2021 NBA Season Preview
Campus photo (By Shawna Sherrell, Gettysburg College Flickr)
By Colin Lawless, Staff Writer
The NBA is back, and another season full of superteams and up-and-comers is sure to keep our mouths watering for the next 8 months. Coming off an extremely busy offseason, filled with controversy and players finding new homes, several teams look very different. LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers front office were busy at work, as usual, bringing in long-time friends Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony along with returning Dwight Howard, who won the 2020 NBA Championship with him in the Orlando Bubble.
The Lakers are sure to be contenders as always, along with a few others out of the West. The Phoenix Suns have returned their entire team from their 2021 Finals run, with veteran point guard Chris Paul signing an extension, and the Golden State Warriors will certainly be a dark horse with the healthy duo of sharpshooters in Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. Add to that the consistently improving Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, and Los Angeles Clippers, and there is a legitimate struggle for power in the West.
The Milwaukee Bucks will look to repeat after their second Finals win in franchise history in 2021. Coming off a monster year capped off by a Finals MVP win, Giannis Antetokounmpo has his ring and will certainly be hungry for more. The rest of the East will be equally as hungry to stop him. The Atlanta Hawks will look to improve on a surprising season that brought them all the way to the Conference Finals, led by young star guard Trae Young. The New York Knicks will hope to be back in the playoff mix following their first postseason appearance in eight years.
The 76ers will look to contend again, but not without overcoming a huge headache. Ben Simmons, who is blamed by many for the Sixers’ second-round exit in 2021, continues to cause problems, as he has gone from refusing to report to camp with hopes of being traded, to agreeing to return but showing no desire to play. As of now, he is suspended from the team, with no defined plan for his future.
Another top contender in the East plagued by controversy is the Brooklyn Nets. The team, seen by many as the ones most likely to overtake the Bucks with stars Kevin Durant and James Harden, are again having to deal with Kyrie Irving and his off-the-court beliefs. As of today, Kyrie is not allowed to be a part of the team at all, as he is not vaccinated from Covid-19, which is required in New York. He has said that his absence does not have to do with the vaccine, but he continually shows no signs of getting it, meaning that it is becoming more likely that he will not feature at all for the Nets this season. It’s a compelling situation that could drag on for a while, but even without Irving, the Nets are still a formidable threat.
With all of that said, the NBA is finally back and sure to be a treat. There are a lot of good teams made up of a lot of exciting talent, and we will (hopefully) have a season as close to normal as possible.
