What We've Loved This NBA Season
The best things, according to 13 Substack writers
We asked 13 leading NBA voices on Substack:
What have you loved this NBA season?
Check out their answers and subscribe!
So much to ❤️
| Jalen Brunson's leap. The Celtics' starting five. Duncan Robinson expanding his game. The Magic's defense. Jarrett Allen evolving. Jalen Johnson's breakout. Aaron Nesmith coming into his own. Absolutely everything about the Thunder. Rudy Gobert's bounceback. Luka hitting another level. The Point Zion renaissance. Peyton Watson fulfilling his promise. The possessions where all three Suns stars actually touch the ball. Malik Monk's development as a passer. Jonathan Kuminga. The Rockets being a real basketball team. Wembymania. LeBron at age 39. And so much more.
The list goes on …
| You expect me to narrow it down to one thing? I loved being at Victor Wembanyama's first real game ... having an up-close seat for all that Luka Dončić sorcery ... having my son Aaron with me as the photographer in the building for maybe the greatest lefty buzzer-beater ever ... dissecting replay after replay of Nikola Jokić's football-field-length inbounds passes ... eating at St. Elmo three times in a five-day Indy stay for All-Star Weekend ... watching the West rebound to its usual levels of depth and excellence ... and being totally unprepared for Houston's late surge that gives us a shot at 19 teams with a winning record for the first time ever.
Defense is legal again
| I could default to the fact that Jalen Green played like Michael Jordan for four weeks or the phenomenon of Wembymania, but I’ll instead opt for the betterment of the game: The league seems to have found its defensive/offensive balance.
After a very inflated start to the season (Pacers winning 157-152 over Hawks was the last straw), the league is finally allowing defenders to, well, defend. Scoring is down to around 110 points per game, ticky-tack fouls are down, and the game is better for it. The real question is whether it carries over to the playoffs.
Promise and parity
| I've loved the upheaval in each conference, that on any given week (even day) I could take a glance at the standings and not know which team was going to be sitting at the top, or the order down through 5th place.
It's parity but at a granular level it's so much more: franchises shifting to focus on development, the overall talent level of the league growing season over season (I stand by the statement that the Pistons are too good to be so bad), rookies and young players getting minutes and plenty of runway to grow because the teams that drafted and kept them weren't just looking for bodies to fill a roster but wanted a person and their skillset, specifically.
Seeing the Thunder, Cavs, Magic and Knicks sitting up top feels like promise, as much as parity, in action.
Love for four
| | The OptionFirst up: watching the Thunder arrive early. They don't know any better than to be this good. They're just here, ready to rumble.
Then there's the continued rise of Anthony Edwards, a good candidate for what's been somewhat elusive to the NBA: a young, marketable, American star.
Speaking of, I've loved seeing a more focused Zion Williamson back on the court, reminding us how good he is when he's engaged and — let's be real — in shape.
Finally, how about a drama-less Kyrie Irving? Easily one of the most satisfying watches in the history of the sport. Nice to see him showing out sans needless controversy.
‘Sota time
| The fanbase of the Minnesota Timberwolves finally having a team to unapologetically embrace, love and believe in is a tremendous development this NBA season. After everything that's happened in the past 20 years and every bad decision Glen Taylor or people hired by Glen Taylor have foisted upon these fans, to have a young superstar, a dominant defense anchored by an all-time defensive center, a roster with high-charisma supporting actors and a front office and coaching staff that knows what it's doing ... what a dream for the Twin Cities. Go Wolves go.
The quiet game
| Since the latest Kyrie Irving and James Harden trades, the vast majority of the season has been drama-free for these two pot stirrers — with no Aaron Rodgers-esque comments from Irving or off-the-court nonsense from Harden.
Am I speaking too soon? Yes. Do I like when these men play a round of the quiet game like when you’re on a road trip with your parents and only realize until you are way too old that the quiet game was … not a real game? Also yes. I’ll take the small wins.
Going wild
| The wild, wild West is back.
Eleven West teams are still fighting for something with only ten days remaining (thanks, play-in!). The Denver Nuggets are at least one tier above everyone else, but the Wolves and the Thunder are fighting neck and neck with them.
Then you have Kawhi Leonard, Luka Dončić, Zion Williamson, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Stephen Curry … still jockeying for position.
The West play-in and playoffs are going to be a bloodbath.
When stoppers start making shots …
| There are many big-picture things to love this season, but here’s something small: Many of my favorite defensive studs suddenly started hitting shots!
Suggs, Dort, Jones, McBride, Caruso, Okoro, Avdija, Dosunmu, Isaac … Much of the conversation around these players in the past focused on their offensive deficiencies. But all have turned in massively improved shooting campaigns with greater accuracy, more volume, or both.
Having shored up what they did worst, they are free to be admired for what they do best: putting the frickin’ clamps on dudes. The 3-and-Ds are finally fulfilling both parts of the label.
Magic grow
| I’ve loved the growth and grit of this Magic team. Around the All-Star break, it appeared that Orlando was tapering off into an average team and would likely end the year around .500. That would have been fine! Rebuilds are arduous, after all. But the young Magic craved more, and have gone 21-8 since January 29th.
Their defense is stifling (second-ranked in the whole league) and the rest of the East is floundering enough that Orlando has a shot at the 2-seed. Whatever happens in the postseason, this team is playing with house money. They’ve been a blast to watch.
Everything Victor Wembanyama has shown
| Wemby had a lot of hype going into the season as a 7’4”, shot-creating, playmaking, rim-protecting player. And he turned out to be all of those adjectives and much more.
He played incredible defense from the start, and his defensive impact metrics are already among the best in the league. (I’d put him on the All-Defensive First Team.) His offense got more polished as the season went on, and his arsenal is full of weapons. His scoop layups when posting up are just ridiculous to me.
Portugal’s man
| This is going to be a very niche answer, but the best thing about the 2023-24 season for 11 million people across the big pond, including me, was the development of our fellow countryman — the first Portuguese player ever to play in the NBA, Neemias Queta, who broke into the rotation of the best team in the league for a few stints in the regular season and added some nice highlights to his personal mixtape.
And don't believe it if a Frenchman tells you that THIS was Victor Wembanyama's attempt to get a charge. I can find 11 million people to guarantee Neemy bodied Wemby just to end the debate on who is the best European center in the NBA. Nikola who?
New blood, great coaching, and Malik Monk
| 🏀 5x5 | Royce WebbI’ve loved the competitiveness of the Western Conference, especially since it is among a lot of teams that haven’t been competitive recently. Seeing Minnesota, OKC, the Pelicans, and the Kings among the top eight teams – that’s a refreshing change.
Out East, I love that Joe Mazzulla, J. B. Bickerstaff, and Jamahl Mosley have made the most out of the personnel they have. For Mazzulla, that is really good talent, but he’s been tinkering all year to make sure the Celtics have the “curveball” to deal with any defense they face in the playoffs.
For Bickerstaff and the Cavs to fight through injuries to basically every significant player on the roster, that’s a sign of winning his troops over.
And the Magic weren’t supposed to be this good this quickly. They went from bottom five on defense to top five. That could be a fluke that doesn’t last, but those players just look like they enjoy playing for Mosley.
Minnesota, OKC, New Orleans, Boston, Cleveland, and Orlando are all top-7 in defense. In an era of amazing offense, it’s good to see some teams figuring out how to limit the damage to their defense.
My hope for the West? It’s that the Kings’ mighty Malik Monk gets healthy and get some real help in the offseason. That’ll shake things up.
And here’s my take on today’s NBA, from earlier this season:
