Welcome back, NBA
My season preview essay, in video form, debuts tonight on Bally Sports Southwest, Bally Sports New Orleans and Bally Sports SoCal ... and I couldn’t resist sharing it with you here
We touched on this trend in the Tuesday Newsletter Extravaganza, but it bears repeating as 24 of the NBA's 30 teams make their regular-season returns Wednesday night.
The past five seasons have produced five different champions ... which hasn't happened in #thisleague since the 1976-77 through 1980-81 seasons.
If there's a sixth franchise out there that can extend this throwback stretch of parity — Boston? Phoenix? Miami? — it'll be the first time that the NBA has seen six different champions in a span of six seasons since 1974-75 through 1979-80.
My first television essay of the new season for Bally Sports Southwest and Bally Sports New Orleans examines the prospect of a six-in-six and covers many other key storylines as the NBA rebounds all the way into our lives.
Thought I would share it with you here because, as regular readers know, writing the TV version of a column with pretty pictures and catchy music attached (courtesy this time of trusty producer Clark Rowe) is one of my favorite parts of the job.
Welcome back, NBA:
PS — More season preview content in case you missed it:
Exactly what happens during the 2023-24 NBA season is exclusively revealed here today*
Consider me one of those stubborn souls who likes to scoff at the notion that retirement would be filled with boredom. There just won't be enough to do on a daily basis without a job. I don't buy it. I say this all as a very hypocritical workaholic who can't picture myself retiring from NBA reportage — ever — but that's a separate discussion. I simply cont…
It's NBA Power Rankings time (at last)
There has been a push in NBA punditry in recent years to try to find a new lens through which to evaluate and order the league's landscape. Tiers is the trendy way to do it. To which we say: Why try to reinvent such a reliable and popular wheel? With apologies to Jayson Tatum, please allow The Committee (of One) to not-so-humbly announce that this Substa…
The people's choice: Nikola Jokić
After three days of polling and more than 1,100 responses, The Stein Line is pleased to (not so) officially bestow Best Player on the Planet status upon Denver’s Nikola Jokić. It took some creative polling, since Substack’s functionality (as you saw if you voted) only allows for five menu options per poll, but you (yes,
This is gonna be a great year...lots of great young talent going to make a statement this year. Wemby tonight..I'm excited. My Blazers cap it off tonight although I might have to record that and watch it after the Spurs game. I just started a substack too. Hate to be that guy...but it is completely free and I intend on keeping it that way. Ain't nothing special but would love some support. https://kylelambnba247.substack.com/?utm_campaign=email-home&r=2oewfb
Excited for another season