After an exciting offseason with a lot of movement, the NBA season opens this week.
asserted
season → open → movement
Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded to the Heat.
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Antetokounmpo → trade → Heat
LeBron James took his talents to the 76ers.
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James → take → 76ers
The Knicks are poised to try to repeat as NBA champions after breaking a 53-year title drought.
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Knicks → poise → drought
Victor Wembanyama hopes to put his 7-foot-4 body in the way.
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Wembanyama → hop → way
A lot could happen.
uncertain
lot → happen → ?
MVP: Luka Doncic
Doncic has taken over the Lakers after James left in free agency following an eight-season stint in Los Angeles.
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James → take → Angeles
Last season, Doncic led the league in scoring (33.5 points) and was third in assists (8.3).
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Doncic → lead → assists
This offseason, he put his fingerprints all over the roster, including urging the Lakers to acquire Walker Kessler at center.
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he → put → center
Doncic then hosted a minicamp in Slovenia for the first time in his career to build chemistry.
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Doncic → host → chemistry
He wants to win his first championship.
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He → want → championship
He wants to carry the 17-time championship Lakers back atop the league.
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He → want → league
And he feels wronged after finishing fourth in the MVP race last season despite his eye-popping stats
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he → wrong → stats
Here’s to guessing we’re going to see the best out of him yet.
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we → ’ → him
Sixth Man of the Year: Ajay Mitchell
Did you see what Mitchell did to the Lakers in the second round of the 2026 playoffs when the Thunder swept LA?
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Thunder → see → LA
Mitchell looked like a star.
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Mitchell → look → star
He averaged 22.5 points.
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He → average → points
He met the moment.
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He → meet → moment
Rob Pelinka, Lakers general manager and president of basketball operations, brought him up unprompted as the type of player the Lakers need to find in the draft.
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Lakers → bring → draft
In his third season expect him to make even more leaps.
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him → expect → leaps
Defensive POY: Victor Wembanyama
No one will compete with Wembanyama for this award for the foreseeable future unless he somehow fails to meet the 65-game threshold.
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he → compete → threshold
He alters shots.
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He → alter → shots
He blocks shots.
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He → block → shots
He can run the floor.
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He → run → floor
His 7-4 height and 8-foot wingspan leave stars looking like G League players against him.
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height → leave → him
He’s going to have high usage.
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He → go → usage
He’s going to be a double-double machine with his shooting and rebounding ability.
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He → go → ability
He impressed in summer league play in Las Vegas and the preseason, and he appears poised to make a major statement.
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he → impress → statement
If he can turn the 76ers into championship contenders, he should win this award.
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he → turn → award
Nurse is going to have to figure out how to manage egos, how to keep everyone engaged and involved and how to make a bunch of alpha superstars willing to star in their roles.
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everyone → go → roles
It’s a tall task.
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It → ’ → ?
He’s working with some of the world’s top ingredients.
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He → work → ingredients
Now it’s up to him to see if he can make a cohesive recipe.
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he → ’ → recipe
If he does, props to him.
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he → do → him
We’ve seen too many other superteams wildly fail, including the Nets, who never made it past the second round of the playoffs with Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Kevin Durant on the roster.
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who → see → roster
Most Improved Player: Amen Thompson
Thompson made leaps last season and here’s to betting that trend is going to continue this year.
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trend → make → leaps
Now that Fred VanVleet is back, Thompson is going to get way more scoring opportunities.
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Thompson → go → opportunities
He apparently dramatically improved his jumper over the offseason.
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He → improve → offseason
He has the basketball IQ and natural talent to keep transforming his game, and he’s going to play for a very competitive Rockets team.
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he → have → team
His growth has been marked and should continue rapidly.
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growth → mark → ?
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
