The National Basketball Association (NBA) season has started with some of the most electrifying games to start out the season, with the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder having double overtime games in both of their first two games. Not only that, but there have already been a total of five games that have gone to overtime in the first two weeks of the season showing that the NBA has an even spread of talent between teams lining up this season to be a very exciting one.
Other than just the games being exciting to begin the season, the young stars of the NBA are showing out, with players drafted as recently as two years ago being listed on the NBA’s team of the week with the same player being labeled as player of the week.
The stars of 2000’s/2010’s are becoming old and beginning to retire more rapidly as time moves forward with LeBron James teasing at his own retirement this offseason. This brings up the topic of what is the next generation of stars that are going to amaze the NBA and how the old stars that made up a 20 year generation are about to leave.
To look for new talent to take over as faces of the NBA, you don’t have to look too far into the NBA to find amazing talent and personality in players. Anthony Edwards is definitely one of those players where not only their talent on the court has brought them fame, but also their personality off the court. When asked about the new stars of the NBA, Ethan Brooks said, “You have to look at Tyrese Haliburton, he’s so clutch and he is the face of the Pacers.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award,comes with controversy due to his play style and being nicknamed a “foul merchant” by opposing fan bases, but there is no denying the star power he holds in the NBA and could also point to him as being the future of the NBA. Even when asked about Gilgeous-Alexander, Dacari Simmons, a Sports Management major at CWU, had this to say “Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the next generation of the NBA … he knows how to get the foul calls he’s just a goat (greatest of all time).”
Another young star to watch this season is Victor Wembanyama, who at just 23 years old is 7 ‘4 and definitely a front runner to win the MVP award this year, as he is on a hot streak to begin the season. He has started the year averaging 30 points and 14 rebounds per game, these amazing stats along with the star power he brings to the San Antonio Spurs organization.
No matter what way you see it you can tell that the stars that we grew up watching are on their way out of the NBA. Many players that were MVP award winners in the 2010’s are now older and are only a few years out from retirement. Players like James Harden, Stephen Curry, Russel Westbrook, and Kevin Durant (while all still solid players on their respective teams) are all over the age of 35 and are well on their way to being inducted into the hall of fame.
While they leave behind the NBA for retirement, they open the door for the younger stars to run the NBA. While I do think that it will be weird for a while once these players retire, I also think that it’s very exciting to have a new generation coming to take over. The NBA has also been very intense and competitive over the past six years with no repeat champions over those six years.
The NBA season has a long year ahead of itself and it’s all interesting from the star power on the court to the teams with the goal of winning a title. There’s also the mid season cup tournament to look forward to, with high competition in the NBA right now it’s very interesting to see who is going to win on any given night. The NBA is at an all time high with all the talent, even teams throughout the league and all the personality throughout the league for fans to connect to players which makes the NBA the thing to watch this year.