We are closing in on being 25% done with the 2020-21 NBA regular season and so far this season, things have been pretty interesting. The Los Angeles Lakers are still the clear favorites to repeat as NBA champions and hold the best record in the NBA, including the best road record at 10-0, but other teams like the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and the Utah Jazz have looked like legit championship contenders.
While some teams have struggled to begin the year, everyone still has a legit shot to be a playoff team and given how unpredictable things can be in this league, you just never know! Speaking of unpredictable, just this past month, we saw James Harden, the former league MVP, 8x All-Star and 3x Scoring Champion, be traded to the Brooklyn Nets in a blockbuster 4-team trade.
Now, Brooklyn has a new “Big 3” in Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden that are hungry for a championship. This was the biggest trade of the season so far, but it definitely will not be the last. There are still plenty of talented players and superstar talents that could become available before the March 25th trade deadline, resulting in many other teams possibly making a statement at a playoff push.
Besides trades, we have also seen the emergence of some new star-like talents in the league. Christian Wood, Julius Randle and Jerami Grant have all had amazing starts to this season and all have the makings of being All-Star like talents moving forward. This year’s rookie class has also been very impressive.
LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman, Tyrese Haliburton, Cole Anthony and many more rookies have all had major impacts on their team, resulting in a very close Rookie of the Year race so far this season. Ball is the clearcut front-runner right now, but with the way things change in this league, who knows who will come away with the award!
From plenty of drama to plenty of buzzer-beaters, we have had a lot of excitement through the first quarter of the NBA season, but there is still plenty of basketball yet to be played and we are not even at halftime yet! Want a glimpse into how the rest of the season could pan out? Let’s take a look at 10 bold predictions for the rest of the 2020-21 NBA season.
