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The NBA is Officially Back

  • January 6,2021 ​

Siva Pidikiti

Due to COVID-19, many major sports leagues postponed the remainder of their season for almost three months. The NBA is one of those leagues that delayed their season. The league resumed its season at the “bubble”, where qualified teams participate in the playoffs. In the playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers won the championship and are expected to defend their title as the NBA champions.

 

For this season, Adam Silver, the Commissioner, decided that the NBA season will resume in the arenas, but with much regulation due to the coronavirus. One of these regulations is that no fans are permitted to attend the games in areas where cases are high. Adam Silver hopes for this regulation to be lifted soon.

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Photo Obtained from: Google 

After the shortest offseason ever in the history of sports, the NBA is officially back. Many trades and extensions took place during the offseason. These trades included many superstar players such as Russell Westbrook, John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, Chris Paul, Gordon Hayward, and many more. Also, during the offseason, the NBA draft took place. The top 3 picks in this draft were (1) Anthony Edwards, (2) James Wiseman, and (3) LaMelo Ball.

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This offseason was huge for extensions. LeBron James signed a 2-year extension for $85 million, and Anthony Davis signed a 5-year contract for $190 million, both of whom are the key players in the Lakers lineup. Giannis Antetokounmpo, the MVP, signed the most significant contract of all time: a 5-year contract for $228.2 million. Furthermore, younger players such as Donavan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum, both signed a 5-year extension for 195 million dollars.

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With the start of the preseason, much of the audience looked forward to the performances of players involved in trades, injuries, and the NBA draft. The top 3 draft picks put up some good performances with the most notable debut of LaMelo Ball who had 10 rebounds and 4 assists against the Toronto Raptors.

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Another notable debut was Kevin Durant’s debut as a Nets player in a game against his hometown team of the Washington Wizards. Coming off an Achilles injury, Kevin Durant scored 15 points, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds.

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Even before the start of the season, many people started predicting multiple outcomes. ESPN posted their power rankings which showed their predictions of the top teams. They predicted:

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1. Los Angeles Lakers           

2. Milwaukee Bucks              

3. Brooklyn Nets                   

4. LA Clippers                         

5. Miami Heat                          

6. Dallas Mavericks                

7. Denver Nuggets                   

8. Boston Celtics                     

9. Philadelphia 76ers               

10. Toronto Raptors                 

11. Portland Trail Blazers        

12. Utah Jazz                           

13. Golden State Warriors       

14. Phoenix Suns                     

15. Houston Rockets               

16. New Orleans Pelicans 

17. Indiana Pacers

18. Memphis Grizzlies

19. Washington Wizards

20. Atlanta Hawks 

21. San Antonio Spurs

22. Orlando Magic

23. Minnesota Timberwolves 

24. Chicago Bulls

25. Charlotte Hornets

26. Sacramento Kings

27. Detroit Pistons

28. New York Knicks

29. Cleveland Cavaliers

30. Oklahoma City Thunder

ESPN also posted the odds of each team winning the championship, where the Los Angeles Lakers are the team that’s favored to win the championship. 

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