Notoriously, the end of the year very often means the composition of those famous recaps that swarm on social media, partly to draw the threads of what happened in the previous 365 days and partly to try to imagine what could await us in the following 365 ( or 366 this year). We tried to do it too, summarizing the most “incredible” moments we experienced this year in the NBA on and off the court: a very personal NBA Top 5.
We put the term “incredible” in quotes because it is decidedly complicated to define the criteria that make one moment more incredible than another and far from our intentions to formulate a rigorous ranking of the moments that have amazed us the most this year. What interests us is instead to retrace, trying to make our readers smile, the 5 moments that left us speechless or made us emotional in 2023.
LeBron passes Abdul-Jabbar
In the NBA there are some records that are now considered institutions due to their longevity and their absurdity, such as John Stockton’s record for assists or Wilt’s record for points in a single game. Thinking of overcoming them in most cases is an unthinkable idea for almost everyone. However, LeBron James certainly isn’t included in those “almost everyone”.
On the night of February 7, 2023, in the match against the Thunder, the King added another stone to his scepter by becoming the NBA’s all-time best scorer, overtaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who was stuck at 38,387, whose record now stood for 39 years. Even though it had now become inevitable that LeBron would surpass Kareem, it was still exciting to witness the moment in which James scored the historic basket, precisely because Kareem’s record was for decades one of those that seemed impossible to surpass.
In true NBA style, the match was rightly interrupted to consecrate the moment in which LeBron received the passing of the baton from Kareem, who symbolically handed over the record ball to the King, who thus added another piece to his inimitable career.
Mac McLung wins the dunk contest
We know very well that the NBA is that league where anything can happen and in fact in 2023 something never seen before happened: Mac McLung won the dunk contest. For less followers this will mean very little, but the more passionate will know that McLung is not an NBA player, but a player in the G-League, officially the “NBA development league”. Theoretically the All Star Game is an event reserved for NBA athletes but in the 2023 All Star Weekend an exception was made to allow the guard originally from Tennessee to participate in the dunk contest. But why you ask, rightly so. McLung (who still plays in the G-League) barely measures six feet tall but has extraordinary athleticism and proved it by winning the dunk contest, winning the hearts of the fans and a chance to show off with the 76ers . Also this year the player will be invited to the Dunk Contest to defend the title won last year.
We’re done, we can go home now
For the first time in their 47-year history, the Denver Nuggets are NBA champions. Now they can finally… go home? Apparently this is what Nikola Jokic wants. 2023 was another incredible year numerically speaking for the Serbian center. He recorded numbers never seen before: he ended the season averaging 0.2 assists from a triple double, but what surprised Jokic once again was his total disinterest in all records and even the victory of the title. The least superstar superstar in the history of the NBA, once he won his first title, made no secret of his urgent desire to go home to his horses, his true passion.
2024-01-03 16:39:08
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