Back To The Basket

 NBA Premiere Week has truly been exciting. Last week was filled with a variety of performances. Let's look at some of the shines and stinkers of the first week of basketball. Ayden Whyte Shine: Paolo Banchero P aolo has been off to a stunning start. In his official NBA debut, he posted up 27 points, 2 blocks, 5 assists, and 9 rebounds. All of this without even attempting a 3 point shot. This makes him the first player since LeBron James to put up 25-5-5 in their rookie debut. If that wasn't impressive enough, he continued to score 20+ points for the next 2 games. I've always been high on Paolo, all of the abilities I predicted he would bring to the court, he's brought ( https://unbiased-bball.blogspot.com/2022/10/5-nba-rookies-that-are-ready-to-shake.html) . So far he's a monster and I hope he can continue this success for the remainder of the season and put up a Rookie of the Year case. Stinker: The Los(s) Angeles Lakers I 've built my brand on being impartial...

The NBA is full of talented players, but only 1 can win the MVP award at the end of the year. Here are 5 players that can legitimately make that claim. Ayden Whyte 1. Giannis Antetokounmpo G iannis is agreed upon by most NBA fans and media to be the best player in all of basketball. They wouldn't be wrong, the 2021-22 NBA season was likely one of his best seasons ever. He averaged a career-high 29.9 points per game on 55.3% from the field. It's easy to say that all Giannis can do is run and dunk, but if it was that easy, then why doesn't everyone do it? The casual NBA viewer doesn't see the finesse he's growing to play with, and I think it comes from him growing as an NBA player. He realizes he can't be an athletic freak of nature for his whole career and he has begun to develop more of a post-game. He utilizes more pump-fakes, spin moves, and backdowns to get points efficiently. If he can continue to do everything he does defensively and pair it with his new-fo...

 Every year there are players who are expected to become the next Lebron or Michael Jordan... Ayden Whyte B ut few can make that claim like Victor Wembanyama. The 18-year-old from France is listed at a height of 7'2, with his real height likely being closer to 7'5. In most cases with guys so tall, they move sluggishly and injuries are a constant worry. With him it's different, he moves with a Giannis-like footspeed. He's weird, no one that tall ever looks that good on the court, never limping, no slouch in his back. He handles his height much better than other 7'0+ players in history. Fills me with the hope that he can have a long and successful career in the league. S kill-wise, he almost has it all. He is the quintessential modern NBA player. He's already a great 3-level scorer. In his American debut against the G League Ignite team, he shot 7/11 from the 3-point line. He's 7'5 with a jump shot. It's literally unstoppable. He ended up with 37 point...

  T he 2022-23 NBA draft class is definitely a class packed with talent and NBA-ready players. Here are some that are ready to make meaningful impacts on their teams. Ayden Whyte 1. Paolo Banchero P aolo Banchero has been highly scouted as a league-bound player since high school. Being selected number 1 to the Orlando Magic. He is brimming with potential and on a team like the Magic, he's definitely going to have the ball in his hands a lot. In his last pre-season outing he put up 17 points, and 9 rebounds, on 66.7% field goal percentage. His high-scoring ability is exactly what his team needs, especially being paired on the floor with Franz Wagner. He is definitely a player to look out for. 2. Keegan Murray K eegan Murray flew under a lot of NBA radars in high school. However, his collegiate stunt in Iowa showed the world his talents and he was selected with the 4th pick in the draft to the Sacramento Kings. In the NBA Summer League, Keegan proved that he is the quintessenti...