LeBron James will presumably wear his Philadelphia uniform in public view for the first time.
asserted
James → wear → time
Giannis Antetokounmpo will talk about his new home in Miami, Kawhi Leonard will talk about his home again in Toronto and Stephen Curry will talk about how Golden State will remain home.
asserted
State → talk → Toronto
Media Day — the spectacle where teams open their doors for interviews and photo shoots — for most teams is Monday, a prelude to the start of training camp practices on Tuesday.
asserted
teams → open → Tuesday
Houston and Dallas held their media events last week, as they were permitted to start early because they have overseas travel coming during the preseason.
asserted
travel → hold → preseason
For the other 28 clubs, the journey officially starts Monday.
asserted
journey → start → clubs
“I’m going to get back to my real job,” reigning NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson of the champion New York Knicks said as he signed off from his role hosting the season premiere of “Saturday Night Live” on NBC.
asserted
he → go → NBC
There are six coaches in new roles entering the season, including Dallas’ Dusty May — who led Michigan to the NCAA title last spring and then found an offer to jump to the NBA with the Mavs too enticing to turn down.
uncertain
Mavs → be → NBA
The other five new coaches — Jamahl Mosley in New Orleans, Sean Sweeney in Orlando, Taylor Jenkins in Milwaukee, Tiago Splitter in Chicago and Micah Nori in Portland — will lead their first practices in their new spots on Tuesday.
asserted
coaches → lead → Tuesday
“There have been a few active coaches that I’ve leaned on for advice, not as much strategy as just the day-to-day planning, the future, things like that,” May said, talking about how he’s gotten ready to go from leading a college program to an NBA one.
uncertain
he → lean → one
“It’s more of just trying to figure out what my routine is going to be, what our routine is going to be.”
asserted
routine → ’ → what
Everybody — from first-year coaches to 24th-year players — will be figuring things out.
asserted
Everybody → figure → things
James, now the first player in NBA history to enter a 24th season, will begin his expected final chapter with his inaugural camp with the 76ers.
asserted
James → enter → 76ers
He made the NBA world wait a few weeks before announcing his decision over the summer to join to Philadelphia on a two-year deal, then explained some of his rationale for the move last week on a podcast he shares with Steve Nash.
asserted
he → make → Nash
If James wins a title in Philadelphia, the 76ers would be the fourth franchise to become champions with him on the roster.
asserted
76ers → win → roster
James won two championships in Miami, one in Cleveland and one with the Los Angeles Lakers.
asserted
James → win → Lakers
And if that Philly title happens, it would give Joel Embiid his first ring — which is part of James’ motivation.
asserted
which → happen → motivation
“I hope I can be that final little piece that can help him get over the hump and have him maybe just see it a little bit differently than he’s seen in his career as far as the day-to-day process,” James said on the “Mind The Game” podcast last week.
asserted
James → hope → podcast
“The day-to-day what it takes to get there.
asserted
it → take → what
Antetokounmpo got traded to Miami, where he’ll join Bam Adebayo and newly acquired Klay Thompson in an effort to get the Heat back into contention.
asserted
he → trade → contention
Leonard — hoping to move past a turbulent end to his Los Angeles Clippers tenure — has been traded back to Toronto, after leading the Raptors to the 2019 NBA title.
asserted
Leonard → hop → title
And Curry agreed last week to a two-year extension with Golden State, even though nobody around him or the Warriors ever thought he would seriously consider playing elsewhere.
asserted
he → agree → him
“For years to come,” the Warriors wrote to Curry in a social media post.
asserted
Warriors → come → post
After media day, a few teams hit the road for at least a portion of their training camps.
asserted
teams → hit → camps
Preseason games start Saturday — Miami faces Toronto in Quebec City, with exhibitions running through Oct. 16.
asserted
Miami → start → Oct.
And then opening night or really opening day this year, is Oct. 20 with Boston at Detroit in a 3 p.m. EDT tip to start the season, followed by Philadelphia at the Knicks that evening and Oklahoma City visiting San Antonio in a matchup of last season’s Western Conference finals.
asserted
City → start → finals
Plenty of teams expect to contend.
asserted
Plenty → expect → teams
And the road toward whatever the final destination is starts now.
asserted
destination → start → ?
“Part of our mindset is going to be growth every single day and becoming a championship level team,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
asserted
Redick → go → team
There’s not a team in the league that is a championship level team.
asserted
that → ’ → league
The Aporia
