LeBron James is looking forward to his 20th NBA season
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The NBA enters its 76th season this week with a bevy of title contenders. In the night on Wednesday, two top games are on the program to start with. The Boston Celtics receive the Philadelphia 76ers (1.30 a.m.), then there is a big star duel between the defending champions Golden State Warriors around Stephen Curry and the Los Angeles Lakers with LeBron James (4.00 a.m. / DAZN). The 37-year-old is starting his 20th season and is hoping for his fifth title.
James would need two more seasons to draw level with record man Vince Carter (22 seasons). The dress rehearsal did not go well for the Lakers, who only retained six players from last season in the roster. In the last preseason game, it lost 86:133 against the Sacramento Kings. “We have to get better. I like the way our team is set up but we have to keep working,” said James. In addition, star player Russell Westbrook injured his thigh slightly, other top performers such as Anthony Davis (back problems) or Dennis Schröder (finger) were not there.
The Warriors also experienced no pre-season without problems. The champion extended the contracts of Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole by four years each, but a brawl in training made unwanted headlines. Veteran Draymond Green punched Poole in the face after an argument and the 23-year-old fell to the ground. Video footage of the fight appeared in the media, and Green later apologized for his freak out. “I’m a human with flaws,” said the 32-year-old. “When the incident happened, I was in a dark place mentally.”
In addition to the Warriors and the Celtics, last season’s finalists, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Brooklyn Nets are also highly valued by experts and bookmakers. With the Bucks, superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo outshines everything, the 27-year-old Greek wants to lead the 2021 champion back to the title after the early end in the quarterfinals. The LA Clippers have retained most of their roster and have some dangerous playmakers in their ranks in Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and John Wall, as have the Nets (Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons).
Austria’s figurehead Jakob Pöltl will play a key role at the San Antonio Spurs, but will not be in contention for the title with a significantly younger and newly assembled team.
