Three Teams That Surprised Fans & Analysts Alike This Year
With the 2022-2023 82-game regular season officially in the rearview mirror, it seems as good a time as any to take stock of the year that was.
For some fanbases, watching their team make the playoffs or the play-in tournament is nothing new. In fact, for some it almost feels like a birthright at this point. Many pundits predicted the Denver Nuggets and the Milwaukee Bucks would reign supreme at the top of their conferences last summer, and in that regard the season went according to plan.
However, some teams surprised even the most veteran NBA analysts for a wide variety of reasons.
Sacramento Kings
Who would have predicted at the beginning of the season that the Kings would not only end the longest playoff drought in recent memory, but to win the Pacific Division in the process? Nobody, that’s who.
Not only are the Kings making the playoffs for the first time since 2006, but Sacramento also finished this season with the third-best record in the Western Conference (48-34). Finishing ahead of the likes of perennial powerhouse teams Phoenix, Golden State and both LA teams, the upstart Kings earned their first divisional crown since 2002-03.
De’Aaron Fox wrapped up one of the best regular seasons of his career with averages of 25 points, 6.1 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.1 steals, while shooting 32.% from three. Domantas Sabonis also became a walking double-double machine this year- averaging 19.1 points and 12.3 rebounds (first in the NBA) per game.
The Kings’ depth this season- as evidenced by four other players averaging double figures scoring wise, is one of the many reasons why the Kings are heading to the playoffs. It’s also why Mike Brown is your Coach of the Year winner.
The Kings will try to dethrone the Golden State Warriors in the first round and are off to a tremendous start, taking a 2-0 series lead. However, as they say, you’re never in trouble until you lose on home court, and the Warriors are a markedly different team at home vs. on the road (33-8 vs. 11-30). Golden State won the season series (3-1) this year.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Many believed last summer that the Oklahoma City Thunder would be leading the charge in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes. After all, the trades they made over the past few seasons accumulated the Thunder the highest number of first-round drafts in recent memory. And yet, the Thunder reached the play-in tournament as the tenth seed in the West with a 40-42 record on the year.
One of the reasons why Oklahoma made it as far as they did is because of its main core: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Lugentz Dort and Jalen Williams.
SGA led the team in scoring with 31.4 points per game on 51% field goal shooting. Add 5.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and one block to his scoring, and SGA finished the regular season with a breakout performance which earned him some darkhorse MVP love by certain members of the media.
In 76 games this season, Josh Giddey upped his numbers to 16.6 points, 7.9 rebounds (top among shooting guards), 6.2 assists, and 32.% three-point shooting. Jalen Williams, the rookie from Santa Clara, averaged 14.1 points on 52.1% field goal shooting, 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.4 steals. While Lu Dort posted a 13.7pts/4.6reb/2.1ast statline while regularly being matched up with the opposing team’s best scorer.
While they’re undoubtedly still a few pieces away from truly contending, the future certainly looks bright for Oklahoma.
Brooklyn Nets
When the Nets traded Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant in February, many thought they would enter a rebuilding state. Surprise!
The Nets will enter the 2023 playoffs with the sixth-best record in the Eastern Conference (45-37). Taking over the scoring load from the Durant-Irving duo is the Mikal Bridges-Cameron Johnson-Spencer Dinwiddle trio.
Bridges arrived from Phoenix as part of the Durant deal, averaging 26.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and a steal. His scoring average went up by nine points from his 17.2 point average in his first 56 games with the Phoenix Suns.
Cameron Johnson, another acquisition from the Durant trade, provided 16.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.4 steals. And like Bridges, Johnson’s numbers went up with an expanded role in Brooklyn.
Spencer Dinwiddie, a returnee from the Kyrie Irving trade, put up 16.5 points, 9.1 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals. While they may not be the most talented “Big 3” on paper, the group has found instant chemistry in their new surroundings.
If the trio can work together in the first round, the Philadelphia 76ers might have their work cut out for them even though the Sixers swept the Nets during the 2022-2023 regular season.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Anonymous. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.