What’s up, Enjoyers? Today at 11a ET we’re dropping our biggest announcement yet. Stay tuned to our socials for all the details!

We’re only Miami LeBron James days away from the start of the 2025-26 NBA regular season! Here’s how that has us feeling:

Today’s Lineup

🎉 Happy birthday Jakob Poeltl, Arron Afflalo, and Richaun Holmes!! 🎉

Around the Association

Preseason Takeaways: Storylines to look out for after a week of action

Outside of preseason simply giving us the joy of NBA basketball back in our lives, it has also been a chance for a few storylines crafted in the offseason to develop even further. Let’s take a look at three storylines to watch out for as we inch closer to the start of the regular season:

1. Will the Nuggets match Christian Braun’s contract expectations?

The deadline for first round draft picks from the 2022 draft to sign extensions with their current team to avoid hitting restricted free agency during summer 2026 is just five days away. Denver guard Christian Braun is among those players, and is reportedly looking to get PAID. Braun’s team is expected to command $25-30 million annually in negotiations with the Nuggets front office. The question is…will the Nuggs bite? 🤔

After a breakout season as a starter following the departure of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the summer of 2024, Braun has already shown flashes of additional improvement so far this preseason. A faster-looking jumper and more confidence finishing around the rim has left Nuggets fans hopeful another leap is in store for CB. We’ll have to see if the Denver front office feels he’s worth the money he’s seeking…

2. Can Ace Bailey already be considered a draft steal?

For a large chunk of the 2024-25 college basketball season, Ace Bailey was widely considered a consensus top three pick for the 2025 draft. Fast forward to this past June, and Bailey ends up going fifth to Utah, with his stock likely falling due to his camp refusing draft workouts with some of the squads picking in the top five.

But after seeing Ace in his first two preseason games (22.5 PTS, 6.5 REB, 2.0 STL, 65% FG), perhaps the teams picking above the Jazz should have given him a second look, despite his refusal to work out for them. It’s early, but so far… the Jazz might have gotten themselves their guy.

3. Just how good can Wemby be this season?

It’s hard to believe Victor Wembanyama is already entering year three of his NBA career. In his first two seasons, we’ve seen countless moments from Vic that show how generational of a player he can ultimately be one day.

After seeing Wemby so far this preseason, many are wondering if 2025-26 is the year we see the first big leap from the 7’5” stud. With new running mate Dylan Harper on board and now getting a full season with co-star De’Aaron Fox, Vic seemingly has everything he needs to take his game to an even further level this season.

I mean… what can you even do about this? 😱 

Russell Westbrook remains focused on NBA Contract despite massive overseas offer

Where will Brodie be balling this season? 🤔

With just one week to go before the regular season tips off, future Hall of Famer Russell Westbrook is still without an NBA home. Despite this, Russ and his camp are still prioritizing completing a deal to keep him in the NBA.

With reports of Westbrook receiving a gigantic $12 million offer from a Chinese league squad circling last week, it became unclear whether Russ was going to take that offer, or remain patient in hopes of securing a deal back in the league for his 18th career season. However, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein, “Securing his next NBA opportunity has been the focus for Westbrook’s camp.”

After his promising season with the Nuggets last year (13.3 PTS, 6.1 AST, 45% FG), the Brodie made it clear that even at 37 years of age, he still has a LOT left in the tank. 🏀

Even though the season hasn’t even started yet, Westbrook’s absence has clearly already been felt… 😪

Wayback Wednesday

It’s not easy to average over 20 points per game over the course of a full NBA season. Doing it just one time is an incredible feat as a player.

Now… could you imagine averaging 20+ in the first ten seasons of your career? Well, that’s what our edition of this week’s Wayback Wednesday accomplished!

Let’s take a deep dive into one of the most pure and consistent scorers of the ‘90s- Mitch Richmond! 🔥

Selected fifth overall by the Warriors in the 1988 draft, it was clear Golden State made the right pick VERY early on in Richmond’s career. He came out of the gates sizzling, torching the league on all cylinders (22.0 PTS, 4.2 AST, 47% FG). 😳

These eye-popping first-year numbers helped him run away with the 1988-89 Rookie of the Year award, leading the Warriors to a playoff-series win in the 1989 playoffs alongside future Hall of Famer Chris Mullin.

Once GSW drafted Tim Hardaway in that summer’s draft, Richmond was given the perfect PG to set him up for even more easy looks. The fit became seamless, and the big three of Hardaway, Mullin, and Richmond were stamped with one of the best trio nicknames in NBA history, ‘Run TMC’. 🗣️

Following three electrifying seasons in the Bay, ‘The Rock’ began the next phase of his career (his prime), in Sacramento.

You could make a Hall-of-Fame case from just the six seasons Richmond spent with the Kings alone. He racked up six straight All-Star appearances, five All-NBA selections, and the usual astonishing scoring numbers (23.1 PTS, 40% 3PT).

There’s a reason why Michael Jordan himself called Richmond one of the toughest SGs he’s ever had to guard. Take a look at his top 10 plays from his career to see his incredible three-level scoring arsenal: ⬇️

After his spectacular Kings’ career, he was able to intertwine all his individual accolades with the most coveted accolade of all…a championship ring. Richmond was a member of the 2002 Lakers squad that cruised their way to a title, and retired following the season’s end.

Nottt a bad way to close off your career! 😎

Three in the Key

Signing Off

That’s all for today, Enjoyers! Thanks for spending a part of your day with us. The next newsletter you see from me… we’ll be covering regular season action! 🎉

We’re almost there.

Bobby Kasmire