🏀 Beep Beep! It's Your Morning Hoops Alarm!

Do y’all ever get that thing where you feel your cellphone vibrate in your pocket when it’s not even there? We do too, except instead of a phone vibrating we keep hearing the NBA on TNT theme. Only 74 more days until tip-off…

Before we get to the good stuff, we need your help to get to SXSW 2024! Give us a vote HERE if you want to hear Kenny, Cody, and Cole talk about everything that goes into building a sports media brand at the multimedia mega-festival in Austin, Texas next March.

Today’s Lineup

Time To Wake Up 🚨 Two teams you absolutely CAN’T sleep on this season 😴

Eyes on the Prize 👁 Who will take home the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup? 🏆

He’s Still a Bucket 👴 This NBA icon just celebrated his 95th birthday 🎉

But before all that, take a stab at this:

Vote for Enjoy Basketball!

Enjoyers! We need your help! Do you want to hear about how we’re building the next great sports media brand directly from us? Vote for us to hear from Kenny, Cody, and Cole at SXSW 2024!

The Enjoy Basketball panel will dive into all things content, community, and social strategy for people building sports media brands. Plus, you’ll get a sneak peak at what’s to come—collaborations, apparel, in-person events…

Don’t Stay Asleep 😴

🚨 This is an official hoops knowledge alarm! 🚨 

Few things are worse as a basketball fan than hating on a team who ends up being good, and we’re here to save you before it’s too late. Here are two teams that aren’t getting the respect they deserve, despite some intriguing off-season additions:

As A Contender - Dallas Mavericks

Yeah yeah, we get it. Point and laugh at the team with two All-NBA-level guards who missed the playoffs last year.

Now that you’ve gotten that out of your system—is it just us who thought the Mavericks absolutely nailed this offseason?

Dallas got the big fish out of the way early. Kyrie Irving signed a three-year contract extension to continue to be a part of what is probably the best offensive backcourt in the league alongside Luka Doncic. But that was never really the problem, was it?

Even though the offense was firing on all cylinders, the Mavericks were a total turnstile defensively; 25th in defensive rating and 30th in total rebounding simply won’t cut it for any team trying to make some postseason noise.

So what did they do this summer to rectify it? Why, they got bigger, longer, and more versatile! Derek Lively and Richaun Holmes form an exciting new big man duo that should completely revamp the Mavericks’ interior presence. Holmes was buried in Sacramento’s depth chart last season, but he’s a starting-caliber big who can control the glass and finish at the rim. Grant Williams and 24th pick O-Max Prosper provide defensive support on the wings, while Derrick Jones Jr. offers tantalizing potential as a PnR threat.

With an elite offensive backcourt and defensive upgrades across the board, we think Mavericks are gonna be a lot closer to the Finals than people are giving them credit for.

As A Playoff Team - Orlando Magic

Everywhere you look, Orlando seems to have an exciting young player ready to take a leap into stardom.

Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter, Jr complement each other perfectly down low. A bruising power forward who can score on anyone next to a center who can space the floor is a great combination in the modern NBA, and there are few better examples than these two. Next to them, Franz Wagner is a polished three-level scorer who can do a little bit of everything—any Magic fan will tell you that he’s set to be an All-Star sooner rather than later.

And don’t forget about the guards! You all know how much we love Markelle Fultz, who brings high-quality playmaking chops and perimeter defense to the table, but don’t forget about Jalen Suggs either. The 2021 fifth-overall pick made things happen on the defensive end all year while his offensive game finally was coming around.

There wasn’t a lot of three-point shooting in Orlando last year, but they’ve made some moves this summer to help alleviate that. 11th-overall pick Jett Howard is a 6’8” pure bucket-getter who can shoot from seemingly anywhere on the floor off the catch. 6th-overall pick Anthony Black isn’t a shooter himself, but his drive and kick ability will absolutely help open up the floor. And how about a sprinkle of Aussie veteran presence? Joe Ingles is a willing playmaker, lights-out shooter, and great role model all at the same time.

So in conclusion, a team oozing with potential added multiple players to fix their greatest weakness. Yup, sounds like the league’s most exciting young core might be headed to their inaugural playoff appearance.

Would You Rather?

Around the W With Crina

The NBA is late to the midseason tournament game, didn’t you know?

The WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Final is set for Tuesday, August 15 at 9 pm ET, and based on their records in the Eastern and Western Conference, the finalists are the New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces! Before they face each other next week, let’s take a look at their matchups in the interim:

Friday, August 11:

• New York Liberty vs. Chicago Sky, 8 pm ET on ion TV

• Las Vegas Aces vs. Washington Mystics, 10 pm ET on ion TV

Sunday, August 13:

• New York Liberty vs. Indiana Fever, 3 pm ET on ESPN

• Las Vegas Aces vs. Atlanta Dream, 9 pm ET on CBS Sports Network

Chicago has been playing much more cohesive basketball as of late, recording two blowout wins over the on-fire Dallas Wings in the last week. As for Indiana, the Liberty have performed their best against them this season, including Breanna Stewart’s 45-point game earlier this year. As New York is on a four-game winning streak, look for them to build off that confidence against the Sky and the Fever this weekend.

The Las Vegas Aces have a chance to get two solid wins this weekend before their big matchup against New York. The Mystics have struggled with the injury bug this year, and the Dream have had their ups and downs but are a very exciting team overall. Atlanta currently sits at fourth in the standings and will no doubt give the Aces a great game.

Following this weekend, the Liberty and the Aces will play each other twice in one week, including that Commissioner’s Cup matchup on August 15. Who will come out on top? Will the Liberty build on their momentum, or will the Aces get their revenge? Let us know!

Frozen Moments

• Jalen Brunson won’t give this man a break 😂

• Franz Wagner has no mercy for the entire country of Canada 🥶

• The Blazers could make your NBA dreams come true… 👀

What We’re Enjoying

Bob Cousy at 95: If you want to call Bob Cousy a plumber, you’re gonna have to do it to his face. That’s right: the best PG of the NBA’s golden years is still as witty as ever at the ripe old age of 95. In fact, he just did a delightful interview with Celtics Insider Chris Forsberg where he reminisced about the good old days. It’s insane how his highlight tape still holds up today:

Signing Off

That’s all our time for today! Remember to eat three meals a day, get plenty of exercise, and wish Bob Cousy a happy belated 95th!

And before you go! Vote Enjoy Basketball for SXSW 2024 here! It only takes a minute, and will get us one step closer to Austin!

Until next time,

-Spencer Poole

Trivia Answer: Today’s answer is Pistons Big 3 legend Josh Smith! For over a full calendar year—December 12th, 2006 to December 17th, 2007—Smith recorded a block in 76 straight games. Absolute insanity.