The pools for the 2021/22 season begin after the main part of the transfer market and the publication of the calendar and one of the first surveys to know the feeling within the league has been that of ESPN with five ten people of responsibility in positions such as executive or scout.
Interesting trends are extracted from this publication, even if the sample is small. What is clearest is a possible confrontation in the 2022 Finals between the Lakers and Nets with the latter finally winning the championship which the best move this summer has been the acquisition of Kyle Lowry by the Miami Heat. In other chapters, more equality: as worst operation, three for the Bulls for the signing of DeMar DeRozan and three for everything the Pelicans; as the most surprising signing, three for Schröder’s for the Celtics and two for Walker’s for the Knicks. The same trend is reflected in two categories: that Westbrook’s trade has been a relief for the Wizards and a condemnation for the Lakers. He also wondered about the tanking trend, which seems to be going through a few years of not so aggressiveness, and the answers given for this are the effort to equalize the odds of a better position in the lottery and the good work in the playoffs of the teams with smaller markets.
However, the sticking point is another. And the formulation of the question is also important. Who is the one who will enter the season as the best player in the NBA? Not who will win the MVP, but who is the best right now. There were only two responses, divided into five and five votes. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks), champion with his team after an eight-year journey, and Kevin Durant (Nets), Olympic champion with his country this summer, were mentioned. Not Curry, not Embiid, not Jokic. But the absence that someone has noticed, especially the protagonist, is that of the player who has dominated the most in time during the last fifteen years. LeBron James got no votes and he hasn’t taken it well. The explanation is the same as Durant, he is put on the same plane, but leaning towards that of the Nets and not towards the Lakers: age and injuries are a determining factor when making this decision, according to the analysis accompanying the vote. “Thanks”, ironically related in a message on Twitter: “In case I didn’t need more to motivate myself”. The former ’23’ and now ‘6’ of the Angelina franchise has won the NBA four times, being the best in the decisive tie of those four occasions (2012, 2013, 2016 and 2020), and has four other MVP awards , not having failed an All-Star since 2005 and a pair of Olympic golds with the United States in London and Rio, among many other achievements as a player.
