Brown and KCP&rsquo;s skillset should be replaceable but their chemistry with the team especially with MVP Jokic has been vital and Denver could take a step back on that end without those two.
Following their departures, the Nuggets have yet to replace them and will rely on young Christian Braun to replicate their success, or from a veteran like Vlatko Cancar who just recently returned from injury.
Denver&rsquo;s bench is suspect
Denver has no one off the bench who is legitimately an offensive threat or someone who can create his shot, so Michael Malone should probably stagger Jokic and Murray&rsquo;s minutes more, and lean on Michael Porter Jr for more offensive creation. This was exposed against the Celtics as the Nuggets struggled to have some offensive flow within their second units. Westbrook looked to be the answer for that problem but with his age he could not be tasked alone anymore to carry the offensive load for the bench.
Unless Denver makes a big FA signing or a splash before the trade deadline, expect their bench to struggle at times and they could be relying on their starters more often than not to supply all the scoring.
Westbrook&rsquo;s role
Newcomer Russell Westbrook has looked good at times for Denver in these two games. He was pushing the pace, driving and drawing the defense, and kicking it out to shooters which was a good sign for Denver as he figured out to be their backup point guard behind Jamal Murray, or even play alongside him at times to slot Murray at the 2. Westbrook at this point of his career does not need to do much on the offensive end, especially with an all-timer like Jokic in his prime. He could just provide energy off the bench for quality minutes and should be a big piece in Denver&rsquo;s rotation.
Jamal Murray&rsquo;s health
Perhaps the biggest factor out of them all, Jamal Murray&rsquo;s health is the biggest concern for Denver and should be their main priority heading into the season. Murray did not look right in their series against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Canada&rsquo;s Olympic run, and he was not able to find his groove yet in two games vs Boston.
With teams scheming against Jokic every single night, Murray has to come in and set the tone for the Nuggets as their primary secondary option and draw the defense away from the MVP.

Here are some key observations from both the Celtics and the Nuggets after their first two preseason games.

NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2024: 10 key observations from Nuggets-Celtics back-to-back games

The 2024 NBA Free Agency underway. Here's everything you need to know about the makings and the moves around the NBA.

2024 NBA Free Agency Tracker: All the signings and deals in the offseason

Team USA players came inside the Kerry Sports basketball facility one by one, each sporting their preferred and comfortable gear from the blazing heat of the Philippine weather they were not so accustomed to. They were about to hold their first practices in Manila for the FIBA World Cup 2023, the sport&rsquo;s world championship meet.
Anthony Edwards was one of the last ones to enter the gym along with fellow NBA no.1 overall pick Paolo Banchero. He had his Adidas Adilette comfort slides put on with black Team USA jogger pants and an Adidas triple-colored hoodie. Edwards was fixated on his phone, walking past whispering reporters onto the team&rsquo;s huddle at center court, clearly being the center of attraction for the young Team USA squad.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s who they call the Ant-Man.&rdquo;
Once upon a time, Edwards&rsquo; name was held in a much lower regard. The 22-year-old is considered to be one of the best and brightest young players in the league but has yet to establish himself as one of the staples and premier superstars with an iconic and deep playoff performance that cements him in that tier.
Until these playoffs.
Edwards has separated himself from the pack of young superstars leading their teams and entered the upper echelon of basketball royalty in the NBA. With the league anticipating the &lsquo;changing of the guard&rsquo; as current faces LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant eventually diminish their shining glories as the league&rsquo;s best of the best, Edwards comes in as one of the hopefuls to take the mantle when that inevitable day comes.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been saying that he (Edwards) is the face of the league but he hates it when I say it &ndash; but it&rsquo;s true. The future&rsquo;s so bright you gotta put the sunglasses on when you&rsquo;re walking around him,&rdquo; Karl-Anthony Towns said, in their post-game interview after their first-round series with the&nbsp;Phoenix Suns.
Edwards glanced briefly at Towns, who was beside him at the podium. He had that little smile on his face while bowing down his head as his teammate praised him in front of the listening reporters. He looked at Towns again, this time shaking his head in disbelief, but it had the element of confidence. There was obviously a focus on what Towns was talking about but with Edwards&rsquo; elite level-headedness through it all.&nbsp;
&ldquo;You&rsquo;re a young superstar in the league and you have to face it,&rdquo; the statement emphasized on Edwards as he&rsquo;s trying to soak it all in.
Ever since Edwards has been adamant about not calling himself anything until he wins in the playoffs. Now that his Wolves beat the Suns to win the franchise&rsquo;s first playoff series since 2004, Edwards certainly has all the right in the world to give himself even the tiniest bit of praise.
He thought for a good three seconds, glancing at the reporter and the horizon for a moment. He was just asked if he was now able to give himself some grace in that regard when people call him that &lsquo;young superstar&rsquo; label. A small grin emerged onto his face, clearly oozing with confidence albeit a controlled one. He looked back with that smile on his face while nodding, he said:
&ldquo;Nah, not yet a man. Not yet.&rdquo;
Behind this usual brash, confident, and charismatic Edwards is a hungry side that never gets contented and satisfied until he achieves his ultimate goal: winning a championship. Maybe he&rsquo;ll have the guts to call himself one when they reach the Finals and end up going all the way. But that remains to be seen.
He&rsquo;s got the swagger, the personality, and the charisma to be marketable by the league. Edwards mentioned wanting to go kill everybody that&rsquo;s in front of him, and boy, he did.&nbsp;
Edwards swept the Suns featuring his childhood idol and favorite player of all time Kevin Durant, who he has been jawing back and forth at several times in the series. This was him going at his childhood hero, taking on the challenge and never backing down. However, the play of the series happened in Game 4 when Minnesota was trying to put the nail in the coffin for Phoenix.&nbsp;
With 2:18 left on the clock in the 4th quarter, Edwards blew by Beal and rose through the air as high as he could. Durant made the right business decision by not going up together with a rampaging bull as he should For a brief moment, he looked like the second coming of a certain Michael Jordan &ndash; yet again &ndash; after he&rsquo;s been labeled as such throughout the course of the season after each jaw-dropping spectacular play. Edwards threw down a ferocious poster slam dunk that might have literally blown the roof over the Footprint Center as the play signaled the beginning of the end for the Suns.
Durant and Edwards will play together in Team USA in August for the Paris Olympics, and these two for sure would go head to head making their practice sessions much more interesting. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely a good feeling because he&rsquo;s my favorite player of all time, and I can tell him that I was the one who sent him home. It&rsquo;s gonna be a fun summer for sure,&rdquo; Edwards said.
First game of the Western Conference Finals and up against the Nuggets, Edwards scored a playoff career-high 43 points. He dissected their entire defense, scoring in all types of ways imaginable for a superstar. Edwards hit threes, blown by some of the toughest defenders in the NBA Aaron Gordon, and hit fadeaway mid-range jumpers reminiscent of Jordan. More importantly, Edwards displayed the level of maturity a superstar has to make in the playoffs &ndash; playing off of your teammates and playmaking for the entire team. He has done it so far with relative ease and that&rsquo;s why the Timberwolves have found their early success in this postseason.
He&rsquo;s doing it against supposedly their biggest challenge &ndash; the defending champions &ndash; who sent them home a year ago. &ldquo;Last year we didn&rsquo;t have Jaden (McDaniels) and Naz (Reid) against them so it was quite frustrating. Now that we have both I think we can definitely do better,&rdquo; Edwards said about their biggest thing in this rematch series vs Denver is being healthy.
Before the season started, Edwards was this up-and-coming 22-year-old star leading his nation at the World Championships for a chance at glory. Although the Americans ended up not medalling after losing to eventual world champions Germany in the semifinals and to neighboring Canada in the third-place game, Edwards was clearly the best player on the team filled with young American talent. He led Team USA in scoring, and at 22 years old, this was only the start of a big year ahead.
Edwards then was the clear-cut best player for the third-best team in the West, with Minnesota having a 56-26 record. Those 56 wins were the most since 2004 when they had 58 and went to the Western Conference Finals. They were led back then by legend Kevin Garnett but that was also their last time seeing the playoffs.&nbsp;
20 years later, Edwards is now shouldering all the burden by taking this Wolves team back to relevance, basking in all the glory he&rsquo;s worked so hard to attain. He&rsquo;s one of the bonafide young rising superstars in the league, and he intends to take them all the way.
Edwards&rsquo; huge season and ascension to superstardom could be attributed back to something you see coming even from a mile away. And it all started in that summer lengthy yet productive summer in 2023.
While most players use their summers to recuperate, have a vacation somewhere, and spend time with families and loved ones, Edwards took a privileged yet opportunistic route: play with the National Team at the FIBA World Cup. Usually, NBA superstars all express their willingness to play with the National Team at the Olympics. For no definite reason, somehow the FIBA World Cup does not seem appealing to play for the older/senior superstar guys, so it&rsquo;s usually the juniors/young guys who represent Team USA. Anthony Edwards took up that challenge and became the best player for the team and in turn, he&rsquo;s reaping the benefits of it in the playoffs.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve put in work this summer. Big shoutout to the USA team, man. They got me ready for the season.&rdquo;
That killer mentality that Edwards has is something that&rsquo;s never seen often and has been with only a select few in the history of the game, particularly Jordan and Lakers great Kobe Bryant. Behind all that bold and tough personality, however, is a side of himself that genuinely enjoys playing with his teammates.
When asked about the prospect of having his Wolves&rsquo; teammates, the first thing out of his mouth was how he was excited to meet them while playing for their respective countries (Rudy Gobert for France, Karl-Anthony Towns for Dominican Republic, Kyle Anderson for China, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker for Canada). He looked forward to playing against them, citing how much fun he would have once it happened.
Despite his clear burgeoning superstardom, however,&nbsp; Edwards still deflected every credit thrown towards him. When asked what he feels as one of the guys being billed as one of the next faces of the league, Edwards dismissed the idea faster than a Math teacher dispersing students after giving out a tough assignment due &ndash;&nbsp; immediately answering without hesitation that he does not make anything of it.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just gonna keep working, man. I make nothing of it, yeah. I just hope that I keep getting better.&rdquo;
It was clear all along among all the people in the gym that fateful day: Edwards had the most aura out of them all. It was just oozing, something you can feel when you&rsquo;re around certain people. It&rsquo;s kind of intimidating, but only to a certain extent. You can just feel the energy brewing and that certain look when you come across one of the ones. The underlying factor before the season was Minnesota only having five national TV games all season long. With most of their games out of the eyes of the majority, Edwards assured one thing going into the season sternly and convincingly.
&ldquo;We just gonna try to keep playing, man. We&rsquo;re not really worried about the national TV games. As long as we win, we&rsquo;ll be on TV when we make it into the playoffs. The world will know about us.&rdquo;
As their playoff mantra suggests, the Timberwolves have been waiting for this moment since 2004. From the annals of the great Kevin Garnett&rsquo;s era to ushering this new one paved by superstar-in-the-making, young Anthony Edwards, the Minnesota Timberwolves have arrived.

The underlying factor before the season was Minnesota only having five national TV games all season despite having Anthony Edwards.

‘WOLVES BACK’: Anthony Edwards introduces the Timberwolves back to the world

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed rookie Craig Porter Jr. to a four-year contract, <a href="https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1757562084483637309?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as reported by ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski.&nbsp;</a>
Porter, an undrafted guard out of Wichita State, has been instrumental for the Cavs this season by filling in for then-injured point guard Darius Garland. He averaged 11.4 points, 7.4 assists, 6.2 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals in five games as a starter.
Porter recently opened up to our Alex Kennedy about his fantastic rookie campaign.
&ldquo;I am very surprised, because coming in on a two-way [contract] and spending training camp with everybody healthy, you don't necessarily think that four or five people are gonna get hurt and that's gonna be your first opportunity within the first two or three weeks of your first season,&rdquo; Porter told Basketball News. &ldquo;Even to not play in the G League was kind of crazy to me &ndash; it was just so fast-paced and it just caught me off guard. I didn't think it was gonna be an opportunity that fast, but I figured it would be at some point.
&ldquo;Once the first one [opportunity] came, I started playing well and I felt like I was ready. And then a couple of games later, I started some games and then I started earning more and more trust from everybody. Then, it was just like, 'Okay, I know I'm with the Cavs full-time now.'"
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Running Up The Score starts NOW! Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Craig Porter joins me to discuss: 🏀 Terrific rookie season 🏀 Toughest player he&rsquo;s guarded 🏀 Studying Rajon Rondo 🏀 Support from Cavs fans 🏀 What he learned in JUCO WATCH: <a href="https://t.co/XjqLmh6hBI">https://t.co/XjqLmh6hBI</a>
&mdash; Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1750292459941171445?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2024</a></blockquote>

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Porter will now be part of the Cavaliers for the foreseeable future after getting his two-way contract converted to a four-year standard deal due to his solid play. The 6-foot-2 point guard is averaging 6.5 points, 2.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds on 50/33/70 shooting splits in 32 games this season.
&ldquo;I did five years in college, so I feel like I just have been put in every situation that can prepare me to be a pro," Porter said. "I&rsquo;ve played the role of being just a role player, being just a defender, somebody who just sits in the corner&hellip; I'm just prepared for any role that I'm put in. I feel like nothing&rsquo;s too big for me to handle. Any situation I've been put in so far, I&rsquo;ve proven that I can just handle it and my maturity&rsquo;s probably the biggest thing that stuck out during all that."

The Cleveland Cavaliers have converted rookie Craig Porter Jr.'s two-way deal into a four-year contract.

Cleveland Cavaliers sign Craig Porter Jr. to four-year contract

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the midst of an impressive season, boasting the fourth-best record (26-16) in the Eastern Conference after winning eight of their last nine games. 
Rookie Craig Porter Jr. has been a key contributor and one of the pleasant surprises of the 2023-24 season. Despite going undrafted, Porter has surprisingly emerged as a standout player. After starting point guard Darius Garland went down with an injury, Porter stepped up. In five games as a starter, he averaged 11.4 points, 7.4 assists, 6.2 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals. 
In an interview with Alex Kennedy on the show &ldquo;Running Up The Score,&rdquo; Porter talked about his early success in the NBA and how he&rsquo;s surprised even himself with the way he&rsquo;s started his career.
&ldquo;I mean it's been very fast-paced," Porter said. "With all the injuries we&rsquo;ve had so far this season, I&rsquo;ve been pushed to play pretty early. So, the learning process has just been the same as the playing process, as soon as I got put in, I was learning everything and it was all new, but it has been an amazing journey so far.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The 6-foot-2 point guard is the only rookie averaging at least 10 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists as a starter this season.
&ldquo;I am very surprised, because coming in on a two-way [contract] and spending training camp with everybody healthy, you don't necessarily think that four or five people are gonna get hurt and that's gonna be your first opportunity within the first two or three weeks of your first season,&rdquo; Porter said. &ldquo;Even to not play in the G League was kind of crazy to me &ndash; it was just so fast-paced and it just caught me off guard. I didn't think it was gonna be an opportunity that fast, but I figured it would be at some point.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Running Up The Score starts NOW! Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Craig Porter joins me to discuss: 🏀 Terrific rookie season 🏀 Toughest player he&rsquo;s guarded 🏀 Studying Rajon Rondo 🏀 Support from Cavs fans 🏀 What he learned in JUCO WATCH: <a href="https://t.co/XjqLmh6hBI">https://t.co/XjqLmh6hBI</a>
&mdash; Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1750292459941171445?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2024</a></blockquote>

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Success in the NBA often comes down to opportunities and a player's situation. When Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff texted Porter that he would be moving into the starting lineup, Porter initially thought he was joking. However, he quickly realized his coach was serious and began to prepare. He knew he had to make the most of the opportunity, and that's what exactly what he's done.
&ldquo;Once the first one [opportunity] came, I started playing well and I felt like I was ready. And then a couple of games later, I started some games and then I started earning more and more trust from everybody," Porter explained. "Then, it was just like, 'Okay, I know I'm with the Cavs full-time now.'"
When it comes to Porter's transition to the NBA, the 82-game schedule has been the toughest part.
&ldquo;[The schedule] is different, for sure. We&rsquo;re probably halfway through the year now and, I mean, it's just ridiculous. I didn't realize how many games you really play each week," Porter said. "It's taking some adjusting, but I just feel like once I figured out my routine, it kind of made everything a lot easier. And the [travel] is fun, you get to go see all these cities. It's crazy to think what basketball can do for you."
The 23-year-old out of Wichita State credited his age and maturity for helping him adjust to the NBA. Unlike a one-and-done rookie who came into the league at a young age, Porter believes his college experience has done wonders for him in terms of knowing his role on the team.
&ldquo;I did five years in college, so I feel like I just have been put in every situation that can prepare me to be a pro," Porter said. "I&rsquo;ve played the role of being just a role player, being just a defender, somebody who just sits in the corner&hellip; I'm just prepared for any role that I'm put in. I feel like nothing&rsquo;s too big for me to handle. Any situation I've been put in so far, I&rsquo;ve proven that I can just handle it and my maturity&rsquo;s probably the biggest thing that stuck out during all that."
Due to his solid play, Porter has been mentioned as a potential selection for the Rising Stars Challenge during NBA All-Star Weekend in February &mdash; a distinction given to the top rookies in the league. He shared what it would mean to him if he was selected.
&ldquo;It would mean the world (getting selected) not because I'm undrafted, but because of the journey that I've gone through. Even just the things I've done this season, I mean, if anybody deserves it, I feel like I do, for sure. But I'm not gonna be mad at it because I just wanna win at the end of the day. I would take winning over anything, obviously. But those personal goals of mine are getting into these things. I'm just gonna keep being me and playing the way I do.
"But obviously, yes, I would love to be in that stuff,&rdquo; Porter said with a big smile.

Craig Porter Jr. has been a key contributor for the Cleveland Cavaliers and one of the pleasant surprises of the 2023-24 season.

Cavs’ Craig Porter Jr. exceeding expectations, earning Rising-Stars buzz

What seemed to be a lost season for the Utah Jazz has suddenly turned around due to the team's recent success, winning 15 of their last 21 games.&nbsp;
After starting just 7-16, the Jazz have since gone 11-4 and are now in contention for one of the Western Conference's play-in spots. They&rsquo;ve had an incredible week thus far, with wins over the contending Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets.
The win over the defending-champion Nuggets proved that the Jazz can hang with any team on any given night. Denver was 18-0 against sub-.500 teams entering the game, but Utah stained their erstwhile unblemished slate.
How did the Jazz do it? Let's take a look at some of the things they did to upend the Nuggets.
The Jazz stretched the floor&nbsp;
With John Collins starting at center instead of Walker Kessler, Utah's game plan was to pull Nikola Jokic from the paint. Jokic, who&rsquo;s usually a drop-big on defense, almost always stays near the shaded area in pick-and-roll actions. Utah tried to take advantage of this early by hunting out threes and exploiting the point-of-attack defenses of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Four of their first five attempts were three-pointers and they connected on two to jump out to an early lead.
Denver tried to counter by running zone, leaving Collins open a couple of times in the first quarter. However, Collins made them pay by hitting two threes, as Jokic was more than content to leave him open for threes. This allowed the Jazz to get rolling even more and gave them the freedom to attack the basket and get downhill.
Another possession in the zone found Reggie Jackson and Jokic in a miscommunication, leading to Jordan Clarkson drilling an easy 10-foot jumper. When the Nuggets tried to switch up their defense back to a man-to-man, the Jazz found the answer with some off-ball movement and timely cuts to the rim. Overall, it was an offensive clinic that caught the defending champs off guard.
The Jazz mixed their coverages on Jokic and gave him different looks on defense
You can't entirely stop an all-world talent like Nikola Jokic, you could only hope to contain him, which is still really tough considering how talented he is and his ability to get his teammates involved.
Although he still put up a monstrous stat line of 27 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists on an absurd 8-of-9 shooting from the field, what the Jazz and Will Hardy did was mix-up coverages on him. They showed multiple defensive looks each time down, which partly confused Jokic as he committed 6 turnovers in the game.
Sometimes, it was single coverage; other times, they sent doubles at him. Three different players &mdash; Lauri Markannen, Collins and Kessler &mdash; each took turns guarding him and all three provided different looks on the Joker. Markannen used his strength, Collins had his quickness and quick hands, while Kessler provided verticality with his 7-foot-1 frame.
The Jazz also sent different doubles at Jokic, sometimes crowding him in the paint with early double-teams, breaking up his low-post attacks with guards doubling him, and sending late doubles with another big or using a help weakside defender to try to affect him as he attempted a shot.
All of these defensive coverages were designed to make Jokic feel uncomfortable with different styles thrown at him, and the Jazz were successful at that with this blowout win.&nbsp;
Will Hardy figured out the rotations and had the Jazz playing with confidence
Although their defense is still suspect, the Jazz&rsquo;s offense has been nothing but spectacular. This can be attributed to head coach Will Hardy figuring out his rotation and which players synergize well together. This impressive run over their last 20 games started when Hardy made Kris Dunn, Collin Sexton, Simone Fontecchio, Lauri Markannen and John Collins the starting five. Off the bench, Jordan Clarkson and Kelly Olynyk provide stability as veterans while second-year guys Walker Kessler and Ochai Agbaji help out on defense with their length and tenacity.
Utah&rsquo;s offense was on full display against Denver, picking them apart with set plays and off of read-and-react actions. Although the Nuggets were coming off two days of rest and just an hour flight, the Jazz capitalized on their momentum and pounced right from the start.
Markannen has picked up right where he left off in last season&rsquo;s All-Star campaign, maintaining his shooting and scoring while improving his ball-handling this season. He&rsquo;s much better off the dribble now, which makes him one of the most coveted (if not most coveted) trade targets as the Feb. 8 deadline approaches.
Clarkson has also learned to move the ball more since being back to his regular sixth man role while continuing to score the ball effectively, and it has produced good results.
Dunn and Sexton allow the Jazz to play with pace and energy on both sides of the floor and their efforts are infectious.
Despite all of the trade rumors swirling around this team and rival teams trying to pry their players away, GM Danny Ainge and coach Will Hardy deserve credit for helping the Jazz build good habits and play the right way, which has resulted in beautiful basketball all around.&nbsp;

What seemed to be a lost season for the Utah Jazz has suddenly turned around, as they have won 15 of their last 21 games.

How the Utah Jazz earned their statement win over the Denver Nuggets

Former NBA GM Pete Babcock opens up to Etan Thomas about how the media's false narratives can greatly influence NBA front offices.

Former NBA GM on how media coverage, false narratives impact players

This article was originally published on Jan. 16, 2021.
We&rsquo;ve all been here before.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s a random Wednesday. Full slate of games, hard to keep track of everything. Maybe you&rsquo;re peeping an ESPN matchup. Perhaps you&rsquo;re watching your favorite team on the local channel if you&rsquo;re in the market, or you&rsquo;re streaming it LEGALLY ON NBA LEAGUE PASS BECAUSE THAT IS THE ONLY WAY YOU ARE ALLOWED TO DO IT. WINK.&nbsp;
But anyway, you&rsquo;re watching a game. You&rsquo;re roaming Twitter. And then a tweet catches your eye: PLAYER X HAS DUNKED ON LEBRON JAMES.
Your brow raises. You see a few tweets from your online pals big-upping the play. You&rsquo;re really interested now. You click on the video from a Big Social Media Account. And this is the dunk:
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/brr.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
The excitement drops a little bit. That&rsquo;s a nice dunk from Wendell Carter Jr. LeBron James is underneath the basket, and there&rsquo;s a challenge. But something doesn&rsquo;t feel right about it.&nbsp;
Then you see a different angle of the Dunk Heard &lsquo;Round The World.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/wendell-w-lebron-in-the-area.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
You feel betrayed. LeBron didn&rsquo;t get dunked on; LeBron&rsquo;s arm got dunked on as he jumps out of the darn play! This isn&rsquo;t <a href="https://youtu.be/xtOUpybXmzo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scottie Pippen on Patrick Ewing</a> or <a href="https://youtu.be/6kBWO82HUa4?t=28" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vince Carter on Alonzo Mourning</a>! I can yell at these clouds if I want to!
If you&rsquo;re anything like me, you&rsquo;re tired of being misled. If I hear or read that a player got baptized, I want to see some Holy Water coming out of the rim after the aerial duel. And if you are like me, this is the piece for you. This is the guide of all guides, breaking down the different types of dunks. A universal standard of slams, if you will, so we can finally get on the same page about poster dunks.
A brief note before digging in. I am using a tier system so it&rsquo;s easier to separate the types of dunks. Like many things in life, the scale can slide on a case-by-case basis. For example, breakaway dunks are generally uncontested, which makes them the lowest tier of dunk for me. However, a breakaway dunk from 360-enthusiast Zach LaVine is different -- and much cooler -- than the two-handed flushes we see from Jimmy Butler. Each dunk is still its own thing.&nbsp;
Disclaimer: Alley-oops can fall under virtually all of these categories, with the obvious exception of put-backs.
TIER 10: BREAKAWAYS
Break-away dunks are pretty self-explanatory. There&rsquo;s a long rebound after a miss. A player leaks out early, and gets a dunk with no resistance. They&rsquo;re pretty basic with a few exceptions. LaVine, Paul George or Glenn Robinson III may bust out a 360 or windmill on occasion. LeBron has made the one-handed tomahawk a staple of his repertoire.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/lebron-tomahawk.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
It&rsquo;s basic, but it&rsquo;s so darn cool. Power, a little bit of flair, the hang time. All that good stuff.
TIER 9: TIP SLAMS
I like the timing, positioning and coordination it takes to pull off a putback slam. The lower-level ones are uncontested, but can be rated higher depending on the work a player puts in before the ball comes off the rim. Take this multiple-effort possession from Larry Nance Jr. as an example:
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/larry-nance-jr-putback.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
TIER 8: BUSINESS DECISIONS
The OG: Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal
Also popularized by: LeBron James, Blake Griffin, Zion Williamson
This is for the power dunkers. Whether it&rsquo;s in transition, flowing off of a broken play or rumbling down the lane after a high-ball screen, it&rsquo;s hilarious to watch players actively decide, &ldquo;Nope, I don&rsquo;t get paid enough for this.&rdquo; Take this play from the 2016-17 season, featuring Blake Griffin:
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/willy-hernangomez-business-decision.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
The key actor here is Willy Hernangomez (No. 14). He is watching this snug pick-and-roll all the way through. His man, noted three-point marksman DeAndre Jordan, is chilling above the break. Not only can Hernangomez make the rotation to cut off Griffin at the rim, he should make that rotation because Jordan is not a threat at all. Instead, he begins to load up, quickly realizes that Griffin will put him in the gulag, and decides against challenging the shot.
Hilarious sequence.
TIER 7: FLY-BYS
This is where having a discerning eye is important. When you think about it, this kind of dunk -- and the praise that these types of dunk typically generate -- is about deception.
A defender jumps across a player to make it look like he&rsquo;s legitimately challenging the dunk. There&rsquo;s no real threat of a block or swipe. The dunk happens because, again, there&rsquo;s no real threat to it otherwise. And somehow both players end up looking good. The dunker gets &ldquo;poster&rdquo; equity they don&rsquo;t deserve; the defender gets a slight pat on the back for giving effort instead of making a business decision.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/hhh.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
It&rsquo;s all a darn farce. A cool-looking farce at times, but a farce nonetheless.&nbsp;
TIER 6: SELF-LOBS
We&rsquo;ve reached the coolest of the non-contact dunks. It doesn&rsquo;t get much better than throwing the ball to yourself for a slam, man. Look at Jamal Murray getting himself out of trouble.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/jamal-murray-self-lob.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
TIER 5: &ldquo;IN THE VICINITY&rdquo; SLAMS (Also known as ITVs)
Folks, the rubber is starting to reach the road. The ITVs involve actual attempts at a contest and/or a little contact, a step up from the Fly-bys. This is where I&rsquo;d say the Wendell-on-LeBron dunk falls, though I wouldn&rsquo;t be mad at anyone that would classify it as a Fly-by. A better example would be this slam from Matisse Thybulle last season.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/mfff.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
There&rsquo;s an attempt at a challenge, but Thybulle still gets the better of Mason Plumlee. But Plumlee doesn&rsquo;t get dunked on. There isn&rsquo;t enough contact to call it a poster of the highest order.&nbsp;
This is also where failed chasedown blocks come in. With guys flying in from behind, the dunk-on element just isn&rsquo;t there most of the time. Take the famous Kobe-on-LeBron dunk from the 2011 All-Star game.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/kobe-on-lebron.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
TIER 4: PUTBACK POSTERS
I&rsquo;ve always gone back and forth with myself about where to place these types of dunks. On one hand, the blindsided nature of it makes it a bit unfair to defenders. You can&rsquo;t defend against what you can&rsquo;t see. However, there&rsquo;s enough contact at play, and a player Mossin&rsquo; a dude and flushing it down is generally some high level stuff.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/gerald-green-putback-poster.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
Yes, that is the #BASED and #RARE Gerald Green in a Celtics uni. And yeah that&rsquo;s Mason Plumlee again. Sorry, man.
TIER 3: DUNK-ONS/CHARGE CRUSHERS
We&rsquo;ve reached the portion of the program where dudes are getting legitimately yammed on, but there are a couple of factors that keep it from ranking higher.
First, the level of contest still matters. A lot of these dunks feature dudes sliding over in an attempt to take a charge (hence the alternative name). The higher level posters feature someone trying to actually block the dunk. Sure, a charge and blocked dunk are functionally the same in terms of the result the defense wants -- taking away two points -- but we&rsquo;re talking about highlights here.&nbsp;
Secondly, and I admit we&rsquo;re splitting hairs a bit, size also matters. The first dunk I thought of was Nuggets-era J.R Smith yamming it over Gary Neal:
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/jrs.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
Objectively a good dunk, but Gary Neal is ground bound and short. You have to dock some points there. I&rsquo;m sorry. The famous DeAndre Jordan-on-Brandon Knight flush, while iconic, also falls in this category.
The higher end of this would be another classic involving the Spurs: LeBron dunking on Tim Duncan.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/lebron-on-tim-duncan.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
That&rsquo;s more like it.
TIER 2: THE THROW-IN
THE OG: Blake Griffin
ALSO POPULARIZED BY: Derrick Jones Jr.
DUNK TRUTHERS DON&rsquo;T READ THIS!
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Dunk Truthers are stupid poopyheads.&nbsp;
Yes, we&rsquo;re well aware that dunks that involve the rim being grabbed -- or at least touched -- are more pure, whatever the heck that means. But you look at Blake Griffin embarrassing the life out of Timofey Mozgov and tell me it isn&rsquo;t one of greatest athletic feats you&rsquo;ve ever seen.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/blake-over-mozgov.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
Derrick Jones Jr. has some gnarly ones in his bag as well, highlighted by this lob he converted against the Raptors that still doesn&rsquo;t make much sense to me.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/hyyy.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
TIER 1: THE PURE POSTER
Pippen on Ewing. Carter on &lsquo;Zo. <a href="https://youtu.be/tYpwjB0IzoU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Baron Davis on Andrei Kirilenko</a>. Michael Jordan on, well, name almost any big man you can think of that played in the '90s.&nbsp;
We can go more modern, like Larry Nance Jr. doing this to pre-DPOY-candidate Brook Lopez:
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/lrrr.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
Another hidden gem: young DeMar DeRozan throwing the hammer down over Rudy Gobert:
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/derozan-on-gobert.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
The constant for these dunks: full-on, body-to-body contact with a legitimate attempt for a contest. You&rsquo;ll know it when you see it.
BONUS TIER: THE VINCE CARTER
Yeah, this is still the best dunk I&rsquo;ve ever seen.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/vince-carter-dunk-of-death.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
You clear a seven footer, you get your own dunk tier. Those are the rules.

Nekias Duncan has put together the guide of all guides, breaking down the different types of dunks and rating them on a tier system.

The Dunk-tionary: The official guide to ranking dunks

Blake Stern previews the NBA's Central Division, breaking down each team's projected lineup and burning question entering the year.

NBA Central Division Preview: Burning questions, rotation projections

After a long four-month offseason, the 2023-24 NBA season officially kicks off on October 24. Preseason action is currently underway, with teams evaluating their roster and getting ready for the start of the regular season.
There were a few roster rule changes of note this offseason that were introduced as part of the new CBA. Now, each team can sign up to three two-way players (up from two) who are able to play up to 50 games with their NBA team and spend the rest of their season in the G League. Also, offseason rosters were originally limited to 20 players but have since increased to 21.&nbsp;
Each team needs to be at 15 standard contracts prior to the start of the season, which means a few players on guaranteed deals will have to be cut prior to the season. While some teams have a pretty set roster, others (like the Oklahoma City Thunder) will be forced to part ways with talented players to reach their roster limit.&nbsp;
Looking at the Atlantic Division, let's see how each team&rsquo;s lineup is shaping up and what questions they may need to answer before the start of the season.
(This is part one of a six-part series, with more divisional previews coming soon).
<h1>BOSTON CELTICS</h1>
Outside of the top-six players, who will be the most reliable depth option?
After acquiring Jrue Holiday, the Boston Celtics may have the best top-six of any team in the league. While we can add the Holiday trade to their list of aggressive offseason transactions, their depth has taken somewhat of a step back.&nbsp;
They will have to replace four rotation players from last year&rsquo;s Conference Finals team with a few players who don&rsquo;t have much experience in playoff situations. Three players who should definitely see more minutes are Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet. Pritchard has played well on both ends of the floor when given an opportunity, notably shooting 40% from three-point range over his first three seasons. The Celtics rewarded him with a team-friendly extension that should see him take up about 5% of the salary cap over the next four years. Hauser has also been a stellar three-point shooter, knocking down 42% since coming into the league.&nbsp;
The frontcourt is probably the most notable weakness on the team&rsquo;s depth chart. Joe Mazzulla has expressed confidence that <a href="https://www.celticsblog.com/2023/10/7/23907608/boston-celtics-depth-sam-hauser-luke-kornet-payton-pritchard-joe-mazzulla-blake-griffin-bus-one-boys" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kornet should be successful on both ends of the floor and will be their go-to backup center to start the season.</a> The preseason will be important in determining who else (i.e. Oshae Brissett, Jordan Walsh, Svi Mykhailiuk, etc.) may stand out for Mazzulla and get an opportunity for playing time behind Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
The Celtics have the least amount of players on guaranteed contracts in the league (10). However, their roster for opening night is likely set unless they want to open up flexibility to sign other veteran players or buyout candidates later this season. If they choose to cut someone, it would very likely be a player on a non-guaranteed deal. Mykhailiuk and Dalano Banton each have a partial $200,000 guarantee that increases to over $1,000,000 if they make the roster. Kornet, Wenyen Gabriel and Lamar Stevens all have non-guaranteed contracts.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 19 players (10 guaranteed, 2 partially guaranteed, 3 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 1 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Jrue Holiday, G/F Jaylen Brown, F Jayson Tatum, F/C Al Horford, F/C Kristaps Porzingis
Projected Rotation Players: G Derrick White, G Payton Pritchard, C Luke Kornet (non-guaranteed), F Sam Hauser, F Oshae Brissett
Projected Reserves: F Jordan Walsh, G/F Svi Mykhailiuk ($200K guaranteed), F Wenyen Gabriel (non-guaranteed), G Dalano Banton ($200K guaranteed), F Lamar Stevens (non-guaranteed)
Projected Two-Way Players: C Neemias Queta, G JD Davison, G Jay Scrubb (Injured)
Projected Roster Cuts: G DJ Steward (Exhibit-10)
<h1>BROOKLYN NETS</h1>
What is Ben Simmons' role?
Ben Simmons has only played 42 games since being acquired by the Nets in February 2022, dealing with physical and psychological hurdles that have made him somewhat of an afterthought. Head coach Jacque Vaughn has expressed confidence that Simmons is now 100% healthy and ready to contribute again at a high level.&nbsp;
He seems to be penciled in as the team&rsquo;s starting point guard, starting in the Nets&rsquo; first preseason game. Though it was just a small 14-minute sample size, Simmons looked a lot like his former All-Star self. Having not played since February 15, he looked athletic, aggressive and confident before sitting out the second half.&nbsp;
&ldquo;He attacked the rim, I think he played with pace, looked pretty natural out there getting up and down the floor, communicating with guys into the flow of the game,&rdquo; Vaughn said, <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/10/10/ben-simmons-passes-eye-test-in-nets-preseason-opener/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">praising his $38-million man</a>. &ldquo;Really good to see.&rdquo;
Vaughn has some options when it comes to starting lineups where he could go smaller, with a backcourt of Simmons and Spencer Dinwiddie, or decide to start Dorian Finney-Smith and use Mikal Bridges as a big two-guard.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
Darius Bazley, Harry Giles and Trendon Watford are all on non-guaranteed deals and are vying for the final two roster spots. The Nets also have an open two-way spot, which I believe they could potentially use on a player like <a href="https://www.si.com/college/tennessee/mens-basketball/kennedy-chandler-starring-in-nba-summer-league" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Summer League standout</a> and former Memphis Grizzlies second-rounder Kennedy Chandler.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 18 players (13 guaranteed, 3 non-guaranteed, 2 two-way)
Projected Starters: G/F Ben Simmons, G Spencer Dinwiddie, F Mikal Bridges, F Cameron Johnson, C Nicolas Claxton
Projected Rotation Players: F Dorian Finney-Smith, F Royce O&rsquo;Neale, G Cameron Thomas, G Dennis Smith Jr., C Day&rsquo;Ron Sharpe
Projected Reserves: G/F Lonnie Walker IV, C Noah Clowney, F Dariq Whitehead, F Darius Bazley (Non-Guaranteed), C Harry Giles (Non-Guaranteed)
Projected Two-way Players: G Armoni Brooks, F Jalen Wilson, G Kennedy Chandler* (Projected Signing)
Projected Roster Cuts: F Trendon Watford (Non-Guaranteed)
<h1>NEW YORK KNICKS</h1>
Who will be the first option off the bench?
New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has his fair share of options to headline his second unit. In his third year, Immanuel Quickley had his best season to date, finishing as the runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year award behind Malcolm Brogdon. Quickley was the primary scorer for the second unit, but he shouldn&rsquo;t have to carry the entire load on offense with the addition of Donte DiVincenzo.&nbsp;
DiVincenzo impressed last season with the Golden State Warriors as a reliable bench shooter and should spot minutes for Quentin Grimes and R.J. Barrett when offensive pushes are needed. Josh Hart could also be the team&rsquo;s sixth man, just like he was during the Knicks&rsquo; playoff run. After being traded from Portland, Hart averaged 30 minutes per game despite coming off the bench most of the time. It is worth noting the Knicks-Villanova connection between Hart, DiVincenzo and Jalen Brunson, who should fit seamlessly together on the floor thanks to their pre-existing chemistry. While unlikely to be the first off the bench, Isaiah Hartenstein also deserves mention since he has been one of the league&rsquo;s better backup centers and could see more time if Mitchell Robinson gets in foul trouble. In terms of rotation issues, Thibodeau should see this as a good problem to have regardless of who he brings off the bench first.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
The Knicks have three spots up for grabs between Ryan Arcidiacono, DaQuan Jeffries, Isaiah Roby and Duane Washington Jr. All are on non-guaranteed deals that won&rsquo;t be fully guaranteed until the league-wide guarantee date on January 10.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (12 guaranteed, 4 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Jalen Brunson, G Quentin Grimes, G/F R.J. Barrett, F Julius Randle, C Mitchell Robinson
Projected Rotation Players: G Josh Hart, G Immanuel Quickley, G Donte DiVincenzo, C Isaiah Hartenstein, G Miles McBride
Projected Reserves: G Evan Fournier, C Jericho Sims, F Isaiah Roby (non-guaranteed), G Ryan Arcidiacono (non-guaranteed), G/F DaQuan Jeffries (non-guaranteed)
Projected Two-way Players: F/C Nathan Knight, G/F Dylan Windler, F Jaylen Martin
Projected Roster Cuts: G Duane Washington Jr. (non-guaranteed), G Charlie Brown Jr. (Exhibit-10), F Jacob Toppin (Exhibit-10)
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/embiid332.jpg" alt="" width="672" height="440" />
<h1>PHILADELPHIA 76ERS</h1>
Will Tyrese Maxey become more of a creator and how can that adjust the rotation?
The Sixers&rsquo; ceiling is contingent on how much Tyrese Maxey can improve this season. Maxey hasn&rsquo;t needed to be the team&rsquo;s primary distributor since James Harden joined the team, allowing him to blossom into a reliable 20-PPG scorer. Regardless of whether Harden&rsquo;s trade situation is resolved, Maxey will need to become a better creator and distributor if he wants to take his game to the next level. Prior to Harden&rsquo;s arrival, Maxey had an impressive 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio despite his small frame and risk-averse tendencies.&nbsp;
Interestingly, team president Daryl Morey has held off on giving Maxey an extension this offseason, electing to wait until next summer to pay his budding young guard. Maxey will likely demand near max-level money that could harm Philly&rsquo;s flexibility to go after star players next offseason. If he can improve his ball-handling and distribution tendencies, the Sixers&rsquo; offense should benefit tremendously, helping the offensive output of players like P.J. Tucker and Paul Reed and easing the reliance on De&rsquo;Anthony Melton and Patrick Beverley.
Roster Decisions
Two players will likely be fighting for the Sixers&rsquo; final roster spot. The team re-signed veteran Danny Green, who played for the team from 2020 to 2022, to a non-guaranteed deal. They also brought over young big Filip Petrusev, who was drafted by Philadelphia in 2021. Petrusev signed a multi-year deal that was partially guaranteed for $559,782 this season and non-guaranteed next year. Although unlikely, the 76ers could also elect to waive Montrezl Harrell despite his deal being fully guaranteed, as he should miss this season with a torn ACL.
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (14 guaranteed, 1 partially Guaranteed, 1 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Tyrese Maxey, G James Harden, F P.J. Tucker, F Tobias Harris, C Joel Embiid
Projected Rotation Players: G De&rsquo;Anthony Melton, G Patrick Beverley, F/C Paul Reed, F/G Kelly Oubre Jr., F Danuel House
Projected Reserves: C Mo Bamba, F Furkan Korkmaz, G Jaden Springer, G/F Danny Green (non-guaranteed), C Montrezl Harrell (injured)
Projected Two-way Players: G Terquavion Smith, G Ricky Council IV, F Azuolas Tubelis
Projected Roster Cuts: F/C Filip Petrusev ($559,782 guaranteed), G David Duke Jr. (Exhibit-10), G Javonte Smart (Exhibit-10)
<h1>TORONTO RAPTORS</h1>
What style does Darko Rajakovic bring to Toronto and who will benefit the most?
New coach Darko Rajakovic inherits an interesting Raptors team with plenty of talent, but they may be facing a crossroads in terms of how successful they can be as a group. Rajakovic is in his first NBA head coaching gig after three seasons as an assistant with the Grizzlies and is known around the league as a pick-and-roll guru.&nbsp;
The idea of the Raptors being a primary pick-and-roll team became less appealing when they were unable to retain Fred VanVleet in free agency, replacing him with a less reliable shooter in Dennis Schr&ouml;der. Instead, Rajakovic will likely rely on Schr&ouml;der and his newly paid center Jakob Poeltl for more ball movement and playmaking. Rajakovic compared Poeltl to Domantas Sabonis before the Raptors&rsquo; preseason win over the Sacramento Kings on October 9 and could use him in a similar role. If Poeltl can be 70% of what Sabonis was last season, it can be a huge boost to an inconsistent offense.
Roster Decisions
The Raptors have 15 players on guaranteed deals going into the season, but also carry Jeff Dowtin Jr. on a non-guaranteed deal. Dowtin played on a two-way contract with Toronto last season, appearing in 25 games. With the roster full, Dowtin is unlikely to make the regular-season roster but he has still <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/raptors/news/toronto-raptors-praise-jeff-dowtin-jr-as-roster-decisions-await" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impressed the coaching staff this preseason</a>. If any player is in danger of losing their roster spot to Dowtin, it would likely be former first-round pick Malachi Flynn. Dowtin&rsquo;s deal becomes guaranteed for $900,000 on October 21, four days before the team&rsquo;s season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves. I would expect the Raptors to make a decision on Dowtin before then.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (15 guaranteed, 1 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Dennis Schr&ouml;der, F/G Scottie Barnes, F OG Anunoby, F Pascal Siakam, C Jakob Poeltl
Projected Rotation Players: G Gary Trent Jr., F Precious Achiuwa, F/C Chris Boucher, F Jalen McDaniels, G/F Gradey Dick
Projected Reserves: F Thaddeus Young, G Malachi Flynn, F Otto Porter Jr., C Christian Koloko, G/F Garrett Temple
Projected Two-way Players: G/F Ron Harper Jr., G Markquis Nowell, G Javon Freeman-Liberty
Projected Roster Cuts: G Jeff Dowtin (non-guaranteed), F Mouhamadou Gueye (Exhibit-10), C Makur Maker (Exhibit-10)
Other news from around the web: <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/dress-to-impress-why-barbie-and-ken-are-the-hottest-couples-costume-this-halloween/ar-AA1iaTEh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barbie and Ken are the hottest couples costume this Halloween</a>

Blake Stern previews the Atlantic Division, breaking down each team's projected lineup and a burning question entering the season.

NBA Atlantic Division Preview: Burning questions, rotation projections

The 2023-24 NBA season gets underway next month, with another highly anticipated year of basketball on the forecast. 
The NBA also happens to be one of the few sports where the offseason is just as exciting thanks to player movement and the soap-opera-esque storylines that can emerge. This can make it easy for fans to quickly move on from the previous season. 
However, each season deserves recognition, and last year was no exception. From historic accomplishments to jaw-dropping plays, there were a number of unforgettable moments worth discussing from the 2022-23 season.
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De'Aaron Fox drains the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TissotBuzzerBeater?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TissotBuzzerBeater</a> for the win from BEYOND! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThisIsYourTime?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ThisIsYourTime</a> <a href="https://t.co/BwYotIU2cA">pic.twitter.com/BwYotIU2cA</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1589042762686795777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
5. De&rsquo;Aaron Fox Hits Unreal Buzzer Beater
Last season saw the revival of the Sacramento Kings. Finishing as the third seed in the Western Conference, they clinched their first postseason berth in 16 seasons. Leading this resurgence was De&rsquo;Aaron Fox, who averaged 25 points per game on a career-best 51.2% from the field.&nbsp;
What really stood out about Fox's season was his play during clutch situations. He consistently showed up late, averaging 8.3 points in the fourth quarter &ndash; the second-best mark in the league behind only Kyrie Irving (9.8). Ending the season, he led the league in clutch points (194) and was recognized as the NBA's first-ever Clutch Player of the Year.
Fox had some incredible moments en route to winning the inaugural award. In November of last year, the Kings were involved in a tight contest with the Orlando Magic. Tied at 123-123 in overtime, Fox brought the ball up the court and drained a three-pointer from nearly half-court with no time left on the clock to stun the hometown fans in Orlando.&nbsp;
Fox and the Kings certainly made their mark on the league and will look to carry that momentum into the 2023-24 season.&nbsp;
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Steph Gonna STEPHHHHH <a href="https://t.co/6R3Q7z1vro">pic.twitter.com/6R3Q7z1vro</a>
&mdash; Golden State Warriors (@warriors) <a href="https://twitter.com/warriors/status/1616246949006528512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2023</a></blockquote>
4. Steph Curry Shows Off Against Former Finals Foe
Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry is familiar with long-distance threes. The NBA&rsquo;s all-time leader in three-point field goals utilizes his deep range often, making him dangerous at the end of quarters.&nbsp;
Curry notoriously takes shots from near half-court and beyond when quarters are coming to a close, and he doesn&rsquo;t shy away from showing his excitement when they go down. The one he hit in January of this year against the Boston Celtics had to feel good. It was the first time that Curry had been back in TD Garden since Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals, where he clinched his fourth NBA championship and earned first NBA Finals MVP award.
The last thing Boston needed is another reminder of Curry burying their hopes for a league-best 18th championship, but the sharpshooter did so in quite the fashion. Curry stripped Celtics forward Jayson Tatum just past half-court and attempted his patented logo three, sending the ball through the net as the first-half buzzer sounded.&nbsp;
Curry is heading into his 15th NBA season and has yet to show signs of slowing down, leaving the four-time champion looking to add even more unforgettable moments to his resume.&nbsp;
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OH MY GOODNESS JA MORANT 😱 DUNK OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE <a href="https://t.co/OQsyR28lKj">pic.twitter.com/OQsyR28lKj</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1614439270994919424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2023</a></blockquote>

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3. Morant&rsquo;s Ja-Dropping Dunk
The NBA is constantly evolving, and these days the league features arguably the most talented and athletic players of any era. Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant may be one of the best example of this, as the 6-foot-3 point guard has made a habit of posterizing taller players almost nightly. Morant makes an effort to try these nasty dunks over significantly larger defenders, keeping fans on the edge of their seat anytime he enters the paint.&nbsp;
Morant pulled off arguably his greatest dunk to date earlier this year. Facing the Indiana Pacers on the road back in January, the high-flying Morant would split a double-team and throw down a monster slam over forward Jalen Smith.&nbsp;
Unfortunately, Morant's multiple firearm-related incidents off the court will keep him off the court for some time, as he was suspended for the first 25 games of the 2023-24 season by NBA commissioner Adam Silver. After the suspension, hopefully a refocused Morant will add more posters to his collection.&nbsp;
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UNREAL ENDING IN DALLAS 😱 LUKA (54 PTS) PUTS IN HIS OWN REBOUND TO TIE IT UP WITH 1 SECOND LEFT WE'RE GOING TO OT AFTER A 12-3 MAVS RUN IN THE LAST 30 SECONDS 📲 <a href="https://t.co/WjxYAo1gl0">https://t.co/WjxYAo1gl0</a> <a href="https://t.co/LKpwGgNbGU">pic.twitter.com/LKpwGgNbGU</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1607948900731883523?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
2. Luka Doncic Hits Game-Tying Shot During Historic Performance&nbsp;
While the Dallas Mavericks had a forgettable 2022-23 season in terms of team performance, Luka Doncic certainly had his fair share of impressive moments. Doncic has already racked up a career&rsquo;s worth of highlights in just five seasons in the NBA. The 24-year-old has a very unique style of play, and the term "Luka Magic" was coined to describe his highlight-reel plays.
Magic was most definitely in the air on the night of December 27, 2022. Doncic and the Mavericks were taking on the New York Knicks. With 33.2 seconds remaining in the game, the Knicks held a nine-point lead over the Mavericks. According to ESPN Stats and Info, teams were 0-13,884 over the last 20 seasons when trailing by at least nine with 35 or fewer seconds remaining in regulation.&nbsp;
That record would become 1-13,884 by the end of the night.&nbsp;
The Mavs and Doncic would go on a miraculous 9-3 run, leading to a situation where Doncic was at the free-throw line with the Mavs down 115-112 with 4.2 seconds left. Doncic would convert the first free throw, then intentionally miss the second in an attempt to tie the game. After multiple bounces, the ball miraculously found its way back into Doncic's hands and he threw up a quick shot, getting it to go and tying the game with one second remaining. The game would go into overtime and the Mavericks would finish the job, defeating the Knicks 126-123.&nbsp;
This would go down as arguably Doncic's best performance since entering the NBA. He dropped a historic stat line of 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists &ndash; the first 60-point, 20-rebound, 10-assist game ever in NBA history. This was an unprecedented performance on several fronts, and Doncic will look to add even more magical moments to his already-impressive resume this upcoming season.&nbsp;
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38,388 POINTS LeBron James hits the fadeaway jumper to become the NBA&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ScoringKing?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ScoringKing</a> <a href="https://t.co/P5LyTZAZn3">pic.twitter.com/P5LyTZAZn3</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1623185295481966592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2023</a></blockquote>

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1. LeBron James Breaks All-Time Scoring Record
Heading into the 2022-23 campaign, many expected Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James to break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar&rsquo;s all-time scoring record. Once the season got underway, the record-setting performance drew closer and closer with James scoring at his expected pace.&nbsp;
The fabled moment came to pass on February 7 of this year, with the Lakers taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder in Los Angeles. James entered the game needing 36 points to pass Abdul-Jabbar, and The King made it apparent that he wanted to break the record that night, showing an eagerness to score that we typically don't see from the 38-year-old these days. 
James reached 34 points and, with just over 10 seconds left in the third quarter, Abdul-Jabbar&rsquo;s record was broken after a 39-year run. James backed down Thunder wing Kenrich Williams and hit a fadeaway jumper, officially putting his name No. 1 in the record books with 38,388 points.
The 2023-24 campaign will mark <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/revisiting-lebron-james-legendary-nba-career-as-he-enters-year-21">the 21st season of LeBron's legendary career</a> and if it's anything like his other campaigns, it will feature plenty of iconic moments.
<a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What were your favorite moments from the 2022-23 NBA season? Tweet us at @basketbllnews!</a>

From historic accomplishments to jaw-dropping plays, Jack Maguire looks back at five unforgettable moments from last NBA season.

Revisiting 5 unforgettable moments from the 2022-23 NBA season

Most NBA teams have a young core of some sort, but some are better than others.
Each year, teams try to add to their young nucleus through the draft. The 2023 NBA Draft just featured the most highly-anticipated prospect since LeBron James in Victor Wembanyama, plus a number of other talented rookies like Scoot Henderson, Brandon Miller and the Thompson twins.
Entering the 2023-24 season, which team has the best young core? Today, we'll rank the five best cores from around the league. The criteria is simple: players must be age-25 or younger to be considered.
5. Orlando Magic&nbsp;
The Magic landed young star Paolo Banchero with the No. 1 overall pick last season, pairing him with 2021 lottery pick Franz Wagner to form a nice one-two punch. Cole Anthony had high expectations entering the league, but he hasn't quite become the player that fans wanted him to be. One player who has exceeded expectations is Wendell Carter Jr. After a shaky start to his career with the Chicago Bulls, Carter has found his place on the Magic and is considered one of the better young starting centers in the NBA. He isn't the only player who turned his career around after landing in Orlando, as Markelle Fultz is playing his best basketball and has a nice redemption story of his own. Other young players who have an opportunity to make an impact going forward are Orlando's recent lottery picks Anthony Black and Jett Howard, both of whom are 19 years old. Orlando has consistently been one of the worst teams in the league for several years now and while their rebuilding roster is solid, it isn&rsquo;t quite as good or enticing as some of the other teams on our list.
Notable Players: Paolo Banchero (20), Franz Wagner (23), Wendell Carter Jr. (24), Anthony Black (19), Jett Howard (19), Markelle Fultz (25), Cole Anthony (23), Jalen Suggs (21), Jonathan Isaac (25), Caleb Houstan (20)
4. New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans are the only young core on this list with postseason experience, as they made the playoffs in 2021-22 and made the play-in tournament last season. Their young core is largely carried by four players: Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones. Ingram has become a terrific scorer, and he's coming off a season in which he averaged career-highs in points (24.7) and assists (5.8). While Williamson has been one of the best players in the NBA when healthy, we haven&rsquo;t seen him on the court very much since he was drafted in 2019. Murphy is a terrific shooter and Jones has had a very solid start to his career as well, making a name for himself as a lockdown perimeter defender. New Orleans has a few other young players with potential including Dyson Daniels, Jordan Hawkins and Kira Lewis Jr., but they have yet to prove themselves. Ingram, Williamson, Murphy and Jones are the main reason why the Pelicans are ranked here.
Notable Players: Brandon Ingram (25), Zion Williamson (23), Trey Murphy III (23), Herb Jones (24), Dyson Daniels (20), Jordan Hawkins (21), Kira Lewis Jr. (22)
3. Houston Rockets
The Rockets have one of the more underrated young cores in the NBA, as their lack of success has prevented them from getting much recognition. Fortunately for the Rockets, their main issue has been lack of experience, and the team addressed it this offseason. They had money to spend and they brought in some veterans to help lead the team, most notably Fred VanVleet. That said, their young core is still extremely talented and got even better through this year&rsquo;s draft. The key for this Rockets team to succeed is to make sure these young players continue to develop at a high rate, which is where new head coach Ime Udoka and his staff come in. They have multiple players on their roster with All-Star potential, and it's possible they'll compete for a play-in spot by the end of the season.
Notable Players: Jalen Green (21), Jabari Smith (20), Alperen Sengun (21), Amen Thompson (20), Tari Eason (22), Kevin Porter Jr. (23), Cam Whitmore (19)
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2. San Antonio Spurs&nbsp;
The Spurs undoubtedly have one of the NBA's best young cores. No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama has made San Antonio the team to watch this season. That said, they likely won&rsquo;t be a playoff team for at least another year. While it's possible that they'll shock everyone, it will be difficult for Wembanyama to lead them to the postseason as a rookie. He will likely need at least a year to adjust to the NBA and develop before taking that next leap in his career. Wembanyama isn&rsquo;t the only young star on the Spurs, as they have already started developing fellow cornerstones Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson, who have made quite an impression. Throw in Tre Jones, Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham, Romeo Langford and Blake Wesley, and it's clear why the Spurs are this high. Other young players who have shown promise are Charles Bassey and Julian Champagnie, both of whom came over from the Philadelphia 76ers&rsquo; organization. These two players have displayed a ton of potential, particularly in the G League and Summer League, and they could be solid contributors for years to come.&nbsp;
Notable Players: Victor Wembanyama (19), Keldon Johnson (23), Tre Jones (23), Devin Vassell (22), Jeremy Sochan (20), Malaki Branham (20), Romeo Langford (23), Zach Collins (25), Blake Wesley (20), Julian Champagnie (22), Charles Bassey (22), Dominick Barlow (20), Sandro Mamukelashvili (24)
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
The Spurs were a hard core to beat but, to nobody&rsquo;s surprise, the Oklahoma City Thunder have the best young core in the NBA. Not only do they have the youngest starting lineup in the league, it is filled with young stars. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has emerged as one of the best guards in the league, while Josh Giddey and Rookie-of-the-Year runner-up Jalen Williams just had a terrific season. Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 overall pick in last year's draft, hasn't played yet but he will undoubtedly make an immediate impact and could give OKC a Rookie-of-the-Year finalist for the second year in a row. Despite how young the Thunder are, they could make a serious playoff push this season, with Shai at the steering wheel. Perhaps what's scariest about the Thunder is that they have 35 draft picks over the next seven years, including 15 first-rounders, so their already-impressive young core is still a work in progress.
Notable Players: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (25), Chet Holmgren (21), Josh Giddey (20), Jalen Williams (22), Cason Wallace (19), Luguentz Dort (24), Aleksej Pokusevski (21), Isaiah Joe (24), Tre Mann (22), Jaylin Williams (21), Ousmane Dieng (20), Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (22), Keyontae Johnson (23)

Entering the 2023-24 season, which NBA teams have the best young core? Hunter Simpson ranks the best cores from around the league.

Ranking the NBA's top-5 young cores entering the 2023-24 season

With the NBA&rsquo;s 2023 free-agency period pretty much wrapped up, why not take a look at how projecting next year's free-agent market? Obviously, a lot can change between now and then, but let&rsquo;s examine each team&rsquo;s cap situation and how much cap room they project to have next summer.&nbsp;
Next year&rsquo;s free-agency class could feature some big names, including Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, Tyrese Maxey (restricted), Paul George, LeBron James, James Harden, Jrue Holiday, OG Anunoby and DeMar DeRozan.&nbsp;
For the purposes of this exercise, I&rsquo;m going to separate teams into four spending-power tiers: Cap Space Teams, Non-Tax MLE Teams, Luxury Tax Teams and Second Apron Teams. Also, let's assume that the salary cap will be set at $149,623,000 and the luxury tax will come in at $181,823,000, the maximum 10% jump from this upcoming season set under the new CBA.
CAP SPACE TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to have cap space next summer. They have spending access to their cap space, Bird Rights, the Room Exception (projected at $8,495,000) and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
San Antonio Spurs ($77,195,776 under the cap) If Victor Wembanyama is 70% as good as he&rsquo;s hyped up to be entering this season, one would figure that the Spurs will spend big or at least make a meaningful impact on the free-agent market next summer. They project to have an enormous amount of cap space, so it&rsquo;s very possible we&rsquo;ll see San Antonio take on some more bad contracts in trades to give them even more draft capital. Also, they&rsquo;ll want to retain Devin Vassell, who will be a restricted free agent next offseason once the Spurs extend his qualifying offer.
Philadelphia 76ers ($73,034,842 under the cap) The Sixers are perhaps the most interesting team in terms of their 2024 offseason outlook. By letting Tyrese Maxey hit restricted free agency next summer rather than extending him this year, Philadelphia gave themselves serious cap flexibility. Tobias Harris and James Harden both have expiring contracts, so the Sixers will have to use their cap space to replace their production. A Harden trade would obviously change their projected cap room, but it remains to be seen what they&rsquo;ll get back for the former MVP and how much it&rsquo;ll impact their books.
Toronto Raptors ($60,339,034 under the cap) After losing Fred VanVleet, the Raptors are walking a tightrope when it comes to whether they&rsquo;ll compete or rebuild. They face some tough decisions. Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby are both set to hit free agency next summer, so Toronto needs to decide whether they want to extend or trade their best players. Not to mention, Precious Achiuwa and Gary Trent Jr. also need new contracts.
Orlando Magic ($58,010,944 under the cap) Orlando has a lot of options for next summer, but the Magic may start with retaining many of their own players. Franz Wagner will likely receive a big contract extension, while Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony will be up for new contracts. Given that Orlando has a logjam in their backcourt &ndash; with Fultz, Anthony, Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black &ndash; it&rsquo;ll be interesting to see what they do with Fultz and Anthony. The Magic will still have plenty of room to add quality talent for yearly average values over the NTMLE.
Detroit Pistons ($57,781,166 under the cap) Detroit may approach the 2024 offseason similar to how Houston approached this summer, as a young team hoping to use its massive cap space on good veterans in order to take bigger steps toward playoff contention. With that said, the first priority for the team will be agreeing to a contract extension with Cade Cunningham.
Utah Jazz ($50,315,319 under the cap) The Jazz find themselves in a unique position where they could go in two directions. After committing a three-year deal to Jordan Clarkson, they can use their cap space to give 2023 Most Improved Player Lauri Markkanen a contract extension. If they want to have significant cap space for next summer instead, they can hold off on giving Markkanen an extension until free agency is settled.
Washington Wizards ($47,123,801 under the cap) Despite their cap space next year, don&rsquo;t expect Washington to be a big player in 2024 free agency. In the beginning stages of a rebuild, the Wizards will probably keep their sights on collecting more draft capital. They do have an interesting decision coming up with recent trade acquisition Tyus Jones, whom they&rsquo;ll likely want to keep long-term.&nbsp;
Charlotte Hornets ($41,300,515 under the cap)&nbsp; They may lose some 2024 cap space if they eventually re-sign PJ Washington this offseason, but watch out for Charlotte to be one of the many small-market teams with money to spend next summer. With LaMelo Ball in the first year of his max contract extension, Charlotte may cash in on a marquee player to keep their young star happy.
Brooklyn Nets ($33,048,185 under the cap) The Nets do have the potential to have significant cap space next summer if they choose not to re-sign most of their own free agents. However, the Nets will more than likely focus on exploring the trade market and retaining big man Nic Claxton before reaching next year&rsquo;s free agency. Spencer Dinwiddie and Royce O&rsquo;Neale will also hit free agency next offseason.
Indiana Pacers ($20,488,005 under the cap) Indiana could get to an even higher number in cap space if they decline Bruce Brown&rsquo;s $23 million team option next season. If Brown has a good year, the Pacers would likely keep him on a long-term deal that would consume a good chunk of their space. Other impending free agents they might like to keep include Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith and Jalen Smith.
Oklahoma City Thunder ($10,264,814 under the cap) The Thunder will likely continue to utilize the strategy of taking on short-term, bad-money contracts in exchange for draft capital. As they inch closer to contention, they will be looking at some big-money extensions for many of their young pieces, including one for Josh Giddey next year.&nbsp;
NON-TAX MLE TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap but under the luxury tax. They have spending access to Bird Rights, the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (projected at $13,644,000), the Bi-Annual Exception (projected at $4,968,000) unless used in 2023-24, and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
Chicago Bulls ($19,465,689 under the cap) The Bulls could potentially operate as a cap-space team if they elect to let DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams walk in free agency, but that seems unlikely. In addition, the Bulls could potentially create more space if Lonzo Ball&rsquo;s knee injury is considered career-ending by an NBA/NBPA-appointed physician. (Ball would still be paid, it just wouldn&rsquo;t count against the cap).&nbsp;
Sacramento Kings ($210,669 under the cap) The Kings used up most of their cap space by signing Domantas Sabonis to a big four-year extension that ties him with the team through 2028. As long as they are competitive, they will likely pursue quality pieces with their Non-Tax MLE to support Sabonis and De&rsquo;Aaron Fox. They will also likely try to keep Malik Monk and look at extension options for Davion Mitchell.
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New Orleans Pelicans ($487,911 over the cap) The Pelicans are fairly set with their core of CJ McCollum, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram under contract through 2025. Ingram and McCollum are both extension-eligible this offseason, but the Pelicans may wait on dishing out extensions to maintain flexibility under the tax. New Orleans must also monitor Jonas Valanciunas&rsquo; free agency and a possible extension for Trey Murphy III.&nbsp;
Atlanta Hawks ($1,658,172 over the cap) Similar to the Kings, the Hawks wiped away their cap space when they signed Dejounte Murray and De&rsquo;Andre Hunter to four-year, $120 million and four-year, $90 million extensions, respectively. Already pushing past the salary cap, the Hawks may face a money crunch as they broach the luxury tax line. Retaining restricted free agents Onyeka Okongwu and Saddiq Bey next offseason may be tricky.
Los Angeles Clippers ($5,018,261 over the cap) The Clippers are in an interesting spot with George and Leonard both needing new deals, which they will likely get despite their inability to stay on the floor. Many veterans with big salaries will come off the books next year, like Marcus Morris, Nic Batum and Robert Covington. The question is whether the Clippers will continue to commit significant capital to a roster that hasn&rsquo;t met its lofty expectations.
Miami Heat ($7,751,630 over the cap) The Miami Heat are in a holding pattern with their roster as they engage in a Mexican standoff with the Blazers on a Damian Lillard trade, which could see them skyrocket into the deep tax. Outside of the Dame situation, Jimmy Butler will likely look for another big extension this offseason, which will pay him max money deep into his late 30s. They will also have to contend with potentially losing Caleb Martin, who has a player option for 2024-25.
Houston Rockets ($8,734,919 over the cap) The biggest spenders of this past offseason, the Rockets made big moves for Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. Houston could get back into the cap-space tier again if they choose to part ways with Kevin Porter Jr. and his non-guaranteed $15.9 million salary. Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun will also be up for extensions.&nbsp;
Cleveland Cavaliers ($11,399,749 over the cap) The Cavs are pretty set going into the 2023-24 season and beyond with two max guys (Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell) and key guys on fairly big deals (Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Max Strus). They will likely give Evan Mobley a big extension next offseason, which could push them into the luxury tax in the near future. For next offseason, their only notable free agent is Isaac Okoro.
New York Knicks ($11,400,861 over the cap) This morning, the Knicks inked Josh Hart to a four-year contract extension that pushed them over the cap for 2024-25. Their main concerns for next summer are Immanuel Quickley and Isaiah Hartenstein, who are both up for new contracts. They will likely be able to avoid the tax by declining their team option on Evan Fournier or trading his expiring contract for another expiring deal.
Dallas Mavericks ($13,566,153 over the cap) The Mavericks are not likely to seek pathways to cap space next summer after doubling down on their trade for Kyrie Irving by re-signing him to a three-year, $120 million deal. They should look to retain Josh Green, who will be a restricted free agent. Luka Doncic&rsquo;s happiness looms over all of the Mavs&rsquo; moves, as ESPN&rsquo;s Tim McMahon <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mavs-fear-luka-doncic-may-request-trade-unless-they-build-contender">reported in April</a> that the Mavericks are worried about Doncic potentially seeking a trade elsewhere as soon as next year.
Los Angeles Lakers ($15,380,636 over the cap) The Lakers had a pathway to almost two max slots in the unlikely scenario that they decided to pivot from the LeBron-AD era. However, that option is out the window with them inking Davis to a three-year supermax extension that will keep him with the team through 2028. LeBron James&rsquo; decision to stay with the team or leave will ultimately dictate how the Lakers approach spending next offseason.
Portland Trail Blazers ($20,567,876 over the cap) Portland is in the midst of turning the page to a new era as they look to accommodate franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard&rsquo;s trade request. If they do end up trading Lillard, expect their cap numbers to come down slightly, but not enough to get any meaningful space. Whether Lillard is traded for the Miami package or something else, Portland shouldn&rsquo;t be a major player in free agency for a while.&nbsp;
LUXURY TAX TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap and luxury tax. They have spending access to Bird Rights, the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (projected at $5,500,000), and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
Minnesota Timberwolves ($14,474,085 under the tax) The Timberwolves have paid the luxury tax only once since 2007. They should be a tax team once again, with Karl-Anthony Towns' supermax extension and Anthony Edwards' max extension kicking in. In addition, Minnesota will need to use significant capital to keep players like Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley and Kyle Anderson, all of whom will be free agents in 2024.
Golden State Warriors ($9,696,462 under the tax) While the Warriors are currently under the tax, they are likely going to re-sign 2024 free agent Klay Thompson to a long-term deal at a lower number or at least use his Bird Rights to acquire another piece at a similar number. Golden State can cut some costs by releasing Chris Paul after the season, as his $30 million salary for 2024-25 is non-guaranteed.
Milwaukee Bucks ($6,142,529 under the tax) The Bucks re-signed Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez to big-money deals, committing to the players who won them the 2021 title. Another one of those players, Jrue Holiday, is set to reach free agency and will likely demand max money. In addition, Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes eligible for a supermax extension of up to three years in October and can sign a four-year supermax extension next offseason.
Denver Nuggets ($6,732,627 over the tax) The defending champs have their core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon locked in through the 2025 offseason. They&rsquo;ve already lost Bruce Brown and Jeff Green this summer and will be forced to work around the edges with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope potentially heading for free agency next summer.
Boston Celtics ($7,306,800 over the tax) The trade for Kristaps Porzingis pushed the Celtics into the luxury tax for the first time since 2018, and that was before they signed Jaylen Brown to a five-year supermax extension. With Jayson Tatum&rsquo;s own supermax extension on the horizon next year, the Celtics figure to be a tax team, and potentially a second apron team, for the foreseeable future.
SECOND APRON TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap, luxury tax and second luxury tax apron ($17.5 million over the tax). They have spending access to just Bird Rights and the Veteran Minimum Exception. The second apron was introduced in the new CBA and prevents teams from using the Taxpayer MLE, trading first-round picks seven years away, signing buyout free agents and taking back more salary than they send out in trades among other restrictions.
Memphis Grizzlies ($13,829,477 over the tax) For the first time under owner Robert Pera, the Grizzlies will be paying the luxury tax. While Memphis probably won&rsquo;t reach the second apron, they are not likely to have enough spare capital to use their Tax MLE and be able to fill out their roster without going over it. Their core of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. are locked up to big money, long-term deals that will keep Memphis among the league's biggest spenders for likely the next decade-plus.
Phoenix Suns ($27,039,607 over the tax) Phoenix is by far the most limited team when it comes to spending, and they will be for the next few seasons after trading for Bradley Beal&rsquo;s behemoth contract. With four max contracts, including two supermax contracts, the Suns have blown through the second apron. Like this past offseason, the supporting cast around their core four will be mostly minimum-salary contracts.

How much cap room is your favorite NBA team projected to have next summer? Blake Stern breaks down where all 30 teams stand.

Which NBA teams project to have the most cap space in 2024?

Craig Porter Jr. is one of the most interesting prospects in the 2023 NBA Draft.&nbsp;
The 6-foot-2 guard began his collegiate career as a JUCO player, leading Vincennes (Indiana) to a 62-7 record over two seasons and winning the NJCAA national championship in 2019. After receiving interest from a number of programs (including Indiana, Kansas, UConn, Oregon, Ole Miss, West Virginia, Texas Tech and Indiana State), Porter ultimately transferred to Wichita State.
Over the next three years with the Shockers, Porter would make huge strides and continue his development. Last season, Porter filled the stat sheet, averaging 13.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.5 blocks and 1.2 threes, while shooting 47.8% from the field and 36.3% from three.&nbsp;
Porter became the first player in school history to lead the team in rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. There aren&rsquo;t many 6-foot-2 point guards who lead their team in blocks, but Porter&rsquo;s motor and 40.5-inch vertical allow him to erase shots regularly. Porter ranks sixth among Wichita State&rsquo;s all-time leaders in career blocks per game (1.08). Last season, he had 11 games with multiple blocks (including a pair of 5-block performances) and 14 games with multiple steals.
Porter is looking forward to starting the next chapter of his unique journey on Thursday night, when he hopes to hear his name called in the 2023 NBA Draft. He says that it&rsquo;s finally starting to sink in that his NBA dream may soon be a reality.
Throughout the pre-draft process, Porter has worked out for the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat and Washington Wizards. He&rsquo;s been turning heads in workouts, and he hopes that a team is willing to take a chance on him in the second round.
Darryl Hepburn trained Porter in Tampa after Wichita State's season ended, and he believes the 23-year-old has what it takes to succeed in the NBA.
&ldquo;When he came to Tampa, he was flying way under the radar. But when I did my research on him, I immediately saw that he had a couple signature games against some good teams, so I felt like he was an [NBA] prospect,&rdquo; Hepburn told Basketball News. &ldquo;Since I first laid eyes on him &ndash; a 6-foot-2 guard with long arms &ndash; he impressed me with his athletic ability.&nbsp;
&ldquo;He shot 36% from three, but I saw some room for improvement there. Over the last seven weeks, he showed me that he&rsquo;s a proven shooter. I saw him make a lot of improvements. He went to the Portsmouth Invitational and was one of the best players there. There&rsquo;s a high ceiling for this kid &ndash; a very high ceiling &ndash; and he deserves an opportunity. I think he&rsquo;s going to get drafted.&rdquo;
Basketball News caught up with Porter to discuss his game, player comparisons, unique journey, pre-draft workouts, plan for draft night and much more.
What has the pre-draft process been like for you? I've talked to NBA veterans who say they're glad they never have to go through it again because of how hard it is with all of the workouts and traveling.
Craig Porter Jr.: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a lot of traveling, for sure &ndash; going from the east to the west to down south a lot. I mean, it&rsquo;s an interesting process, just getting to see a bunch of different cities and getting to play against a bunch of different prospects and players of all calibers. It&rsquo;s just an experience that you only get to go through once, so I&rsquo;ve just been going through it and just doing everything I can to get into the position that I&rsquo;m in now. But it&rsquo;s been pretty fun.&rdquo;
You have worked out for the Mavs, Warriors, Celtics, Pistons, Magic, Cavaliers, Clippers, Heat and Wizards. What were some of the biggest questions they were asking and what kind of feedback did you get from those teams?
Porter: &ldquo;I would say, at the beginning when I did my first few [workouts], the most questionable thing about my game was whether I could consistently shoot the outside shot. I feel like, as I&rsquo;ve done all of the workouts, everybody has noticed and realized that I can shoot the ball way better than they thought. And my complete game just surprised a lot of people once they saw [me pass] the eye test, I guess. A lot of the feedback has been pretty similar across the board. I&rsquo;ve been honestly doing really well in a lot of my workouts, and a lot of the teams have been saying that they expect me to go somewhere in that second round or, if not there, then for sure [I&rsquo;ll be] a two-way type of player.&rdquo;
Do you think you can be a knockdown shooter in the NBA?
Porter: &ldquo;I definitely think I can. I feel, eventually, [when players read] a lot of the scouting reports and things people go over about me, they won&rsquo;t necessarily see the numbers and think that I&rsquo;ll be able to [shoot], so it&rsquo;ll surprise a lot of people at the beginning. But even with the work I&rsquo;ve been putting in, I&rsquo;ll be able to just shoot the ball more confidently and do it at a high level.&rdquo;
You&rsquo;ve had a unique journey to this point, coming from JUCO, leading your team to a NJCAA national championship and spending five years in college. What was it like taking the JUCO route and what did you learn from it?
Porter: &ldquo;It really just showed me to never take anything for granted and that you have to work for everything you earn in life. Really, JUCO taught me almost everything I know. I mean, I went through just about everything in JUCO &ndash; going through five-hour practices, to Coach having to order us all pizzas after 8 or 9 p.m. because we practiced so long, to wanting to quit because things got so hard and difficult. I mean, it tests you, for sure. I pay a lot of my respects and dues to my coach and teammates there because of the grind we went through there and how it just prepares you. It puts you in a different position, and it prepares you for this level.&rdquo;
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When did you start to realize that playing in the NBA might be a realistic option?&nbsp;
Porter: &ldquo;Honestly, I think it was after my senior year once I was about to sign with my agent Ryan [Straining]. I got a text from him saying that he was going to try his hardest and do everything he could to get me into the Portsmouth Invitational, and this was before I even signed with him. Really, I was unsure of anything I&rsquo;d be able to do. I thought I would&rsquo;ve been an overseas player, for sure. But once he got me into Portsmouth, things have just been taking off and skyrocketing ever since everybody has been able to see me. I give a lot of credit to him for pushing my name so hard.&rdquo;
Each season, you&rsquo;ve made significant strides. From the start of your college career to now, how much do you feel you have grown as a player?&nbsp;
Porter: &ldquo;I think every aspect of my game has just gone to another level, especially the shooting, scoring and rebounding &ndash; pretty much every statistic. I really feel like I was just in a bunch of different roles and being asked [to do] different things on certain teams. But I feel like every role I was put in, I thrived and did everything I was supposed to do. I feel like being prepared for all of those things is really what [allowed] me to do that...
"Like I said, my role kind of changed every year. In JUCO, I went from being a spot-up shooter my freshman year to being the lead guard my second year and really just playing in a bunch of different roles. And the same thing happened at Wichita State. It just put me in a position where I didn&rsquo;t always have to be the person who scores or the person that the defense focuses on, and I just found ways to impact winning. I was the leading rebounder and shot-blocker; I just found ways to get on the court and I just did the extra things that some of the guys on my team didn&rsquo;t, and it just always paid off for me.&rdquo;
You&rsquo;re 23 years old and we know that teams typically fall in love with younger players and their potential during the draft process. But do you feel like there are some advantages to being an older and more experienced prospect?
Porter: &ldquo;I definitely do. I think [my experience] has already prepared me to be a pro and I feel like I&rsquo;m handling myself as a pro, so [I&rsquo;m not dealing with] a lot of the little hiccups that some younger players might have to go through &ndash; like needing a little bit more time to develop or anything off the court. I just feel like with me being older and being through things that they haven&rsquo;t experienced, it just prepared me a little bit more than they are.&rdquo;
Which players would you compare yourself to? Who do you like to study?
Porter: &ldquo;There are a couple players I study. Definitely Lonzo Ball, that&rsquo;s one of my top ones. One of my favorite players growing up was Rajon Rondo, just him being able to do a little bit of everything, even if he couldn&rsquo;t shoot the ball (which I feel like obviously I can do a lot better than him). I mean, just being able to rebound, get his teammates involved and score when needed. Really, those comparisons are probably my top-two, for sure.&rdquo;
If an NBA general manager asked why should they draft you, what would you say?&nbsp;
Porter: &ldquo;I&rsquo;d probably say that I&rsquo;m the type of person who doesn&rsquo;t necessarily need to be &lsquo;the guy&rsquo; or the face of something to impact it. I can impact winning in many different ways. You can throw me in there for one minute and I&rsquo;m going to make a big difference in that one minute or 30 seconds or [however long I&rsquo;m in]. My attention to detail is really high. I&rsquo;m just an older guy who needs a chance. I take this really seriously &ndash; this is honestly my life. Really, being able to show what I can do is life or death to me.&rdquo;
What do you bring to a team off the court? Do you think you can have an impact in the locker room as a leader or glue guy?
Porter: &ldquo;Definitely, I&rsquo;m a pretty calm person and, like I said before, there&rsquo;s almost nothing that I haven&rsquo;t been through. I know what it&rsquo;s like to win, I know what it&rsquo;s like to lose and I know what it&rsquo;s like to go through adversity. Really, my biggest thing is that I&rsquo;m able to lead and get guys to pay attention and listen, even if they&rsquo;re frustrated or whatever. That was one of the things I was challenged on over the last two years, so it&rsquo;s something that I&rsquo;ve definitely developed over the years. But yeah, I&rsquo;m definitely a good person off the court who can help guys keep their mental.&rdquo;
What are your plans for draft night?
Porter: &ldquo;I think I&rsquo;m just going to have some of my family and friends over at my parents&rsquo; house, and we&rsquo;re just going to watch the draft. Hopefully, my name is called. If it&rsquo;s not, we&rsquo;re all still going to hang out and I&rsquo;ll spend some time with my family.&rdquo;

Former Wichita State guard Craig Porter Jr. opens up about his game, the pre-draft process, his NBA player comparison and more.

NBA draft prospect Craig Porter Jr.: 'I impact winning in many different ways'

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Everything from the history books to the way they&rsquo;ve played through most of the postseason suggests the Denver Nuggets are on the verge of capturing their first NBA title in 47 years in the league.
The goal now for Denver is to not let up against the Miami Heat on Monday in what will be the first title-clinching opportunity in franchise history.
&ldquo;My biggest concern going into any close-out game is human nature and fighting against that,&rdquo; coach Michael Malone said Sunday after practice. &ldquo;Most teams, when you&rsquo;re up 3-1, they come up for air.&rdquo;
Malone&rsquo;s mission to keep the Nuggets thinking about hoops, not that trophy, could be helped by the fact that Miami&rsquo;s only win in this series came a week ago in Denver. Also, the Heat have won seven road games during the postseason and are 2-0 when they&rsquo;ve faced elimination &mdash; against Chicago in the play-in tournament and at Boston in Game 7 of the conference finals.
When the teams left Denver a week ago, the series was tied at 1 and Malone was grilling the Nuggets over effort after a 111-108 loss. Now that it&rsquo;s 3-1, after two double-digit wins in Miami, it&rsquo;s clear Nikola Jokic and Co., received the message.
On Sunday, the coach tapped into his own team&rsquo;s recent history &mdash; the Nuggets overcame 3-1 deficits twice to win two series in the bubble in 2020 &mdash; to emphasize that this series isn&rsquo;t over yet.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been down 3-1. We&rsquo;ve come back and won. We know anything is possible,&rdquo; Malone said.
Nobody needed to convince the Heat of that.
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Coach Erik Spoelstra called his team &ldquo;a very stubborn and defiant group.&rdquo; And when asked about the confidence the Heat players had in each other, even after putting themselves in what has historically been a near-impossible situation, Jimmy Butler said: &ldquo;At an all-time high.&rdquo;
Only one of 36 teams that have fallen behind 3-1 in the history of the finals has come back to hoist the Larry O&rsquo;Brien Trophy. That was the 2016 Cavaliers, led by LeBron James, who trailed Golden State 3-1 before running off three straight, including the finale in Oakland in a game that goes down as one of the best in finals history.
The 1993 Suns and 1998 Jazz were down 3-1 and both managed to win Game 5 in Chicago. In both instances, Michael Jordan and the Bulls wrapped up the series in Game 6s on the road.
Among the few hints revealed about Xs and Os during these day-before news conferences was the effectiveness of Denver&rsquo;s improving D around the 3-point line. Malone tore into his team after Miami made 17 3-pointers in Game 2, many of them unguarded after the Heat exploited confusion in the Nuggets&rsquo; switching defense.
Miami made 11 3s in&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-2023-heat-nuggets-f15a5273ea2e05117142ee65953284c2">Game 3</a>&nbsp;(when the Nuggets got triple-doubles from both Jokic and Jamal Murray) then only eight in&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-2023-heat-nuggets-b0f83f7baccd425dbf8aba440e3e210c">Game 4</a>&nbsp;(when Aaron Gordon showed off the team&rsquo;s depth by leading the team with 27 points).
&ldquo;You have to have an aggressive mindset to be an effective defensive team,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;But if you don&rsquo;t have communication and discipline to go along with that, I think you&rsquo;re going to be missing some really key components.&rdquo;
Spoelstra said Denver&rsquo;s shift in defense &mdash; having players fight through picks instead of switching on the perimeter &mdash; did, in fact, make a difference. Still, he insisted, it&rsquo;s nothing Miami hasn&rsquo;t seen a hundred times by now.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what the deal is,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;They are trying to take away certain things. We are trying to get to certain things. (It&rsquo;s about) how can you get to it and how can you get to it on your terms.&rdquo;
Spoelstra offered no clues regarding the recurring mystery in this series &mdash; whether 20-point-a-game scorer Tyler Herro might be returning from a broken hand.
&ldquo;No new update,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s doing another contact workout today. I probably won&rsquo;t have anything for you tomorrow morning.&rdquo;
Even with all their focus on unfinished business on the court, the Nuggets front office spent the weekend looking toward the future. ESPN reported&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/37826075/sources-nuggets-get-package-picks-deal-thunder" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an under-the-radar trade</a>&nbsp;involving draft picks, in which Denver gave up a protected 2029 first-rounder in exchange for one of Oklahoma City&rsquo;s first-rounders in 2024.
It was a subtle acknowledgment that the Nuggets, with Jokic, Murray, Gordon and Michael Porter Jr., all signed to big contracts, are looking at adding affordable talent sooner rather than later in an effort to keep their current championship window open.
Never in their history &mdash; which dates back to the founding of the ABA in 1967, then their move to the NBA nine years after that &mdash; has anyone on the Nuggets been caught thinking about multiple titles, let alone one.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just nice to see us be a big family and understand what it takes to win,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;But yeah, it&rsquo;s been a journey, a lot of fun. We have got more work to do.&rdquo;
</div>

The Denver Nuggets are on the verge of capturing their first NBA title in 47 years in the league. They just need to win one more game.

One win away from first title, Nuggets try to avoid letdown

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; The Denver Nuggets act like they&rsquo;ve been here before.
There is an&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-2023-heat-nuggets-b0f83f7baccd425dbf8aba440e3e210c">unmistakable poise</a>&nbsp;to the Nuggets, who are&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-miami-heat-denver-nuggets-abb4788990b6fb026d65d83c8bc4bb8b">only one win away</a>&nbsp;from their first NBA championship and could hoist the Larry O&rsquo;Brien Trophy as early as Monday night when the finals return to Denver for Game 5. Their stars have been starry in their first finals appearance. Their role players have delivered. There hasn&rsquo;t been a colossal blunder. And even on the cusp of a title, they refuse to change their approach.
&ldquo;We need to win one more,&rdquo; two-time MVP Nikola Jokic said.
That&rsquo;s the Nuggets. Simple. Effective. Blunt.
With Jokic and Jamal Murray leading the way, and with basically a different person stepping up to be the third hero every night so far for the Nuggets, they have the Miami Heat in serious trouble now.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-2023-heat-nuggets-b0f83f7baccd425dbf8aba440e3e210c">They lead the finals 3-1</a>&nbsp;and with potentially two of the next three games &mdash; if needed &mdash; in Denver.
&ldquo;We get an opportunity to play a super competitive game in a great environment,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s going to be an awesome environment. Our guys are built for that. They love that. &hellip; Yeah, we understand what the narrative will be, but that&rsquo;s the way it is with our team.&rdquo;
History says this series is pretty much over; only one team in NBA history has dug its way out of such a hole in the finals, that being the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers against the Golden State Warriors. Heat forward Kevin Love played for that Cleveland team.
&ldquo;Forget the game,&rdquo; Love said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just one possession, one quarter, half by half. Just get it done by any means necessary and we&rsquo;ll figure the rest out.&rdquo;
It will be a daunting task.
The Nuggets have held Miami under 100 points three times through the first four games; those were the three Denver wins in the series. They&rsquo;re 9-1 at home, the only loss coming in Game 2 of this series when Miami pulled off a big rally and survived when a potentially game-tying 3-pointer by Jamal Murray missed at the buzzer.
&ldquo;This is what I always tell my guys: Winning a championship will be the hardest thing you ever do,&rdquo; said Heat forward Udonis Haslem, a three-time champion whose 20-year career ends when this series ends. &ldquo;People only talk about the parade and holding up the trophy. They don&rsquo;t talk about the journey, the sleepless nights, the frustration, the tears, the pain. They don&rsquo;t talk about that (stuff). This is all part of that.&rdquo;
Denver isn&rsquo;t talking about a parade; some city officials in Dallas were during the 2006 finals when the Mavericks led Miami 2-0, and the Heat won the next four games. The Nuggets aren&rsquo;t making any such blunders. No blunders at all, really. Every detail is covered, even remembering to run the 24-second shot clock down to the very end on multiple possessions in the final minutes of Game 4, just to shorten the game and limit whatever chance Miami had at making a comeback.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve done our job. But we&rsquo;re not celebrating like we&rsquo;ve done anything yet,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. &ldquo;We know we&rsquo;re going to have to go home and turn off the TV, the radio, don&rsquo;t read the papers, don&rsquo;t listen to everybody telling you how great you are. &hellip; We stay true to our identity.&rdquo;
Here&rsquo;s what that means: The Nuggets have two exceptional players, a two-time MVP in Jokic playing the role of Batman and a still-rising star in Murray happily playing the role of Robin in Denver&rsquo;s superhero duo.
Jokic &mdash; who will never willingly enter a conversation about his incredible stats &mdash; is on the cusp of becoming the first player to ever lead the NBA in points, rebounds and assists during a postseason. Murray is the first player to have at least 10 assists in each of his four finals games. They have been the 1-2 punch that has put Miami on the ropes throughout this series.
And then there&rsquo;s always a third or fourth hero to finish the job. In Game 1, it was Michael Porter Jr. with 14 points and 13 rebounds. In Game 3, it was rookie Christian Braun with 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting. In Game 4, it was Aaron Gordon with a team-high 27 points and Bruce Brown with 21 off the bench.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s just how this team is built,&rdquo; Gordon said. &ldquo;We have guys that can step up night in and night out. Sometimes it&rsquo;s not going to be your night, and sometimes it is going to be your night. This team does a good job finding the people that are kind of in a rhythm and kind of going.&rdquo;
Jokic gets most of the credit and doesn&rsquo;t want it. Murray doesn&rsquo;t get enough credit and doesn&rsquo;t care about that, either. The other guys, they just take their cues from Jokic and Murray and find a way.
If they do it one more time, they&rsquo;ll be getting rings in a few months.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re just ready to win a championship,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;We have the tools to do it. It&rsquo;s been on our minds for a while. We&rsquo;re just locked in. I don&rsquo;t think you&rsquo;ve got to overthink it. We&rsquo;re just dialed in, ready to win.&rdquo;

Despite the fact that is their first NBA Finals appearance, the Denver Nuggets act like they’ve been here before.

Nuggets showing plenty of poise in NBA Finals against Heat

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Memphis guard Ja Morant not being charged with a crime for twice displaying a gun on social media will not prevent the NBA from handing down more discipline, Commissioner Adam Silver said Friday.
Silver is preparing to announce whatever penalty is coming Morant&rsquo;s way for the second gun incident shortly after the end of the NBA Finals. He suspended Morant for eight games in March after the Grizzlies star held a gun in a suburban Denver nightclub while streaming himself live on Instagram. Another live stream in May, this time while sharing the front seat of a car with one of his friends, saw Morant displaying a weapon again.
&ldquo;Waving them around, displaying them in a certain context, is not consistent with gun safety and is not the proper message that an NBA player, particularly one at Ja&rsquo;s level, should be sending to the tens of millions of followers he has &mdash; and particularly when it&rsquo;s an incident once again, where it&rsquo;s been streamed live on social media,&rdquo; Silver said. &ldquo;So yes, I think given the similarity of this incident to the first one, I was alarmed, I was disheartened.&rdquo;
Police in Colorado looked into the March incident and did not file charges. Morant has also not been charged with doing anything illegal related to the May incident.
But the collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players also says players agree &ldquo;not to do anything that is materially detrimental or materially prejudicial to the best interests&rdquo; of their team or the NBA. That&rsquo;s why Morant&rsquo;s eight-game suspension in March was for conduct detrimental to the league, and it&rsquo;s reasonable to assume that will be part of the sanctioning that Morant will face this time.
&ldquo;When we have a standard for conduct detrimental, at the end of the day, it&rsquo;s one based on what we see as the values of this league and what our expectations from our players in terms of the image we&rsquo;re portraying to our fans,&rdquo; Silver said. &ldquo;So, it&rsquo;s not a legal standard. It&rsquo;s a private organization standard.&rdquo;
Silver announced Thursday that the league and the National Basketball Players Association agree that the latest Morant penalty should not be announced during the finals. Morant has been suspended by the Grizzlies indefinitely, and with the team obviously off until camp this fall there&rsquo;s no urgency for the NBA to announce its decision.
Silver also insisted that his decision is not going to be a political one, even in a time where the topic of gun control only seems to be widening the political divide across the country.
There have been 557 mass killings in the United States since 2006, and at least 2,896 people have died, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. Those include killings where four or more died, not including the assailant, within a 24-hour period. So far in 2023, the nation has witnessed the highest number on record of mass killings and deaths to this point in a single year.
&ldquo;This, to me, is an issue of gun safety,&rdquo; Silver said.
This is the third known NBA investigation surrounding Morant and the possible involvement of firearms so far in 2023.
Morant&rsquo;s actions were investigated after a Jan. 29 incident in Memphis that he said led to Davonte Pack &mdash; someone Morant calls &ldquo;my brother&rdquo; and the person who live-streamed the May incident &mdash; banned from Grizzlies home games for a year.
That incident followed a game against the Indiana Pacers; citing unnamed sources, The Indianapolis Star and USA Today reported that multiple members of the Pacers saw a red dot pointed at them while they were near the loading dock where their bus was located, and The Athletic reported that a Pacers security guard believed the laser was attached to a gun.
The NBA confirmed that individuals it didn&rsquo;t identify were banned from the arena but said its investigation into the January event found no evidence that anyone was threatened with a weapon.
Morant and Pack also are involved in a civil lawsuit brought after an incident at Morant&rsquo;s home last summer, in which a then-17-year-old alleged that they assaulted him. Morant filed a countersuit on April 12, accusing the teen of slander, battery and assault.

Ja Morant not being charged with a crime will not prevent the NBA from handing down more discipline, Adam Silver said Friday.

Silver: Morant not being charged with a crime won’t prevent NBA penalties

DENVER (AP) &mdash; All those smooth-looking, long-range jumpers Michael Porter Jr. hits have definitely been a reward for Denver.
Easy to forget just how much of a risk he was early on for the Nuggets.
They rolled the dice at No. 14 in the 2018 draft on a 6-foot-10 forward with a balky back to go with a tremendous set of skills. He&rsquo;s gone through three back procedures since college and missed basically two of his five NBA seasons, but still showed enough flashes of talent to earn a max extension.
Without taking that gamble on Porter, the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-nuggets-jokic-murray-malone-18329e13dfecae50834ebc06d409027c">Nuggets might not be</a>&nbsp;here, starting their first NBA Finals on Thursday night with a 104-93 win over Miami. He&rsquo;s become their X factor &mdash; the third part of a hard-to-contain trio that also includes Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Porter had 14 points and 12 rebounds against the Heat.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just cool looking back on the journey,&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/pgraham34/status/1663249469264240640" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said Porter, who</a>&nbsp;turns 25 on June 29. &ldquo;You try not to spend too much time looking back right now, just stay focused on getting this ring. But you&rsquo;ve got to take moments to just look back.&rdquo;
Rewind a few years: Porter was a senior at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle and learning from a coach who wasn&rsquo;t just a coach. This was former NBA All-Star guard Brandon Roy &mdash; someone who had been in the league and done the things Porter was hoping to do.
&ldquo;He really helped me take my game to the next level,&rdquo; Porter said.
A top recruit, he chose Missouri. It was home, with Porter growing up in Columbia. His brother, Jontay, joined him at Missouri. His dad&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://mutigers.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/michael-porter-sr-/927" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">was added to the staff</a>&nbsp;after coaching at the University of Washington.
But his time with the Tigers was cut short by his ailing back. Two minutes into his inaugural college game, he went out. He later underwent microdiscectomy&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://mutigers.com/news/2017/11/21/mens-basketball-statements-michael-porter-jr.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">surgery to fix herniated discs</a>&nbsp;but made it back for the SEC Tournament &mdash; a loss to Georgia &mdash; and then the NCAA Tournament, where the Tigers fell to Florida State.
Despite his back issues, the Nuggets selected him in a draft that included Deandre Ayton (No. 1), Luka Doncic (No. 3) and Trae Young (No. 5).
Porter missed his first season in Denver after undergoing another back procedure. The following year, he showed what he could do in the 2020 NBA bubble when the Nuggets made it to the Western Conference finals before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2020-21, he averaged 19 points in the regular season over 61 games.
Last season, though, brought another road block for Porter and his back. After nine games, he was shut down for a third surgery.
On the sideline with him was Murray, who was coming back from a torn ACL. Watching Porter work in rehab made Murray appreciate the accomplishments of Porter in these playoffs all the more.
Porter is averaging 14.6 points and 8.3 rebounds through the playoffs, while also holding his own on the defensive end of the floor. He had two blocked shots against Miami.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s done amazing,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;Just playing a more complete game throughout the game.&rdquo;
Porter also has been dealing with serious family matters.
Earlier this year, younger brother Coban, a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://denverpioneers.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coban-porter/3562" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">basketball player at the University of Denver,</a>&nbsp;was charged with&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/denver-nuggets-sports-crime-coban-porter-michael-jr-ebfaffc1725e926851ff20c794b928fa">felony counts of vehicular homicide and vehicular</a>&nbsp;assault stemming from a suspected drunken-driving crash that killed a 42-year-old woman. Coban Porter has a status conference and a preliminary hearing scheduled for Tuesday in Denver. Game 3 is Wednesday in Miami.
Anytime Porter needs advice or feedback on his game, he rings up his mentor Roy.
&ldquo;He definitely means the world to me,&rdquo; said Porter, who signed a five-year deal in 2021 worth up to&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-basketball-denver-denver-nuggets-609d666320914d3c84632879628e8e2c">$207 million</a>. &ldquo;He was my coach in high school, so he sees kind of how my game has evolved since my injuries and things.&rdquo;
Nuggets coach Michael Malone has seen Porter&rsquo;s unabashed confidence steadily returning.
&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re not healthy and you can&rsquo;t move and do the things that you&rsquo;re accustomed to doing, that really makes it hard to go out there and be confident in your game and what you&rsquo;re able to do,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s in a very good place right now.&rdquo;
And now, Porter loathes being taken out of games. He&rsquo;s known to shoot assistant coach Ryan Saunders a mean stare when a sub replaces him.
&ldquo;Like, &lsquo;I can&rsquo;t believe you&rsquo;re taking me out,&rsquo;&rdquo; Malone recounted. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s closed a lot of games for us lately because he&rsquo;s 6-10, he&rsquo;s defending well and he&rsquo;s rebounding at a high level. He&rsquo;s confident, he&rsquo;s aggressive and he&rsquo;s had a huge impact on this team.&rdquo;
Porter keeps a gratefulness journal. Just little reminders he&rsquo;s taken to heart: Stay hungry. Keep working. Never let up. Reflect.
&ldquo;To get back here and be competitive in a playoff series, man, it&rsquo;s a great feeling,&rdquo; Porter said. &ldquo;Especially considering everything I&rsquo;ve been through.&rdquo;

Michael Porter Jr. has been incredible for Denver. It's easy to forget just how much of a risk he was early on for the Nuggets.

Once a risky pick, Michael Porter Jr. turns in big rewards for Nuggets

DENVER (AP) &mdash; The Denver Nuggets had all the ingredients for an NBA Finals run this season &mdash; Nikola Jokic&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-nikola-jokic-denver-nuggets-mvp-lebron-lakers-8e668572f9f43942175ded63e7a61832">all-around greatness</a>, Jamal Murray&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nuggets-jamal-murray-nikola-jokic-playoffs-lakers-e98c7ca3678569b768dd97f1373c1282">sweet ball handling</a>, Michael Porter Jr.&rsquo;s board crashing and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/JoelRushNBA/status/1647818068469645313?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">arc accuracy</a>, Aaron Gordon&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1607256906279559168?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">above-the-rim brilliance</a>.
The only thing missing was big-game experience.
Enter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who won a title with the Los Angeles Lakers inside the NBA bubble in 2020.
The Nuggets acquired the sharp-shooting swingman along with veteran guard Ish Smith from the Washington Wizards last July in exchange for Monte Morris and Will Barton.
KCP, the quiet-until-he-needs-to-be player with a lethal outside shot, has been the calming presence on this squad that has sent Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Anthony Davis and LeBron James on early vacations and has designs on adding either Jimmy Butler or Jayson Tatum to that mix when the NBA Finals finally get here June 1.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s just the ultimate leader, ultimate professional, comes in every day and works extremely hard, holds everyone accountable,&rdquo; said fellow 2022-23 addition Bruce Brown Jr. &ldquo;But he is the only one on this team who has won a championship. He knows what it takes and what we need to do. So, we gotta listen to that guy.&rdquo;
Teammates and coaches say KCP isn&rsquo;t so much in your face as he&rsquo;s in your ear, dispensing advice, tips, guidance, encouragement and caution along the way as the Nuggets navigate a championship road they&rsquo;ve never been down.
&ldquo;I do it vocally, just talking, bringing that championship mentality that I have to my team now,&rdquo; Caldwell-Pope said, &ldquo;and just tell them in moments like if they go on a run, it&rsquo;s not the end of the day. Let&rsquo;s just get back to doing what we do. Like I say, it&rsquo;s all about being patient, being ready and defending.&rdquo;
The Nuggets&rsquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-nuggets-2d7cb4bafca0a88ec802f0db48a58c8a">four-game sweep of the Lakers</a>&nbsp;secured the franchise&rsquo;s first Western Conference title and sent the Nuggets to their first NBA Finals appearance in their history and to their first championship series since they lost to Julius Erving and the New York Nets 4-2 in the ABA&rsquo;s last season in 1976.
Those two teams, along with the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs, joined the NBA in 1976-77 when the ABA disbanded. All the others reached the NBA Finals long before the Nuggets, who are appearing in their first league championship in their 47-year history.
They might not have made it without KCP, whose on-the-court contributions are what Nuggets superstar Jokic appreciates the most.
Caldwell-Pope was an integral part of the Lakers&rsquo; championship run in 2020, averaging 10.7 points and starting in all of LA&rsquo;s 21 playoff games. He helped the Lakers beat the Nuggets in five games for the Western Conference title in the bubble.
What he&rsquo;s brought the Nuggets isn&rsquo;t just that championship pedigree but performance, Jokic said Saturday.
&ldquo;Yes, he won a championship, but the best thing about KCP is he knows exactly what to do and where to be,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;And he&rsquo;s doing that in the first game, the 70th game, the playoff game, Finals game, whatever game, he always does what he&rsquo;s supposed to do and I think that&rsquo;s the best way to describe him.&rdquo;
Whether he&rsquo;s doling out tips or quietly going about his business, KCP has been a big part of the Nuggets&rsquo; longest playoff drive in their history.
He&rsquo;s averaged 11.7 points a game, up from 10.8 in the regular season, and 3.2 rebounds, up from 2.7, while reducing his turnovers from 1.1 to 0.7.
He&rsquo;s turned in some of his best work these playoffs on defense.
&ldquo;I feel like I&rsquo;m always on a tough matchup,&rdquo; Caldwell-Pope said. &ldquo;I pride myself on my defense. I look forward to being able to just get stops.&rdquo;
Which is why he said when the Nuggets opened the playoffs after a week&rsquo;s rest &mdash; two days shorter than their layoff before the NBA Finals begin Thursday night &mdash; that defense would be the primary driver to hoisting the Larry O&rsquo;Brien Trophy.
The Nuggets sent James and the Lakers packing when Murray tied up the Lakers star on a drive to the basket and Gordon blocked the shot, securing Denver&rsquo;s 113-111 win in Game 4 for the franchise&rsquo;s first playoff series sweep in its history.
After their 25-point blowout of the Suns in Phoenix in Round 2, Jokic said the Nuggets were so focused they looked like a championship team. Then he caught himself: &ldquo;Well, I guess I don&rsquo;t know how a championship team looks. But I think that was how it&rsquo;s supposed to look.&rdquo;
Caldwell-Pope is the only Nugget who knows what winning an NBA ring feels like.
&ldquo;Everybody wants one,&rdquo; Caldwell-Pope said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the goal, to become a champion in this league. It&rsquo;s one of the hardest things to do.&rdquo;
He&rsquo;s told his teammates that not only will it forever define them, it&rsquo;ll forever change them.
&ldquo;It changed me a lot, just as far as me being that leader that I am now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And just being able to be focused in the moments as a professional and as a leader, you know, get my teammates focused and ready to play.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s a feeling he wants them all to experience in the coming days.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who won a title with the Los Angeles Lakers, is playing a key role in the Denver Nuggets' NBA Finals run.

Colin