🏀 We Broke Out Our Crystal Ball...

How’s it hanging, Enjoyers? With the NBA season just over the horizon, it’s time to put our money where our mouth is and make some predictions. Will they be wrong? Probably. But will they be Enjoy-able? Most definitely. Let’s get to it!

Today’s Lineup

If You Can’t Stand The Heat… ☀️: The revamped Suns look absolutely crazy!

Shai and Co. 🌩️: The young Thunder just took down this newly-acquainted duo…

Crystal Ballin’ 🔮: Some official Enjoy Basketball NBA award predictions!

But first, some trivia:

NBA Preseason’s Latest

Before we get started with our award picks, let’s go through some rapid-fire moments from the last two days of preseason action.

• Ben Simmons dropped an immaculate dime along with an absolutely chaotic stat line (8 PTS, 9 AST, 3 STL, 8 TOV). We don’t really know what to think about him so far…

• Third-overall pick Amen Thompson is looking better and better by the day. He put up 15 PTS on the Spurs, and also apparently has nitrous in his shoes:

• Warning: the new-look Suns are absolutely terrifying. Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal spearheaded a 76-point first half for Phoenix, capped off by this absolutely filthy hesi from Beal in their game against Portland

• The league is better with a healthy Zion Williamson in it, especially when he’s swiping the ball like he’s one of Ocean’s Eleven.

• The Raptors gave us this beautiful sequence in their four-point win over the Bulls, and Scottie Barnes (22 PTS, 4 BLK, 2 STL) was looking nice. Could this be his breakout year? 🤔

• The Pritchard to Porzingis connection is humming over in Boston. The Celtics looked excellent at full strength in a 13 point W over the Knicks.

• This young Thunder team is not to be messed with. Even on a quiet night for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey (19 PTS, 5 AST), Jalen Williams (18 PTS, 2 STL) and Chet Holmgren (18 PTS, 7-8 FG) stepped up to deliver Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmmpo their first blowout loss as teammates. Speaking of Chet, this block feels like it should be illegal. No man should have arms that long:

Enjoy Award Predictions

Gather around everyone, it's time for some wildly inaccurate predictions!

We can't claim to be psychic (although that would be pretty cool, right?) but we can use our hoops knowledge to predict some of the NBA’s major awards. And to make things interesting, we'll also be naming a dark horse candidate to look out for. Let's dive in!

Coach of the Year

Our Pick: Mark Daigneault - Oklahoma City Thunder

If you look at the results over the past decade, Coach of the Year usually goes one of two ways. Either you give it to the coach of an elite team who won a boatload of games (Steve Kerr, Monty Williams) or you reward someone who brought a formerly mediocre squad to playoff relevancy (Mike Brown, Tom Thibodeau).

With no team predicted to dominate the league this year, we're going with option two. And who better to pick than Mark Daigneault? The Thunder may have missed the playoffs last season, but they have a boatload of young talent, a true superstar in SGA, and plenty of future picks if they need to make a move to prepare for a late-season playoff push.

Look Out For: Quin Snyder - Atlanta Hawks

Outside of Milwaukee and Boston, the Eastern Conference playoff picture appears to be relatively wide open. Quin Snyder coached some excellent defensive-minded teams in Utah, and he could be a sneaky COTY choice if the Hawks secure a top-six playoff spot. Bonus points if he helps Trae Young level up on defense. 💪

Defensive Player of the Year

Our Pick: Evan Mobley - Cleveland Cavaliers

After Marcus Smart became the first guard since Gary Payton to win Defensive Player of the Year in 2021, it was back to business as usual last season. Rim protectors locked up the podium and proved their worth as the most impactful defenders on the court.

The catalyst behind the Cavaliers' top-ranked defense, Evan Mobley had a very strong case to take home the hardware last season. A rangy big man who can protect the rim and guard multiple positions, E-Mob is the perfect archetype for a modern DPOY.

Look Out For: Chet Holmgren - Oklahoma City Thunder

A rookie winning DPOY? It's not as strange as you might think.

Chet Holmgren has been an A+ defender at every stage of his career, and he's shown no signs of slowing down just yet. In a small slice of preseason action, the former second-overall pick has as many blocks as fouls. If the Thunder make the playoffs with a top-ten defense, Chet could have the narrative on his side to make a surprise push for the award.

Most Improved Player

Our Pick: Cade Cunningham - Detroit Pistons

Since Paul George in 2013, the Most Improved Player Award has been used almost exclusively to recognize high-potential players who've taken the leap from starter to stardom. With that in mind, we've zeroed in on the perfect candidate.

Cade Cunningham came into the league with boatloads of hype as a do-it-all combo guard, but injuries have held him back from truly blossoming into the type of franchise-defining talent we know he can be. And after a dominant performance at Team USA scrimmages earlier in the summer, offseason whispers are telling us that the former first-overall pick is looking better than ever.

Look Out For: Tyus Jones - Washington Wizards

Let's assume for a second that the voters do decide to switch things up and go for a role player who makes the most out of a new opportunity.

Tyus Jones has quietly been one of the best backup guards in basketball over the last few years, and a new opportunity in Washington should see the veteran ball handler set career highs across the board. Remember, he averaged 17 and 8 in 20 games without Ja Morant last season…

Sixth Man of the Year

Our Pick: Chris Paul - Golden State Warriors

Usually an honor reserved for a high scorers, Sixth Man of the Year is an award that we think is going to go a little bit differently this season.

It's not very often that first-ballot Hall of Famers come off the bench, but Chris Paul is set to do just that for the Warriors this season. And while he's not an MVP candidate anymore, the washed allegations are far from true. CP3 is still one of the league's best playmakers, and his cerebral leadership should provide a huge boost to Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and the rest of Golden State’s young talent.

Look Out For: Bobby Portis - Milwaukee Bucks

Big men deserve love, too!

Coming off the bench with starter-level minutes? Check. Elite box score stats? You bet. On a winning team? With Dame and Giannis, duh. He might not be the frontrunner, but Bobby Portis is definitely worth consideration.

Frozen Moments

• Ben Simmons meets his number one fan. 📣

• Damian Lillard almost had Doris Burke on his album… 🤯

• Jimmy Butler with the greatest all-time starting five we've ever seen. 🤣

• This mind-boggling pass from Markelle Fultz! 😵‍💫

What We’re Enjoying

Set it Off by Offset - The latest solo project from former Migos member Offset, Set it Off is filled wall-to-wall with bangers that are perfect for any last-minute preseason hype mixes. Although we love the track with wifey Cardi B, our personal favorite is the Travis Scott collab Save My Grace. La Flame is truly in his bag.

Signing Off

Thanks for reading, everyone! Just like in basketball, remember to try and focus only on the things you can control in your everyday life. Do that, and everything else will fall into place.

Until next time,

-Spencer Poole

Trivia Answer: The answer to today's trivia is none other than Michael Jordan's last game as a Chicago Bull! Sorry Jazz fans, but this NBA classic pulled in nearly 36 million viewers, the most in history. 

Before you go…