The 2023-2024 NBA season is upon us! This upcoming season, beginning on October 24th, has so many great storylines. From old greats like LeBron who are still going, and young rookies like Victor Wembanyama showing the league what he’s got. From teams who are coming for revenge this season, and the Denver Nuggets who are trying to reclaim their title.
This season’s NBA draft was one to remember. Fans all over have extremely high expectations for this draft class. Most notably, Victor Wembanyama, who is widely regarded as the greatest prospect the NBA has ever seen. Standing at a whopping 7 feet and 4 inches tall, he can do it all. He can shoot well, and has a great handle, especially considering his height. Considering the fact that they drafted him with their first overall pick, the San Antonio Spurs are hoping Wembanyama can change their franchise forever. There are also other rookies who have very high expectations like Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson, who were taken with the second overall pick (Charlotte Hornets) and the third overall pick (Portland Trail Blazers).
Many high-profile players are on different teams than they were last season, either through signings or trades. One of these players is Bradley Beal. Beal was traded to the Phoenix Suns this offseason and is looking to make the Suns a championship team. With this trade, the Suns might just be the best offensive team this season. Another notable player who was traded this offseason was Damian Lillard. Lillard, who was on the Portland Trail Blazers before, is now on the Milwaukee Bucks. This trade was most definitely the craziest one this offseason as it put Damian Lillard (one of the best point guards in the league), alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is currently the best forward in the league. Going into this season, Giannis and Lillard are most definitely considered the best duo in the league. The Boston Celtics also made some massive changes to their roster over the offseason in adding Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. The Celtics were championship contenders last season, but this season they look even better with these new additions. The Golden State Warriors also made some changes since last season. The Warriors acquired Chris Paul, but lost Jordan Poole. These changes really shocked the NBA world, as Jordan Poole is a young and upcoming guard while Chris Paul is old and on the tail end of his career. However, the new-look duo of Steph Curry and Chris Paul will be very exciting to watch.
“I don’t understand why the Warriors would trade their future for Chris Paul who is old and not as good as he used to be. It just doesn’t make any sense whatsoever, but we will see how it goes this year,” said Luis Mattos 26’.
The Denver Nuggets, who had an impeccable postseason run last year are looking to become back-to-back champions this season. Nikola Jokic is the current starting center for the Denver Nuggets and is widely regarded as the best players in the NBA right now. This season, Jokic will be looking for his third MVP in only the past four seasons.
There are also some new rules this season. The two most significant rule changes are that players can now be penalized for flopping. This is huge because in the past many players have flopped and gotten foul calls, now these wrong calls should drastically decrease. The second major rule change is that players now need to play in at least 65 games to be eligible for honors. This means that star players, who have a tendency of resting through games, now need to play if they want a shot at awards. This is a great rule because it will allow for more action from the best players in the league.
“The no-flopping rule is perfect. Flopping has been a huge issue in past seasons so hopefully the new rule puts an end to that,” said Jack Cohen ‘26.
All in all, the 2023-2024 NBA season will be very different than it has been in past seasons, but at the same time very intriguing to watch and follow.
