Today, I have a bittersweet article as my favorite basketball player of all time announced his retirement, and because of that, we’re going to give him his flowers.

I really hope you all enjoy this one; okay, let’s jump in!

A basketball story that probably was never supposed to be written has now concluded its final chapter.

For better or for worse, Russell Westbrook carved out a piece of NBA history that only he could obtain as the most unique superstar in NBA history, and I want to talk about it.

“I never thought I would play in the NBA.” - Russell Westbrook.

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Ten game-winning shots.

Nine All-Star Game appearances.

Eight seasons receiving MVP votes.

Seven teams played for.

Six seasons without missing a game.

Five All-NBA second-team selections.

Four seasons averaging a triple-double.

Three All-NBA first-team selections.

Two All-Star Game MVPs.

And One MVP award later.

Russell Westbrook, who wore the number Zero for the bulk of his career, has decided to hang it all up and retire at 37 years old after an 18-year NBA career.

The Intro:

Russell Westbrook leaves the NBA as one of the most polarizing players in NBA history. His playstyle invoked everyone’s attention, but his attitude invoked everyone’s opinion too.

For many, Westbrook represents everything that “you wish” you could do on a basketball court, as he inspired a whole new generation of basketball fans with his relentless playstyle and one of a kind athletism.

In the same breath, to others, Westbrook’s faults were too glaring to ignore, as he never proved that he could be a primary piece on an NBA championship team.

And yet, both parties are correct, and part of what makes Westbrook’s career so unique is that both parties have always been correct.

This basketball conundrum has defined Westbrook’s entire career. Even the UCLA assistant coach who recruited Westbrook out of high school watched this 5’9 kid from Long Beach obliterate his competition in a manner that could only be described as fast and reckless, and had to tell his own team’s head coach, “I don’t know exactly what this kid is, but I know he can play,” to get Westbrook UCLA’s final scholarship.

From that point on, Russell Westbrook the basketball enigma began, and in true Westbrook fashion, it never stopped, at least until August 12, 2026, when Westbrook decided to call it a career.

The Good:

On a basketball court, the good with Russell Westbrook was obvious; in fact, it’s eye-popping. If you watched Westbrook play basketball, you would have to actively try to miss what he adds to his team on the court, but his competitiveness, availability, and motor are what truly separated him from his peers.

Every day. Every game. Every practice. Every second Westbrook spent on the court, he would go 100%. In a league full of the most competitive professionals on the planet, he was always the most competitive.

Even Kobe Bryant stated that Westbrook was the player who most reminded him of himself due to his unmatched competitive intensity and aggressiveness.

As far as availability, it’s one of the most underrated portions of Westbrook's skill set. Russell Westbrook plays basketball games, so many careers full of potential have gone down the drain because players can’t seem to stay on the court, but not Westbrook; he lived there.

Russell Westbrook played 439 straight NBA games (regular season & playoffs) before missing a single game. A torn meniscus suffered during a playoff game in 2013 ruined his “Ironman” streak of consecutive games played.

Westbrook even suffered a facial fracture during a game in 2015 after taking a knee to the cheek. After a brief absence, Westbrook returned to the game and finished with 40 points. He got surgery to repair his face the next day and returned to the team playing the rest of the season in a face mask just a week later.

Competitiveness and toughness like that just isn’t teachable; it’s what makes someone special.

That wasn’t all; Westbrook’s motor was truly special too. Russell Westbrook played basketball like a video game character with the “fatigue” setting turned off.

The man was never tired, and if he was, he did a hell of a job hiding it. Combine this with superior speed, strength, and agility for players his size, and vertical explosiveness to spare, and you see why he immediately hit the NBA by storm and would eventually become one of the all-time greats.

Mr. Clutch:

While everyone else around him grew tired as games progressed, Russell Westbrook seemed to gain energy. It makes sense that the man who never seemed tired on the court also has some of the best clutch-time statistics in NBA history.

From 2010 to 2020, Russell Westbrook leads the NBA with the most clutch shots made, at 442.

In the NBA, “clutch time” is any moment within the last 5 minutes of a game or overtime where a team is either leading or trailing by 5 points or less.

LeBron James (you may have heard of him) was second in this span with 383 clutch shots made.

For those who associate Westbrook’s ridiculous volume with poor efficiency, “clutch time” was the opposite. Westbrook made 40% of his clutch shots, which is a seriously impressive clip.

And for fun, if we were to combine the regular season and playoffs, he'd still be the best during this stretch, with 483 clutch makes.

Mr. Hustle:

Russell Westbrook will walk away from the NBA with many titles, one being “stat-padder”. When you amass the sheer volume of statistics that Westbrook was able to put up in games and over the course of his career, it’s honestly a title well earned.

You can’t play with as much hustle and effort on every play as Westbrook did without some people believing that you’re doing “too much”.

Westbrook “stat-padded” his way to 27,176 points in his career. That’s enough for 14th all-time and first among point guards. He also stacked up 10,351 assists, which is the 5th most ever. Among point guards, Westbrook finished first in rebounds (9,025) and field goals made. He also finished 7th in steals (2,038) and 3rd in blocks (418) among point guards.

If we’re talking single-game stats, Westbrook’s single-game career highs topped out at | 58 points | 24 assists | 21 rebounds | 8 steals | he also has 5 different 50-point games.

Russell Westbrook was simply electric, with the ability to explode on any given night; he easily became one of the biggest box office draws in the NBA.

Mr. Triple Double:

A triple-double is a basketball statistic where a player reaches double digits (10 or more) in three of five statistical categories during a single game, those categories being points, rebounds, assists, steals, or blocks.

Oscar Robertson was the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season as he put up 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists per game in 1962. That year, he set an NBA record of 41 triple-doubles in one season, and he would eventually retire with 181 in total.

For decades, Robertson was far and away the most superior NBA player of all time at accumulating triple-doubles, so much so that his records seemed untouchable. That is until 2017, at least.

In 2017, Russell Westbrook would break Robertson’s single-season triple-double record with 42. Westbrook also became the second player ever to average a triple-double for an entire season with 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 10.4 assists per game en route to winning the NBA MVP.

Now, Westbrook sits atop the triple-double leaderboard with 209 career triple-doubles.

The Bad:

The Russell Westbrook experience was a two-way street. For all the insane highlights and jaw-dropping stats, the lowlights could be just as entertaining (or frustrating).

The phrase “don’t think, just do” is probably scared of Russell Westbrook.

“Just doing” made Westbrook a perfect candidate to live up to clutch moments and stack highs while on a roll, but it also made him liable to the kinds of mistakes that can bury a team in its biggest moments, and rather than finding another way, Westbrook’s playstyle would simply dig a deeper hole in these situations.

A player who operates with reckless abandon and is fearless in any moment or any competition sounds awesome until you’re witnessing the reckless abandon portion of the equation.

He never could turn “it” down. Westbrook’s energy and pace of play stayed at 100 (or above), and the dial never adjusted regardless of circumstance. The same moments that would force you to stand up and shout as a fan could be followed by moments that made you throw your hands in the air and question what he was thinking.

Ironically, part of what made Westbrook so great is what ultimately ended up being his biggest flaw.

90-10:

The “90-10 rule” originated as an investment technique, but the term has made its way into sports.

Every athlete has pros and cons to their game. The importance of these pros and cons varies with how important the referenced player is to their team. In sports, the “90-10” rule can be described as one’s pros (90%) vs their cons (10%) and how well a player is able to hide or mitigate their 10%.

Some athletes like Kevin Durant may have a largely unnoticeable “10%, but for others it can be a whole different story. The athletes with a more obvious “10%” tend to be the most criticized. It will always be the easiest thing for fans or media to latch onto when evaluating a player.

Shaq had “free throws”; Kobe was a “ball hog”, but Russell Westbrook’s 10% was as loud as they come.

Even with a loud “10%”, you can still be seen as the best, and you can still become a champion. These are the kinds of achievements that offset the criticism that comes with a loud “10%”, but with Westbrook, every shortcoming in his career came with an obvious item to blame.

Westbrook was a true high-volume shooter with low-volume efficiency. That means, if Westbrook made a lot of shots, he probably missed a lot more to get there. This, coupled with a turnover rate that at times became statistically historic (and visually laughable sometimes), made Westbrook an easy target for those to say he’s a great player, but the “10%” may not be worth it if your team has championship aspirations.

The Big 3 (then two):

In 2012, the Oklahoma City Thunder advanced to the NBA Finals, where they would eventually lose to LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

Despite the loss, many felt the Thunder had a bright future ahead, as their three best players, Kevin Durant (23), Russell Westbrook (23), and James Harden (22), were all very young and had already established themselves amongst the best players in the NBA.

Westbrook, Durant, and Harden not only all continued to improve, but all three of them went on to win the NBA MVP award at some point in their career. Durant in 2014, Westbrook in 2017, and Harden in 2018. It’s one of the rarest sights the NBA has ever seen: three future MVPs all drafted by the same team.

Do you remember the 90-10 rule?

Well, apparently, James Harden’s 10% was primarily off-court related and was the deciding factor in Oklahoma City neglecting to give him a contract extension in the 2012 offseason and thus trading him to the Houston Rockets before the young Thunder trio could ever play another game together.

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Even so, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant- that’s a great duo, right? Well, that 90-10 rule had some kind of weight on these guys, and Durant seemed to know that.

In that 2012 Finals, a series full of some of the greatest basketball players of all time, like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Kevin Durant. Russell Westbrook had the best single-game performance in the series.

In Game 4 of the NBA Finals, with the Thunder down 2-1 in the series and needing a win, Russell Westbrook stepped up to the plate. Westbrook scored 43 points, made 20 of his 32 shots, and showed a glimpse of the kind of dominance that would become normal for him in the future. The issue here is that the Thunder lost Game 4 of the NBA Finals, and some late-game mistakes from Westbrook sealed their fate.

In what was the biggest game of his career, Westbrook delivered a performance that proved to be a perfect microcosm of his entire career.

And then there was one:

In the years that followed, bad injury luck plagued the Thunder’s attempts at another championship, with their next best chance arriving in 2016.

By 2016, the state of the league had completely flipped, but the Westbrook and Durant duo was a known constant. The Thunder would go on to lose in the Western Conference Finals to the Golden State Warriors by losing three straight games after being up 3-1 in the series and on the cusp of a second chance at a long awaited NBA Finals run.

Kevin Durant would go on to leave Westbrook and the Thunder in free agency in the 2016 offseason to sign with the Warriors that had beaten the Thunder in the playoffs just a couple of months prior.

A successful decision for Durant as the Warriors won the next two NBA championships, but a choice that shattered the hearts of all those who supported Oklahoma City and everyone who wanted to see the duo of Westbrook and Durant win a championship together.

Although it was never said out loud, many speculate to this day that the primary reason Durant left the Thunder is that he felt he couldn’t win a championship with Westbrook as his best teammate.

OK3:

With the absence of Durant in 2017, the Thunder were much worse. They were no longer championship contenders, and many thought they would fall to become one of the worst teams in the NBA.

But as mentioned earlier, this is the year Russell Westbrook took it upon himself to drag the Thunder to the playoffs. Westbrook did everything for the Thunder in 2017 en route to an MVP, but the award could only ease so much pain as the league had to watch Durant win his first championship with a new team.

In 2018 & 2019, the Thunder responded to Durant’s departure by adding Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, hoping this new “Big 3” or “OK3” would be enough to help Russell Westbrook lead Oklahoma City to a championship.

As fun as these moves made the team to watch, unfortunately, this edition of the Oklahoma City Thunder had no success in the playoffs to speak for. By the end of the 2019 season, the Oklahoma City front office was ready to rebuild, and with Westbrook now willing to waive his “no-trade clause” to avoid playing for a sinking team, this era of the Thunder and era of Westbrook’s career were now complete.

The Ugly:

The level of criticism that was received by Russell Westbrook was not entirely because of his erratic play; it was sometimes due to how he responded to it in the media as well.

From my point of view, Russell Westbrook is a very straightforward person. He was never afraid to let anyone know how he felt at any time. From trash talk on the court to media responses in post-game pressers, Westbrook always said what was on his mind.

When things were going well, this personality trait of his would never raise an issue, but as things would get difficult, the line between being real and being dismissive can get blurred. This would make Westbrook an easier target for analysts and reporters to jump on if he was struggling.

The journeyman:

The first 11 seasons of Russell Westbrook’s career were spent in Oklahoma City, where he would depart as the Franchise leader in points and a true face of the city.

The second half of Westbrook’s career, however, went much differently.

The next 7 seasons were spent as a journeyman, with each stop carrying fewer expectations than the last. Russell Westbrook ended up playing for 6 different teams in the last 7 years of his career.

Near the end, Westbrook did try to reinvent himself as a crafty veteran off the bench who could help a team win a championship, but even those teams flamed out once the playoffs arrived.

In his 18-year career, Westbrook’s only NBA Finals appearance came in 2012 with the Oklahoma City Thunder. In fact, all four times Westbrook ever made the Conference Finals playoff round were during his time with the Thunder.

Post-Oklahoma City, Westbrook never became part of another significant playoff run, which is a tough pill to swallow for such an important player of the era. This is a feat that holds him back in all-time player ranking discussions.

The everything else:

We’ve gone over what made Russell Westbrook great on the basketball court; we’ve also talked about what ultimately held him back, but a significant portion of Westbrook’s story can be told off the court as well.

In the early 2010s, Russell Westbrook was the catalyst for NBA players turning the pregame tunnel walk into a personal fashion show.

Westbrook intentionally used national TV game cable spots to show off bold fashion choices that quickly became the next big trend in the NBA.

As for fashion, not every outfit was a hit, but Westbrook’s openness to being extremely experimental and creative opened outlets for him and other players around the league to break into and build a bond between the fashion industry and athletics.

Russell Westbrook and many other players soon became global fashion week regulars and Met Gala attendees, building their fame and popularity across industries.

It wasn’t just fashion for Westbrook either. He was very expressive, and another outlet he used was dancing. Whether it was pregame, for a commercial, or just out and about, there was a high chance that if music was playing, Westbrook would be somewhere nearby dancing.

Why Not:

Not only did Russell Westbrook turn himself into a fashion icon, he did it while being one of the most philanthropic players in the NBA.

Westbrook has continuously invested in Oklahoma City by funding scholarships for students, hosting annual food and donation drives for the locally underprivileged, and helping to finance major revitalization projects for the city.

In 2012, Westbrook even created what would ultimately become his legacy outside of the basketball court, the Why Not Foundation.

The Why Not Foundation’s mission is to empower children and families in underserved communities by instilling self-confidence, resilience, and a "Why Not?" mindset.

Operating out of Los Angeles, this foundation has been Westbrook’s primary method of giving back to his hometown.

The Why Not Foundation offers mental health resources, workforce development access and opportunities, and in 2021 it even partnered with The LA Promise Fund to launch the Westbrook Academy charter school in Los Angeles.

Here’s what Russell Westbrook said in a recent article by Yahoo Sports about the origin and his motivation with Why Not:

“[My primary motivation is] to lead the way. To impact and inspire others. It all stems from community and impact, and that is the focal point of everything. [The foundation is named] Why Not? because it made me feel I can do anything that I put my mind to. Like, why not us? Why not you? Why not me to be able to do great things.”

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The conclusion:

Russell Westbrook’s career will remain polarizing among those who saw it; it will be just as confusing to analyze for those who missed it, but what we all should be able to agree on is that his career will be one to remember.

Even without the championship, that would have proved all the doubters wrong. Russell Westbrook is the most unique superstar the NBA has ever seen.

He’s truly a one-of-one.

Westbrook stayed true to himself from the jump; for some it was too much, for others you couldn’t get enough, but nobody could ever turn their eyes away because we all knew that every day with him was must-see TV.

“I never thought I was going to play in the NBA. A lot of people who are in the NBA now have been good since they were eight. I wasn’t good until I was 17.” - Russell Westbrook

This quote from Russell Westbrook tells you everything you need to know about him.

It shows you the belief he had in himself long before any tangible result came his way to tell him that he was doing a “good job” or the “right thing”.

If he wasn’t good at basketball, why did he keep working? If he didn’t know he would have a growth spurt right before his senior year of high school, why keep training and grinding?

The answer?

Well, he’s been telling us the entire time…

Why Not.

So shoutout to that kid from Long Beach who decided, why not? Why can’t I live out my wildest dreams too? That kid worked and became the best version of himself he possibly could.

That kid made his own distinct mark on NBA history, and now that same kid can sit back and reap the benefits of his own decision to keep working hard.

Basketball discourse aside, you cannot deny that he’s earned it.

So the next time you find yourself questioning whether you can do something or not. The next time you question yourself, asking if you’re good enough. It might be wise to take out a page from the story of Russell Westbrook and just say to yourself…

Why not.

Outro:

That’s all I have for you guys today. Thank you so much for reading!

Leave a like on this post if you enjoyed and comment below with your thoughts on Russell Westbrook’s retirement too.

With that, thank you all again, and as always, stay safe and until next time…

-YourFavoriteCasual

Shoutout to these articles that helped me put this piece together. Go check them out if you’re interested:

"It all stems from community and impact"

From the Bottom to the Top: The Russell Westbrook Story

“Nobody never gave me anything”

From 2010 to 2020, the player with the most clutch field goals is...

Hey guys, it’s YourFavoriteCasual here. There’s no need for a long intro today; I think today’s article will speak for itself. I was really looking forward to making this one for everyone too, so I hope you all like it.

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There are more than 541 outdoor basketball courts spread across the five boroughs of New York City, and that’s no coincidence; it’s intentional, but one court levitates above its peers as hallowed basketball ground.

Connie Hawkins.

Julius Erving.

Kareem Abdoul-Jabbar.

Wilt Chamberlin.

Symbols of basketball royalty, and more importantly, symbols of basketball’s history.

Each of whom has had their basketball journeys cross paths on the same court. And not just those four; Basketball Hall of Famers, professionals, local legends, and countless others have all set foot and played at what many call the “Mecca of Basketball”.

James Naismith is the one who is known as the father of basketball, and he is. In 1891, Naismith made history with two teams, two peach baskets, and a soccer ball, but today we’re going to get to know the father of “The Mecca of Basketball”.

The person we will meet today is Holcombe Rucker.

Holcombe Rucker worked as a playground director for NYC Parks at various Harlem parks from 1948 to 1964. Rucker even hosted his first outdoor basketball tournament in 1946 which some believe was the first recorded outdoor basketball tournament!

Rucker Park was originally called the “PS 156 Playground” but was renamed to “Holcombe Rucker Park” in 1974 after his passing due to complications from cancer; Rucker was only 38 years old.

“Rucker’s tournaments became summertime rituals featuring acrobatic, fast, and tough streetball. Rucker saw these tournaments as a positive influence on local youth during the summer when school was not in session” (New York City Department of Parks & Recreation).

Rucker’s motto on the court was “each one, teach one,” stressing the importance of sharing knowledge, as he mentored those around him to pursue school and athletics, and by the 1950s, the ‘Rucker Tournament’ was the most popular and talent-filled outdoor basketball tournament in the world. Even the best amateur players at the time, such as Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, would compete here before beginning their collegiate and NBA careers.

In the time that would pass, not even Mr. Rucker could predict that this park would become so revered that … for many, playing there would be more important than actually playing inside of Madison Square Garden (Scoop Jackson - ESPN).

Now how could any outdoor park ever garner such a ridiculous amount of respect? Well, it’s actually quite easy. When your tournaments have earned over 500 college scholarships, sending generations of kids to the NBA, and consistently compel the world’s best basketball players to not just show up for pictures but actually compete in games while amplifying one of the most iconic streetwear and basketball brands of an era (AND1), you may accumulate a ridiculous amount of respect.

To this day, Rucker Park is going strong, hosting tournaments and events for the best streetball hoopers, but it’s no secret that the Park is not the cultural hotbed it used to be. And that’s okay; “the glory days” are something we all have or will experience someday, but that’s also part of what makes this Knicks championship run feel so much bigger than basketball for the city of New York.

Through the countless days and nights (especially nights) that were spent outside watching basketball nirvana at Rucker Park, the city’s basketball culture and significance were built.

This culture was built to stand through the test of time because whether Knicks fans realize it or not, their basketball culture has been so deeply engraved into the city that something just feels right when you know you’re watching the best basketball in the world take place in New York City.

The Knicks faithful can be considered some of the best fans in all of sports. Even through the worst of times for the Knicks, the fans would carry the spirit of Rucker Park into Madison Square Garden.

Whether it’s through moments like Spike Lee heckling Michael Jordan courtside during the 1990 playoffs or through the gained respect of the “oohs” and “aahs” that opposing stars receive from the crowd when having career performances in the New York spotlight.

One thing is certain: the energy of New York is palpable, and it’s certainly undeniable.

Now, finally, the New York Knicks have managed to bring that special level of competition and bliss back home and onto the largest possible stage after decades full of embarrassment and falling short of expectations.

And yes, you’re trading the street lights for LED lights; you’re trading the community being courtside for celebrities courtside, but what you keep is the acknowledgment from everyone watching that, in this moment, the best basketball in the world is once again being played in New York with all eyes zeroed in on “The Mecca of Basketball.”

Now, with their Finals run, the Knicks have reinvigorated that truly special spirit and basketball feeling back into New York.

Even if it’s for just one moment in time, this is a moment that knowingly or unknowingly could honestly be deemed as therapeutic for the city.

Because, for the first time in over a generation, the people of New York carried the spirit of Rucker Park into Madison Square Garden on the biggest stage in the world and left as champions.

What’s even more fitting is that Jalen Brunson, the undersized and always overlooked team captain of the Knicks, was the one to drag his team across the finish line.

Brunson has proved himself at every level; he’s a state champ, a 2x NCAA national champ, and now, he’s an NBA champ and the NBA Finals MVP. Only 8 people have ever won both an NCAA championship and an NBA Finals MVP. Brunson is actually the first person this century to collect that achievement too, as the most recent person to do so was Michael Jordan!

Meanwhile, Brusnon still finds himself forcing people to move the goalposts surrounding his expectations. First, he was doubted at the draft, falling all the way to the 2nd round; then he was doubted by media and pundits as he left Dallas in free agency to sign with New York, and recently he’s been doubted in his ability to lead the Knicks to the Finals and win.

But now, there’s nowhere else to go and there’s no more ground to cover.

Jalen Brunson has achieved basketball immortality.

In basketball, sometimes, size does matter, but one of the core foundations of streetball is the undersized kid who may not be everyone’s first pick for their team, but once that kid starts to play, everyone immediately understands that they’re the one who’s actually standing above everyone else.

Those people and stories vary from city to city and park to park; some go to college, some make the league, while others may never make it past their local streetball court, and it’s safe to say that Rucker Park has seen its fair share of all three paths.

Although he’s not from New York, I do just think it’s cool that Brunson, who is a New Jersey kid but whose dad and current Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson did play for the Knicks, could not be a more accurate representation of tough and gritty New York park basketball.

With Brunson, because his athleticism doesn’t jump off the page, you can see the hours that he’s spent working and developing his game. Honing his craft to be able to change his shot trajectory in the worst situations and against tough coverages to still be able to make game’s biggest shots.

Brunson’s toughness resonates through every hard fall or foul, it resonates as you watch him gutting through the rolled ankles you can clearly see with instant replay on TV. And it’s all a perfect embodiment of not just basketball culture in New York but the city’s culture in general.

You couldn’t write or script a more powerful love letter to the history of basketball in New York City. The perfect leader, the city’s team, the living basketball legends watching and supporting every step of the way to end the drought—it’s hard to even imagine what a more magical basketball season could even look like when recognizing everything that the 2025-26 New York Knicks team just did.

And that’s why it meant so much, why it was so cool to watch culminate in real time as the Knicks saved their best basketball for the end, and why it was such a great homage to the basketball history in the city, keeping the essence of Rucker Park and the subsequent parks throughout the boroughs alive and well for generations to come.

Now all we need is Brunson and the Knicks to make their Rucker Park pickup game debuts, but even if that never happens, their job is already finished, the city’s basketball fire has been reignited, and that’s what matters.

In all, what truly makes Rucker Park so special for New York and for the basketball community?

The only answer I have for you isn’t mine, but I couldn’t agree more.

“It’s the worldwide reverence that has been sustained over the years -- how even those who play the game at the highest level feel that their game, or their journey through the game of basketball, cannot be complete -- fully tested or solidified -- until they’ve visited Harlem and played at Rucker Park.” - Scoop Jackson (ESPN - Page 2).

That’s what makes this park and this city so special.

And that’s what makes Rucker Park, in Harlem, New York City, “The Mecca of Basketball”.

Outro:

Well, that’s all I have for you guys today.

Thank you all for reading. I really enjoyed putting this one together, so I really hope you enjoyed it too. Any bit of support is much appreciated, whether it’s a view, like, or comment, so please don’t be afraid to let me know what you all think of this one.

With that, thank you all again, and as always, stay safe, and until next time…

-YourFavoriteCasual

And a very special shoutout to these articles that helped me put this piece together:

ESPN.com: Page 2 : Time to enshrine Mr. Rucker

Holcombe Rucker Park Highlights : NYC Parks

Rucker Park: When legend is reality - Sports Gazette

Basketball is the Soul of New York City 💯 – SLAM

Do you hear that… the trumpets in rhythm, the faint city mob-esque noises, the sounds of people climbing onto cars and lampposts, or the distant “Let’s-Go-Knicks” chants?

It has to be the sound of what’s going on in New York City after Saturday night’s championship-clinching win over the San Antonio Spurs, and there’s no way any Knicks fans have even had time to go to sleep yet with the city jumping with so much excitement.

With that, it’s time I introduce myself. What’s going on, everybody? And welcome back to another post from YourFavoriteCasual. The NBA has crowned another brand-new champion, and we have to talk about it and much more, so let’s get started!

Final playoff eulogy:

Round 4 Elimination: San Antonio Spurs

Before we celebrate the Knicks, we must say goodbye to our final loser of the playoffs… the San Antonio Spurs.

What happened: A little too early. If the Spurs had won the Finals, they would have become the youngest team to win the championship in NBA history. So as far as league history is concerned, the Spurs were never supposed to win the Finals, but that’s what made this team and this season feel so special. San Antonio had felt like the anomaly to this tried-and-true equation.

This Spurs roster was full of anomalies; to start, the NBA has never seen a player like Victor Wembanyama, NBA teams usually don’t get three top-5 draft picks in a row while obviously hitting on all three of those picks too, and teams this young rarely also have a collection of good veteran players to coexist with all of the young talent in the room. San Antonia had a perfect storm of impressive but unlikely team building that we witnessed come to fruition in almost record time.

There were plenty of reasons to believe the Spurs would succeed, and yet here we are, wondering what went wrong after the heights they seemed to have reached in the Western Conference Finals. Now with the offseason in place, we must ask, where do they go from here?

Future outlook: Overall, the Spurs will be fine.

It’s never wise to guarantee a future championship, as you never know in real time if this was actually their best shot to win a title, but there’s so much talent on this roster that still has room to improve; there shouldn’t be much concern.

There are roster decisions the Spurs must make in the offseason, but none of those choices involve their big 3 of Wemby, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper, who are all still on rookie (smaller-scale) contracts. As San Antonio continues to figure out what they must do to win a championship, those three are primed to be the driving force of that effort.

The only negative question I could ask about this Spurs season is whether making it to the Finals was more consequential than if they had lost to the defending champion, the Oklahoma City Thunder, in Game 7, just one round before.

Since this was the first playoff run for this Spurs core, this year could be considered a win as soon as their young players got some playoff experience. Most teams usually don’t win the title in their first try as a group, so losing for the most part was generally expected until they had proved that there was a chance to actually win the title.

As for all sports, championships really do put your team under a microscope for all to see what your team’s fatal flaws truly are, and in basketball, losing to the same team 4 times under this microscope sometimes can cause more damage than good. Which is why many teams that get this close never return, even though in the moment you expect them to.

I don’t think that is the fate that will be held for this rendition of the Spurs, but they do have to hope their young stars actually grow from this experience and improve some of their faults to avoid becoming another “what-if” team.

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The New York Knicks are NBA champions:

Alright, enough about San Antonio. THE NEW YORK KNICKS ARE NBA CHAMPIONS!!!! I’m not a Knicks fan by any means, but I cannot ignore how much of a significant result this championship is not just for the NBA but for the sports landscape in general.

The Knicks probably have the single largest fanbase of any sporting team in North America, especially if you only count the “Big Four” sports in the United States specifically: Football, Basketball, Baseball, and Hockey. The Knicks are also unique because they are the only team in New York that actually receives love from all of the New Yorkers.

New York, being such a big city, tries to split the fanbase in each sport. Yankees/Mets, Rangers/Islanders, Jets/Giants, but in basketball, New York belongs to the Knicks (apologies to the former New Jersey and now Brooklyn Nets). The city of New York has seen much success across sports, but with split fan bases, the city has only had one team it can completely bond through, and that would be the Knicks.

This bonding was typically through the pain and struggle of the organization. With the awful teams, bad contracts, and flash-in-the-pan moments that were never quite enough, the Knicks and their fans have seen loads of attrition during their 53-year championship drought. It wasn’t too long ago that the Knicks were the laughingstock of the NBA with one of the most despised team owners in professional sports, but now, they’re sitting at the pinnacle of the NBA world.

I want to continue to explain why basketball in New York means so much, especially the history, but I’ll save the full story for another time (sooner than you think) so that I can get myself back on track.

Back to the basketball, on Saturday, the New York Knicks capped off one of the greatest team playoff runs the NBA has ever seen, and here’s why.

First, the Knicks went 16-3 during the playoffs, which makes them the 7th team to ever win the championship with 3 or fewer losses since the NBA moved to the 4-round playoff format in 1984 (no team has ever gone undefeated in a championship run either).

Second, the Knicks’ win streak of 13 games is the second-longest in NBA playoff history, only behind the 2017 Golden State Warriors, who won 15 consecutive games. The Knicks also tied the record for most wins by double digits in a playoff run with 12 (tied with the 2017 Golden State Warriors).

Finally, the Knicks completed this postseason with the highest net rating by a champion in NBA history (15.5). For those who may not know, net rating is the difference between a team’s offensive rating per 100 possessions and that same team’s defensive rating per 100 possessions.

Net rating is not a perfect stat, especially in small samples, but it’s great for comparing teams over longer stretches to see how a team generally fares against its competition. 100 possessions is also just about how many possessions a team gets in a single game, with the faster teams averaging around 106 possessions per game.

For context, the 2026 Knicks’ playoff net rating sits at 15.5, with the next highest net ratings being 13.8, 13.6, 13.5, and 13.2, and these were completed by some of the most revered and respected championship seasons of all time: 2001 Lakers (Shaq & Kobe), 1971 Bucks (Kareem & Oscar), 2017 Warriors (Steph & KD), and the 1991 Bulls (MJ & Pippen).

What the Knicks just accomplished was nothing short of legendary. With the entirety of the organization’s past troubles on their back and the pressure of finally giving the largest fanbase in America its first trophy in over 50 years, all while doing it in the mecca of basketball, the Knicks not only got the job done but managed to do it in historically dominant fashion too.

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Post-Playoffs NBA Tiers list:

Now it’s time for my favorite activity on this blog, my player tiers list!

The NBA is absolutely stacked with talent. I could easily rank 150 players and still feel like I left people out. It’s unbelievable, but 50 is where I draw the line, so let’s see who cracked the list.

If you’re interested, I’ve included my honorable mentions chart as well. Don’t forget to let me know in the comments who got snubbed or if you disagree with any of the rankings.

Players trending up:

• Jalen Brunson +4 (NYK) | LeBron James +5 (LAL) | Cooper Flagg +7 (DAL) | Scottie Barnes +5 (TOR) | OG Anunoby +12 (NYK) | Deni Avdija +12 (POR) | Dylan Harper (SAS) previously unranked

Players trending down:

• Jamal Murray -9 (DEN) | Chet Holmgren -9 (OKC) | LaMelo Ball -9 (CHA) | Alperen Sengun -20 (HOU) | Amen Thompson -15 (HOU) | Jalen Duren -10 (DET) | De’Aaron Fox (SAS) now unranked | James Harden (CLE) now unranked

• 

Let’s start at the top. I still believe that SGA is the NBA’s best player, but the margin between him and Wemby is essentially a toss-up. More importantly, in my opinion at least, the NBA has a newcomer into the coveted “Top 5” in Jalen Brunson.

Brunson, this year’s NBA Finals MVP, led this year’s historic Knicks team every step of the way, including the final step, as he tied Michael Jordan (not bad company) for the most points scored in a road NBA Finals close-out game with 45 of his team’s 94 points!

Brunson’s creativity and ability to score at any given moment, especially in 4th quarters was essential for the Knicks during their title run. Time after time, New York looked for Brunson to make something out of nothing as games would tighten up for “clutch-time,” and not once did Brunson back down from the moments he faced.

Positives:

Brunson wasn’t the only Knick to move up on this list either; in fact, every single rotation player on the Knicks moved at least 1 spot or rank from my last update. However, no Knicks jump on my list was more significant than OG Anunoby’s.

OG proved vital during this title run, establishing himself as the clear #3 most important player for NY and as one of the best non-All-Star players in the NBA. OG’s defensive versatility and his ability to space the court with his shooting presence caused issues for every team he faced. His ability to attack close-outs from the perimeter and either finish at the basket or pass to an open teammate against a collapsed defense, combined with his size and physicality, made him a walking mismatch all playoffs.

LeBron James, Scottie Barnes, and Deni Avdija all impressed me with what they showed while leading their teams during their playoff runs. Cooper Flagg also fits this description with what he showed for Dallas during the last month of the year, even though we have yet to see the rookie of the year play playoff basketball.

But speaking of rookies, Dylan Harper needs to be recognized for his excellent playoff performance. Harper was spectacular in these playoffs, and he seemed to get better after each round. Harper’s 279 points scored in the playoffs were enough to surpass Spurs legend and Hall of Famer David Robinson (243) for most points by a Spurs rookie in a playoff run.

All season long, Harper has been coming off the bench for the Spurs, but after these playoffs, it’s clear that he’s going to be their long-term point guard and should have the keys to run the offense whenever he’s on the court. Coincidentally, or unfortunately if you’re a Spurs fan, Harper’s rise in my rankings is paired with his teammate and the current starting point guard for the Spurs, De’Aaron Fox’s fall in the rankings.

Negatives:

The former All-Star and Clutch Player of the Year had a very disappointing playoff run in his first go-around as a Spur. Fox was one of the few Spurs players with playoff experience coming into this season, but you couldn’t tell through his array of pivotal mistakes for San Antonio. Hopefully, Fox can regroup and return to form for the Spurs next season, but with Harper and Castle ascending, it may have to be in a lesser role.

Fox wasn’t the only high-profile player to struggle this playoffs; a pair of All-NBA third-team big men, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Duren, both severely underplayed their talent levels in the playoffs after career-best regular seasons. Holmgren signed a massive contract extension last offseason, and Duren is eligible to sign a significant extension this offseason too. Unfortunately, with the way they both ended their seasons, they now leave their organizations wondering if their investments in the young big men will pay off.

I know today’s article is getting pretty long, but I’d be remiss not to mention a pair of Houston Rockets who fell significantly in the rankings.

The Houston Rockets got the most desirable draw by matching up with the injury-riddled Lakers in the first round of the playoffs and, quite frankly, were utterly dismantled. It was disappointing to see the Rockets not only take a step back as a team but also as individuals. The expectations for Thompson and Sengun specifically have severely diminished as a once-bright Rockets future now seems in question.

Outro:

Oh wow, I didn’t realize I had that much to say, but we made it through, and that’s what matters.

If you’re still here, I truly appreciate it, and let me know in the comments what you thought of today’s article or your answers on how this Knicks team should be remembered in NBA history or if the Spurs will be back.

With that, I will wrap up our time together here, thank you all again, and as always, stay safe, and until next time…

-YourFavoriteCasual

Today, we’re going to talk about the New York Knicks taking control of a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals over the San Antonio Spurs with two impressive wins on the road!

That’s not all either; with the NBA Finals taking center stage in the basketball world, it’s easy to forget that the NBA draft is right around the corner (it’s this month actually!). There’s a lot of really strong prospects in this year’s class, so we’re going to review my 2026 NBA Draft Big Board too.

Alright, well that’s enough from me; let’s jump in!

NBA Finals Update:

The last time we were here I was telling you all about my experience in San Antonio and that I felt that the Spurs had the best home court advantage in the NBA. Well, it seems like the New York Knicks don’t care at all as they marched into San Antonio and won not one, but both of the first two games of the NBA Finals.

The New York Knicks have now won 13-straight playoff games which is the second longest streak in NBA history!

Now, with a 2-0 series lead and the series on its way to New York, the Spurs must find a way to give the Knicks a taste of their own medicine if they want to keep their championship hopes alive.

So what’s been so sucessful?

I would say that the size and physicality of the Knicks is really affecting the Spurs. I don’t mean to say that the Spurs are getting bullied, but one of the biggest factors for the Spurs as they eliminated the defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, was the fact that the Spurs physicality seemed to dismantle the Thunders ability to create easy offense.

The Knicks on the other hand are quite simply a bigger team than the Thunder. Aside from Jalen Brunson, who’s one of the best tough shot makers in the NBA. Brunson is able to bail the Knicks out on most possessions using that tough shot-making and his pull-up 3 point shooting skillset. What’s really getting my attention though is that on the other possesions without leaning on Brunson the Knicks offense isn’t faltering either.

The size and agressiveness of Karl-Anthony Towns has been felt. Towns is forcing defenders to close out and run him away from the 3-point line which creates driving opportunities that collapse the defense for extra passes or for a strong finish by the basket.

Its not just KAT either, OG Anunoby has done an excellent job using his frame to mitigate the impact that Victory Wembanyama has at the rim, and even Mikal Bridges who found his shot in game 2 has continued to be an effective dribble pull-up mid range shooter which is needed against a defense like San Antonio’s.

I see that New York is much better built than Oklahoma City at handling the physicality that San Antonio is throwing out. Now, that same physicality that seemed like a trump card just a week ago, is now proving to not be enough to entirely lean on to try and beat a team like the New York.

It’s not only about the Knicks offense being more comfortable facing physicality to score, it’s also about how the Knicks are more effectively protecting the basketball.

When the San Antonio was down 3-2 to Oklahoma City in theWestern Conference Finals and needed to win two straight games to move on, San Antonio won the turnover margin in both of those must win games. Now, if we look at the turnover margin in games 1 & 2 of the NBA Finals and we will see that San Antonio lost in that statistic in both games to New York.

It’s clear that the physical play of San Antonio rattled Oklahoma City’s halfcourt offense, but this play also forced turnovers which usually lead to easy baskets and more opportunites to effect the momentum of a game.

Whereas in the Finals against the Knicks, an opponent that’s better suited to handle this physical style of play, the Spurs are no longer forcing as many bad halfcourt posssessions and they’re not creating as many turnovers which means there’s even less easy opportunites throughout the game to attack in rhythm.

If the Spurs want to comeback in this series they’re going to need to create an adjustment that rattles the Knicks offense enough to get them to start turning the ball over more often, because if not, this series may get out of hand in New York, and quickly.

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NBA Lottery Big Board:

As we all know (or maybe not), the NBA lottery is the first 14 picks of the first round of the NBA Draft.

Aptly named, the NBA lottery is the event where the order of these 14 picks is decided via drawing of ping pong balls based on odds and percentages of results of the year prior. The true lottery aspect is that every team in the lottery has a chance (even if small) at being drawn for the 1st overall pick.

This year’s NBA lottery has already occurred, and we’ve talked about it right here in this newsletter, so if you missed that, be sure to check out this link to catch up!

But if we’re all on the same page now, I want to reveal the order of who I feel are the top available prospects in this year’s draft. My full list is a top-30, which represents the entire first round, but the full descriptions will be limited to the top-14 on the list.

1. Darryn Peterson || Age: 19 || 6’6 (205lbs) || Guard/Wing || Kansas

   

   Darryn Peterson is the top player on my board. His superpower is his jumpshot, but he’s already a strong ball handler and decion maker with the basketball in his hands too. Peterson also has the size and athletism to take advantage of mismatches offensively and those traits allow him to hold up very well on the defensive end of the court when he’s healthy.

   I mention health because that was the primary story of his year at Kansas. Questions about effort and character arose with mystery injuries and time missed, but when Peterson played I think he was simply the best player in the country, but will those questions keep him from being the top pick in the draft in a loaded class? We’ll just have to wait and see.

   Peak Projection: Consistent All-NBA level player || Possible MVP candidate

   Top Lottery Team Fit: Utah Jazz - I think Peterson would fit really well next to Keyonte George in the Utah backcourt as the Jazz already have a logjam at the forward position.

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2. AJ Dybantsa || Age: 19 || 6’9 (210lbs) || Forward/Wing || BYU

   

   AJ Dybantsa is the top player in the draft to most, and for good reason. The 6’9 forward was the #1 High School player in the country and followed it up by being a 1st Team All-American as a Freshman at BYU. Dybantsa plays basketball like he was born to score and he can operate anywhere on the court. This combined with his size makes him a terrifying scout for any opposing defense.

   What limits Dybantsa right now is his defense and decision making with the ball when he isn’t in position to score. By no means am I saying he won’t develop in those areas, but when nitpicking the top two prospects in the draft the concerns can start to sound pretty trivial when you’re talking about a player that could be one of the best in the NBA if he puts it all together.

   Peak Projection: Consistent All-NBA level player || Possible MVP candidate

   Top Lottery Team Fit: Washington Wizards - The Wizards need a primary first option scorer badly, and with all the guards on their roster I’m sure they would enjoy “killing two birds with one stone” by adding that primary scoring threat and some much needed size with the first pick in the draft.

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3. Caleb Wilson || Age: 19 || 6’10 (215lbs) || Forward/Wing || North Carolina

   

   Caleb Wilson might be my favorite player in this class. The 6’9 “do it all” forward had a great season cut short due to a hand injury, but he showed dominant flashes of shotmaking ability, defensive awareness, and playmaking that makes this kid a very special prospect.

   Wilson today is not better than Peterson, Dybantsa, or even Boozer, who I have next on this list, but if he goes to the right organization that will allow him to develop into the best version of himself he may walk away as the best player in this class.

   Peak Projection: Consistent All-Star || All-NBA caliber player

   Top Lottery Team Fit: Chicago Bulls - The Bulls are in need of talent and have no leverage to be picky about roster fit when trying to adress that in this year’s draft. If they’re in position to take a high-ceiling caliber player like Wilson, they should do so with zero hesitation.

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4. Cameron Boozer || Age: 18 || 6’9 (250lbs) || Forward/Big || Duke

   

   Cam Boozer was the national player of the year in college basketball this past season. In a year full of impressive freshman, in college, he was the best of them all. His offensive game inside of the 3-point line is pretty much complete. He’s a great decision maker, has excellent footwork, and has soft touch around the basket.

   Boozer yesterday would be a very good NBA player, what limits me when projecting him vs his other peers at the top of this class is that the things he’s great at are not as important for superstar players, but some of the things he struggles with are some of the traits you want to see from superstar players at his size.

   Peak Projection: Consistent All-Star || All-NBA caliber player

   Top Lottery Team Fit: Memphis Grizzlies - I would really like to see Boozer join a team that already has a center so he can grow into his own as more of a forward and not an undersized big which is what he projects out to be right now.

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5. Darius Acuff Jr || Age: 19 || 6’3 (190lbs) || Guard || Arkansas

   

   Darius Acuff is a stud. He is going to be the latest lottery pick guard coached by John Calpari and Acuff has a case to say that he’s had the best year of college basketball by any Calpari guard ever. Acuff’s elite shotmaking and ball-handling are paired with elite vision and passing accuracy as he’s already a complete offensive weapon.

   Acuff isn’t the strongest defender, but most “small” guards arent. I would say Acuff’s ceiling is tied to how offensivly elite he can become.

   Peak Projection: Consistent All-Star || All-NBA caliber player

   Top Lottery Team Fit: Brooklyn Nets - The Brooklyn Nets might have the worst roster in the NBA right now. After dropping multiple spots in the lottery, but still being in position to have a chance at getting a player like Acuff who could change thier team’s offense overnight, I would love to see that pairing come to light.

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6. Keaton Wagler || Age: 19 || 6’6 (180lbs) || Guard || Illinois

   

   Keaton Wagler at this point in time last year was generally unknown. He wasn’t a highly touted high school recruit and he wasn’t even supposed to play much at Illinois in his freshman season, but here we are and now I’m saying he’s the 6th best player in this year’s draft class.

   Wagler’s superpower is in his passing and playmaking, but this kid can score in bunches and is comfortable using his size as a guard to his advantage too. Wagler has shown flashes of what could be a truly elite ceiling, so he’s just going to have to keep improving.

   Peak Projection: Consistent All-Star || All-NBA caliber player

   Top Lottery Team Fit: Los Angeles Clippers - I would really like to see Wagler end up on the Clippers. I think him and Darius Garland would be a very fun backcourt pairing while also adding a player that compliments Kawhi Leonard’s playstyle.

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7. Kingston Flemings || Age: 19 || 6’4 (190lbs) || Guard || Houston

   

   Flemings is another one of my favorite players in this year’s class. Flemings is a do it all player with no real weakness except for a truly lethal and consistent jumpshot. He’s already a strong team defender and has all of the tools to become a very good player at the NBA level. His “potential” may not be as high as some of the other players on this list, but I do think he is one of the most “bust proof” players in this group.

   Peak Projection: All-Star caliber player || High-level starter

   Top Lottery Team Fit: Dallas Mavericks - The Mavs need a gaurd. Yes, Kyrie Irving is set to return from his ACL-tear next season, but after adding Cooper Flagg with the first pick in the draft last season, I believe it will be important to give the reigning NBA rookie of the year his own young gaurd to grow with as Dallas continues its rebuild.

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8. Mikel Brown Jr || Age: 20 || 6’5 (190lbs) || Guard/Wing || Louisville

   

   In a class full of talented scorers, Brown has his own case to be at the top of that list. He’s a legitamate 3-level scorer and has the capability to be a lead gaurd for an NBA team. Right now, the largest concern with Brown is his injury history and if that will hinder or effect his NBA development moving forward.

   Peak Projection: Consistent All-Star || High-level starter

   Top Lottery Team Fit: Atlanta Hawks - The Atlanta Hawks are the only team in with a top 10 pick in this year’s draft who also made the playoffs. One thing that the Hawks learned from their quick playoff run was they need another player that can provide a real scoring punch.

   I beleive adding Brown to an already strong Atlanta roster would superchare the Hawks offense enough to raise their expectations significantly for next year if Brown remains healthy.

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9. Brayden Burries || Age: 20 || 6’4 (205lbs) || Guard/Wing || Arizona

   

   I think Burries had a very underrated freshman year surrounded by all of these other prospects, but don’t get it twisted, he’s a killer too. Burries was a strong defender, consistent scorer, and just an overall winning player on one of the best teams in the country all the to the Final 4. Burries ceiling may not be there (or maybe it is who really knows), but he will immediately help whatever team he goes to for a long time.

   Peak Projection: High-level starter || “Championship Level” role player

   Top Lottery Team Fit: Milwaukee Bucks - The Bucks would’ve loved to have Burries paired with Ryan Rollins in their backcourt last year, but at least they will be in position to make that duo a reality for next season. For what is due to become a clear rebuild in Milwaukee, it’s important to continue to add young players with winning habits.

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10. Yaxel Lendeborg || Age: 23 || 6’9 (240lbs) || Forward || Michigan

    

    Lendeborg lived the modern-day college dream. He used the transfer portal to its highest potential as he started in junior college, transferred to UAB then onto Michigan where he became the Big-10 player of the year and a national champion.

    Lendeborg is a great defender, excellent passer, and physical scorer who can sometimes stretch the court with his 3 point shot as well. He should have no issues fitting into any team at the next level even if his potential to become an NBA star is much more limited than his peers.

    Peak Projection: High-level starter || “Championship Level” role player

    Top Lottery Team Fit: Oklahoma City Thunder - There are 3 Michigan Wolverines that are projected to be lottery picks that would make perfect sense for the Thunder to select, but Yaxel is probably the best fit of the group as he best fits the model of players that can dribble, pass, and shoot that Oklahoma City loves to draft.

    Yaxel would add much needed size, physicality, and lineup versatility to a Thunder team that looked suprisingly small and “bully-able” in the playoffs with their only consistent forward Jalen Williams being unavailable due to injury.

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11. Aday Mara || Age: 21 || 7’3 (255lbs) || Big || Michigan

    

    Mara is a physical specimen, and unlike most people that end up as big as he is, Mara actually has touch and rhythm to his game. He’s still trying to develop a jumpshot, but that may just have to come with time, but for now, he’s a strong defensive prescence and is a highly competent interior scorer which is very valuble in a league that continues to get bigger and more physical.

    Peak Projection: High-level starter || “Championship Level” bench piece

    Top Lottery Team Fit: Charlotte Hornets - I would love to see Mara added to this young and fast Charlotte Hornets team. I think Mara would be a great screen partner for all of the Hornets guards and wings and I think Mara would be a good roster complient to Moussa Diabate as the Hornets would have playstyle versatility featuring young bigs with differing skillsets.

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12. Jayden Quaintance || Age: 18 || 6’10 (255lbs) || Big || Kentucky

    

    Quaintance is the biggest question mark in this draft. Of all of the high level prospects, he played the least amount of basketball last season, but what he showed in the moments where he was available is why he’s here.

    The vision with Quaintance is a fast, athletic, true defensive anchor with good hands and finising ability at the offensive end of the court. The question for now is, how much of Quaintnace will we actually see during his professional career.

    Peak Projection: All-Star caliber player || High-level starter

    Top Lottery Team Fit: Sacremento Kings - The Sacremento Kings after falling multiple spots in the lottery are in need of drafting a player that has the potential to outplay their draft position, and taking a swing on Quaintance would be a good way to try to add much needed high-end talent.

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13. Labaron Philon || Age: 20 || 6’4 (185lbs) || Wing || Alabama

    

    Labaron Philon is and will be a professional bucket getter. This man can score in every way you can imagine, and when you stop imagining ways to score he’ll probably find another one anyway. Aside from that, Philons game has much to be desired, but there no doubting he’s an NBA level talent and could quickly become a high-level point generator.

    Peak Projection: Quality starter || “Championship Level” bench piece

    Top Lottery Team Fit: Miami Heat - I would love to see what “Heat Culture” could do for a prospect like Philon, especially on the defensive end of the court. Getting drafted to the Heat would also make this a symbiotic relationship as Miami desparately needs another consistent scorer that can be relied upon.

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14. Morez Johnson Jr || Age: 20 || 6’9 (250lbs) || Forward/Big || Michigan

    

    Morez Johnson is a physical outlier, literally, his athletic testing numbers should not have been acheivable by someone with his height and weight combination. Johnson isn’t going to be big time scoring option anytime soon, but he’s probably the best defensive player in the draft right now and has the ability to continue to improve. Johnson will be a tone setter and physical prescence on the defensive end of the court for whatever team that ends up selecting him.

    Peak Projection: Quality starter || “Championship Level” bench piece

    Top Lottery Team Fit: Golden State Warriors - The warriors run with Steph Curry and Draymond Green is coming to an end. As clear as it is that the Warriors will do whatever they can to ensure that Steph will retire as a Warrior, it’s also just as clear that Draymond’s time in Golden State is soon to be up.

    I’m not saying Johnson is a Draymond level player, or even defender. What I am saying is that Johnson would be an excellent option to fill a significant defensive void once Draymond does leave.

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    Now that we’re through all of the lottery guys, this part should be much quicker.

    Here are the rest of my top-30 prospects in this year’s NBA Draft.

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15. Cameron Carr || Age: 21 || 6’5 (190lbs) || Guard/Wing || Baylor

16. Nate Ament || Age: 19 || 6’10 (210lbs) || Wing/Forward || Tennessee

17. Koa Peat || Age: 19 || 6’8 (235lbs) || Big || Arizona

18. Chris Cenac Jr || Age: 19 || 6’11 (240lbs) || Forward/Big || Houston

19. Christian Anderson || Age: 20 || 6’3 (188lbs) || Guard/Wing || Texas Tech

20. Maleek Thomas || Age: 19 || 6’5 (185lbs) || Wing || Arkansas

21. Dailyn Swain || Age: 20 || 6’8 (220lbs) || Wing/Forward || Texas

22. Isaiah Evans || Age: 20 || 6’6 (180lbs) || Wing || Duke

23. Bennett Stirtz || Age: 22 || 6’4 (190lbs) || Guard || Iowa

24. Hannes Steinbach || Age: 20 || 6’11 (220lbs) || Foward/Big || Washington

25. Tounde Yessoufou || Age: 19 || 6’5 (215lbs) || Guard/Wing || Baylor

26. Ebuka Okorie || Age: 19 || 6’2 (185lbs) || Guard || Stanford

27. Zuby Ejiofor || Age: 21 || 6’9 (245lbs) || Forward/Big || St. Johns

28. Tyler Tanner || Age: 19 || 6’0 (175lbs) || Guard || Vanderbilt

29. Allen Graves || Age: 19 || 6’9 (225lbs) || Forward || Santa Clara

30. Joshua Jefferson || Age: 22 || 6’9 (240lbs) || Forward || Iowa State

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Outro:

Alright, that’s all I have for you guys today, and if you made to this point, thank you so much, and I hope you enjoyed today’s edition of the YourFavoriteCasual newsletter.

Let me know down in the comments if you think the Knicks will go up 3-0 in the NBA Finals, or which draft prospect you feel has still been the most underrated leading up to this month’s draft.

And now, I’ll finally leave you all alone, and as always, have a nice day, stay safe, and until next time…

-YourFavoriteCasual

Before we get into anything, let’s congratulate the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs for being our NBA Finals participants for this year!

And if you don’t know, that handsome piece of work that you just scrolled past- yeah, the one that was bold enough to wear a Thunder jersey in San Antonio- is YourFavoriteCasual himself!

This picture is from Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, and yes, I’m a biased Thunder fan, but not today; I have some honest opinions to get off my chest, and hopefully I don’t use too many characters (because this generation has serious attention span issues).

So with that, we’re going to preview the Finals, outline how we got here, and say goodbye to our final eliminated teams along the way. Let’s not waste any more time and get right to it!

Final Postseason Eulogies:

I know you’re here for the Finals preview, but we do have some cleanup to handle (or at least I do; you can scroll past this if you really want to). Regardless of the results, the teams eliminated en route to this year’s NBA Finals deserve some final love too.

Round 2 Eliminations (cont.): Minnesota Timberwolves & Detroit Pistons

Led by young superstars, each of these teams has a bright future ahead, but is the picture bright enough…

Detroit Pistons

What happened: A stroke of reality. Detroit had a spectacular year. #1 seed in the East, two All-NBA selections, but all of that feels mute as they look back on a quite shaky 2-round playoff run. Cade Cunningham looks like an exceptional leader for this unit, but Detroit’s front office needs to take a hard look in the mirror if they want to take that next step.

Future outlook: It’s clear that Detroit needs a second primary scoring option next to Cunningham. This team’s defensive identity is legit, but without giving Cunningham any consistent help on the other side of the ball, this team may have to get used to early playoff exits. Look for the Pistons to be aggressive this offseason in trying to add a player that can be relied upon for steady playoff offense.

Minnesota Timberwolves

What happened: A capacity has been reached. Minnesota was looking to reach the Finals after back-to-back Western Conference Finals losses in the last two years, only to find themselves eliminated right before the West Finals this time around. The Timberwolves are clearly a threat, but this core may have all but reached its limit as currently constructed.

Future outlook: With Anthony Edwards leading the way, the best thing the Wolves can do is continue to let him grow and give him talented enough rosters that can compete at a playoff level to see if he can break through the West on a big playoff run.

However, with Oklahoma City and San Antonio levitating above the competition not only in skill, but in youth. I would look for Minnesota to get creative in thinking about how to upgrade the production that they’re getting in Julius Randle’s role. To threaten those top two teams out West, the Timberwolves are going to need a new running mate for Edwards.

Round 3 Eliminations: Cleveland Cavaliers & Oklahoma City Thunder

Cleveland Cavaliers

What happened: One step forward, two steps back. The Cavs finally made it back to the Eastern Conference Finals without LeBron James for the first time since he left Cleveland (again), and this feat should be celebrated. The thing is, the Cavs left the Eastern Conference Finals with the same number of wins after the series ended as they started with. Zero

I mean, getting swept happens, but getting swept by losing two straight games at home by double digits with your home crowd overrun by opposing fans, and with your team clearly giving up at halftime of each of your home games… that doesn’t happen.

Future outlook: Cleveland already shook up their “Big-4” by trading 26-year-old Darius Garland for 36-year-old James Harden in a move that did help the Cavs get through the first two rounds, but unfortunately, this was supposed to be the move to take them over the top. The Cavs need to decide, and quickly, if this is the right core to bring back a championship or if it’s time to start easing into a rebuild.

Oklahoma City Thunder

What happened: A missed opportunity. The defending champs, led by back-to-back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, were eliminated in Game 7 at home last night by the San Antonio Spurs. The Thunder seemed poised to be the team to end the NBA’s non-back-to-back champions streak, but alas, there will have to be another new team that will climb to the top of the NBA mountaintop.

In this era of the NBA, with the long-term limitations on team construction crafted by the new CBA, any year where a true contender misses the mark should be deemed a missed opportunity. Title windows are closing faster than we’ve ever seen in the NBA as of late, and it’s not to say that the Thunder won’t be back, but one day we may look back on this iteration of the Thunder and say losing this year was a big miss for the organization.

Future outlook: Oklahoma City has a 500 million dollar investment that they NEED to pay off. SGA is easily worth every penny, but I’m talking about Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. Both players have made the All-Star team and All-NBA selections during their rookie contracts, and they both cashed in last offseason by each signing 250 million dollar extensions that will kick in starting next year.

If Oklahoma City wants to win a second championship, it’s clear that it won’t be done with Williams watching from the sideline, as he missed the majority of this year’s playoffs with an injury, and its imparative that Holgren can shake off his abismal performance in Game 7 against the Spurs and not let that creep into how he intends to build on the strong start to his career.

We all know that SGA is 100% the driver of this bus, but if Williams and Holmgren don’t get on board, the fans in Oklahoma may have to learn how to lean on the memories of the 2025 championship run.

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How did we get here?

So, how did we get here? The Knicks will be travelling to San Antonio for Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and this series is sure to be quite the FIESTA.

The New York Knicks:

The New York Knicks are going back to the finals for the first time since 1999! The Knicks haven’t even won a championship since 1973, but throw all that history out the window because Jalen Brunson and company are here to shatter those milestones, as every Knicks W from this point on brings the city of New York closer and closer to a city-wide riot.

This Knicks hype is more than deserved; albeit against what most would consider a “weak” playoff run, the Knicks are doing what good teams do.

Dismantle Inferior Opponents!

With 11 consecutive playoff wins (and all by double digits), the Knicks sit in some historical company heading into the NBA Finals.

So, what’s gotten them to play at such a high level? First, I’ll begin with a backhanded compliment before I continue to show some more love, but New York has yet to see a team in this year’s playoffs that can consistently pressure Brunson on and off the ball while also having good back-line defense in pick-and-roll coverage. Basically, Jalen Brunson has been able to operate in his comfort zone with ease, which opens up the entire Knicks offense, including the strengths of the rest of the Knicks’ starting 5.

The Knicks’ toughest defensive challenge for Brunson was seen in round 1, as the Atlanta Hawks had strong perimeter defenders to throw at Brunson, but weak interior defense and a weaker offense headlined the woes for Atlanta in their first-round defeat. Still, the Hawks are the only team to beat the Knicks in the playoffs this year, which does tell me that stunting Brunson’s effectiveness will prove to be a significant factor in the NBA Finals.

Another reason for the playoff win streak in New York is how effective Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges have been as championship-level pieces. These are the core players that the Knicks front office invested significant amounts of assets to bring each of these players in over the last couple of seasons, and it’s finally gelling together perfectly.

Towns has traded shot attempts for touches, as he’s been scoring less but facilitating more and letting the offense operate around his gravity, while Bridges and Anunoby are benefiting with efficient supplementary offense in addition to their individual elite perimeter defense.

Finally, I’d be remiss to fail to mention the impact that Landrey Shamet is having. The Knicks bench has been a flaw in recent memory, but Shamet has been unconscious in this run as he’s shooting 60% from 3-point range, providing much-needed bench help for what used to be an overly taxed starting lineup.

In all, with the basketball the New York Knicks put on display in May, they can beat anyone and absolutely have a chance to win the title (and let their fans absolutely destroy the city of New York in the process).

The San Antonio Spurs:

The NBA may have a problem…and so do I.

Before I talk basketball here, I do want to acknowledge how cool Game 1 of the NBA Finals is going to look, featuring San Antonio’s retro logo “fiesta” theme.

That’s going to be sick, but as cool as that theme will be, it’s not cool that I left Game 4 with nothing but a rally towel.

Yes, I’m salty. I thought they would give out T-shirts for the Game 4 blackout theme like they did for Game 3, but I guess San Antonio has been taking notes from Portland, as they managed to send this fan home extra disappointed.

Alright, onto the basketball.

The San Antonio Spurs are terrifying, not just because of the 7’5 alien they have patrolling the paint and hitting stepback threes, not just because of the three-headed snake they roll out at the guard position, and not just because they have additional and actually consistent wing shooting that includes two of the most underrated starters in the NBA AND this year’s sixth man of the year.

The Spurs are terrifying because of how fast they have put everything together to get this far. Every lesson from NBA history tells us that a team should lose in the playoffs before they win. The league’s greatest superstars usually don’t win their first championships until their mid-to-late twenties. Even Magic Johnson, who won as a rookie, had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar right there by his side, but this Spurs team genuinely has been an anomaly.

That difference obviously starts with the biggest anomaly the league has ever seen in Victor Wembanyama. Wemby is only 22 years old and already the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year (with his eyes set on the MVP award for next year too). In what is his first playoff run, he’s dethroned the defending champs and the MVP and dismantled the rest of their competition, and it’s not just him.

The average age of the Spurs starting 5 is just one year older than the starting 5 of this year’s NCAA champion, the Michigan Wolverines (and that’s without accounting for 20-year-old rookie Dylan Harper, who’s playing well beyond his years during this playoff run).

The Spurs are lined up and ready to win a championship far earlier than most people expected, and with most of their major players still on rookie contracts, that means this team won’t be going away anytime soon.

If San Antonio wins it all, maybe the alien invasion really did already hit the NBA, and the rest of the league is simply too late to stop it.

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2026 NBA Finals Preview

So, who’s going to win?

I’ll add one more tidbit from my personal experience before I make my championship guess. I genuinely think that San Antonio has the best home court advantage in the NBA.

That crowd truly impressed me (and I was in Oklahoma City for the Finals last year). Just knowing that, and knowing that the Spurs will have home court advantage, will certainly weigh on my decision.

I do think the Knicks are playing at a high level and will continue to do so, but they will need Towns to be an effective floor spacer to either pull Wemby out of the paint or take advantage of the size mismatch that Towns will receive if the Spurs keep Wemby on the backline of their defense.

With that, the Spurs will probably have Wemby roaming away from Josh Hart, or whoever the Knicks’ weakest 3-point shooter at any given time is, and those players will have to make San Antonio pay before the Spurs really start to make any defensive adjustments.

Additionally, the way we just watched the Spurs perimeter defenders, especially Stephon Castle, bully SGA for significant portions of that series, I’m sure Brunson isn’t going to have as easy a time creating his offense as he’s had in New York’s previous series against much weaker defensive teams.

Offensively for San Antonio, their ball handlers may feel more relieved by not having to deal with OKC’s revolving door of on-ball defenders. Bridges and Anunoby will have to shoulder the load of making life for the Spurs Guards tough in this series, but with those two being most of the defensive muscle that the Knicks employ, I’m not sure what they’ll have left to try and stop Wemby or even the secondary actions that the Spurs like to output for their shooters.

Without an offensive masterclass from New York, I see too many factors that lead in San Antonio’s favor heading into this series. But you know, that’s the beauty in sports: the games have to be played regardless, and with how the Knicks are playing right now, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they proved me wrong.

My guess: Spurs in 6

Outro

Phew, that was way more than I thought I would write today, but if you made it here, thank you so much, and I hope you enjoyed today’s piece. Let me know in the comments who your NBA Finals pick is or which playoff team you think is going to make the biggest move this offseason.

That’s it from me, and you all should know the drill by now.

As always, have a nice day, stay safe, and until next time…

-YourFavoriteCasual

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Today, amidst all of the playoff action, we’ll be talking about teams whose seasons are over for this year. We’ll be taking a look at the NBA draft lottery, which decides the top 14 picks of the NBA draft, and those results were provided to us over the weekend.

With more than half of the playoff field already eliminated, it’s time to look at what happened, how we got here, and what these teams’ next moves may be.

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Postseason Eulogies:

As the NBA playoffs continue to press forward, I thought it was time to say goodbye to the teams that have now fallen short of the championship aspirations that every team begins the year with.

There are 30 teams in the NBA, and only one team gets to be the champion (that’s a lot of losers). However, falling short in the playoffs doesn’t mean the year was a complete disappointment either, so let’s jump in.

Play-in losers: Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers

Miami Heat

What happened: An 83-point night. The Miami Heat’s 2025-26 season fell short of expectations. To many, those expectations were to just make the playoffs, but after a play-in tournament defeat, all there is to remember from this year is Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game against the Washington Wizards.

Future outlook: The Heat don’t have another true star to pair with Bam Adebayo, and it’s unlikely they’ll find one with their position in the draft either. Look to see Miami active in trade talks and in free agency to give that roster the boost it needs to be a competitive playoff team again.

Charlotte Hornets

What happened: The spark flamed out. The Hornets finished the last two months of the season playing at an elite level by having one of the league’s best records in that span. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to guarantee them a playoff spot, and the lack of big game experience on the team showed itself in the Hornets’ play-in loss to the Magic.

Future outlook: With a young and talented core group of players, the Hornets will look to add to their rotation in the draft. Next year, missing out on the championship wouldn’t be a disappointment, but missing the playoffs again would certainly be.

Golden State Warriors

What happened: Father time is undefeated. The Warriors put together as good a season as they could after Jimmy Butler’s ACL tear, but even with Stephen Curry back from a late-season injury, the team still was not good enough to earn a playoff spot this year.

Future outlook: This team is much older than its competition and has already re-signed head coach Steve Kerr to a two-year deal, signifying that they’ll continue to try to add enough pieces around Curry to try and get one more legitimate shot at a championship (although highly unlikely).

Los Angeles Clippers

What happened: They avoided a nightmare. The Los Angeles Clippers had a rollercoaster of a season. They began the first month of the season with the worst record in the NBA. To many, this wouldn’t be so bad with an absolutely loaded draft class on the way, but the Clippers don’t own their draft pick this season.

With that, the Clippers managed to fight all the way back in the standings to a .500 record. That is where their success would end, as they couldn’t navigate through the play-in tournament and ride their hot streak into the playoffs.

Future outlook: The Clippers traded veteran players James Harden and Ivica Zubac and received some interesting young players and draft picks to begin building a new core. With a looming NBA investigation over their heads, an aging Kawhi Leonard, and no more draft picks that have to be given away from prior trades, the Clippers are not in a bad spot, but still have to get over a lot of uncertainty in the short term if they want to make the right steps towards their ultimate goals.

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Round 1 Eliminations:

Boston Celtics

What happened: Was overachieving a bad thing? When the year began, if you told me the Celtics were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, I would’ve thought they overachieved. However, after seeing things play out, this year felt like a missed opportunity.

Future outlook: With a career year from Jaylen Brown, the ascension of their young role players, and Jayson Tatum coming back early from his Achilles tear, it felt that this would be the feel-good story of the year, but a 3-1 first-round playoff collapse put a damper on all of those good vibes as the Celtics now have to look at a host of salary and role issues to figure out before next year’s playoffs.

Toronto Raptors

What happened: So close, and yet still so far. The Raptors overachieved in the regular season and were possibly an injury away from overachieving in the playoffs, too. Toronto’s roster is built to succeed in the regular season, but this team does have significant flaws that the playoffs revealed.

Future outlook: If Toronto wants to win a championship, they’re going to need to find a 1a/1b level player to pair with Scotty Barnes, especially to supplement their offensive capabilities in higher-level playoff games.

Atlanta Hawks

What happened: A real step forward. Atlanta had a strong year and built a lot of habits to hold onto for next season, but it’s undoubtedly clear that they’re a superstar away from contending in a way that would affect the championship picture.

Future outlook: The Hawks don’t have many “bad” contracts and have a good balance of youth and experience. It is hard to imagine Atlanta getting worse in the near term, but it’s hard to imagine seeing the Hawks improving into a title contender without the help of a major splash.

Orlando Magic

What happened: They almost figured things out. The Magic were one game away from shocking the NBA ecosystem by almost eliminating the 1-seed Detroit Pistons in the first round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Magic fell back into reality, featuring the same shortcomings that had people describing their season before the playoffs as disappointing.

Future outlook: The Magic don’t have much breathing room, salary cap-wise, to do anything much differently without a major shakeup. They can either go into next year with the same team and hope for a better result, or they can put one or both of their best players on the trade block and see how they can change things up for next year.

Denver Nuggets

What happened: They broke down. Denver’s championship machine seemed to shut down in real time during their first-round matchup against Minnesota. The Nuggets had no answer for the size, speed, and physicality that was thrown their way.

Future outlook: The Nuggets began this year by trading one of their core-4 championship players to save money, and now it seems they’ll have to get even more creative to prevent some of their younger, promising players from leaving in free agency. Denver has a long off-season ahead to figure out how they want to bounce back next year.

Houston Rockets

What happened: A big step backwards. The Rockets lost in the first round of the playoffs to a short-handed LA Lakers team without two of its 3 best players. Getting sent home by 41-year-old Lebron James and company is a far cry from the playoff leap that was expected from the Rockets’ core players.

Future outlook: There’s a lot of concern in Houston, especially considering that much of their improvement plan was to watch their core develop, but if that progress has stalled, there are some tough decisions that need to be made before these players receive significant contract extensions.

Portland Trail Blazers

What happened: Baby steps. Portland was one of the least talked-about teams going into this year, with little to no expectations at all. So, escaping the play-in tournament and getting valuable playoff experience for a young team is a big step in the right direction.

Future outlook: Similarly to Atlanta, it’s hard to see Portland getting worse next year. The Trail Blazers’ biggest issue is that it’s hard to see how they’ll get good enough to actually win some meaningful playoff games the next time around without a major swing to add another star player.

Phoenix Suns

What happened: A season much better than the predictions. The Phoenix Suns made the playoffs and got eliminated before even winning a single game, but with how poorly their season ended last year, making the playoffs was a huge achievement for this team, regardless.

Future outlook: It’s clear that this team is not a contender in its current form, but it’s also clear that this team has some pieces that could help change that for the better. We could be in store for another aggressive offseason by the Suns front office to capitalize on some positive momentum.

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Round 2 Eliminations (so far): Philadelphia 76ers & Los Angeles Lakers

Philadelphia 76ers

What happened: A bad week, a great week, and then an awful week. The 76ers began the playoffs by falling 3-1 in the best-of-7 series to the Boston Celtics, only to follow up with the best 3-game stretch of their season by coming back to win the series 4-3 that simultaneously ended a multi-decade playoff losing streak to Boston.

Alas, the 76ers followed this epic comeback with a dreaded week of basketball by getting swept 4-0 in the second round by the New York Knicks, who made most of that series look completely uncompetitive.

Future outlook: The emergence of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe gives Philadelphia a strong position moving forward, but with so much money invested into Joel Embiid and Paul George and with no real ways to get around those contracts, the 76ers have to try and regroup next year with the same core and simply hope for a better result.

Los Angeles Lakers

What happened: All roads lead to playoff Lebron. Even at 41 years old, Lebron James cannot avoid finding himself in playoff situations where he’s needed as his team’s best player. This was enough to get the Lakers past the Houston Rockets in round 1, but the train stopped there as they ran into the defending champions in round 2.

With Luka Doncic out with an injury for the playoffs, the Lakers simply did not have enough to compete against last year’s champs in a significant way.

Future outlook: The Lakers have their superstar spot figured out, which is the hardest thing for any contending team to feel confident about. Now, the Lakers must continue to figure out how to build the best team possible around Doncic, with some tough contract decisions on other key players on the horizon.

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Let’s talk lottery:

On Sunday, the fate of 14 NBA organizations was decided by 14 “seemingly unknowing” ping-pong balls. These balls were numbered in a manner that created over 1000 combinations that eventually decided the 2026 NBA draft order. Yes, it’s very complicated, but it’s also very fun, so let’s talk about the results.

To save some time, we’ll just talk about the top 10, since picks 10-14 weren’t changed.

#1: Washington Wizards

Lottery vibe: Ecstatic. The Washington Wizards should be fired up to have the first pick in this year’s draft. The Wizards become the first team since the Phoenix Suns in 2018 to finish with the worst record in the NBA and still get the first overall pick in the lottery.

Maybe the lottery luck came about by sending John Wall to represent the organization at Sunday’s event, as Wall was the player the Wizards drafted the last time, they received the first overall pick back in 2010 (and that seemed to work out well).

Team needs: Even with the acquisition of vets like Anthony Davis and Khris Middleton, the team should look to improve the overall talent of the roster, regardless of position. The Wizards’ young core is missing a legit #1 offensive engine to lead the organization into its future. I wouldn’t expect the Wizards to even think about trading out of this spot, as there are a couple of players at the top of this class that we’ll be talking about in more depth soon on this platform.

#2: Utah Jazz

Lottery vibe: Grateful. For the first time in Utah Jazz history, the Jazz’s expected draft pick moved UP after the draft lottery. The Jazz finished with the league’s 4th-worst record and have now moved up to pick 2, which is still a primetime spot in a class with plenty of talent near the top.

Team needs: The Jazz are a HUGE team as currently constructed. Ace Bailey, Cody Williams, Jaren Jackson Jr, Lauri Markkannen, and Walker Kessler fill out a loaded frontcourt in Utah. I wouldn’t be surprised if Utah is thinking of drafting a Guard/Wing type of player to add to that portion of the team, even with the career years from Keyonte George and Brice Sensabaugh.

#3: Memphis Grizzlies

Lottery vibe: Refreshed. The Memphis Grizzlies are going through a rebuild as their attempted big three of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr flamed out with no results to show for it. Morant is the only player left on the Grizzlies, and he is highly expected to be traded sometime in the offseason, so Memphis is in need of a player that’s ready to be a key piece in a brand-new core for the organization moving forward.

Team needs: Talent. The Grizzlies’ roster is not in a place where they can forego scouting any single position type. The best case for Memphis is to properly evaluate who they feel will become the best available player and to continue to build the right type of team around that pick.

#4: Chicago Bulls

Lottery vibe: Sigh of relief. The Chicago Bulls had a rough year. Somehow, the already rebuilding Bulls realized they needed to blow up an already struggling plan, and in that decision, the Bulls dealt out multiple players this season who have already had postseason impacts for their new teams.

Team needs: Like many teams that dwell in the depths of the lottery, the Bulls still need a face for their franchise to rely on. Someone to score a lot of points, sell a lot of jerseys, and give off hope to their fans that the future is in good hands. Aside from that, from a roster construction standpoint, I do want to say that the Bulls do NOT need any more guards, yes, they still need a lot of better players (including guards), but right now it seems like every player under contract in Chicago is a guard right now.

#5: Los Angeles Clippers

Lottery vibe: Lucky and relieved. The Clippers do not own their own draft pick this year; this pick is a gift from the Indiana Pacers as part of a trade from the trade deadline, detailing that this pick would go to the Clippers if it landed at 6, 7, or 8. To the Pacers demise, this selection becomes the Clippers’ as they now have a decision to make.

Team needs: The Clippers need to continue to add youth. From a bird’s-eye perspective, the average age of the roster is simply too old, and this is something the Clippers improved at this year’s trade deadline and should continue to do in the offseason with the draft and in free agency.

#6: Brooklyn Nets

Lottery vibe: Disenchanted. Yes, the Brooklyn Nets should feel no longer satisfied with the NBA lottery. The Nets very publicly had a two-year window to as bad as possible to stack high draft picks before 2027, where they do not own their own draft pick, and what happened in those two years, you might ask, the Nets fell two spots in last year’s lottery and 3 spots in this year’s lottery. Clearly, the luck hasn’t been in their hands as of late.

Team needs: The Nets have one of, if not the worst, 15-man roster in the NBA right now. Aside from talent, I would say the Nets are still in need of either a primary lead guard or a scoring force in the frontcourt to add next to Michael Porter Jr., who they acquired in last year’s offseason and was one of the only bright spots from this team all season.

#7: Sacramento Kings

Lottery vibe: Dreadful. There just isn’t much to look forward to if you’re a fan of the Sacramento Kings. After moving down multiple spots in this year’s lottery, the Kings are tasked to continue to find creative ways to add to an uninspiring roster of players.

Team needs: Aside from the classic line “they need a star,” I would say the most glaring positional need for Sacramento is at Guard. Luckily, this draft, even with the slip in draft position, will have guards with potential to try to add to the championship equation for the Kings.

#8: Atlanta Hawks

Lottery vibe: Content. This draft pick is from the New Orleans Pelicans, making the Atlanta Hawks the only team in the top 10 of this year’s draft that also made the playoffs this year. Of course, you’d love to jump up, but the Hawks are in a prime position to improve an already strong roster.

Team needs: Even with the most improved player of the year, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and the renaissance season from CJ McCollum, the Hawks do need a young creator at the guard position that can lead this team into its future.

#9: Dallas Mavericks

Lottery vibe: No worries. Dallas used up all of its lottery karma to secure the #1 pick in last year’s draft. Better yet, Cooper Flagg, who that pick was used on, looks great. He won the rookie of the year award, and his career is lined up to absolutely take off. Dallas did not have a “need” to move up in this year’s lottery that would have been a luxury with Flagg already in the building.

Team needs: Here we have another team that really needs a guard. I would really say a guard/wing type of player because the Mavericks already have a lot of size on the roster. Even with Kyrie Irving slated to return next year from a torn ACL, his age and the lack of depth at the position make the guard spot an easy need in Dallas.

#10: Milwaukee Bucks

Lottery vibe: It could be worse. The Milwaukee Bucks did not move up in this year’s lottery, but they didn’t move down either. The only thing that matters in Milwaukee right now is whether or not Giannis Antetokounmpo will be in a Bucks uniform next season. Antetokounmpo’s status will ultimately decide if the Bucks will be in full rebuild mode moving forward or if they’re still trying to make “win-now” moves.

Team needs: Especially with Giannis still on the team and the Myles Turner signing in last year’s free agency, the Bucks do not need another frontcourt piece. The Bucks should look to add a guard or wing. Specifically, somebody who’s comfortable creating their own scoring opportunities along the perimeter.

Outro:

Alright, well, that’s all I have for today. If you made it to this point, thank you so much, and I hope you enjoyed the read. Let me know down below in the comments who your most surprising playoff exit so far is, or which lottery team you’re most excited to see make their selection this summer.

With that, I’ll leave you alone now and, as always, have a nice day, stay safe, and until next time…

-YourFavoriteCasual

Lucky for those of you who planned to jump in and catch up on the action now, I’ve been keeping up, and now is the time for me to tell you who I feel should receive postseason awards recognition from an action-packed regular season.

I already aired out my grievances with the current NBA awards system last week, so today’s article will be much lighter on content (and spirit), but I do have my final regular season top 50 rankings update to get through as well, so let’s not waste any more time and get into it.

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Postseason Awards:

Okay, so here’s the deal.

Many of these races were super tight all season, and in most cases, multiple guys could have won the same award, so I’m not here to argue today. I’m just going to give my opinion on how I would’ve voted if I had a ballot.

Most Valuable Player (MVP): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder)

I think SGA should win his second consecutive MVP this season. He’s the best player in the world, on the best team in the world, and he just completed the most efficient high-volume guard scoring season EVER. Last year’s MVP got better this year, and it should be enough to hold off some other great candidates.

2. Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)

Jokic has now become the first player since Wilt to average the most rebounds and assists per game for an entire season. This Serbian superstar seems to have gotten better with age, but with 3 MVPs already in his belt and a season where the Nuggets left way too many wins on the table, he just missed the cut for me.

3. Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs)

Wemby man, wow. I’m surprising myself putting him third on this list, but I couldn’t get over the fact that he’s played fewer total minutes this year than some other players who have been deemed ineligible for awards at all due to the games played rule.

Aside from that, he has no reason not to already be considered one of, if not the best player in the world. The 7’5 alien is still only in his 3rd season too, and the sky is the limit for this guy (literally and figuratively).

Rookie of the Year: Cooper Flagg (Dallas Mavericks)

Flagg was too good not to win this award for me. Regardless of how bad the Mavs were this year, he stepped in and from day one was obviously their best player, leading the team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals per game.

This, combined with having the two most impressive rookie performances this year, scoring 51 and 49 points in a game this season, gives him the edge over his college teammate.

2. Kon Knueppel (Charlotte Hornets)

There are many seasons where Kon wins this award; this is not one of them. Knueppel led the entire NBA in total 3-pointers made this year. That alone should have been enough, but a late-season drought was enough for this award to slip from his hands, in my opinion.

3. VJ Edgecombe (Philadelphia 76ers)

Edgecombe had an impressive season start to finish. He immediately established himself as a starter on a playoff team with the potential to reach heights higher than expected from him around this time last year during the draft process. Edgecome didn’t have much of an argument to me in terms of winning this award, but he was an easy 3rd place.

Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs)

Wemby is clearly the best defensive player in the world, and this should be a unanimous decision. The stats jump off the page, and somehow, when you watch, the general impact of his presence on the defensive end is even greater.

It’s not a question of whether he will win the award this year; the question is how many he will win in his career.

2. Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City Thunder)

Holmgren put together a defensive season that would win DPOY in most years. He may actually be a unanimous second place if that’s possible. But unfortunately, there are no trophies for second, and the fact that he and Wemby are one year apart in age, he may have to get used to second place in this category.

3. Derrick White (Boston Celtics)

In what is a one (or two) man race, I wanted to use the third spot on the ballot to acknowledge the defensive year that White had. White was already a highly respected defensive player and has now completed by far his best defensive season, which should earn him first-team All-Defense as well.

Most Improved Player: Nickeil Alexander-Walker

In what best exemplifies the true spirit of this award, Alexander-Walker improved from a bench rotation player to a legitimate #2 or #3 offensive creator for a playoff basketball team in his 7th season.

2. Jalen Duren (Detroit Pistons)

Duren had a spectacular leap, proving that he can be the second-best player on a Pistons team that is trying to win a championship, but Duren, being much earlier in his career and having more of an expectation to improve this season than Walker, holds him back here.

3. Collin Gillespie (Phoenix Suns)

   Gillespie is a cool story of an undrafted player not only finding a place in the NBA but also doubling his games played, minutes played, points scored, assists, and rebounds from the year before. Even with the huge improvement, the production here holds me back from saying he should win this award this year.

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Sixth Man of the Year: Keldon Johnson (San Antonio Spurs)

If I could make this a team award, I would. The Spurs’ bench all season has been their secret weapon on the way to winning 60 games. Johnson’s teammates Dylan Harper, Luke Kornet, and Devin Vassell all have their own arguments to win this award, but based on Johnson having the best stats, I’ll give him the credit and the award.

2. Ajay Mitchell (Oklahoma City Thunder)

   Mitchell would have won this award for me if not for a midseason injury that caused him to miss a significant portion of time this year. Even so, Mitchell’s hot start and great finish to the season were enough to grab my attention as one of the best players in the NBA who consistently comes off the bench.

3. Jamie Jaquez Jr (Miami Heat)

   Jaquez had his best career season and continues to find ways to help the Heat find production from their bench unit.

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Clutch Player of the Year: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder)

It looks like winning NBA awards is a family trait as the Alexander cousins tally their 3rd out of 6 available player awards.

I’m not going to list any other candidates here; game winners, clutch points, clutch moments, it’s not close, this may be the second unanimous vote on the ballot, as SGA will take this award home.

Coach of the Year: J.B. Bickerstaff (Detroit Pistons)

“We’re not 2-28 bad”.

Just two years ago, the Pistons’ best player, Cade Cunningham, said this at a press conference after losing a record 27th straight game. Now the Pistons, with a new coach in Bickerstaff, hold the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs after a 60-win season.

2. Mitch Johnson (San Antonio Spurs)

The Spurs received the 2nd pick in the NBA draft last year and now are the #2 seed in the West playoffs. Johnson has every right to a case to win this award, but with a roster full of youth that was already expected to improve it hurts the case just enough to keep him from the #1 spot.

3. Joe Mazzulla (Boston Celtics)

   Mazzulla is many people’s choice for Coach of the Year due to the Celtics success without Jayson Tatum as he recovered from his Achilles injury. The Celtics were expected to take a “gap” year, awaiting their star’s return, but instead got a special performance all year long from their team, putting themselves in position to compete for a championship yet again.

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All-Everything:

To save everyone some time, I’m not going to speak on all of the players listed below for the awards, but I will try to take a moment to spotlight a key player or two for each.

This list was also completed and posted before the NBA had decided on whether Luka Doncic’s “extreme circumstances” appeal would be approved, so if it is approved, the list will remain as is; if not, I do have the list in order from left to right, meaning Kawhi Leonard and Jalen Johnson would move up from their respective teams. Stephon Castle would take the final All-NBA Third Team spot in this scenario as well.

All-NBA:

If my vote for All-NBA were to be accurate, every single player on the All-NBA third team would be receiving their first career All-NBA selection, including Castle if Doncic remains ineligible. This speaks to the volume of talent in the NBA that continues to improve year after year, even in an era that’s been defined by star-level longevity. We’re starting to see a new wave of players slowly putting their own imprint on the league.

All-Defense:

Outside of the top 3 players that I voted for DPOY, each player remaining on the ballot outside of Bam and Gobert could have easily taken the final two first-team All-Defense spots. I leaned on preference and versatility to make my decision, but any one of those players could be voted as a top 5 defender this year, and I would not be surprised at all.

All-Rookie:

There’s only one player I want to talk about here, and that’s Dylan Harper. Due to the success of the 3 guys ahead of him, Harper had no shot in the Rookie of the Year vote, but it’s not due to talent. Harper played the fewest minutes per game this year among these rookies by far, and with his minutes, he was nothing short of spectacular, by rookie standards.

Harper is stuck behind two All-Star guards on the Spurs, forcing him to play fewer minutes on a good team. I’m excited to see what the rookie will bring to the Spurs rotation in the playoffs this year, and how long it will take Mitch Johnson to decide he can no longer come off the bench anymore, because the talent and production are obvious.

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NBA Player Tiers:

The NBA has never had more talent at one time than it does currently. Every single time I update this list, that statement becomes more prevalent. I could easily rank the top 150 players in the NBA and still feel like I left some individuals out. It’s unreal, but in the meantime, we’ll just stick to 50.

Players trending up:

• Cooper Flagg (DAL) | Jalen Williams (OKC) | Jalen Duren (DET) | Scottie Barnes (TOR) | Bam Adebayo (MIA) | Derrick White (BOS) | Desmond Bane (ORL)

Players trending down:

• Lauri Markkenen (UTH) | Jarren Jackson Jr (UTH) | Trae Young (WAS) | Alpren Sengun (HOU) | Julius Randle (MIN) | De’Aaron Fox (SAS) |

I’m not going to spend too much time because every year this specific version of the list gets overshadowed by the post-playoffs version, but I do see room for some players to use the playoffs as a launching pad up the rankings.

Every “Big” from Holmgren (23) to Mobley (28) has the opportunity to show why they’re the best big in that group during the playoffs and jump even higher in the rankings as well.

I’ll also be looking out for the playoff runs from Steph Castle and Jalen Williams and the hierarchy that’s looming in Boston between Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. The playoffs will provide much more clarity on all of these guys standing amongst the NBA’s best, and I’m excited to see the results.

Also, I wanted to say that I’m not lying about possibly ranking 150 people for this list either, and for proof (and for the first time), I’m also going to show you the Honorable Mentions chart that I use in parallel to create the list above. Don’t forget to let me know if there’s anyone here that you think should be on the main list too.

Outro:

Well, that was a little longer than I thought, but we all made it through (I mean, I hope so). If you’re one of the few who did, all props to you; I truly appreciate it. Don’t forget to let me know any of your thoughts in the comments, and before you go, leave a like and subscribe if you haven’t already. With that, I’ll give up the mic.

Thank you all again, and as always, stay safe, and until next time…

-YourFavoriteCasual

What’s going on, everybody?!?!

Welcome back to another edition of the YourFavoriteCasual newsletter. Today, we have a hot topic on our hands, and you’ve come to the right place to get a great opinion.

However, before we get to that, please consider leaving this post a like and don’t forget to leave a comment, subscribe, or share this page with a friend if you haven’t already. And now, with that out of the way, let’s jump right in.

What is Valuable in the NBA?

So, why are we here?

We are here because I believe that the Awards that the NBA gives out to conclude the season should accurately provide a snapshot of what occurred during the year.

Whether it’s for historical purposes or good-old confirmation bias, the end-of-year awards should be able to paint a distinct picture of the season, and right now, I believe this could be improved.

There are plenty of awards that the NBA offers (too many for some), but one clearly stands above them all.

Every NBA season reaches a point where the general public, media, and even the players and coaches themselves want to chime in on their takes on who should receive the coveted MVP award.

M-V-P Most Valuable Player, it sounds simple, right? Just give the award to the individual who’s the most valuable, how hard can that be? Well, time has proven that it can actually be pretty difficult, and here’s why.

No matter how much data we collect, there will never be a perfect number or system to determine a player’s “value” distinctly. The best we can do as individuals is cross-reference statistics with the on-court results.

That, mixed with a little bit of “gut-feeling,” is the exact reason why, year after year, the simple definition of “valuable” when referring to the MVP award actually changes year to year in the NBA.

Listen, I’m not here to give you guys my MVP vote today (that’s for next time!), but I am here to offer a solution that I believe would give the NBA some breathing room.

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My Solution

Every year, the NBA media votes on who the best players in the league are, and that list becomes the “All-NBA”. With a recent rule change, the All-NBA team does not have to re-create a typical 5-man basketball lineup anymore; you simply are being presented the 15 best players regardless of position (in 3 groups of 5).

I would like to see an addition to the All-NBA ballots that includes an open-ended slot where the voter can write in who they think is the single best player in the NBA.

No definitions needed, just compile the results and name the player with the most votes the “#1 All-NBA Player” to create an official “Best in the League” title. Over time, this honor could begin to hold as much, if not more, respect than the MVP award, as it would be proof (before the playoffs) of who the people believe is the best.

This would also open up space to utilize the MVP award for what I believe is its most intended purpose, and that is to recognize the most special season in the NBA.

It is not often that the MVP winner is also considered to be the best player in the league, and that’s okay. More often than not, the most memorable MVP seasons are achieved by those who played so well that the “best in the league” argument had to be ignored, and I believe this discrepancy creates a gap when reviewing the NBA’s awards historically.

I see no reason why the NBA cannot properly acknowledge who had the best year, while still recognizing who is believed to be the best player. This would only provide a more accurate historical snapshot for the NBA.

To see this in action, I’ve actually compiled who I thought would win each award in years past. As we can see below, in the last 18 seasons, I’m predicting that the MVP would also be the “Best in the League” only seven times.

This shows that at the end of most seasons, there’s no way to recognize the person who is widely regarded as the league’s best player at the time, which I feel is a disservice to the NBA.

What makes an MVP season?

Not every MVP season is made the same, and there’s so much context that will always have to be considered, but we do primarily see two types of MVP seasons.

The first is when a player who isn’t regarded as the best player in the league (at the time, at least) has such a great season in which they surpass expectations for themselves and their team that the MVP voters have to acknowledge such a special season.

These are usually “fun” MVPs because the volume of success is usually unexpected and makes for such a fun story overall, like a Derrick Rose, or Russell Westbrook, and even Stephen Curry’s first MVP season. These were all “fun” MVP seasons.

The second is more obvious. Seasons where the now or already-deemed "best" player in the NBA asserts themselves and erases the competition. These are more “dominant” MVPs because the expectations were already levied on the specific player, and they not only met those expectations but proceeded to exceed them.

Seasons like 2012 & 2013 Lebron James, 2016 Stephen Curry, and 2019 & 2020 Giannis Antetokounmpo all come to mind.

Not every MVP season fits perfectly into those two descriptions, but if you want to dig deep into every single example, they all have similarities to either one or the other.

Ultimately, this proves that there is a difference between being the “Best” player in the NBA and the most “Valuable” in most seasons. And if there’s a difference, then it’s also fair to say that it’s unfair to the players and to the history of the league that the NBA’s most prestigious award all too often is given to players for differing reasons depending on the year.

My Final Gripe

Just two years ago, the NBA implemented a 65-game rule to be eligible for awards at the end of the season. This rule was implemented to address the concerns of the “negative” effects that “load management” was bringing into the NBA, but I have some proof that this rule is actually doing the opposite.

If you look closely, in my preferred MVP format, I would have given this year’s MVP award to Cade Cunningham, who is having a spectacular year and eerily similar to Derrick Rose’s 2011 campaign, but the asterisk is for my final gripe of the day… the 65-game rule.

Cunningham has been the driving force behind the Detroit Pistons being the top team in the Eastern Conference this year. He was having a clear-cut All-NBA First Team (top 5) season, and he will likely finish this season without accolades, which is simply unfair to Cade, and it’s also irresponsible to the history of the NBA.

Last week, while diving for a loose ball, Cunningham left a game with a rib injury that later turned out to be a collapsed lung, which is putting his ability to return this season for the final 3 weeks in jeopardy.

Cade also just so happens to have only played in 61 games so far this season, which would make him ineligible to receive any type of award recognition if he cannot return to play just 4 more games.

How did we get here?

The NBA’s intention with this rule was clearly to discourage star players from sitting out night to night on specific occasions (hurting the league’s reputation). The problem is that this rule does not discourage stars from sitting out; it encourages it.

Take a look at this chart I created comparing how many games the All-NBA first team individuals played in their respective seasons for the last 6 years (excluding two shortened pandemic seasons).

Do you see what I see?

If not, what I see is a clear variable that the NBA failed to account for, and that was the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the final two full 82-game seasons before the pandemic, on average, the 5 best players in the NBA played more games than players do now with the 65-game rule in effect.

Yes, in the first two full seasons after the pandemic, the average does drop to its lowest point for these players, and we even see that one player in the sample failed to reach 65, but this is not a bad thing.

The two pandemic seasons were condensed to fit into a smaller time frame due to the scheduling conflicts that were presented. This caused players to take rest even more seriously during this period, as the schedule was forced to shorten their offseasons.

The data shows that star players in the NBA simply needed time to get acclimated to the original schedule after going through the NBA’s two shortest offseason periods ever.

Even so, without knowing, NBA award voters have already been accounting for “games played” when giving players end-of-year awards anyway, showing the only reason for this rule to begin with was to punish players who already had no intentions of receiving awards.

Yes, 65 does seem like a good number because this is an achievable goal, but there will always be cases that arise that will cause a player to not reach 65 games, and those individuals, like Giannis Antetokounmpo on the chart or Cade Cunningham this season, may still deserve to be recognized for their efforts.

Why is it so wrong?

Now, with this arbitrary line drawn by the NBA, not only will seasons like Cade Cunningham’s be ignored, but it also gives an incentive to increase “load management”.

Before this rule, star players were more likely to finish out a season or tread lightly when searching for an “off night” and still manage to reach 70-80 games played. Now, these same players know they will be equally treated for playing 65-68 games as they would have for playing 78-82 games, and it’s no secret that in an 82-game season that features heavy travel, games on back-to-back nights, and stretches that include 5-7 games in 10 days at a time, teams will always look to protect their investments (the players).

Unfortunately for the NBA, this rule now incentivizes teams to increase “load management” by looking to schedule nights off for star players more often because they “only” need to reach the 65-game mark.

By now, I hope we all see that the issue that the NBA thought it was solving is now INCENTIVIZING that exact behavior. All while punishing players who get close to the milestone only to fall short with actual injuries.

In all, this rule makes no sense. It’s not getting the players to play more often; it encourages players to return early from injury, which is unsafe, and it incentivizes the exact problem that was looking to be solved.

I just don’t understand how you can continue with this rule, it should be taken away completely, because it’s not helping anyone except for star players that reach 65-68 games played; who will then take the final two weeks of the season off to rest for the playoffs, which is fine by me, but if the NBA actually thinks this is an issue that they would want to fix, they’re clearly going about it the WRONG way!

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Outro

Well, that’s enough out of me. I know this may have been a longer piece than usual, but thank you for hearing me out anyway.

If you enjoyed today’s post, please leave a comment down below, and don’t forget to like, subscribe, or share with a friend. I hope you all are staying safe, and as always, until next time…

-YourFavoriteCasual

“When you wish upon a star.
Makes no difference who you are.
Anything your heart desires.
Will come to you.
If your heart is in your dream.
No request is too extreme.
When you wish upon a star.
As dreamers do.”

Unlike Pinocchio, I have no desire to become a real boy, but I did want to see if my fingers still worked to actually write another chapter of this blog… and what do you know, They Do! And if you’re anything like me, your dream can come true today too, because I know if you’re here, you want to know who should be selected to the NBA All-Star game this year!

If not, I’m sorry because that’s all I have for you today, well, that and an update to my player tiers, which includes a brand-new top 50 list. So, since you’re here, you might as well sit back, relax, and scroll through my thoughts on the first half of action in the National Basketball Association!

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YourFavoriteCasual’s All-Stars:

The NBA is certainly feeling the love in the air this season, as the NBA All-Star weekend will coincide with Valentine’s Day weekend this February. And fellas, with the quality of the All-Star game deteriorating by the year, PLEASE make the right choice and take your lady out that weekend, do not get in trouble for these basketball festivities.

Catching up on highlights of the game will be fine, but the accolade of being named an All-Star is still as important as ever. The starters for each conference have already been announced, but not the full teams. However, this is how I would vote for the teams to be selected.

Eastern Conference

Starters: Cade Cunningham (DET) - Jalen Brunson (NYK) - Tyrese Maxey (PHI) - Jaylen Brown (BOS) - Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL)

Reserves: Donovan Mitchell (CLE) - Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK) - Jalen Johnson (ATL) - Scottie Barnes (TOR) - Jalen Duren (DET) - Paolo Bancero (ORL) - Bam Adebayo (MIA)

Western Conference

Starters: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) - Anthony Edwards (MIN) - Luka Doncic (LAL) - Nikola Jokic (DEN) - Victor Wembanyama (SAS)

Reserves: Stephen Curry (GSW) - Jamal Murray (Den) - Devin Booker (PHX) - Kawhi Leonard (LAC) -Kevin Durant (HOU) - Alpren Sengun (HOU) - Chet Holmgren (OKC)

Alright, let’s address the elephant in the room… no LeBron James on the Western Conference list. Yes, after 23 years, I believe he shouldn’t be selected to be an All-Star for the first time since his rookie year (what a streak). I do fully believe the NBA will name him an All-Star anyway, but after missing the first 14 games of the year, James has eased his way into the season, taking a backseat to Luka Doncic. This, combined with other players out West having stronger cases, in my opinion, led to me leaving off the G.O.A.T this year.

Getting back on track, I’d like to point out some attention to a couple of Guard-Center duos that I believe should be All-Stars. If you take a quick look at the NBA standings, it won’t take long notice Detroit and Oklahoma City hold the NBA’s top two records. Both teams are led by MVP candidate guards in Cade Cunningham and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA), while working with offensively savvy big men that set the tone for their respective squads on the defensive end in Chet Holmgren and Jalen Duren.

SGA is the reigning MVP, but there’s a real case that all four of these players are having the best seasons of their careers, especially Cunningham, Holmgren, and Duren. Cunningham has left no doubt this season, but in regard to the big men, I’m having a hard time justifying leaving off any of them on my All-Star ballot in favor of other players that may score more but do so for teams that have won significantly fewer games this year.

Finally, before I wrap up my All-Star talk, I’d be remiss not to acknowledge the seasons that Jalen Johnson and Jamal Murray are having. Similarly enough, both of these players have shown levels of play that deserve All-Star consideration in the past, but neither has ever received the honor. Well, that trend ends now! Johnson and Murray both have had their best regular season starts to date (and it may be due to some addition by subtraction).

Over the last couple of years, a choice has loomed over the Atlanta Hawks, and with their trade to send 4-time All-Star Trae Young to the Washington Wizards, they’ve finally given the keys to the franchise to Johnson, and he hasn’t looked back. On the other side it’s no secret that Murray and Jokic are one of the top duos in the NBA (well, they did win a championship together), but a hot start combined with an injury to Jokic that’s kept him sidelined for more than a few weeks has opened up the time Murray has needed to show the league that he’s been long overdue for an All-Star selection.

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1/2 Season NBA Player Tier List: “The Big 100”

Just like any good piece of media, even my tier list can receive a time skip. The most recent update on this blog would be from my last article, Chapter 49 “Thunderstruck: How to Kick off a Dynasty” which I still think is one of my best pieces of writing ever (check it out here if you haven’t), but to conclude the article, I gave my updated rankings to represent the conclusion of last season’s playoffs.

If you’re new here, I’ve separated every player into one of four positional groupings while distinctly ranking the top 50 and allowing color changes to represent tier shifts in each group. If you’re a regular, you probably helped me edit this list, and if you didn’t, just let me know; I probably just forgot to send it to you.

Skip to the bottom to see the full tiers list.

Now with all that out of the way, the player I’ve come away most impressed by this season has been Jaylen Brown. With Jayson Tatum tearing his achilles during the playoffs last season, I truly believed the Celtics season would look like what’s going on in Indiana right now (and with Tyrese Haliburton tearing his achilles in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the Pacers tank is perfectly okay, we’ll see those guys next year). But seriously, Brown is having a career year, averaging career highs in points, rebounds, and assists while leading the Celtics to a top two seed in the East. With rumors of Tatum possibly being able to return to play before the playoffs start, the Celtics are a true championship contender with Brown playing basketball like this.

Before I get to my silver and gold medalists of overall success this season, I want to give a shoutout to some of the old heads before it’s too late. I’m talking about Kawhi Leonard and Joel Embiid, who could both retire today and be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Amazingly enough, entering year 15, with countless missed games and major surgeries, and one of the weirdest offseason headlines of all time, Leonard has been averaging a career high in points and has been the catalyst to the Clippers mid-season turnaround.

On the other hand, Embiid may not be averaging a career high (hard to do when you’ve averaged 30+ 3 different times), but it’s been nice seeing him catch a rhythm and actually play significant stretches of the season without injury. I don’t want to jinx either of them, but who knows? The next time I give my rankings update, this may not hold up, so while they’re still playing well, I want to call it out, and hopefully, they keep it going too.

Finally, I have to give credit to Stephon Castle and Tyrese Maxey, who’ve made two of the biggest leaps from last offseason to today on this list. With the consistent absences from Embiid, Maxey has stepped up and taken over the primary scoring duties in Philadelphia. There may be 10 people I have ranked above him right now, but there certainly aren’t 10 players having better seasons right now. I just want to see him lead his team like this in the playoffs before I can declare he’s made the next leap.

As for Castle, there’s not much more I can say than how impressed I’ve been by his play. He won the rookie of the year award last season in an underwhelming race, but this year he’s left no doubt about who the top player in his draft class is. Castle’s numbers haven’t skyrocketed statistically, but he’s clearly a much better player, impacting winning at a much higher level. Whether it’s through his defense, energy, and athleticism, or greater command at controlling the pace of the game, he looks much more focused and primed to make a real name for himself this year in the playoffs next to franchise centerpiece Victor Wembanyama.

Players trending up from the offseason: (excluding rookies)

• Cade Cunningham (DET) | Chet Holmgren (OKC) | Jalen Duren (DET) | Keyonte George (UTH) | Nickeil Alexandar-Walker (ATL) | Austin Reaves (LAL) | Jalen Johnson (ATL)

Players trending down from the offseason: (excluding rookies)

• Darius Garland (CLE) | Ja Morant (MEM) | Trae Young (WAS) | Domantas Sabonis (SAC) | Jarren Jackson Jr (MEM) | De’Aaron Fox (SAS) | Evan Mobley (CLE)

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Outro:

So, did you get your wish? I know, probably not, but you could say you got something even better… straight ball knowledge. If you made it down here, thank you for reading, and let me know what you thought of today’s blog in the comments below!

Thank you all again, and as always, stay safe, and until next time…

-YourFavoriteCasual

What’s up, guys? How are we all feeling today?! To be honest, I feel refreshed from all of the time I took off from the blog, but now we’re back and better than ever! Today, we’ll be diving into the construction of the Oklahoma City Thunder and how they were able to become the second youngest team in NBA history to win a championship. We’ll also cover this off-season’s biggest move and unveil my updated top 50 players list (with tiers, of course).

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How to kick off a dynasty:

Do you see that? That guy who’s holding the trophy. Yeah. That guy. That’s Shai, and I was going to say this story is about him, and believe me, none of this happens without his unimaginable rise to the top ranks in the NBA, but it’s not. It’s really about this other guy and how his unexpected connection to a city somehow became much bigger than just basketball.

Yup, you got it, that white guy with the glasses and tie, his name is Sam. Sam Presti is the General Manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he’s been the acting GM for all 17 years of Oklahoma City’s basketball existence.

Since their inception in 2008, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been one of the most successful franchises in the NBA. With the second-highest team winning percentage (just behind the Boston Celtics) and the most MVP seasons recorded by different players (since the 2008-09 season), the Thunder have already managed to make a significant impact in the modern history of the NBA.

Some would say that the Thunder are best represented in NBA history by Kevin Durant (for better or for worse), others (like me!!!) would say it’s Russell Westbrook, and now to some it’s probably becoming Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. All 3 are NBA MVPs, and they won those awards in Thunder uniforms, just in different years, and if you feel that the answer is any of these players, you wouldn’t even be wrong.

I just ask one thing from you: what if it’s actually Sam Presti?

Right here, Presti is celebrating his first NBA title as an acting GM, but even though he’s already been regarded by many as not only one of the best GMs in the NBA, but in all of sports. To others, he’s been… well, I guess the word would’ve been.. underwhelming.

Now, how has a guy who’s survived 17 years in a role that only 32 people are allowed to have each year, where the average tenure is just under 5 seasons, been underwhelming? I mean, this guy drafted 3 different MVPs and then traded for another future MVP, his scouting prowess is considered top of the line, and he started his Oklahoma City tenure as the youngest GM in NBA history!

But that’s just it, this man came into his role with large expectations on his shoulders, and the worst part is, he immediately began to exceed them. I mean, the early success was never a bad thing, but succeeding at such a difficult job at such a young age without actually winning a championship can invite those with opinions full of doubt, jealousy, and even hate.

Now, Presti wasn’t perfect by any means. Trading James Harden to the Houston Rockets in 2012, fresh off the franchise’s first and only Finals appearance (until this year), is certainly one of the biggest blips in his resume. His roster building the rest of that decade was surely questionable as he failed to build a team that could help Durant and Westbrook return to the Finals.

Fueled by underperforming draft classes and a lack of help in free agency, tensions boiled over when Durant refused to return to the Thunder by choice and left to sign with the Golden State Warriors in free agency in 2017.

After that, it took a while for Presti to find his footing again as a top-tier General Manager. The late 2010s were discouraging for Thunder fans as Presti searched for the right pieces to help Russell Westbrook possibly win a championship for the city, but even after acquiring players like Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, it seemed Presti just couldn’t find the right combination, and he had a decision to make.

Burdened with an underperforming team that featured aging stars, Presti did the unthinkable. He decided to throw it all away and start over with a brand-new team. In what is now probably the most fruitful week in OKC Thunder history, at the time it was considered the worst (or maybe second worst, damn Kevin) week in OKC Thunder history.

—

Unfortunately, July 2016 and 2019 don’t even compare to what occurred on April 19, 1995, at 9:02 am. In what is truly the most consequential moment in Oklahoma City history, a bomb exploded right outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. This was a truly devastating moment as it led to 168 casualties, including 19 children.

In the moments after this tragedy, the world was able to watch and learn about how the city came together in the aftermath. Knowing that this city has always strived for more, yet was forced to face such an unfair setback.

This allowed me to further understand the resiliency and dedication required to rebuild something brand new and beautiful, even with seemingly nothing to start with but hope.

It’s no secret that this city is often overlooked because of its stature. There was even a campaign to have an arena built by 2002 hopes of securing an NHL expansion bid in 1997, but even after facing that rejection, years later, that same arena was used to unveil their brand-new NBA team.

Moments and history like this make it clear that this city has a sense of pride and resiliency that few others could understand. And this, to me, is similar to the mentality and persona that led to the Oklahoma City Thunder’s eventual success on the basketball court.

—

As it stood in the moment, Presti’s decision in the 2019 offseason to trade George and Westbrook to the Los Angeles Clippers and the Houston Rockets within a span of days was seen as unforgivable.

The Thunder had been accustomed to competing at the highest level in the NBA, and for the first time, the Thunder had admitted to the city and their hardworking fans that they were no longer good enough to compete.

Even though he did receive a boatload of assets that included a historic amount of future first-round picks spanning all the way to 2026, Chris Paul, and a young prospect fresh off his rookie season named Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, this new reality for the Thunder resembled that feeling Oklahoma City already managed — having to learn how to start something completely new.

The following years for the Thunder were forgettable at best, but it was undisputably fun to watch as a basketball fan with no expectations for the team.

In these years of hard work and resiliency, for the first time, the Thunder were able to buy into and follow the footsteps of the city as they curated a culture that would rival most other professional sports organizations.

Although these seeds had been planted for a couple of seasons, the Thunder were BAD, like really bad, but if you watched closely, the atmosphere of the team wasn’t dismal; matter of fact, it was promising.

The Thunder took that promising feeling and ran with it as they were able to fully take on the identity of their city. A city that is strong, sometimes overlooked, and resilient. A city that has aspirations to grow with people who want the world to see how beautiful it can be, and featuring a basketball team that just happened to want the same.

Not before long, the Thunder weren’t just one of the best teams in the NBA. They were the best.

Being able to recognize the importance of rewarding hard work, battling through adversity, and getting a little bit better every day were the exact principles of the team, and the exact points Sam Presti would harp on to the media years before their eventual success.

With all this in mind it’s unbelievable to think that the first championship team in Oklahoma City history would feature seven players that were either undrafted or second-round picks, an MVP whose rise to stardom was as surprising as any part of this story, and a team with a brotherhood that outclassed the rest of the NBA, but if you think about it, it really is full circle for not only the team, but the city.

The entire organization, from top to bottom, was able to adopt the attitude and the identity of Oklahoma City, especially Presti. The man deemed a prodigy in his industry, the same person who never got fully discouraged and never changed his messaging or mentality for the team, regardless of any result or mistake that ensued.

He successfully found the ability to match these desires with Oklahoma City’s strength and desire to become something more. Thus, becoming a perfect match for a team of individuals destined to become NBA champions and currently sitting with enough youth and future assets to already begin considering the possibility of starting the next NBA dynasty.

And this is why this is Sam Presti’s story…

His work has been so important to this city, a city that’s often overlooked, a city where its most famous event used to be a tragedy, a city where that specific event’s memorial is a place that is usually filled with great grief and anguish, but for at least for one day, one moment, this was the location of the start of the parade that signified a new proudest moment for the people of Oklahoma City, this moment instead was filled with happiness and joy, a city where the people who once considered themselves survivors can now call themselves…

Champions.

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Biggest offseason move:

Former MVP and two-time champion Kevin Durant is on the move for the fourth time in his now 17, going on 18-year NBA career. This time, he’s returning to his home state, as he was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets in the NBA’s first-ever 7-team trade that was as convoluted as it sounds. Durant, despite his rising age, is still one of the best scorers in the league. He averaged 26.6 points per game last season, which was good for the 6th highest total among qualifying players, and he still has a couple of years left in the tank to help a team try to win a title.

This move was easily the most threatening offseason move to the now defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Rockets finished as the 2-seed in the Western Conference before losing in 7 games to a much more veteran Golden State Warriors team, but Durant offers exactly what Houston was missing in the playoffs, which is a primary offensive option and go-to scorer in late-game situations.

The rest of the Rockets’ roster perfectly complements Durant’s declining defensive abilities as their young core has established themselves as one of the NBA’s best defensive units. In what is clearly a well-executed “win-now” trade, the Houston Rockets put the rest of the league on notice that they are ready to compete for a championship next season despite a disappointing playoff run.

Post Playoffs NBA Tiers List (Top 50):

Finally, all I have left is my final player rankings update based on this year’s postseason play. I have 80 names separated by the 4 primary position groupings, but only the top 50 are ranked in order.

The player I came away the most impressed with was Tyrese Haliburton. Establishing yourself as a legitimate top 10 player in the NBA is no easy feat in this era, and he did that with the historic playoff run he and the Indiana Pacers had all the way to the NBA Finals.

I would then say Jalen Williams and Amen Thompson impressed me the most after that, which is a bad sign for the rest of the NBA as these players will only be entering their 3rd and 4th seasons and they both already are All-Defense team members, but it’s what both showed offensively in the playoffs that should terrify the rest of the NBA and heighten a budding rivalry between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets moving forward.

Trending Up:

• Jalen Williams (+10) || Tyrese Haliburton (+7) || Jaylen Brown (+7) || Amen Thompson, Mikal Bridges, and Desmond Bane (Previously unranked)

Trending Down:

• Darius Garland (-10) || Ja Morant (-9) || Rudy Gobert (-8) || Austin Reaves (-8) || Jarren Jackson Jr (-5) || De’Aaron Fox (-5)

Outro:

Well, that’s all I have for you guys today. Thank you all so much for your kindness and support; it truly makes my day. Make sure to leave a like if you enjoyed and be sure to comment on what you thought of today’s short story.

Also, John Wall recently retired, so shoutout to the king of the DMV, “Mr. Dougie” himself, on an amazing career!

Thank you all again, and as always, stay safe, and until next time…

-YourFavoriteCasual

What’s up everybody we’re back with another edition of the YourFavoriteCasual newsletter! The last time we caught up, we said goodbye to all of the eliminated playoff teams and discussed why the NBA Finals was tied at 2-2. Now it’s almost been a week, and we still don’t have a champion as the Finals currently sits at 3-3 and we have one game left for all the marbles, so let’s jump right in I have a lot to talk about!

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Game 7 Preview:

Wow, wow, wow, I know we didn’t preview the NBA Finals on this page, but I was fully convinced we would see Oklahoma City dominate this series and a part of me is happily surprised that it hasn’t gone that way at all. At this point, both teams are fully deserving of a title and have given us the best NBA Finals since the Cleveland Cavaliers 3-1 comeback on the Golden State Warriors in 2016 (and we all remember that series right???)!

One thing I’d like to touch on is how strong each team in this series has looked while playing at home. To be honest, both teams should be 3-0 at home in this series, but the basketball has been so exciting, we’ve seen a comeback road victory for each team. One thing that certainly helps with this is the environment because there is a case to be made that the home crowds in Indiana and Oklahoma City are the two best and loudest crowds in the league, and both cities are certainly showing out right now.

Another thing I want to make sure to acknowledge is one of the adjustments I talked about in last week’s newsletter. I remember pointing out how effective the Pacers’ full-court press was and how the following games led to adjustments that have defined the series. Well, now we’ve come full circle with this specific adjustment, I guess it’s bound to happen when you play the same team six times in a row, but we left off talking about how in game 4 in Indiana, the Thunder used their star players to create space for each other with screens down the stretch. Well in game 5 the Thunder relied on using an extra center on the court to relieve the effects of the press earlier in possessions and used effective spacing with their other players to create open looks and driving lanes which they took advantage of and rode to a convincing victory, but Indiana fully adjusted for game 6. In game 6, Indiana decided to almost completely stop the full-court press and began to allow their defenders to pick up at half-court instead, leaving the primary defenders that would eventually see screens in good position to recover while still applying pressure on whoever has the ball instead of chasing players down the court. This adjustment not only worked for longer stretches because it seemed it left the Indiana defense less tired, but it also completely confused the Thunder, as this defensive strategy effectively acted as a man/zone coverage hybrid that Oklahoma City just never figured out. The Pacers even forced a career high in playoff turnovers in a single game for MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with recovering defenders in passing lanes and a new line of defense always taking away the basket, this added with timely double teams that forced steals changed the game in the first half and gave Indiana an advantage in the game that they never gave up.

I say all of this to say that with one game left in the series, it is now the Thunder’s turn to adjust and learn how to break this new aggressive half-court defensive look from Indiana instead of finding pathways to break the full-court press like they were forced to earlier in the series.

Finally, and it was mentioned in my point about my favorite adjustments in this series, but game 7 (just like every other game in this series) will come down to Turnovers. It seems that if you throw out game 1 (where Indiana committed 20 turnovers and still managed a wild comeback victory), the team that forces more turnovers seizes the momentum and takes control of the game. All season long, that has already been the recipe for OKC’s 68-win regular season, but it’s become the most important factor for Indiana, too, in this series because the Thunder’s defense is so strong as a unit that this is the best way to consistently keep them unbalanced and unprepared. Generating transition opportunities, easy baskets, and momentum to create the unpredictable up-tempo pace the Pacers thrive in has been key in their 3 finals wins, just as anchoring down on the defensive end and protecting the ball has been the key for the Thunder’s 3 wins.

In all, I still think this Thunder team is more talented, but we have seen that these teams are more than even. In any case, I’m still picking the Thunder to win game 7 and win this series, and my reasons why remain the same. After watching games 5 and 6 play out the way they did, I think home court advantage is even MORE important specifically for this series the way both of these teams feed off of the crowd energy. I also can’t see the MVP of the league, a guy who’s been made fun of for being “too consistent” sometimes have two extremely poor performances in a row, and that gives me confidence to pick the Thunder in this one.

However, I have been wrong before (pretty much in every article if you look back lmao), and this Pacers team has it’s pick of players that can turn this game on its head with an elite shooting performance so I expect nothing less than a great game and for this to become one of the games that ends up being remembered in NBA history and a game that caps off a spectacular season in the NBA this year.

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The Lakers Sold for 10 Billion Dollars???:

Finally, I wanted to take a moment to look at what the recent sale of the Los Angeles Lakers means for the NBA moving forward. With 6 teams selling to new owners in the last 3 years, is this a bad sign for the NBA, or is it simply a coincidence?

Recent NBA team sales:

Los Angeles Lakers (2025) - $10 Billion

Boston Celtics (2025) - $6.1 Billion

Phoenix Suns (2023) - $4.0 Billion

Dallas Mavericks (2023) - $3.8 Billion

Milwaukee Bucks (2023) - $3.5 Billion

Charlotte Hornets (2023) - $3.0 Billion

If we look at each sale individually, it doesn’t look like owners are jumping to get out of the NBA, but it seems like more of the opposite. To me, it looks like there’s a variety of new prospective owners who have always wanted to own teams as most of the new buyers are individuals or groups that already owned smaller stakes in the team and were ready to jump into majority ownership or those who have publicly been vying for a team waiting for the previous owner to sell completely. This, combined with current owners and families getting older and seeing these large valuations and sales, sometimes the price gets too high to say no.

I don’t think this means anything is wrong with the NBA, but what do all these sales mean moving forward? One thing that jumps out to me is that every team sold in the 2020s has sold significantly above its original Forbes valuation before the sale price became official, meaning that, regardless of declining viewership issues, the value of NBA franchises is the highest it’s ever been.

I also believe this new influx to the league’s revenue will shake up the NBA sooner rather than later. I don’t mean to say every team will sell soon, but I do know the NBA hasn’t been shy about their expansion plans, and for what seemed to be a project the NBA was willing to pursue in the next decade, it’s now laid out to happen sooner than ever. The NBA has more than enough leverage from the public sales of some of its most and least popular and profitable franchises to provide an accurate assessment of what 2 new expansion teams would sell for, making the expansion process much easier moving forward. It’s also no secret that the NBA wants new teams in Las Vegas and Seattle, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we had official buyers for these franchises in the next couple of years, which would speed up the process that we would actually see two new teams in the NBA.

Outro:

Alright, guys, thank you for listening to me going on and on about the NBA Finals and my expansion thoughts, but ff you made it down here, make sure to let me know in the comments what you thought of today’s blog and who you think will win the NBA championship. Thank you all for the support I truly appreciate it, and with that being said, have a great Juneteenth weekend, and as always, stay safe and until next time…

-YourFavoriteCasual

What’s going on guys! Are we all feeling that or is it just me?!?! The NBA Finals are fully underway, with Game 5 set to tip off tonight in Oklahoma City. In what has already been a high-paced and action-packed series featuring game-winning shots, intense physicality, and big-time performances, we might be witnessing the best finals of the decade.

Today, we’ll be diving into how this series is tied after four games and what I expect to see in the rest of this series. While we’re at it, we’ll also be saying goodbye to the fallen teams of the playoffs. So just sit back, relax, and let’s get started. Oh yeah, one more thing, yes, that picture is me at Game 1 in Oklahoma (with Chet Holmgren warming up behind me), and yes, seeing the Haliburton game winner was absolutely insane.

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NBA Finals Review:

Oklahoma City Thunder 68-14 (14-6 playoffs) vs. Indiana Pacers 50-32 (14-6 playoffs)

Both the Pacers and Thunder have had moments where they’ve dominated the style of play in this series, which would have been a surprise for some to learn heading into the finals with the Thunder as such heavy favorites. The Thunder entered the finals with the best defense in the NBA and the league MVP, while the Pacers came in with the most intense pace of play and a flurry of some of the most improbable comeback wins in playoff history in each of the first 3 rounds behind some superstar level shot making, with the most important buckets coming from Tyrese Haliburton each time.

For this year’s finals the first thing that jumps out to me is that both teams have won a game in controlling fashion and both teams have stolen a win on a road where they played as the worse team for the majority of the game and used big 4th quarters to spearhead a victory.

Pacer Path to Victory:

For the Indiana Pacers it wildly important they continue to play with pace and keep OKC’s primary ball handlers uncomfortable with their full-court pressure. Specifically in their game 3 win where they dominated the entire game it was clear that the on-ball pressure and intensity was too much for OKC that night as the Pacers forced 19 Thunder turnovers (OKC committed 21 in the first two games combined).

This defensive pressure combined with a clear 3-point shooting edge as any one of their role players can completely turn around a game at any time will be the reasons the Pacers can shock the NBA world and win their first NBA championship.

Thunder Path to Victory:

For the Oklahoma City Thunder they must continue to rely on the consistency that got them to the finals specifically on the defensive end of the court. The Thunder have won games with offensive explosions and with poor scoring performances, but in each of their losses you can find the primary reason being a bad defensive performance. The Thunder thrive on turnovers and points generated from extra possessions and will look to continue to match the intensity of Indiana.

Meanwhile on the offensive end of the court the Thunder rely on the ability of the league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. SGA is currently averaging almost 33 points per game in the finals, but as consistent as the point totals are the Thunder are highly reliant on how well his supporting cast can play as well. If the Thunder want to win Oklahoma City’s first title it may come down to how well SGA’s teammates perform in the next 2-3 games.

What I expect:

I expect this series to continue its high pace and physicality, in fact, in game 4 we saw the most possessions of full court press by two teams combined in an NBA playoff game ever (according to NBA player tracking data). With a championship on the line there’s no single possession either team will be willing to give up. So, whoever can control this unpredictable pace on both ends by limiting their own turnovers and keeping their opponent uncomfortable with the ball will win the series.

Both teams rely on deep benches and have great head coaches that have already been making adjustments by the game. In Indiana’s game 1 win they won the rebounding battle while the thunder didn’t play their “double big man” lineup at all. The Thunder responded in game two with a lot of “double big” minutes and winning the rebounding and the game. To respond, the Pacers attacked OKC’s big men on the court forcing them to defend in uncomfortable positions and making OKC take either or both off the court in their game 3 win, but in game 4 OKC responded by heavily relying on guard-to-guard screens using SGA and All-Star sidekick Jalen Williams to get each other free and to offset the impact of not having two big men on the court. This is just one trend I’ve noticed through the first four games, and we could dive in way deeper, but I do have a word count on these articles.

So, in all, aside from what was thought before the series started these two teams are very evenly matched. Both teams feed off of energy and it’s clear that each team is more comfortable at home which allows me to lean in OKC’s favor as they have 2 of the next 3 at home. With that, the Thunder also have the single best player in the series in SGA as he’s coming off scoring 15 of the final 16 points in the Thunder’s comeback game 4 win. SGA has been consistent all season and he’s proven time and time again he’ll go out swinging for this thunder team and I think his scoring ability and presence plus home court advantage will be the difference in this series.

Prediction: Oklahoma City in 6

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Playoff Obituaries:

As we’ve made our way to the Finals, the Thunder and Pacers have had to leave the rest of the teams in the playoffs behind, so let’s examine some of the questions each of these teams has to figure out if they plan on taking a larger leap next season.

Conference Finals Runner-Ups:

New York Knicks: The Knicks went all in on this roster after trading for Mikal Bridges and extending OG Anunoby, but after a disappointing conference finals loss right after the franchises best playoff series win in the y2k era dismantling the Celtics it’s understandable that that Knicks front office is feeling the pressure as they fired head coach Tom Thibodeau soon after the playoffs and have a big decision to make regarding Karl-Anthony Towns upcoming contract extension.

In a weaker conference there is still optimism for this team to get over the hump but with the second apron looming that needs to happen sooner rather than later before key players have to be traded away to save some money.

Minnesota Timberwolves: The Timberwolves find themselves looking in the mirror after suffering a conference finals loss for the second year in a row. This seemed like a pretty successful result after trading away Karl-Anthony Towns in the offseason to avoid the luxury tax, but with new expectations it’s hard to believe the wolves aren’t disappointed for getting so close once again.

The Wolves front office has big decisions to make on Julius Randle, Naz Reid, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s expiring contracts, but regardless of who they resign or don’t they’ll be looking at their most recent draft class of rookies Terrance Shannon Jr, Jaylen Clark, and Rob Dillingham to make big time leaps moving forward in a conference that’s shaping up for the playoffs to be an absolute bloodbath for the rest of the decade.

2nd Round Exits:

Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cavs are coming off the best regular season without Lebron James in franchise history, and with a team full of players on the right side of 30 that should be cause for celebration. However, with a season that strong a second-round exit becomes insufficient. Clevland will have to decide if its current core of All-stars is capable of making a playoff leap before their contracts become too expensive to keep them together.

Boston Celtics: The defending champions and also the championship favorites this year heading into the playoffs received the biggest blow of any contending team during the playoffs. Multi time All-NBA First team Jayson Tatum suffered a ruptured Achilles and will probably miss all of next season too. With a new ownership group and the team already in the luxury tax it’s only right to assume this was the last playoff run for this iteration of the Celtics roster. Whether it’s a hard or soft reset in Boston remains to be seen, but this offseason will answer a lot of the fanbases’ questions.

Denver Nuggets: The Nuggets played in two 7 game series including forcing the Oklahoma City to 7 games with a completely overmatched team, but when you employ the best player in the world in Nikola Jokic your team will always be a contender. Denver will look forward to this offseason to add more help for Jokic before he exits his prime years, but with their current salary cap issues they don’t have too many levers to pull.

Golden State Warriors: The Warriors showed their commitment to Steph Curry by trading for Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline. The Butler move helped the Warriors make the playoffs, but an injury to Curry in round 2 saw their dream season end. Unfortunately trading for Butler came with a contract extension so the warriors will not have much salary cap space to work with as they look to trade younger talent on the roster to improve their championship chances for next season.

1st round exits:

Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks have the turnkey to flip the entire offseason of the NBA on its head. Since winning the championship in 2021 the Bucks haven’t been past the 2nd round and have now suffered a third straight first round exit. If 2-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo grows tired of this team one trade request will have the ability to alter the entire league.

Detroit Pistons: The Pistons are officially no longer rebuilding thanks to some good drafting, free agent veteran additions, and most importantly the rise of Cade Cunningham as a star in this league. With cap flexibility and youth this team has the ability to compete in the East for the coming years.

Orlando Magic: The Magic are coming off the worst team 3-point shooting season in the NBA since 2015, but with a top 10 defense and an opening to compete this is why they traded for Desmond Bane who’s a career 41% shooter from behind the arc. Bane joins a young core of Jalen Suggs, Paolo Bancero, and Franz Wagner as teams in the east have already begun to make moves to try and compete in what looks to be a “wide open” conference for next year.

Miami Heat: The Heat are coming off their worst season of the decade and it doesn’t look like it will get much better. Without finding a way to sign or trade for another superstar the Heat don’t have much help for Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro after sending Jimmy Butler packing earlier this season.

Houston Rockets: The Rockets just had their best season since trading James Harden and finished with the 2 seed in a stacked western conference. This team used an elite defense and a lot of youth to secure a great regular season, but this youth showed its age in the playoffs as they lost in a competitive first round series to a much older and more experienced Golden State Warriors team.

Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers were involved in the trade of the season by acquiring Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis this year. As much as that trade was talked about and as good as Luka is, that trade did make both teams immediately worse because each team was already built around the other player. The Lakers losing in the playoffs was not much of a surprise as it only took one round for them to realize they only trusted 5 players to play, but with their first offseason with Luka ahead the first order to business will be finding a brand new big man for their brand new star.

Los Angeles Clippers: The Clippers took the Denver Nuggets to 7 games in one of the better first round series this year. In what was supposed to be a down year after letting Paul Geroge leave in free agency the Clippers managed to put together a strong season in their first year without having to share an arena with the Lakers. I’m interested to see if the Clippers decide to make any more win now moves or choose to sit pat with Kawhi Leonard and James Harden at the helm.

Memphis Grizzlies: The Grizzlies playoff appearance this year was rather quick after being dismantled in 4 games by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Memphis traded their third best player Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic yesterday and that signifies to me that the front office feels that this Grizzlies core is not championship material. I don’t expect more big moves to come (trading Ja Morant or Jarren Jackson Jr), but I wouldn’t be surprised to see more moves signifying a soft rebuild in Memphis.

Outro:

Alright then, that’s all I have for you guys today. Thank you so much for the support, and I appreciate you reading all the way through if you made it down here. Comment below who you think will win the NBA Finals and what team you think is the next surprise team to make it to the final two. With that, I’ll leave you all to it and as always stay safe, and until next time…

-YourFavoriteCasual

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Pittsburgh Steelers Draft Grades:

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve revisited the Pittsburgh Steelers on this blog, but when you give up 300 rushing yards and find yourself down 21-0 at halftime of the first round of the NFL playoffs, that’s hard to forget (and hard to write about as a fan).

Fortunately, I’m not the only one who didn’t forget the message that was sent by the Baltimore Ravens last year in the playoffs, and it seems the Steelers got the message loud and clear with how they decided to attack the NFL draft, so let’s get into it.

*Click the player names to see their college football season highlights*

Round 1 (pick 21): Derrick Harmon || DT || Oregon || 6’4 || 311lbs

I love this pick. Aside from quarterback the Steelers biggest need was arguably along the defensive line. With some aging pieces and a lack of depth in the interior throughout the season, I think the Steelers took the best defensive lineman available and added a legit steppingstone on the path towards rebuilding the interior of the defensive line (it doesn’t hurt to be immediately mentored by future Hall of Famer Cam Heyward either).

Grade: A-

Round 3 (pick 83): Kaleb Johnson || RB || Iowa || 6’1 || 225lbs

Pittsburgh didn’t have a second round pick because of their offseason trade to acquire Pro-Bowl WR D.K. Metcalf (a big time move for a team without a QB lol), but the Steelers followed up with another strong selection in round 3. After losing Najee Harris to free agency the Steelers had a hole at running back to fill and they took advantage of a deep running back class by waiting patiently for the right guy to fall into their lap.

Johnson and Harris have almost identical frames (height & weight), but they are completely different runners with the football. Johnson is extremely fluid for his size and should fit nicely into the Steelers zone run scheme, which emphasizes finding the right gaps to attack. He combines this fluidity with breakaway speed that allows him to break off runs for big gains, which is something Najee unfortunately struggled with in his time as a Steeler. I think this pick has the potential to be a home run, and I love the thought process here.

Grade: A

Round 4 (pick 123): Jack Sawyer || OLB || Ohio State || 6’4 || 260lbs

I can understand what the Steelers are trying to do here, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Sawyer had a great college career at Ohio State and managed to lead the Defense as a captain and 5th year senior to a national championship. I can understand why the front office felt strongly about a player with his character and intensity, I just don’t trust his tools to become a consistent pass rusher, and he doesn’t project as a player that can move to inside linebacker either.

I believe the plan for Sawyer to contribute to the defense will be to set the edges for the run defense on early downs while letting our more talented pass rushers get rest between plays, but if he cannot do this at the next level, he’ll quickly become limited as a career special teams guy. That’s not exactly a bad thing, but I just felt there was more value in other places at this selection, and an opportunity to wait another round or two to take a guy like Sawyer.

Grade: D

Round 5 (pick 164): Yahya Black || DT || Iowa || 6’5 || 317lbs

I’ve seen a lot of varying opinions on this pick, but I can only respect the Steelers’ intentionality in rebuilding their interior on defense in this year’s draft.

Black is a large presence at the line of scrimmage, and I think he immediately becomes a nice complement to the undersized Keanu Benton, who has had a good start to his career, but he is significantly better at pass rushing from the inside than protecting the run. Black will be able to contribute immediately as an early down run stuffer with the opportunity to develop his pass rushing tools to become a more complete player, but this late in the draft, it’s a strong selection in my opinion.

Grade: B-

Round 6 (pick 185): Will Howard || QB || Ohio State || 6’4 || 236lbs

There’s a lot to like about this pick. Howard was one of the more underrated QBs during this draft process, as a lot of Howard’s success this season during his national championship run was attributed to the overwhelming talent of the team and much less to Howard’s efforts.

However, for the Steelers, Howard has all the tools to project as a long-term backup at the position (which does provide some sense of stability) and with his strong arm and sometimes overlooked rushing ability as a bigger athlete, he does have to potential to become something much better for Pittsburgh with time. In all, I think he’s a great talent to bet on this late in the draft.

Grade: B

Round 7 (pick 226): Carson Bruener || ILB || Washington || 6’2 || 227lbs

I don’t know much about Bruener, but I do know that inside linebacker is a position group the Steelers invested heavily in last year. Aside from him simply being a depth piece for this roster, I wouldn’t expect to see him on the field much outside of special-teams duties.

Grade: C-

Round 7 (pick 236): Donte Kent || CB || Central Michigan University || 5’11 || 194lbs

Clearly, adding players with physicality, size, and strength was the draft plan for the Steelers up until this final pick. I don’t know much about Kent as a prospect but he does fill a newly acquired need at the cornerback position as last year’s 6th round pick for the team Ryan Watts officially medically retired from the NFL after missing his entire rookie season with a neck injury.

Grade: C

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Playoff X-Factors:

Now let’s dive back into the NBA playoff race. With round 2 on the horizon, let’s review one player on each remaining team that has the power to swing multiple games in their team’s favor as we get deeper into the playoffs.

For this exercise, I tried to keep the candidates exclusively off the bench, but for one team, that just wasn’t an option (I’m looking at you Thibs).

Also, I think I accidentally spoiled my conference finals picks with the image previews, but that’s okay, I wasn’t going to do a predictions segment anyway.

Eastern Conference:

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers: Ty Jerome

If you’ve been following along with this account, you’d know that I gave Ty Jerome the sixth man of the year award on my ballot for his efforts this season. Not only does Jerome have the full ability to impact how far the Cavs can go in the playoffs as their primary offensive engine off the bench, but Jerome has already significantly impacted two of their four first round games against the Miami Heat including sparking his own 24 point run (where he either scored or assisted on all Cavs baskets) in the 4th quarter of game 1 which became the difference in that game.

Jerome is set to become a free agent once this season is over, and he’s clearly putting himself in position to become paid like the best backup point guard in the NBA, but for now he remains Clevland’s “secret weapon”.

(2) Boston Celtics: Al Horford

Man, oh man, if Lebron James wasn’t already performing the way he is at 40 years old, Al Horford would be getting a lot more love for his stretch of longevity in the NBA. The 38-year-old 17-year NBA vet is entering the playoffs once again, playing some of the best basketball of his career.

The stat sheet will never tell the full story for big Al at this point in his career, but remaining a reliable volume 3 point shooter (38%), an underrated shot blocker, and with a newly found ability to guard players on the perimeter and move his feet better than some players 10+ years younger than him, Horford has become the perfect backup big man for Boston and his on court versatility allows the Celtics to use Horford by himself as the only big or with another big man and take advantage of possible “double big” lineups which have been very successful across the NBA this season (we’ll be talking about this “phenomenon” later).

(3) New York Knicks: Mikal Bridges

Fitting that the only non-bench player on this list belongs to Tom Thibodeau’s New York Knicks. For those that don’t know, Thibs is known across the NBA for relying on his starting 5’s, let’s just say a little too much. Luckily for Thibs, he’s found a starting 5 with the Knicks that is fully prepared to play all 48 minutes of basketball for him every night.

Bridges is only 28 and just two years removed from averaging 26 points per game for the Brooklyn Nets but finds himself scoring only 17 a night this year. This drop off is expected joining a team with Jalen Brunson and Karl Anthony Towns, but if the Knicks want to shock the basketball world and beat Boston en route to a Finals run they’ll need the aggressive version of Bridges to give teams key matchup advantages while taking the load off of Brunson and KAT as well.

(4) Indiana Pacers: T.J. McConnell

Pittsburgh, Pa basketball legend T.J. McConnell has somehow made a 10-year career in the NBA as an undersized point guard that can’t shoot 3’s, but he’s truly made a home in Indiana where he’s served as Tyrese Haliburton’s backup for a few years now and this role is absolutely perfect for him.

McConnell has always been an underrated point of attack defender throughout his career (especially in Philadelphia), and offensively, he’s encouraged to keep the pace of the game fast and hectic and to attack the paint off the dribble as much as possible. Surrounding McConnell with shooters and cutters allows him to let loose in his bench minutes and spread the ball to open players when he inevitably forces the defense to collapse trying to thwart his driving abilities. If he’s able to let loose against Cleveland too, watch out for a possible upset in the East and a 2nd consecutive conference finals appearance for Indiana.

Western Conference:

(1) Oklahoma City Thunder: Alex Caruso

The OKC Thunder may be the deepest team in the NBA this season, but the most important piece off the bench for this team is probably for NBA champion Alex Caruso. Caruso has provided key intangibles for this Thunder team on and off the court, and the impact has only heightened once the playoffs began.

Not only has the impact from Caruso increased, but his minutes per game have increased too, as he’s found himself too important to leave off the court in the closing minutes of tight playoff games. Caruso is still one of the best defenders in the NBA, and he slots in perfectly with this Thunder team as another versatile wing that can take on any challenge depending on the opponent. If OKC wants to convince the world that the team isn’t too young to see playoff success and make a real run this year, Caruso will have to be a major piece of that puzzle.

(4) Denver Nuggets: Russell Westbrook

“The Russell Westbrook experience” has been a narrative about his playstyle that has followed Westbrook his entire career and showed out in the Nuggets first-round series win against the LA Clippers. This “experience” truly is unquantifiable, but there’s a reason Westbrook is currently long past his prime and still one of the most watched, beloved, scrutinized, and questioned players in the NBA. If you’re still confused, Westbrook tries his best to explain this phenomenon in his game 7 presser from this weekend, but it really is something you have to watch play out during a game with the effort he puts in on every single play.

Regardless of how you feel about Westbrook at this point in his career, though, it’s now clear that if the Nuggets want to pull the impossible and beat the 68-win Thunder in round 2, they’ll need all the Westbrook they can get (good and bad). The chaos he causes on the court alone might be enough to make the Thunder uncomfortable and no one has described Westbrook’s role in Denver better than himself after he said last week “My job is to simply come in and F*** S*** Up” and if Denver wants to go back to the NBA Finals it seems they’re going to need Westbrook to continue doing his job at a high level to make it happen.

(6) Minnesota Timberwolves: Naz Reid

It’s no surprise that Minnesota fan favorite Reid finds himself as the choice here. At 7-feet tall, Reid’s versatility on offense and defense allows him to serve as a stretch big man or an oversized forward, as he allows the Timberwolves to get away with different types of lineups depending on what their opponent shows.

Reid can shoot the 3 with consistency, dribble the ball and create his own shot to take advantage of mismatches (shooting over small defenders and driving past bigger ones), and he’s able to defend the paint and perimeter with his size and athleticism, but the most impressive part of Reid’s game this playoff has been his clutch gene. Through the first 4 games of round 1, Reid accounted for 26 4th quarter points while only missing one shot total (9-10) and making all of his 3-point attempts (6-6). I’m not sure Reid will be able to keep this pace up for the rest of the postseason, but Minnesota will need him to try because the threats he presents for opposing teams when he’s playing well are something that not many teams are equipped to stop.

(7) Golden State Warriors: Brandin Podziemski

The Warriors are constantly looking for scoring help outside of Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler, and one player who’s found the confidence to step up is Podziemski, or Podz for short. He’s been inconsistent in providing scoring punch in his short career and even in this postseason, but during the games where he is shooting the ball well, the Warriors can feel unstoppable.

Podz has found himself as a key member of this year’s iteration of the Golden State Warriors, who are on a mission to get Curry his 5th career championship. If they intend to succeed in this endeavor, they’re going to need much more consistency from Podz, especially as they’re opponents moving forward are going to be much better offensively than their round 1 opponents, the Houston Rockets.

Outro:

And that’s it. Thank you all so much for the continued support, especially if you consistently make it to this paragraph right here, I really do appreciate it. I don’t have anything else for you guys this week, just make sure to continue to tune into the NBA playoffs (you already know I will).

Let me know in the comment section below if you disagree with any of my draft grades or have any other X-factors remaining in the playoffs that need to be identified, but with that, I’ll leave y’all to it. Thank you again, and as always, stay safe, and until next time…

-YourFavoriteCasual

What’s going on guys, we’re back with a brand-new edition of the YourFavoriteCasual newsletter! It’s time to give out the awards and accolades that come with the conclusion of the NBA season, and then I’ll give you my brand-new list of the top 50 ranked players, too. I’m pretty excited for this one, so let’s get started.

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NBA Awards:

Most Valuble Player [MVP]: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)

We touched on the MVP race in the season debrief from last week, and my opinion hasn’t changed since then. If you missed that article, go ahead and click here to see what I said about the MVP race. Right now, I’ll use this space to wonder why the Denver Nuggets would fire head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth just a week before the playoffs started. Tensions must’ve been high in the front office, but there’s no way this gives a promising message to the team; these decisions could’ve waited for the off-season if we’re being honest.

#2: Nikola Jokic (DEN)

#3 (tie): Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) || Jayson Tatum (BOS)

Defensive Player of the Year [DPOY]: Lu Dort (OKC)

This was the hardest award to decide on, and it’s still the only award I don’t think I can predict who will actually win it. In a year where the favorite for this award was lost due to injury it seems like the perfect time to advocate for one of the hardest working defenders in basketball Luguentz Dort.

Dort is one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA and has been recognized by his peers as such for a couple of years now, which makes it even more surprising that he’s never been voted by the media onto an All-Defensive team, but that’s coming to an end this year. Dort is also the catalyst for everything Oklahoma City tries to do on the defensive end, spearheading one of the best defenses in NBA history Dort always takes on the toughest matchup, and he leads the league in fouls drawn on illegal screens. This undrafted product is now the longest tenured member on OKC’s roster, and it would be great to see the individual that embodies everything that the team tries to do get recognized in this fashion.

#2: Dyson Daniels (ATL)

#3: Evan Mobley (CLE)

Rookie of the Year [ROTY]: Stephon Castle (SAS)

This one was also a tough award to decide on, with late season runs from Risacher and Sarr, but Castle had the best end-to-end season from anyone in this year’s rookie class, so it has to be him. Castle’s athleticism and game IQ were traits that stood out all year and set him up for a bright future. San Antonio should be very excited for next season as they successfully pulled off the De’Aaron Fox trade and look to get Victor Wembanyama back from injury. The Spurs will be very dangerous next season if they can stay healthy.

#2: Zaccarie Risacher (ATL)

#3: Alex Sarr (WAS)

Sixth Man of the Year [6MOTY]: Ty Jerome (CLE)

For this award, I’m going to stray from the consensus. I’m not even sure if Jerome will be eligible to win the sixth man of the year award based on games and minutes played, but it hasn’t stopped him from being the most impactful non-starter in the NBA this year.

Whether or not Jerome wins the award, I want to recognize him right now for how he helped transform the Cavaliers throughout the season as a lead ball-handling option and with timely defense. His development is one of the biggest reasons the Cavs are having the best season in their franchise history without LeBron James.

#2: Malik Beasley (DET)

#3: Payton Prichard (BOS)

Most Improved Player [MIP]: Dyson Daniels (ATL)

For this award, I think it should go to Dyson Daniels as he’s gone from 5 points per game to 14.5, but most importantly, he’s become one of the best defenders in the league in the blink of an eye. Daniels is looking to become the 8th player in NBA history to average 3 or more steals per game during a season, as his development this year is something no one saw coming, which is a factor that carries more weight for me when discussing this award.

#2: Cade Cunningham (DET)

#3: Christian Braun (DEN)

Clutch Player of the Year [CPOTY]: Jalen Brunson (NYK)

The Clutch Player of the Year is still a new award, so it’s hard to find historic patterns or trends with winners in this area, but one of the best late-game performers all year has been Jalen Brunson for the New York Knicks. Brunson has led the Knicks through clutch time all year, and it would only be right to give him the 3rd ever CPOTY trophy.

#2: Nikola Jokic (DEN)

#3: Anthony Edwards (MIN)

Coach of the Year [COTY]: J.B. Bickerstaff (DET)

In a season where two teams are set to win more than 64 games, let’s turn our heads to the team that finished with the worst record in the NBA last season. The Detroit Pistons won just 14 games in 2024, but in 2025, they’ve more than tripled their win total to 43 (with 3 games left too!).

The veteran offseason acquisitions and in-house development of younger players were already a reason to expect the Pistons not to be the worst team in the NBA this year, but the coaching exhibition from Bickerstaff to lead this team into becoming a formidable playoff opponent is more than enough for me to give him this year’s award.

#2: Mark Daigneault (OKC)

#3: Kenny Atkinson (CLE)

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All NBA:

Let’s jump into my votes for the positionless All-NBA, All-Defense, and All-Rookie teams. Due to the new CBA, this is only the second time in NBA history that the end-of-year awards are positionless. Still, the biggest game-changer has been the 65-game rule that players need to fulfill to become eligible, as many talented players will miss out, either by just a few games or by missing large stints due to injury.

All-NBA 1st Team: Shai Gilgeous Alexander (OKC) || Nikola Jokic (DEN) || Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) || Jayson Tatum (BOS) || Anthony Edwards (MIN)

All-NBA 2nd Team: Donovan Mitchell (CLE) || Stephen Curry (GSW) || Cade Cunningham (DET) || LeBron James (LAL) || Jalen Brunson (NYK)

All-NBA 3rd Team: Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK) || Evan Mobley (CLE) || Tyrese Haliburton (IND) || Jalen Williams (OKC) || James Harden (LAC)

All-NBA Honorable Mentions: Jaren Jackson Jr (MEM) || Pascal Siakam (IND) || Devin Booker (PHX) || Alperen Sengun (HOU)

All Defensive 1st Team: Lu Dort (OKC) || Dyson Daniels (ATL) || Evan Mobley (CLE) || Draymond Green (GSW) || Jalen Williams (OKC)

All-Defensive 2nd Team: Amen Thompson (HOU) || Ivica Zubac (LAC) || Jaren Jackson Jr (MEM) || Toumani Camara (POR) || Rudy Gobert (MIN)

All-Defense Honorable Mentions: Ausar Thompson (DET) || Bam Adebayo (MIA) || O.G. Anunoby (NYK) || Cason Wallace (OKC)

All-Rookie 1st Team: Zaccarie Risacher (ATL) || Stephon Castle (SAS) || Alex Sarr (WAS) || Matas Buzelis (CHI) || Yves Missi (NOP)

All-Rookie 2nd Team: Jaylen Wells (MEM) || Bub Carrington (WAS) || Zach Edey (MEM) || Isaiah Collier (UTH) || Dalton Knecht (LAL)

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NBA Tiers List:

Alright guys, we’re almost done for today, now all I have left is my final player rankings update before postseason play begins this week.

I have 80 names, but only the top 50 are ranked in order; the rest of the players are ranked in descending order based on their position group columns.

Outro:

That’s all I have for you guys today. Thank you for reading, I appreciate all of the support! If you made it all the way down here, be sure to let me know if you disagree with any of my award winners or rankings on the top 50 list. If nothing else, I wish you all the best and as always, stay safe and until next time…

P.S. Big congratulations to the 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame Class that includes Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles, Billy Donovan, the 08 Men’s Olympic team, and my favorite women’s hooper of all time, Maya Moore!

-YourFavoriteCasual

With that being said, that does mean we’ve gone the entire NBA season without catching up, but don’t worry, I’ve been glued to the action all season long. Today will be a question/answer catch-up course on everything that’s gone on in the NBA this year. Sorry about the ramble, but I’m excited to get into this, and with that out of the way, let’s jump in!

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So, what’s been going on in the NBA this year:

Is SGA vs. Jokic really the closest MVP race we’ve ever seen?

Aside from all the crazy trades and great basketball, the MVP conversation has headlined this year’s season. Nikola Jokic is already a 3-time MVP winner and is now having the best statistical season of his career as he’s top 3 in points, rebounds, and assists this year, which is something that has never been done before. However, his competition, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, is leading the league in points per game, 30-, 40-, 50-point games all at an efficiency we’ve never seen, and has led his team to the best record in the NBA with key teammates missing extended time with injury throughout the season.

In my opinion, although both seasons will be remembered as all-time level performances, I think the stark difference in team success will be a valid tiebreaker to separate the two, and it seems many voters agree with me (see the latest ESPN MVP straw-poll results here). In that case, no, I don’t believe this will be the closest MVP vote in history, but I do think this has been one of the most entertaining races to watch night to night I’ve ever seen. Both guys will tell you they don’t care about the award, but their play on the court says otherwise. I mean Jokic had a 60-point triple-double just this week, and SGA has extended his streak of consecutive 20-point games to 69, which ties Michael Jordan’s record and is the largest streak since 1965!

Regardless of who wins, all we can hope for now is to see if these two clash in the playoffs in the next few weeks.

How real are the Lakers and Warriors after successful trade-deadline makeovers?

Real, but not real enough… In all seriousness, the Lakers adding Luka Doncic is the most surprising trade the NBA has ever seen, and the Warriors adding Jimmy Butler has completely turned around their season. As scary as seeing Luka in a Laker jersey is, both of these teams still have legitimate flaws that hold me back from believing either could win 4 playoff rounds this spring, even if they each have the potential to make some type of playoff run.

Here’s to hoping, hopefully in round 1, that we get to see one more LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry playoff matchup.

Is the Eastern Conference a two-team race?

Yes. As fun as the basketball has been all year, there has been a clear difference between the quality of the two conferences. There’s a number of teams in the East to keep an eye on, and many of the playoff matchups should still be very exciting (I’m looking at you Indiana and Detroit), but if the last two teams standing in the East aren’t the Boston Celtics and Clevland Cavaliers that would be a huge disappointment.

The Boston Celtics are the reigning champions, and even though they aren’t having the historical regular season that they had last year, the core of the team remains the same, and it seems that this group has its sights on a deep playoff run instead. The Cavs, however, are (or were) on pace to have one of the better regular seasons of all time, looking to become the third team ever to reach 70 wins, but after a bad road trip, they’re trying to get their feet back under them and go into the playoffs strong. It does remain clear that these teams are setting themselves up for a showdown in the Eastern Conference Finals, and I’m so ready to see these teams go at it for 7 games.

When did the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons become good???

The Rockets and Pistons find themselves firmly in the playoffs this season, which is a long way from being the worst two teams in the NBA 4 years ago, with zero playoff appearances between the teams since then. I bring that up because these teams are led by the first two picks from that 2021 draft, Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green. Both teams also spent their losing seasons adding draft picks that now fit their desired identities and now have head coaches who are getting the most out of these young teams on the defense specifically.

These teams’ journeys have been very similar, and now they even share a familial connection as twins Amen and Ausar Thompson are having breakout seasons for the Rockets and Pistons after being the 4th and 5th picks in the draft just last year. These teams should be extremely proud of the way the season has played out, and they both have much to learn about themselves with playoff runs on the way as they’re both positioned to be competitive and hopefully championship-caliber teams for the rest of this decade.

Can we finally trust the Clippers?

Honestly, I’m not sure, but I am having a lot of fun watching them while it lasts. If you’re reading this, you probably already know about 2017-18 MVP James Harden’s disappointing playoff career and that 2-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard hasn’t had a healthy playoff in over 5 years, but is this finally the year it comes together for the “other” team in Los Angeles?

Billionaire owner Steve Ballmer has already doubled down on the veteran duo with big contract extensions into their twilight seasons, and he paid for the Clippers to have their own arena in Inglewood instead of sharing a building with the Lakers. In what has become known as one of the better arenas in sports and a legitimate home court advantage for the Clippers, are the vibes finally right for this all but forgotten franchise to make a playoff run? Again, honestly, I don’t know, but after watching Leonard and Harden play this well leading into the playoffs, I’m very excited to watch and find out.

Is Cooper Flagg really worth it?

As you can see with one look at the standings “tanking” in the NBA is still an issue for teams that don’t have the talent to compete, but with the major success of recent #1 overall picks like Cade Cunningham finally leading the pistons to the playoffs or Anthony Edwards becoming a Top-10 player in the NBA, or Paolo Banchero turning the Orlando Magic’s hopes around its clear that the safest way for bad teams to become good is through the draft.

Now, how good is the freshman Cooper Flagg at Duke right now? Very good. I can’t say he’s a better prospect than Victor Wenbanyama from 2 seasons ago, who is already becoming one of the best players in the league, but Flagg looks poised to become the next #1 pick to turn a franchise around. At 6’9, Flagg is already dominating college basketball as he’s already won the National Player of the Year award in college basketball and has currently led Duke to its first Final 4 appearance since the retirement of the legendary Coach K.

Not to say too much about Flagg before I release any of my draft content, but his defensive instincts, offensive versatility, and 3-level scoring ability make him a perfect fit with any team or scheme in the NBA next year. The most impressive thing about the season he’s having may be that he’s one of the youngest college basketball players in the country after skipping his senior year of HS to attend Duke early and after spending last summer with team USA helping the national team prepare for the Paris Olympics, he seems poised to become a part of the NBA’s next generation of stars.

Are the Oklahoma City Thunder “frauds”?

Alright, sorry for all of that early draft talk, but now we’re down to my final question. I saved this for the end because I already know that I’m going to want to spend the most time on this one. I also know not everyone reading this is a fan of OKC, and I am now giving you time to skip to the outro or stop here before I really get into it.

Let’s set the stage: The Oklahoma City Thunder are having one of the best regular seasons in NBA history. They are currently 64-12 with a 14.5 game lead over second place in the Western Conference (an NBA record) and have a chance to become just the third team in NBA history to reach 70 wins in a season. With only 1 loss to an Eastern Conference team all year (29-1), the Thunder set another NBA record for best record against an opposing conference in history. Another record the Thunder have tied and still have 6 games to try and break is most wins by 10+ points in one season, they’re tied with the 1971 Los Angeles Lakers at 50! Aside from being #1 in most team defensive categories and other defensive and turnover-related season-long records the Thunder are on pace to break or have already broken the final stat I will lay out that proves just how dominant they’ve been all year is that this team has a chance to finish with the best NET Rating of all time. They are currently tied with the 1996 Bulls with a rating of 13.4, and only one other team has ever finished with a rating over 12 (the 1997 Bulls).

OKC is accomplishing all of this with the 3rd youngest roster in the NBA and battling large stretches of injuries from key players all season. The only constant has been the MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading this team with not just the 33 points per game he averages on offense, but high-level defense to match the energy and identity of the rest of this roster. Even with SGA, this Thunder team will need its 2022 draft duo of Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren to make major strides in the playoffs after disappointing playoff performances last year.

This year, Williams made his first All-Star game as he’s second on the team in points and established himself as one of the most versatile defenders in the league, while Holmgren who is the team’s best interior defender has been working on getting reacclimated after suffering a hip fracture during the first week of the season. Those two, added with Defensive Player of the Year candidate Lu Dort, offseason additions Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso, and 2nd-year standout Cason Wallace, are the primary reasons why this team has been deep enough and talented enough to have such a historic level defense in such an offense-oriented period for basketball in the NBA.

I could go on and on about this team; they’ve genuinely become my favorite OKC Thunder team to watch (yes, even more than the Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant teams). I say all of that to say this: if the Oklahoma City Thunder don’t AT LEAST make it to the NBA finals this season would be a massive disappointment. Regardless of how young and talented the team is, you never know when a championship window could close, and having a season like this is too good to pass up on a clear opportunity to win the title.

Even though I do expect the Thunder to be in the finals and win if the team can stay healthy throughout the playoffs, if they don’t win the championship, I don’t think it should completely overshadow the year this team is already having. There seems to be a lot of general NBA fan doubt about the Thunder’s ability to win it all because they simply haven’t done it yet, but this year is as good as any to get through the West with this core for the first time and put those doubts to bed. This year’s playoffs are set up to be one of the more exciting postseason tournaments in recent memory, and I do expect the Oklahoma City Thunder to be holding the trophy at the end, but we’re just going to have to wait and see.

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Outro:

Well, that’s all I have for you guys today. Thank you so much for checking today’s newsletter out, and if you liked this, stay tuned for more content throughout the playoffs!

If you made it all the way down here, comment on what you think the most interesting story in the NBA has been this season. With that, I’m finally done, thank you again, stay safe, have a great weekend, and as always, until next time…

-YourFavoriteCasual

P.S. Shoutout to Carmelo Anthony for being a first ballot selection into the Basketball Hall of Fame. We get to find out the rest of the elected class over the weekend but wanted to shout him out.

What’s going on, everybody?! Welcome back to the latest edition of the YourFavoriteCasual newsletter! Don’t forget to leave a like and comment your thoughts so we can discuss them in the comment section below.

Today, I have another addition to our preseason NBA content. This week, we’ll be deep diving into every NBA team in the Western Conference. The first game of NBA action is this Tuesday, so once again, sit back, relax, and let’s find out what to expect from these teams going into this season!

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Western Conference Deep Dive

Today’s article will be formatted identically to last week’s Eastern Conference Preview. We’ve already talked about half the NBA so let’s dive into the other half!

Championship Contenders: Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves

These are the teams that I expect to finish in the top 4 of the West, host first-round playoff series, and be first in line to compete for the NBA title this year.

(1) Oklahoma City Thunder:

Last Year’s Record (57-25) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (56.5) || Win Total Prediction (Over)

Key Additions: Alex Caruso || Isaiah Hartenstein

Key Departures: Josh Giddey || Gordon Hayward

The OKC Thunder were the youngest team in NBA history to finish in first place in the Western Conference when they did so last year. Headlined by 2024 MVP runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the Thunder are primed to not only repeat as regular season first-place finishers but to also compete for a title.

Many players on this Thunder roster played in their first playoffs last season, and with the addition of two of the best role players in the NBA (one with championship experience) to an already deep team, the Thunder seem ready to shake off any doubters that still feel they are “too young” to win in the playoffs.

(2) Dallas Mavericks:

Last Year’s Record (50-32) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (50.5) || Win Total Prediction (Over)

Key Additions: Klay Thompson || Naji Marshall

Key Departures: Derrick Jones Jr. || Josh Green

The Mavs surprised many in the basketball world by making it all the way to the NBA Finals last season. They were spearheaded by a monster playoff run from MVP frontrunner Luka Doncic who seemed to have all the answers for anything thrown his way up until the finals. This year, the Mavs look to carry last season’s momentum into this season as they look to find their way back to the finals.

(3) Denver Nuggets:

Last Year’s Record (57-25) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (50.5) || Win Total Prediction (Over)

Key Additions: Russell Westbrook

Key Departures: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

The Nuggets are looking to avenge last year’s disappointing playoff exit after unexpectedly losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 7 games, but the 2023 champions return this year without their starting shooting guard and with many questions that remain unanswered.

The good news is that they still have the best basketball player in the world with Nikola Jokic on the team, but has the roster around him gotten so much worse since their championship run that he can no longer carry them that far anymore?

(4) Minnesota Timberwolves:

Last Year’s Record (56-26) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (51.5) || Win Total Prediction (Over)

Key Additions: Julius Randle || Donte DiVincenzo || Rob Dillingham (R)

Key Departures: Karl-Anthony Towns || Kyle Anderson

The Minnesota Timberwolves are one of the most interesting teams going into this season. Coming off of an impressive conference finals appearance in last year’s playoffs the Wolves traded 2015 #1 overall pick Karl Anthony-Towns in a blockbuster trade earlier this month. To me, the move is best explained as a financial decision based on KAT’s huge contract, but it has some major on-court ramifications too.

Replacing the value of KAT’s offense will be difficult for this team, but by adding Randle and DiVincenzo via the trade and Dillingham in the draft the Wolves have way more versatility with their lineup options and more depth to support budding superstar Anthony Edwards as they look to reach the finals. I see the trade as a win-win for both the Wolves and Knicks as I think both teams will have better regular seasons than they had last year.

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The Play-In Race: Pheonix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets

These are the teams that I expect to compete for the remaining 4 playoff seeds throughout the season as they look to avoid the NBA’s Play-In Tournament at the end of the year which decides the fate of the final two playoff spots.

(5) Team: Pheonix Suns

Last Year’s Record (49-33) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (47.5) || Win Total Prediction (Over)

Key Additions: Tyus Jones

Key Departures: Eric Gordon

The last time we saw the Phoenix Suns, they were run out of the gym in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Suns return this year with a new coach and some light additions on the margins that I believe will prove effective.

The Suns finally have a legit point guard to run the offense, allowing Kevin Durant and Devin Booker to return to their true roles. So far in the preseason, it seems the rookies they’ve added will look to play a big role for this team. I see this team improving on a disappointing season last year, even if I don’t see them doing much better in the playoffs.

(6) Team: Memphis Grizzlies

Last Year’s Record (27-55) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (47.5) || Win Total Prediction (Under)

Key Additions: Ja Morant* || Zach Edey (R)

Key Departures: Ziaire Williams || Steven Adams

The Grizzlies are one of the bigger question marks heading into this season primarily because we have not seen this team at full strength for a full year now. This year looks to be different as Ja Morant looks to lead Memphis back to the playoffs.

This is still one of the younger teams in the West which I believe will pay off with stronger regular season results especially compared to some other teams in this range that I believe may be better built for the playoffs, but if healthy, the Grizzlies will be a tough challenge for anyone.

(7) Team: Los Angeles Lakers

Last Year’s Record (47-35) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (42.5) || Win Total Prediction (Over)

Key Additions: Dalton Knect (R)

Key Departures: N/A

Just like every other team in this range, I would not be surprised if the Lakers were the best or the worst team out of this bunch. What concerns me is how much this team still relies on LeBron James who will turn 40 this year as this team seems to go as far as he can take them. There is some hope that other players can step up and take more of a burden in terms of usage, but I wouldn’t plan any championship parades for the Lakers this year.

(8) Team: Sacramento Kings

Last Year’s Record (46-36) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (43.5) || Win Total Prediction (Under)

Key Additions: DeMar DeRozan

Key Departures: Davion Mitchell || Harrison Barnes

The Sacramento Kings are unfortunately victims of a very top-heavy league. In most years adding DeMar DeRozan to a young team coming off two straight playoff appearances would usually make you a title contender, but in 2024 it keeps you in the Play-In race. The Kings are still a strong team to me, but they still lack size and physicality which is something that has troubled them when facing teams that can roll out larger lineups.

(9) Team: Golden State Warriors

Last Year’s Record (46-36) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (43.5) || Win Total Prediction (Under)

Key Additions: Buddy Hield || Kyle Anderson || De’Anthony Melton

Key Departures: Chris Paul || Klay Thompson

The Warriors are stepping into a new era as this is their first season without hall-of-fame trio Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson all on the same team. In Thompson’s absence, the Warriors added Buddy Hield to supplement some shooting and some more vets to round out the roster. I do think this is a good team with the ability to easily make me look silly with my wins prediction, but as of now I just think other teams in the West will perform better.

(10) Team: Houston Rockets

Last Year’s Record (41-41) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (43.5) || Win Total Prediction (Under)

Key Additions: Steven Adams ||Reed Sheppard (R)

Key Departures: N/A

The Rockets may be one of the more fun teams to watch this year if you are an NBA league pass subscriber like me. This team is young, full of insane athletes, and has a deep rotation. Unfortunately, in this case, as fun as that will make them to watch, I’m not sure how many games this team will win. It’s hard to visualize this being a dominant team when their opponents will most likely have the best player on the court. The Rockets still need to find their alpha before they make any real slashes.

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Lottery Teams: New Orleans Pelicans, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers

These are the teams that I expect to finish at the very bottom of the West and fall out of playoff contention pretty early in the season. The silver lining for these teams this year is that the 2025 NBA draft class looks to be way more talented than the 2024 class, but we’ll dive more into that later.

(11) Team: New Orleans Pelicans

Last Year’s Record (43-39) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (45.5) || Win Total Prediction (Under)

Key Additions: Dejounte Murray

Key Departures: Jonas Valanciunas || Naji Marshall

The Pelicans are in a weird situation as a team, but being in a tougher conference is not helping their case. Recently they announced they will try out All-Defensive team wing Herb Jones as their center this year which shows their lack of size and flexibility. I’m not doubting Jones’ reputation on defense, but I don’t think this plan will pan out too well and the West is too stacked to waste large portions of the year as you can fall behind pretty quickly.

(12) Team: San Antonio Spurs

Last Year’s Record (22-60) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (35.5) || Win Total Prediction (Under)

Key Additions: Chris Paul || Harrison Barnes || Stephon Castle (R)

Key Departures: Devonte’ Graham

The Spurs are still rebuilding, but they’re making a lot of the right steps. As they wait for Victor Wembanyama to break out and begin dominating the league, this team gets to find and try out pieces to round out the roster around him. I don’t see this team as ready to compete just yet, but they will be competitive night to night even if their team is significantly worse than most other teams.

(13) Team: Los Angeles Clippers

Last Year’s Record (51-31) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (37.5) || Win Total Prediction (Under)

Key Additions: Nicolas Batum || Derrick Jones Jr.

Key Departures: Paul George || Russell Westbrook

The Clippers are in a rough situation and I’m not sure how much better it will get. Best case, star Kawhi Leonard comes back from injury and plays at a high level while carrying this team to the playoffs, but an equally likely scenario is that Kawhi misses a significant amount of time, and the rest of the team is not talented enough to compete with most of the other teams in the league. The reality will probably be somewhere in-between, but as we’ve gone over with all the teams before them, the NBA is really good this year, and “just ok” will not be good enough this time around.

(14) Team: Utah Jazz

Last Year’s Record (31-51) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (27.5) || Win Total Prediction (Under)

Key Additions: N/A

Key Departures: N/A

The Jazz knows what they are and what they want to be, and outside of Lauri Markkanen the answer is “bad”. The Jazz are not good, but they have a lot of young players and a lot of time to find out what direction they want to go, and adding another prospect in the lottery would be good for them.

(15) Team: Portland Trail Blazers

Last Year’s Record (21-61) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (20.5) || Win Total Prediction (Under)

Key Additions: Deni Avdija

Key Departures: Malcolm Brogdon

The Blazers are going to be one of the worst teams in the NBA this year, but at least they’re not fighting expectations like the Clippers or Pelicans. I can’t predict there will be much-winning basketball in Portland this year, but they do have a lot of young talent and will be fun to watch at times, they just need another offseason to work on the team.

Outro

Alright, that’s all I have for you guys today. Sorry again for the long article, but as you all learned last week, some of these teams are so bad we probably won’t be discussing them again until I get into my NBA draft content close to the end of the season, but make sure to enjoy your weekend and, as always, stay safe, and until next time…

-YourFavoriteCasual

What’s going on everybody we are back with a brand-new edition of the YourFavoriteCasual newsletter! Don’t forget to leave a like and comment your thoughts so we can get a discussion going in the comment section down below.

Today I have an exciting topic as well be deep diving into every NBA team in the Eastern Conference as we get closer and closer to the tip-off of the 2024-25 NBA season. So, sit back, relax, and let me tell you what to expect from these teams going into this season!

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Eastern Conference Deep Dive

Today I’m going to talk about all 15 teams that reside in the east, but first, I want to let you all know how I plan to separate them. I have 3 groups for you guys today: “Championship Contenders”, “The Play-in Race”, and “Lottery Teams”.

In the team descriptions, you’ll learn why I have the teams where I do, and I am also listing these teams in the order I expect them to finish in the standings from first to last place so let’s get started!

Championship Contenders: Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks

These are the teams that I expect to finish in the top 4 of the Eastern Conference, host first-round playoff series, and compete for the NBA title.

(1) Boston Celtics:

Last Year’s Record (64-18) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (58.5) || Win Total Prediction (Over)

Key Additions: Lonnie Walker IV

Key Departures: Svi Mykhailiuk

The Boston Celtics are the defending NBA champions and with very little roster movement over the summer, they go into this season as the favorites to do it again. The only thing I would look into for any possible concern is the health status of big man Kristaps Porzingis.

Porzingis showed in the Finals how much of an X-factor he is for this team and with him set to miss an extended amount of time to begin the year nursing a leg injury, the Celtics won’t worry about his absence for most of the regular season, but they will want to know how his body will fare come playoff time.

(2) New York Knicks:

Last Year’s Record (50-32) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (53.5) || Win Total Prediction (Over)

Key Additions: Karl Anthony-Towns || Mikal Bridges

Key Departures: Julius Randle || Isaiah Hartenstein || Donte DiVincenzo

The Knicks have been busy this off season as they’ve been a factor in two of the biggest trades of the summer. They look to avenge a disappointing end to last year’s playoffs where they’re roster seemed to run out of steam as they ran out of healthy players to line up against the Indiana Pacers.

To me, they’ve done a great job strengthening their roster by adding a couple of players that significantly raise their offensive ceiling while not losing too much of the defensive strength they relied so heavily on last year. If the pieces come together, I think this is the team in the East that could give the Boston Celtics the most problems.

(3) Philadelphia 76ers:

Last Year’s Record (47-35) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (51.5) || Win Total Prediction (Over)

Key Additions: Paul George || Caleb Martin || Jared McCain (Rookie)

Key Departures: Buddy Heild || Nicolas Batum || Paul Reed

The 76ers added the best available free agent with their Paul George signing. The future NBA Hall of Famer looks to join 1x MVP Joel Embiid and upcoming star Tyrese Maxey as they all look to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in their careers and try to win a championship. If this team can stay healthy, they have one of the best chances to get the job done, but with Embiid and George that remains a legitimate concern.

(4) Milwaukee Bucks:

Last Year’s Record (49-33) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (50.5) || Win Total Prediction (Under)

Key Additions: N/A

Key Departures: N/A

In year two of the Giannis and Dame experiment, the Milwaukee Bucks enter next season with a similar roster and the hopes that they have a healthy playoff run. Last season marked the second playoffs in a row where Giannis Antetokounmpo did not play in every game and I’m sure the 1x NBA Finals MVP is eager to change that.

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The Play-In Race: Miami Heat, Clevland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets, Atlanta Hawks

This was the hardest section to figure out standings-wise, but these are the six teams that I expect to compete for the remaining 4 playoff spots throughout the season as they look to avoid the NBA’s Play-In Tournament at the end of the year which decides the fate of the final two playoff spots.

(5) Miami Heat

Last Year’s Record (46-36) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (43.5) || Win Total Prediction (Over)

Key Additions: Kel’el Ware (Rookie)

Key Departures: Caleb Martin

The Miami Heat had a down season last year compared to the two NBA Finals appearances they’ve already had in the 2020s. That disappointment was largely due to the inability of Jimmy Butler to return to superstar play due to nagging injuries.

This season, I expect Butler to be more available and I can see a larger impact year from Bam Adebayo coming off of a big Olympic summer with Team USA as the Heat put together a better regular season en route to a possible playoff run depending on the matchups.

(6) Cleveland Cavaliers:

Last Year’s Record (48-34) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (48.5) || Win Total Prediction (Under)

Key Additions: N/A

Key Departures: N/A

This Cavs team doesn’t look much different than last year’s version, but for regular season purposes, I don’t see much of a problem with that. As long as Donovan Mitchell can stay healthy, I can see this team staying afloat in the playoff race, but I don’t expect much from this team in the postseason.

(7) Indiana Pacers:

Last Year’s Record (47-35) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (47.5) || Win Total Prediction (Under)

Key Additions: N/A

Key Departures: N/A

The Pacers are coming off an Eastern Conference finals trip last season, but I’m predicting a dip for them this year. I still like their team, but in a top-heavy conference, I’m not sure if they have the superstar-level talent to keep up with some of the other teams in the conference if players can stay healthy this year.

However, this is a bold take, and a full season from Tyrese Haliburton at the level he played to begin last season would force me to eat my words here, but I need to trust this team more on the defensive end before I’m ready to pencil them as a top 4 team in the Eastern Conference again.

(8) Orlando Magic:

Last Year’s Record (47-35) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (47.5) || Win Total Prediction (Under)

Key Additions: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Key Departures: N/A

Similarly to the Pacers, I see the Magic taking a dip in the regular season too. I love the Caldwell-Pope signing and this team could easily make me eat my words, but I want to see more high-volume offensive efficiency from Paolo Bancero and Franz Wagner before I commit to them taking down some of the more established teams in this conference. I do think they easily make the playoffs, and they have upset potential with how strong their defense is though.

(9) Charlotte Hornets:

Last Year’s Record (21-61) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (30.5) || Win Total Prediction (Over)

Key Additions: N/A

Key Departures: N/A

The Hornets are lucky enough to be in a league where 8 teams in each conference make the playoffs and I think they’re very clearly the 9th best team in the East.

With young talent like LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller looking to play a full season together, I think the Hornets are finally moving in the right direction as they’ve been trying to drag themselves out of the bottom half of this conference for some time now.

(10) Atlanta Hawks:

Last Year’s Record (36-46) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (35.5) || Win Total Prediction (Under)

Key Additions: Larry Nance Jr || Dyson Daniels || Zaccharie Risacher (rookie)

Key Departures: Dejounte Murray

The Atlanta Hawks find themselves in a predicament. With Trae Young leading the charge, they’re too good to be terrible, but they’re also not good enough to be… well good.

I would never advise a team to “tank”, but with how good the 2025 draft class looks this would be a great year for Young to take a winter vacation and let the Hawks fall to the bottom of the standings and hope for some luck in the lottery again to try to get a top 3 pick for the second year in a row.

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Lottery Teams: Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards

These are the teams that I expect to finish at the very bottom of the East and quite frankly they are some of the worst teams in the NBA. The silver lining for these teams this year is that the 2025 NBA draft class looks to be way more talented than the 2024 class, but we’ll dive more into that later.

(11) Toronto Raptors:

Last Year’s Record (25-57) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (29.5) || Win Total Prediction (Under)

Key Additions: N/A

Key Departures: N/A

The Toronto Raptors are currently rebuilding, they’re on the right track with franchise cornerstone Scottie Barnes, but they’re a long way from being competitive. I am looking forward to seeing what R.J. Barrett and Immanuel Quickly do with full seasons in Toronto, but I don’t expect to see much winning in Canada this year.

(12) Chicago Bulls:

Last Year’s Record (39-43) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (27.5) || Win Total Prediction (Over)

Key Additions: Josh Giddey || Lonzo Ball

Key Departures: Demar DeRozan || Alex Caruso

The Bulls are finally committing to some form of a rebuild after trading away DeRozan and Caruso this summer. There are a lot of interesting young players on this team to look out for, but don’t look for this team to make much noise in the playoff picture (unless Zach Lavine returns from his knee injury and has a career year).

(13) Detroit Pistons:

Last Year’s Record (14-68) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (25.5) || Win Total Prediction (Under)

Key Additions: Tim Hardaway Jr || Paul Reed || Tobias Harris

Key Departures: N/A

Last year, the Pistons had a stretch where they broke an NBA record for most consecutive losses in a single season with 27. I think it’s safe to say that after this season the team will at least be better. Not much better, but they did improve and that’s nice right!?

(14) Washing Wizards:

Last Year’s Record (15-67) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (20.5) || Win Total Prediction (Under)

New Additions: Jonas Valanciunas || Malcolm Brogdon

New Departures: Tyus Jones || Deni Avdija

The Wizards are still going through some growing pains, but at least they’ve shown a willingness to build through the draft. This is a very young team with a long way to go (they still might be the worst team in the NBA this year), but after a draft where they’ve added 3 rookies who look to play this year at least there’s a small vision of youth and hope.

(15) Brooklyn Nets:

Last Year’s Record (32-50) || 2024 Over/Under Win Total Projection (18.5) || Win Total Prediction (Under)

New Additions: Bojan Bogdanovic || Ziaire Williams

New Departures: Mikal Bridges || Lonnie Walker IV

There is a two-team race that’s headed directly for the bottom of the NBA and the Nets are a part of it. This is going to be a long year in Brooklyn, but at least they traded for their own draft pick back from the Houston Rockets this summer so that they can tank in peace.

Outro

Phew, that’s all I have for you guys today. Sorry for the long article, but I wanted to make sure to talk about every team, as some of these teams are so bad we probably won’t be discussing them again until I get into my NBA draft content close to the end of the season. Be sure to stay tuned in for the Western Conference preview that will get posted for you guys next Friday. As always, stay safe, and until next time…

-YourFavoriteCasual

What’s going on everybody? Welcome back to the YourFavoriteCasual newsletter! We’re back now with a lot to catch up on, so today we’ll look into what we’ve seen from four weeks of NFL action, and I have a deep dive on the Pittsburgh Steelers. I don’t have much else to say for this introduction so let’s jump right into it!

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Top 3 Takeaways from Weeks 1-4:

Now that we’re a month into the season we can talk about some things that have been on my mind. There are a lot of interesting trends developing this year, one being the lack of passing explosion this year compared to years past, but these are some of the highlights I want to get into.

1. The AFC and NFC are both wide-open.

   AFC: The AFC has one undefeated team left in the conference and it’s none other than the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs. This may sound like bad news for the rest of the league, but the Chiefs seem to be sputtering in the wrong direction fighting injuries to key players (Including Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes injuring his own #1 wide receiver) and squeezing through games with a slim margin. It seems every team in the AFC has flaws and the results of this season (especially the playoffs!) will be even more matchup-dependent than we’ve seen in years past. It seems the Texans, Bills, Ravens, and Steelers will hang around the top of the conference to see who can finally dethrone the Chiefs, but I have no good reads on how it will all play out this year.

   NFC: The NFC also has one undefeated team left in the conference, but this team is more of a surprise than the Chiefs. The Minnesota Vikings are firing after coming out to a 4-0 start on the year with their backup quarterback Sam Darnold leading the charge. Darnold and star wide receiver Justin Jefferson have had a great connection to start the year, along with a defense that’s made life on opponents tough every week, the Vikings look to be legit contenders in the NFC this year. Aside from the Vikings, the Buccaneers, Lions, 49ers, Seahawks, and shockingly the Washington Commanders are the teams I would look out for to stay around the top of the standings. The parody in the NFL this season has been a joy to watch as it’s clear there is no “dominant” team this time around, but it makes it that much harder to predict moving forward.

   ---

2. Quarterback circumstances matter!

   My second takeaway from 1/4 of NFL action is that we have learned that QB development is NOT linear. Some of the top-performing QBs this season are guys that formally had the label of “bust” for the teams that drafted them but are now thriving with a second (or even third/fourth) chance on new teams. Sam Darnold (4-0), Geno Smith (3-1), Baker Mayfield (3-1), Justin Fields (3-1), and Jared Goff (3-1) are all on at least their second team after “less than ideal” starts to their careers and they now seem to all be thriving. There will always be young players that succeed almost immediately in their careers, but this year is proving that watching a young QB like Bryce Young or Will Levis struggle may not actually be their fault, they may just need some more time to work on their craft and a new organization that can support their skillset much better.

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3. Jayden Daniels is legit!

The Washington Commanders are one of the biggest surprises this year and for good reason. Rookie QB Jayden Daniels has stepped into his role and flourished so far already stacking big primetime moments in his young career and this energy seems to have taken over the locker room as the Commanders now find themselves in a position to shoot for the playoffs for the first time since 2020 when they managed to win the NFC East with a losing record. The good news for Commanders fans is that the NFC East seems much weaker than I originally thought in the preseason so this reality may fall into their laps again. If Daniels can keep this level of play up for the rest of the season, the Commanders won’t have to worry about finishing this year with a losing record either.

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Week 5 Preview:

With the first month of action in our rearview let’s take a quick look into the games I’m most excited for in Week 5!

1. Buffalo Bills (3-1) at Houston Texans (3-1) Sunday 1:00 pm

   In an early battle between two AFC “contenders,” we’ll get to see if MVP candidate Josh Allen and the Bills can bounce back from an embarrassing loss against the Baltimore Ravens last week where they had their worst performance of the season. Likewise, C.J. Stroud and the Texans were able to pull out a victory late in the 4th quarter last week after a very subpar performance for their expectations. This game may be a look into a future playoff matchup as I still expect both of these teams to win their divisions regardless of the result on Sunday, but it should be a good watch as both teams want to put out a better performance than last weekend.

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2. Baltimore Ravens (2-2) at Cincinnati Bengals (1-3) Sunday 1:00 pm

   Not only is this a rivalry game, but it might actually be an early “loser leaves town” matchup. The loser of this game will be below .500 more than a month into the season and specifically for the Bengals a fourth loss this early may create a hole that’s too deep to dig out of if making the playoffs is still their goal for this season. The Ravens can lose this weekend and have a better time fighting for playoff positioning than the Bengals would, but it would place doubt on their ability to win the division. This is a huge game for two teams that stumbled out of the gate and are running out of time to get back on track.

   Last week, the Ravens had a championship-level performance against the Bills and the Bengals got their first win of the season, so we’ll see which team is truly moving in the right direction after this weekend.

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3. Dallas Cowboys (2-2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1) Sunday 8:20 pm

   In this clash between two of the NFL’s biggest brands, we’ll get our first primetime look at the Steelers offense with QB Justin Fields. This is a big “vibe check” for both teams as the Steelers want to put a halt to a mini “losing streak” after winning their first 3 games while the Cowboys need a win to keep up in an NFC playoff race where every game seems to matter more this year in the standings.

   Both teams are riddled with injuries and are looking for a win to keep their seasons on track, where a loss could be the factor that makes either team’s season falter into places they couldn’t conceive in the preseason.

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Steelers State of Affairs:

Finally, let’s do a full check-in on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first four weeks of the NFL season.

First, we have to begin with this defense. Even after a disappointing outing last weekend against the Colts, this Steelers defense, when healthy, may be the best unit in the NFL. Headlined by T.J. Watt (who is my favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year), the Steelers’ defense was on a historic pace in terms of yards and points allowed in the first 3 games of the season. Injuries caught up to the defensive line and the secondary last week, but with DL Keeanu Benton slated to return against the Cowboys and CB Corey Trice’s injury not season-ending, this unit can continue to be dominant this year even if not at an all-time pace.

Secondly, the offense this year has been subpar but encouraging. With Russell Wilson slowly making his way back from injury we’ve got an extended look at Justin Fields running the offense and it’s obvious why he was a top 11 pick in the draft just a few years ago. His combination of arm strength and athleticism is something the Steelers haven’t had at quarterback maybe since Kordell Stewart (crazy pull, but that’s because Big Ben wasn’t much of a runner). I’ve also enjoyed the game plan from our new offensive coordinator Artur Smith especially with the run game and I expect the passing game to open up more as Fields has shown to be more comfortable in the pocket each week.

Moving forward, I’m excited to see what the Steelers continue to put together and after a strong start, my expectation for this team is to win the AFC North. I don’t know what this team may be able to pull off in the playoffs, but I’d be fine with just getting there. The team does need to try and stay healthy though, several starters have already missed games and will continue to, especially on the offensive line where we’ve already lost 2 starters for the season. Hopefully, the injuries don’t continue to pile up and if they do, let’s hope they don’t cause the team to implode during the season, but I guess we’ll just have to watch and see.

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Outro:

Well, that’s all I have for you guys today I hope you all have been enjoying this football season as much as I have. Don’t forget to leave a link if you enjoyed and comment what team you think will remain undefeated for the longest this year. I’m looking forward to being more consistent in getting these newsletters out to you guys now that the summer is long gone, but as always stay safe, and until next time…

-YourFavoriteCasual

What's going on everyone! Welcome back to the YourFavoriteCasual newsletter, we’re back in action after taking a bit of a break during the offseason and oh man do we have some catching up to do!

Week 1 of the NFL season is a couple of weeks away and it’s time to catch up on some of my thoughts and storylines across the league. I think that’s enough of an introduction for now, let’s jump in!

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Rookies to watch:

The last time I posted NFL content on this page I dropped my final NFL mock draft (yeah, it’s been a minute), but now that we’ve seen the draft results, free agency, training camp, and preseason let’s go over some of the rookies that I’m most looking forward to watch this season.

Honorable Mention: Spencer Rattler (QB - New Orleans Saints)

Rattler lands just outside my list only because he is still listed as the backup to Derek Carr for the Saints. However, the way he produced in the preseason he may not wait on the bench for too long. The former 5-star high school recruit with elite traits throwing the football had a rocky college career and character concerns that tanked his NFL draft stock, but now that he’s here and officially on a team it looks like it’s going to be hard to keep him off the field. Look out for Rattler starting for this team down the stretch if Carr struggles or gets hurt.

1. All 6 first round quarterbacks: Caleb Williams (Chicago Bears) // Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders) // Drake Maye (New England Patriots) // JJ McCarthy (Minnesota Vikings) // Bo Nix (Denver Broncos) // Michael Penix Jr (Atlanta Falcons)

Yes, all 6, well 5 now because of JJ McCarthy’s knee injury. With the exception of Penix, every other QB from the record-setting 6 quarterback first round of this year’s NFL draft was given the starting job and they all have their own cases to win Rookie of the Year this season. I’m excited to see what this new era of QBs has in store for us this year!

2. All 4 second-round Wide Receivers: Keon Coleman (Buffalo Bills) // Ladd McConkey (Los Angeles Chargers) // Ja’lynn Polk (New England Patriots) // A.D. Mitchell (Indianapolis Colts)

   Yes, I know I’m cheating with these groupings but trust me, these guys will be GOOD. After watching 7 receivers get selected before them in the first round of this year’s NFL draft these guys each have a chip on their shoulder and are in line to have big roles for the respective teams. It’s easy to tell that this year’s wide receiver class was extremely talented and it’s going to be fun watching them all suit up this season.

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3. Dallas Turner - EDGE (Minnesota Vikings)

   The Vikings made a couple of trades that allowed them to have two first-round picks in this year’s draft and with the second of those picks they selected what they hope to be the future anchor of their defense. Turner is primed to become the leader on defense for the Vikings as he looks to win Defensive Rookie of the Year too.

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4. Jared Verse & Braden Fiske - DL (Los Angelas Rams)

   Future hall-of-famer Aaron Donald retired this off-season it was clear the Rams had a hole on their defensive line. Although no one player will replace the impact and production of Donald, maybe two can try, right? The Rams used their first two picks in the draft to re-tool their D-line with a pair of teammates from Florida State and I’m looking forward to seeing how large of an immediate impact they can have.

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5. Jonathan Brooks - RB (Carolina Panthers)

   Brooks was one of the most exciting running backs in college football last year at Texas until an ACL injury ended his season early. He’s still rehabbing this injury and won’t be available for week 1, but the lack of talent at the position for the Panthers lines Brooks up as one of their key offensive weapons when he is fully healthy and ready to play.

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Buying and Selling Teams:

As we get closer to week 1, I wanted to go over a few teams that I’m “buying” and “selling” going into next season.

To make this exercise a little more challenging I wanted to “buy” teams that missed the playoffs last season, and I wanted to “sell” teams that made the playoffs, I also decided to use two teams from each conference.

1. New York Jets (buying)

   This was an easy choice for me as the Jets finished last season with a disappointing 7-10 record. This year they have 4-time MVP Aaron Rodgers returning from an achilles injury that he suffered in the first game last year.

   Rodgers along with an improved offensive line, one of the better defenses in the NFL, and two of the most exciting offensive weapons in the league makes the Jets a prime candidate to make the playoffs for the first time since 2010.

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2. Baltimore Ravens (selling)

   The Ravens are coming off of an AFC championship game appearance and Lamar Jackson’s second MVP season, but I do see a world where next season does not go as well for them.

   Yes, the Ravens did sign future hall-of-fame running back “King” Derrick Henry in the offseason, but he is in his 30s which is older for running backs, and they did lose their defensive coordinator along with key players on the defensive end. This paired with a healthier Bengals team that is poised to be more competitive this year, I can see the Ravens taking a step back (even if this “step back” still includes them making the playoffs).

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3. Carolina Panthers (buying)

   The Panthers only won two games last year, so my betting on improvement here may not say much and they still probably won’t make the playoffs, but I do like the moves they’ve made to improve the team.

   Investing in the offensive line in free agency, adding wideout Dionte Johnson from a trade with the Steelers, and getting Xavier Legette and Jonathan Brooks in the draft have turned one of the worst offenses in football last year into a unit I’m actually looking forward to seeing play during the season.

   When you hit rock bottom the only way to go is up, and the Panthers definitely hit rock bottom last year, so let’s see how far up they’re able to go.

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4. San Francisco 49ers (selling)

   The 49ers are coming off of a Super Bowl appearance and still boast some of the best individual players in the entire NFL on their team, but the 49ers do have the NFL’s oldest roster, and teams that lose in the Super Bowl typically don’t make it back to those heights in the following season.

   I find it hard to believe the 49ers won’t make the playoffs next year (especially with the 7-team format), but I wouldn’t bet on seeing them in the Super Bowl this year.

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Outro:

Well, that’s all I have for you guys today, I really hope you guys enjoyed today’s post. Make sure to leave a like and subscribe if you haven’t already and keep a look out for some more NFL content before the season begins (I need to get my predictions on the board), anyways, thank you for all of the support, and as always stay safe, and until next time…

-YourFavoriteCasual

Some big trades have gone down this past week in the NBA, I also have a brand-new top 50 NBA player ranking list I want you all to see, and of course, we’ll get into some NBA draft winners and losers. So, if there’s nothing else that we need to worry about in the NBA world, let’s jump right in!

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Big NBA Trades:

“Nova Knicks!”

Brooklyn Nets (receive): 5 future first-round picks & Bojan Bogdanovic

New York Knicks (receive): Mikal Bridges

This is a rare version of a true “win-win” trade in my opinion because I see why both sides would want to get this deal done. The New York Knicks now have 4 members of the 2016 & 2018 Villanova national title teams and a beloved story for Knicks fans.

After re-signing O.G. Annunoby to a 5-year 200 million dollar deal this week, the Knicks also now boast one of the best starting lineups in the NBA to help fuel their win-now aspirations (even if it financially straps them from participating in free agency next week).

The cost was not cheap as the large amount of draft capital the Knicks gave up for Bridges will fuel the Net’s immediate rebuild as they plan to move on from the players already on their roster and look to the draft to rebuild this team.

“Can I get that back actually”

Brooklyn Nets receive: 2026 Brooklyn first-round pick

Houston Rockets receive: 2027 Phoenix first-round pick & 2025 Phoenix pick swap

This is also a rare trade, not because I feel it’s fair, but because teams usually do not trade for their own future draft picks back once they’re already sent to another team. The Nets now have control of all of their own future first-round picks with this trade and can officially “tank in peace” and not worry about gifting another team a top 5 pick.

The Rockets were able to force a pretty penny by acquiring draft picks that were originally owned by the Phoenix Suns. The Suns are in a bad salary cap situation and gave up the majority of their draft future to add Kevin Durant, and ironically, the Rockets plan to use Phoenix’s draft picks to get Durant for themselves.

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NBA Top 50:

In today’s exercise, I’m showing y’all my top 50 NBA Players going into next year (without rookies). This is slightly different as I used to only rank the top 25 or 30, but the total amount of players within the tiers has been the same with each update. This version is based on how I thought players performed in the playoffs and how I think their value stands going into next season.

NBA Draft Winners & Losers:

Minnesota Timberwolves: Winner

Draftees: Rob Dillingham (pick 8) || Terrence Shannon Jr (pick 27)

Usually, teams coming off of a conference finals appearance don’t also get a top 10 talent and two of the best shot creators in the draft, but here we are. After trading the rights to a couple of middle schoolers (2030 & 2031 first-round picks) to the San Antonio Spurs, the Timberwolves now have some youth on the roster that solves their largest issue from last season (consistently scoring on offense).

They now have two impressive shot-creators who can come off the bench and focus on scoring in the spurts where the team struggled last season’s playoffs, while the rest of the team can hold up their top-ranked defense. I see this as a great win-now move, and a big move for the future as Dillingham lines up as a successor to 37-year-old Mike Conley as the future lead point guard in Minnesota.

Atlanta Hawks: Loser

Draftees: Zaccharie Risacher (pick 1) || Nikola Djurisic (pick 43)

Djurisic is a second-round flyer with the potential to make the team and if not have time to develop, but the reason the Hawks find themselves in the “loser” section is what they decided with the #1 overall selection.

Risacher is a good prospect who was within the top 10 of many “draft experts” boards but had concerns keeping him from being considered the best in this year’s draft. Risacher is a “strong” shooter (very inconsistent) and passer with defensive upside, but his lack of skill in handling the ball prohibits him from creating his own shot opportunities and thus limits his potential to be a top option for a team.

Luckily with Trae Young he won’t be relied upon to create his own shot in most instances but taking a player with “role player” upside with the first pick in the draft is disappointing, to say the least.

Los Angeles Lakers: Winner

Draftees: Dalton Knect (pick 17) || Bronny James (pick 55)

Knect falling out of the top 15 was one of the biggest surprises from the first round of the draft. Knect is one of the best shooters in the draft and can score from any part of the court. The senior wing has a “seasoned” game that will be put to use immediately on a Lakers team that needs shooting to help space out the court for Anthony Davis and Lebron James. (Speaking of Lebron James…)

The Lakers also drafted Lebron James Jr or “Bronny” in this year’s draft. Bronny disappointed in his one season at USC but he did show flashes as a strong perimeter defender and spot-up shooter. The concerns for Bronny include his size as he is a smaller player (6’1) compared to his eventual NBA competition and he isn’t polished as a player yet. With time, this may be a good investment in the long run as he has the potential to become a solid NBA 3&D guard, and who doesn’t want to see a father-son duo succeed?

Detroit Pistons: Loser

Draftees: Ron Holland II (pick 5) || Bobi Klintman (pick 37)

I want to begin this by saying I love Holland as a prospect and believe he is one of the few guys in this year’s class that can become a #1 option for these teams that are still looking for high-end talent. I also understand that one of Holland’s biggest concerns as a prospect is his shooting ability and the Pistons already have enough poor shooters that demand playing time.

Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, Killian Hayes (who was released), and now Holland were all top 10 NBA draft picks, but they all cannot shoot well from 3-point range.

Where’s the spacing Detroit??? It’s 2024!

Maybe this is a reason why they’ve had a top-10 draft pick in each of the last 5 drafts…

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Thunder Corner:

Let’s conclude today’s topics with an update on the Oklahoma City Thunder (my favorite team). After becoming the youngest #1 seed in NBA history, the Thunder have been busy making changes this off-season as they’ve made some trades, added 3 rookies, and held onto their cap space so let’s see what I think about these moves.

Trade: Thunder receive - Alex Caruso |||| Chicago Bulls receive - Josh Giddey

After getting eliminated from the playoffs the Thunder asked Josh Giddey (who is still only 21 and an excellent passer) if he would be willing to come off the bench as his lack of shooting forced the team to bench him against the Mavericks. He declined and now he plays for a new team, but getting back Alex Caruso is a strong win-now move for the Thunder.

Caruso was a key piece during the Los Angeles Lakers title run in 2020 and since then has been one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA as he’s been named to the All-defense team in each of the last two seasons which Chicago. Caruso will provide a needed veteran presence for next year’s playoffs and elite defense to help bolster a unit that was already top-5 on that end of the court last season.

Thunder Draftees: Nikola Topic (pick 12) || Dillon Jones (pick 26) || Ajay Mitchell (pick 38)

The Thunder entered the draft with only pick 12 to use but used a handful of second-round picks (5) and Lindy Waters III to gain access to picks 26 and 38. Jones and Mitchell are small school standouts as they both averaged over 20 points per game in college last year. They’re both upperclassmen guards who excelled at creating their own shots and will look to compete for minutes off the bench to help add some needed bench scoring for the Thunder next season.

Topic is a crafty Serbian guard who was supposed to be a top-5 pick in this year’s draft before an ACL injury in pre-draft workouts set him back. The 6’7 18-year-old is one of the youngest prospects in this draft and will be spending all of next season rehabbing his injury. Luckily, the Thunder have a deep roster of young talent already and do not need him to be successful for next year, but if he can come back healthy, he slots in as a perfect bench point guard for the future of this team.

Final Offseason Opinion:

My final opinion on the Thunder’s offseason so far is, yes, their possible biggest need going into this offseason was to add another player with the size to successfully defend other big men and rebound in key situations, but the Thunder have already committed to not wanting to threaten their ability to have 5 offensive playmakers on the court at the same time, and finding a player with those abilities in this year’s draft that is ready immediately is a difficult ask.

The Thunder still have 30 million dollars in cap space and one roster spot left as free agency begins next week. I expect the Thunder to address their size and rebounding concerns when the official signing period begins (I would specifically look out for Isaiah Hartenstein from the New York Knicks). If they manage to add some help before the start of next season, I will give this entire offseason of transactions an A and would expect the Thunder to be ready to make the NBA Finals as soon as next year.

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Outro:

Well, that’s all I have for you guys today and I hope you guys enjoyed today’s post. Make sure to leave a like and subscribe if you haven’t already. The NBA free agency period is set to begin soon, and I do have an NFL offseason update in the works for you guys too so stay tuned for those articles coming up. Anyways, thank you for all of the support, and as always stay safe, and until next time…

-YourFavoriteCasual