🏀 Our 2023-24 MVP is...

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It’s the last day of the preseason! There were some gems last night that you definitely don’t want to miss, but what we’re REALLY psyched for is meaningful NBA basketball next week… 🤩 

Today’s Lineup

Giving Flashbacks 😯: Steph shredded the Kings’ defense… again.

The Pick Is In ⏰: Our 2023-24 MVP prediction is __________.

Around The W 🏀: The Las Vegas Aces are your 2023 WNBA Champs!

But first, what would a newsletter be without some trivia?

What’s Happening in Preseason?

Our favorite game last night? Pistons vs. Thunder. We witnessed Ausar Thompson levitate on an alley-oop, Chet Holmgren snatch a shot attempt clean out of the air, and Marvin Bagley III posterize another big man that got selected second overall.

If you know a Kings fan, check in on them today—they’re probably rattled with flashbacks after what Wardell Stephen Curry did to them last night. With Golden State trailing by 17 at one point, Chef Curry scored 16 fourth-quarter points. And when the Warriors were down two in the final seconds, he side-stepped into a three to win the game. It was fabulously similar to his historic 50-point eruption last April.

Even in a less efficient game, Victor Wembanyama still continues to boggle our minds. In a 117-103 win over the Rockets, the 7’4” Wemby nutmegged Reggie Bullock like Chris Paul would do. Plus, this flashy pass reminds us of Magic Johnson.

BRB, calling up Isaac Newton to have him explain how this man isn’t breaking any rules of physics:

In the Big Apple, Jordan Poole splashed in 41 points in just three quarters! People clown on Poole, but the man got a ring AND $140 million… and now he gets to play IRL MyCareer. There are worse things in life! 🤷‍♂️

Enjoy Award Predictions: The Encore

We covered the small fish of NBA predictions on Wednesday, but today we’re aiming for the Moby Dicks. 🐳

That’s right, we’re talking about MVP and conference champions! Let’s gaze into our crystal ball once more… 🔮

Eastern Conference Champions

Our Pick: Milwaukee Bucks

The Eastern Conference is clearly a battle between the Bucks and Celtics, but when it comes down to it, the Bucks have the best duo in the conference. Damian Lillard solves any questions about the Bucks’ halfcourt shot-making come playoff time, and although the loss of Jrue Holiday will weaken their defense, Giannis and Brook Lopez will still give opponents headaches at the rim.

But knowing how unpredictable the NBA is, we’ll probably be talking about how Cam Johnson’s 10 3-pointers lifted Brooklyn over the Knicks in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in June. 🤷‍♂️

Look Out For: Boston Celtics

Calm down, Bostonians! Kristaps Porzingis (health permitting) could slow down Giannis. Holiday is the only guy in the past decade to clamp Dame in a playoff series. And in our opinion, the C’s boast the best starting 5 in the NBA. Plus, Derrick White shaved his head. Case in point.

Dark Horse: Cleveland Cavaliers

The additions of Max Strus and Georges Niang will bring much needed wing depth, and Evan Mobley is a legit DPOY and All-Star candidate. Could the Cavs make something happen for the first time post-LeBron? 👀 

Western Conference Champions

Our Pick: Denver Nuggets

The reigning champs will still be good—shocking, we know.

The Nuggets did lose Uncle Jeff Green and Swiss army knife Bruce Brown, but Denver’s synergy still puts them at our number one spot. In an absolutely LOADED western conference, the Nuggets’ playoff success could be contingent on young guns Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther stepping up to the plate. 👀 

Look Out For: Phoenix Suns

Pleaasseeee can we get a Denver-Phoenix series? That level of shot-making would leave our jaws permanently on the floor 😮. Phoenix really improved their shooting off the bench with the additions of Eric Gordon, Grayson Allen and Yuta Watanabe, and the idea of a team’s third-best perimeter defender having to guard Bradley Beal is laughable. The only thing stopping the Suns from an NBA Finals appearance may be their defense, so we’re curious to see how new head coach Frank Vogel schemes that side of the ball.

Dark Horse: Golden State Warriors.

The Lakers would probably be our number three team, but we think Golden State has the highest ceiling of everyone else in the West. The possibility of Jonathan Kuminga or CP3 thriving in the complex Warriors offense could make things really interesting down the stretch. 👀

Most Valuable Player

Our Pick: Jayson Tatum

Historically, the MVP award goes to a player who (1) is the best player on a top-3 seed and (2) puts up phenomenal individual numbers. Boston should be a lock to finish within the top three in the East, and while you could argue JT’s volume won’t be there with the new additions, we think he’ll probably average close to 30 points on phenomenal efficiency. Plus, he’s a fresh face to the award, and voter fatigue works in strange ways.

Look Out For: Luka Doncic

Another newcomer to the award! While we’d probably bet money against the Mavs finishing in the top three in the West, we could see Doncic putting up video game numbers en route to overriding historical precedent. Luka Magic has flirted with the MVP award for stretches of the past few seasons, so maybe he can put it all together!

Dark Horses: Steph Curry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Devin Booker… 👀

Around The W

Las Vegas Aces beat New York Liberty 70-69 to become the first back-to-back WNBA champs since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001-02

The ball flies around the court from player to player. The Liberty are down by one with just a few seconds remaining, and they’re looking for a bucket to avoid elimination in the 2023 WNBA Finals.

The basketball finds its way into Courtney Vandersloot’s hands. Vandersloot, who led the team in points so far, shoots the three. It misses. Then, Jonquel Jones tries to battle under the rim against a flurry of Aces defenders to score the putback…

It misses. The buzzer goes off. 70-69. The Las Vegas Aces are your 2023 WNBA champions.

The Aces have undoubtedly been the story of the season. With an extended number of games this year (40), they defied the record books and finished the regular season 34-6, the best in the league. Their core four (A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum) continued to gel together and become unguardable, even after losing Candace Parker earlier this summer.

Adversity.

That’s the word that has come up a lot for this team, who made the level of basketball they play look easy despite injury hardships. After dropping game three to the Liberty, the Aces would be hit with the most adversity of all: losing Chelsea Gray and Kiah Stokes from their starting lineup.

But despite two of their starters going down, one of which coordinates the offense (point GAWD), the Aces were aggressive from the start. Even though the Liberty pulled away at times, the Aces fought back and were able to close it out. It was an amazing effort and a terrific way to end their season.

Frozen Moments

• Coach Pop almost went to crazy lengths to celebrate Becky Hammon winning her 2nd straight ring! 🏆

• How did Tim Hardaway Jr find out the Knicks traded him? His Uber driver.

• The most casually impressive alley-oop we’ve ever seen

• Luka: [silence]. Maxi Kleber: MEOW 🐱 

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What We’re Enjoying

@ActuallyPatBev: For GQ’s “Actually Me” series, Patrick Beverley went online and responded to fans. Yes, it is as chaotic as you think it will be. 😆 

Signing Off

That’s all for us today! We’ll catch back up with you on Monday—take the weekend to gather yourself and relax before the NBA season starts on Tuesday and everything goes crazy. Talk to you soon!

-Conor Geelan

Trivia Answer: The answer is perhaps the most underrated bucket-getter of all time, Adrian Dantley! “The Teacher” scored 30.7 points-per-game in the 1982-83 season but was somehow not named an all star!

Before you go…