Lakers ready for title contention? Kenny Smith thinks it’s possible
NBA analyst and two-time champion Kenny Smith says we shouldn’t abandon the Lakers as title contenders in 2023.
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Welcome to the 2023-24 NBA Season!
The NBA has scheduled a star-studded double-header experience for its opening night on TNT – the Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Denver Nuggets (7:30 p.m. ET) and the Phoenix Suns vs. the Golden State Warriors (10:00 p.m. ET) .
Nikola Jokic. Jamal Murray. Lebron James. Anthony Davis. Steph Curry. Klay Thompson. Chris Paul. Kevin Durant. Devin Booker.
The first game is a rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals – a 4-0 win for the Nuggets – and the Nuggets will receive their championship rings before the game. The second game features two teams that underwent offseason changes. All four are championship caliber players in a deep and loaded West.
There are 12 more games on Wednesday, including the San Antonio Spurs against the Dallas Mavericks in the regular season debut of Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama.
On Thursday, the Milwaukee Bucks and the deadly combination of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard face the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Lakers play the Suns in another West showdown.
USA TODAY Sports brings you the latest news, updates, analysis and more throughout opening night. Consequences.
The Los Angeles Lakers made it a game when it looked like the Denver Nuggets might defeat the Lakers in the NBA season opener.
But the Nuggets have Nikola Jokic.
Every time the Lakers made a close game, say two or three possessions, the Nuggets and Jokic responded, defeating the Lakers 119-107 on Tuesday.
Jokic, the two-time MVP and 2023 Finals MVP, finished the game with 29 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists – his 106th career triple-double, one behind LeBron James and Jason Kidd, who tied for fourth with 107 triple-doubles share space of all time. Double.
All Nuggets starters scored in double figures and three had at least 20. Denver’s Jamal Murray had 21 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 20. Aaron Gordon had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Michael Porter Jr. had 12 points and 12 rebounds .
Denver’s offense, especially the starting five, was difficult to stop. The shooting rate was 52.7% from the field and 41.2% on 3-pointers.
James turned 39 in two months and recorded 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Lakers in his 21st NBA season. New Lakers forward Taurean Prince had 18 points and Anthony Davis had 17 points but did not score in the second half. Austin Reaves had 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
The Lakers had their moments. Just not enough.
The Nuggets received their 2023 championship rings before the game, reminding the Lakers why it will be difficult to keep them from returning to the 2024 Finals. – Jeff Zillgitt
Nuggets fans at Ball Arena in Denver began a “Who’s your daddy” chant as they led the Los Angeles Lakers in the fourth quarter of the NBA season opener. The defending champion Nuggets have now won six straight games against the Lakers, including a 4-0 win in the Western Conference finals that sparked a war of words this summer.
Trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half, the Los Angeles Lakers cut Denver’s lead to two possessions in the third quarter and only trailed 87-80 in the fourth quarter.
Denver’s Nikola Jokic had 22 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, proving his worth as the No. 1 player on USA TODAY Sports’ list of the top 30 NBA players. Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope each had 16 points.
The Lakers ended the third quarter with a 9-0 run. D’Angelo Russell and Taurean Prince each had seven points in the quarter, and while LeBron James had just one basket and Anthony Davis didn’t score in the third, the Lakers managed to keep the deficit manageable. Prince had 15 points, Russell 11 and James had 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists. —Jeff Zillgitt
DENVER – The Nuggets are playing cleaner and with more energy as they advance to halftime down 63-54 against the Lakers.
Los Angeles point guard Gabe Vincent had two consecutive fouls in the second quarter as he tried to contain Denver’s Jamal Murray.
Murray has eight points, three assists and two rebounds, while Nikola Jokić dominated with a game-high 19 points and nine boards.
For the Lakers, Anthony Davis leads the way with 17 points and LeBron James added 10. Los Angeles has nine team fouls compared to Denver’s two.
Reggie Jackson helped the Nuggets keep the momentum going with a jumper from the corner that sent James skidding down the court. Murray was fouled for a three-point play on a basket, which made Ball Arena loud. Denver had a lead of up to 18 points two minutes into the second quarter.
Taurean Prince attempted a long jumper at the buzzer to give the Lakers a boost heading into halftime, but the ball bounced off the rim. –Victoria Hernandez
Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal, acquired from the Washington Wizards in an offseason trade, will not make his Suns debut alongside Kevin Durant and Devin Booker in the team’s home opener on Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors.
Beal is suffering from tightness in his back and first-year Suns coach Frank Vogel confirmed that Beal will not play against Golden State. Booker, dealing with a sore left big toe, will play. Grayson Allen, whom the Suns acquired from the Bucks as part of the three-team deal that sent Damian Lillard from Portland to Milwaukee, will start for Phoenix. —Jeff Zillgitt
DENVER – LeBron James started his 21st NBA season on Tuesday against the Denver Nuggets. Last season, the 19-time All-Star passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. He has four championships and four Finals MVP awards on his resume, as well as four regular season MVP awards.
When the Lakers were defeated by the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals last season, there were rumors that James might end his career, especially as he was dealing with a foot injury. But he returned and dedicates this season to his son Bronny, who suffered cardiac arrest while practicing with USC this summer.
Kenny Smith reflected on James’ legacy and how he has lived it since his high school days at St. Vincent-St. managed to maintain his fame. Maria.
“Only he can answer that,” Smith told USA TODAY Sports. “There is no one who has been doing this as long as him. Not at this level. I think we all did it. Some people do this for a year or two. But this guy has been doing this for 21 years, (I) can’t believe it. A top-five player every year for 21 years. The way he keeps himself in shape, his body…it’s almost an impossible feat. It’s truly amazing, even for his comrades who are there. We’re all amazed at how he’s been able to do this for so long.”
Shaquille O’Neal added that James capturing the NBA scoring title represents a big step toward his legacy and that he understands the desire to continue to see how far he can go.
“I wish it was me. We are all title seekers,” he said. “…To be the NBA’s all-time leading scorer? I would love it. I would like to be the greatest player. (Nikola) Jokic, the greatest Denver Nugget, that’s his. You just have to keep playing and see where it goes.” – Victoria Hernandez
The Denver Nuggets’ starting five — Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope — remain a force. Not surprising, considering the confidence he has with an NBA title on his resume and fresh championship rings in his possession.
The Nuggets held a 34-20 lead after the first quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers, with all five starters scoring in the first 12 minutes. Jokic, a two-time MVP, led Denver with 10 points, five rebounds and two assists. Porter, Caldwell-Pope and Murray each had five points. Gordon had two points, four assists and three rebounds and continued to do a little bit of everything for Denver. Nuggets reserve Reggie Jackson added five points.
Anthony Davis and Taurean Prince had six points for the Lakers, and LeBron James had four points, two rebounds and two assists. —Jeff Zillgitt
DENVER – Before the Denver Nuggets took on the Los Angeles Lakers to open the 2023 NBA season, they had a moment to celebrate the franchise’s first championship.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver presented the players, coaches and owner Stan Kroenke with giant rings designed by Jason of Beverly Hills that featured the championship banner and blue gemstones behind the Nuggets logo on the front of the ring.
The ceremony began with a look back at the 2022-23 season as the wristbands each fan received sparkled with yellow and blue lights. The crowd cheered loudly when the announcer mentioned that the Nuggets defeated the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals en route to the title.
As head coach Michael Malone received his ring, cheers once again rang out around Ball Arena as he gave a short speech thanking fans for their support during his tenure.
“You guys have been the best fans in the NBA for eight years,” he said. “…We got a ring. Who wants another one?”
Each player received their ring one by one until Finals MVP Nikola Jokić walked onto the court and the fans erupted. The big man hugged each executive before waving to the crowd.
The team then gathered at the end of the field as the championship banner became visible through a cloud of smoke. The players posed for a photo with their rings in front of the banner before it was slowly raised into the air as Queen’s “We Are the Champions” filled the air.
The cheers quickly turned to boos as the Lakers exited the tunnel and the tide was officially turned. –Victoria Hernandez
The Colorado Buffaloes are in the building.
Dual-threat quarterback Shedeur Sanders, son of football head coach Deion Sanders, and dual-threat Travis Hunter took center stage at Ball Arena on Tuesday night in the Nuggets’ opening game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Sanders said he was most looking forward to the ring ceremony.
“What’s up. We’re here and can’t wait to see the rings and banner,” Sanders said in a pregame message shared on the Nuggets’ social media account.
Deion Sanders, the Pro Football Hall of Famer who is playing his first season at Colorado, was also seen in court.
Ball Arena is approximately 25 miles from Folsom Field, home of the Buffaloes football team. – Cydney Henderson
The 2023-24 NBA season begins with a doubleheader. The defending champion Nuggets host the Lakers while the Warriors host the Suns. The games will be broadcast on TNT.
Five consecutive NBA seasons, five different champions: Toronto, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets.
Will the Nuggets repeat? Will any of these other teams win it again? Or will another team emerge as the sixth different champion in six consecutive seasons?
Who will play in the Eastern and Western Conference finals? Is Boston-Milwaukee a lock to the east? How many teams in the West have a real chance of reaching the conference finals early in the season? Four? Five? Six? More?
And what about MVP? Three players born outside the United States (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid) have won the last five MVPs. Is anyone else ready to win the prize?
Here are the USA TODAY Sports staff predictions for the 2023-24 season.
DENVER – To kick off the NBA season, “Inside the NBA” took place in the Tivoli Quad on the CU Denver campus across from Ball Arena.
Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley weighed in on the Denver Nuggets’ chances of winning back-to-back titles after winning their first championship last year.
Barkley said a big factor in the Nuggets’ renewed hopes is whether they can replace Bruce Brown, who averaged 11.5 points off the bench and signed a two-year, $45 million deal to join the Indiana Pacers switch.
“I’m a big Bruce Brown fan. They have to replace him,” Barkley told USA TODAY Sports. “The young people have to come. They have to get used to being hunted. Those are the two big questions I have.”
He also said other teams will compete for the title and could derail the Nuggets’ mission to be the first team since the Golden State Warriors to win two championships in 2017 and 2018. But Finals MVP Nikola Jokiç is an important x-factor.
“The Lakers have gotten better, the Suns have gotten better. I like Sacramento,” he said. “I don’t know what will happen to Zion Williamson. I think the only advantage they have is that their best player is a robot. He won’t get involved in extracurricular (expletive). So when your best player handles the deal, that’s always a big advantage.”
Smith was a repeat champion with the Houston Rockets as they won back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995.
“Every time you repeat yourself, it’s hard. I was lucky to be part of the team that had the opportunity to repeat and we did,” he said. “But it was very difficult because I have a saying called ‘Fat Cat-itis.’ You can be a fat cat. You can be a little bit, usually it’s not the best two or three players on a team. Typically guys between the ages of five and nine who have never had that kind of success suddenly get a contract, they win a championship, they’re featured in local TV commercials, they get on the bus wearing sunglasses. So how do you fight human nature is the biggest thing?” – Victoria Hernandez
It’s a star-studded opening night in the NBA.
When the 2023-24 season begins on Tuesday, the two games – Denver Nuggets-Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns-Golden State Warriors – will feature five of the NBA’s 75 greatest players of all time.
Lebron James. Steph Curry. Kevin Durant. Chris Paul. Anthony Davis.
They weren’t in the league yet – some weren’t even 10 years old – when it announced its top 50 players in 1996. These five represent 20% of the 25 new players on the roster.
The two games feature four league MVPs and four Finals MVPs – James, Curry, Durant and Jokic.
Beyond historical context, the Nuggets (2023 champions), the Lakers (2020 champions), the Warriors (four titles in the last nine seasons) and the Suns (2021 finalists) are all title contenders this season. —Jeff Zillgitt
NBA, a league of international intrigue
An NBA record 125 international players are on the opening night roster, including a record 26 players from Canada and 14 from France.
The previous record was 121 players and was set twice – first in 2017-18 and again in 2021-22. It is the third consecutive season with at least 120 international players in the opening squad and the tenth consecutive season with at least 100 international players.
All 30 teams have at least one player from outside the United States. The Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder have eight international players, the most in the league. The Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs each have six.
The three players who have won the last five MVPs are international stars: Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid. —Jeff Zillgitt
After all these years, LeBron James — nearly 39 years old and entering his 21st NBA season — is still a top-10 player.
The Los Angeles Lakers star lands at No. 7 on USA TODAY Sports’ list of the top 30 NBA players for the 2023-24 season. He is joined in the top 10 by two future Hall of Famers with MVPs and multiple championships who have helped shape professional basketball for much of the last two decades: Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.
But there is a new player in the top 10 and a change at the top. —Jeff Zillgitt
We know the NBA MVP candidates. They are the usual suspects based on recent seasons: Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid – these three have won the last five MVPs.
Embiid won the award in 2023, Jokic in 2022 and 2021 and Antetokounmpo in 2020 and 2019 – all finished 1-2-3 last season, followed by Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Dallas’ Luka Doncic finished eighth last season and fifth in 2022. He is one of the favorites again this season.
And previous winners like Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Phoenix’s Kevin Durant are mentioned. But consider that only two players 35 or older have won MVP: Karl Malone at 36 and Michael Jordan at 35. Curry turns 36 this season and Durant just turned 35.
But who are the unknown candidates poised to enter the MVP discussion? —Jeff Zillgitt
Every NBA season is an opportunity for a star to take the next step, cement a legacy and prove the hype was worth it.
Denver’s Nikola Jokic did it last season, backing up his MVPs in 2021 and 2022 with an NBA championship and a Finals MVP in June. Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo was named MVP in 2019 and 2020 and led the Bucks to the title in 2021.
Are there a player or players ready to improve their team the way Jokic and Antetokounmpo did? Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid? Dallas’ Luka Doncic? Ja Morant from Memphis? Zion Williamson from New Orleans? Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard?
The 10 players who made it onto our list. —Jeff Zillgitt
Daryl Morey, the 76ers’ president of basketball operations, is starting the season with a problem. James Harden wants a trade and Morey tried to oblige but couldn’t find a deal that would be beneficial to the Sixers and their championship goal.
Harden is dissatisfied, calls Morey a liar and says he would never play for Morey, resulting in Harden being fined $100,000 by the NBA. Morey fired Doc Rivers as coach, hired Nick Nurse, whom Milwaukee fired, and the Sixers are trying to win a title with 2022-23 MVP Joel Embiid in his prime.
Morey has an unhappy player, and if the Sixers fail to advance in the playoffs (nothing beats a second-round exit since 2001), Embiid could be the next player looking to leave Philadelphia. —Jeff Zillgitt
Being on the hot seat in the coaching profession doesn’t always mean winning soon or getting fired soon.
There are three coaches who are finding themselves in new situations where losing their job this season is unrealistic but there are realistic championship expectations, from the owners to the fan base.
It’s a win-now offer for Phoenix Suns coach Frank Vogel, Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse and Milwaukee Bucks coach Adrian Griffin. Read more about her and other coaches who need to win now here. —Jeff Zillgitt
The eight-month marathon to determine the 2023-24 NBA champion begins tonight, but in just a few days the NBA will begin its first five-week sprint to determine another champion.
A new in-season tournament begins November 3rd – just 10 days into the season – with a few weeks of pool play. This leads to an eight-team single-elimination playoff where the last team standing wins the NBA Cup and a bunch of money.
“Whether it’s international basketball, international soccer, individual sports here in the U.S., golf, tennis, fighting, racing, the idea of being able to win multiple things every year is a widely accepted practice. And in fact, (it) makes for very exciting competition throughout the calendar,” said Evan Wasch, NBA executive vice president of basketball strategy and analysis.
Here’s a closer look at how the tournament works. —Jim Sergent and Jeff Zillgitt