The 2022–23 NBA season is just around the corner with almost every team holding its Media Day activities on Monday.
A lot has happened—and was thought to be happening—since the Warriors defeated the Celtics in the NBA Finals. Nets star Kevin Durant requested a trade, but then elected to stay in Brooklyn … for now. The Jazz traded both of their former franchise centerpieces, with Rudy Gobert now with the Timberwolves and Donovan Mitchell now a Cavalier. Suns and Mercury owner Robert Sarver announced his intention to sell the teams following a months-long investigation, one week after NBA commissioner Adam Silver dealt him a one-year ban and $10 million fine. And just last week, Boston announced that coach Ime Udoka has been suspended for the season for what the franchise termed “a violation of team policies.”
The NBA’s first preseason game is on Friday, Sept. 30, when the Warriors face off against the Jazz in Japan, and the Clippers play Israeli team Maccabi Ra’anana in Seattle. The regular season then begins on Tuesday, Oct. 18, when the 76ers visit the Celtics and the Lakers play the reigning champion Warriors.
But before any of that can get underway, players and coaches will face the media. We’re keeping track of the highlights here:
Warriors Talk Title Repeat
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala could enter rarified air depending on how this season goes. “You think of the players who have won five championships,” Thompson said. “It’s such a short list. And to have the opportunity, just the opportunity to be able to do that is so special.”
For the first time in three seasons, Golden State enters a season with its core fully healthy. The team had a relatively quiet offseason—at least compared to other title contenders—but they reshaped their bench, losing Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr., Nemanja Bjelica, Damion Lee and Juan Toscano-Anderson in free agency, while adding JaMychal Green, Donte DiVincenzo and rookie Patrick Baldwin Jr.
Stephen Curry Discusses Silver, Sarver
Speaking publicly for the first time after Sarver announced he is beginning the process of selling both teams, Curry said, “I think the outcome was exactly what should have happened.
“Honestly, I thought with the punishment that was handed down, it would have dragged out a little longer. But I’m glad we got to a point where hopefully the team is up for sale sooner than later and can kind of move on knowing that’s where it should be.”
He added that he had private conversations with commissioner Adam Silver regarding the punishment the league issued Sarver.
Giannis reveals who he thinks is the best player in the league
Who is the NBA’s best player entering the 2022–23 season?
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo provided thoughts on who he thinks is at the top of the league during Milwaukee’s media day. His answer: Stephen Curry.
“I think the best player in the world is the person that is the last man standing. It’s the person that takes his team to the Finals, the finish line and helps them win the game … that’s how I view it. I believe the best player in the world is Steph Curry.”
After taking home both league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2020, and a championship in 2021, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season to the Celtics. The star forward also finished third in MVP voting, averaging 29.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.
“I got jealous of Golden State, seeing them in the parade and the ESPYs,” he said. “You know that feeling now. You know what is getting stripped away from you.”
The Bucks will likely open this season short-handed as three-time All-Star guard Khris Middleton underwent offseason wrist surgery. “Hopefully soon after [the start of the season],” Middleton said of his possible return date. The injury is distinct from the one that kept him out of almost all of Milwaukee’s postseason run last spring. He had suffered a sprained MCL in his right knee in Game 2 of the Bucks’ first-round series against the Bulls.
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