NBA Season is Open: Conclusions After the First Games

As a sport, basketball is one of the most played, popular and exciting sports in the world. It is an individual or team sport that is very physical and requires a high level of fitness in order to play in the NBA.

NBA players are truly superhuman athletes who are able to make jumps, sprints and shoot consistently from long distances. It has been said that professional basketball players are some of the best athletes in the world when it comes to reaction time because they have to be able to react quickly in order to make impossible shots. Let’s take a look at four prominent figures from the opening of the season.

Milwaukee Bucks vs Brooklyn Nets

The 20th October opening of the season resulted in a great victory for the Milwaukee Bucks. On their home floors, they beat Brooklyn Nets 127 to 104.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO with the Warriors!
🔯32 points,
🔯14 rebounds
🎯 7 assists #basketball #sports #Warriors #giannis #nba #basketball #lebronjames #bucks #lebron #giannisantetokounmpo #lakers #k #antetokounmpo pic.twitter.com/6wi9Rn7OS4

— 1960Bet (@Official1960Bet) October 20, 2021

A great NBA Player has the skills, talents, and abilities to play professionally in the NBA. In order to be a great NBA player, you must have the skill of shooting the ball with range, good dribbling skills, and the ability to make people miss while driving through the lane. A great NBA Player is also a team player and knows how to communicate with his/her teammates to get everyone involved in the game.

And Giannis Antetokounmpo has all of these skills! Antetokounmpo is a Greek player who was drafted in 2013 for the Milwaukee Bucks. Even in the first years of his career, he turned out to be a perfect match. In his first season, he averaged 6.8 points, 1.9 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 4.4 rebounds, which are impressive numbers for a rookie. Further, Antetokounmpo’s career evolved at a rapid pace, giving him record after record. In 2016 he took part in the All-Star game and was awarded the title of the most progressing player in the 2016/2017 season.

This year is not different for Giannis. This game he played with All-Star Class, and only in 31 minutes, he scored 32 points for the Milwaukee Bucks. The pressure is on for this season, especially because Giannis is the 2021 MPV.

Kevin Durant

Head to head with Giannis was Kevin Durant, who also scored 32 points. The player is known for his ability to save his team from hard situations. This time it wasn’t enough, but Durant’s play was outstanding, and he seems to be a good fit for the Nets.

Kevin joined the NBA in 2007, originally being drafted for Seattle SuperSonic (now Oklahoma City Thunder), then transferred to Golden State Warriors. In 2019 after being a free agent, he signed with the Brooklyn Nets. Many controversies were surrounding his transfers.

Durant became the MVP in 2014, also this year he surpassed Michael’s Jordan record. He is known for his incredible scoring abilities, averaging 32 scores in one game.

Los Angeles Lakers vs Golden State Warriors

This season’s opening wasn’t good for the Los Angeles Lakers. They lost to the Golden State Warriors 114:121 despite being ahead at the beginning.

Stephen Curry

The star of this game was Stephen Curry from the Golden State Warriors. He got a triple-double by 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. This is his eighth triple-double, but despite this being a great achievement, he wasn’t very happy about his performance.

Curry was very hard on himself, this is a player who sets a very high standard for himself. There’s no doubt that he led his team to victory more than once. He joined the Golden State Warriors in 2009 and he has stayed with them ever since. He is a legend, fifth of the Warriors, who scored over 14000 points, which puts his name directly near Wilt Chamberlain.

LeBron James

Los Angeles Lakers star, LeBron James couldn’t carry his team to the win. It was a big test for Russel Westbrook, who was traded to the Lakers this year. Unfortunately, the players couldn’t find a common pace and their performance was far from good.

LeBron James, drafted as the first pick in 2003, is one of the greatest modern NBA players. He is already a four-time MVP, which is not that far from legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabaar with 6.

After the game, James had to give a pep talk to Westbrook. The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t have a great start but there is still hope since the Lakers are a team with the most wins (17, tied with Boston Celtics). 

Predictions

Basing the whole season outcome on just first games would be like playing a casino game / casino igre. But there are a few things we can conclude from these two past games.

Firstly, the Greek Freak, Giannis Antetokounmpo is on a winning streak from the beginning and this will be a great season for the Milwaukee Bucks. We will probably see them at least at the podium.

Secondly, Kevin Durant finally found his place and if the team will keep up with him, Brooklyn Nets can go very far.

Thirdly, Stephen Curry has to stop doubting himself. This perfectionist attitude can be motivating, but in the long run, it could be his downfall.

And lastly, Westbrook needs to adapt to the Lakers, in order to keep his position. Words of support from his teammates are great encouragement and this teamwork should be reflected on the playing field.

What are your predictions?

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