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2023 is coming to an end, and 2024 is about to kick off, looking back at the past year, NBA events large and small have emerged one after another, attracting the attention of many fans. At the end of 2023, I will give you an inventory of the top ten events of the year in the NBA.
1.The Nuggets won the first championship in team history
The Nuggets passed the playoffs in the 22-23 season, eliminating the Timberwolves 4-1 in the first round, the Suns 4-2 in the second round, the Lakers 4-0 in the Western Conference finals, and the Heat 4-1 in the finals to win the annual championship, and Jokic was crowned the MVP of the Finals with a unanimous vote. This is the first time that the Nuggets have advanced to the Finals since the NBA and ABA merged to join the league 47 years ago, and successfully won the first championship in team history.
2.James was crowned the all-time scoring leader
In the Lakers' home game against the Thunder, James hit a step-back jumper in the third quarter, and his career total score officially exceeded the 38,388 mark, successfully surpassing Abdul-Jabbar to become the all-time total scoring champion. James has since topped both the regular season and the playoffs, holding the record of 38 youngest players to score. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar posed with James to send him his best wishes and celebrate James at the All-Star Game. In the same year, James' career total points exceeded the 39,000 mark, getting closer and closer to the personal 40,000 points milestone.
3.Embiid's regular season MVP
In the 20-21 and 21-22 seasons, Embiid continued to run in the regular season MVP selection, losing to Jokic in second place. In the 22-23 season, he received 73 MVP first votes, defeated Jokic and Antetokounmpo with a high score of 915 points, and was successfully crowned the MVP of the regular season and ushered in the most important individual award of his career.
4.Heat Black Eight
The Heat lost to the Hawks in the first round of the 22-23 playoff season and beat the Bulls in the second round to get the last playoff ticket in the East. The Heat eliminated the regular season champion Bucks with a total score of 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs, completing the sixth black eight in history. Then the Heat eliminated the Knicks and Celtics in a row and met the Nuggets in the Finals. He is the second No. 8 seed team to advance to the Finals since the Knicks in '99. Although they lost to the Nuggets and missed out on the championship, they still left a strong mark on history.
5.71 points per game
In the Cavaliers' battle with the Bulls, Mitchell scored 58 points in regulation time to complete the tie and make a rebound to drag the game into overtime, and then he scored 13 of the team's 15 points in overtime, scoring 71 points in the whole court to set a new career single-game scoring record, surpassing Booker's 70-point record and setting an active single-game scoring record.
In the battle between the Trail Blazers and the Rockets, Lillard hit 13 three-pointers and also scored 71 points, two career highs, chasing Mitchell's active single-game scoring record.
In less than two months, the league has seen two explosions of 70+ points, and perhaps in the near future, we will see more people challenge Kobe's 81-point record, and even breaking Chamberlain's 100-point record is not a fantasy.
6.Storm Event
The league has always been very concerned about the overall image, extremely concerned about the turmoil of the players, and the personal behavior of many players has had a great impact. Grizzlies star Morant was punished by the league for two controversial gun incidents, and the league imposed a 25-game ban on him at the beginning of the 23-24 season, during which he was banned from participating in any activities.
Also implicated in off-court incidents is former Rockets player Porter Jr., who was arrested for domestic violence, and finally the Rockets chose to cut him, and no one has cared about him so far. In addition, there is Hornets player Bridges, who was also deeply affected by domestic violence, missed the 100 million yuan contract offered to him by the Hornets, and missed the 22-23 season completely.
It is worth mentioning that unlike many players who cause trouble off the court, Warriors player Dream Green generally attracts attention for on-court incidents. He has trampled Sabonis in the playoffs, choked Gobert in the arena and elbowed Nurkic, and the league is currently imposing an indefinite suspension on him until his mental health assessment reaches a normal level.
7.The star is leaving
This year, a number of stars have switched to new clubs to continue chasing championship dreams, and the most notable of them is that the Nets officially dismantled in the 22-23 season when they sent away Irving and Durant one after another. Irving joins the Mavericks to join Doncic, and Durant and Booker form a new partnership. In addition, Harden left the 76ers to join the Clippers, Lillard switched to the Bucks and joined Antetokounmpo, Paul was traded to the Warriors and the Splash Brothers to become teammates, Beal went to Phoenix to join Durant and Booker, and Wei Shao was cut by the Jazz after being traded by the Lakers, and finally chose to join the Clippers.
8.Spurs won the No. 1 pick
The Spurs had a bad season in '22-23 and won the No. 23 draft with a 14% chance of getting their wish. This is the third time in their team history, and it is also the first time in 26 years that they have selected French rising star Wembanyama in the draft. The Spurs' former two No. 1 picks, David Robinson and Duncan, both had a brilliant streak for the team, and it remains to be seen whether Wembanyama will be able to rebuild his team's glory against career rival Holmgren.
9.The Lakers won their first midseason title
In order to stimulate the ratings at the beginning of the regular season, so that the schedule can better transition to the year-end game. The league introduced the concept of a mid-season tournament in the 23-24 season, with a prize money of 500,000 per person and a championship title that caused teams to compete for it. In the end, the Lakers took the lead in the West with a 4-0 winning record in the group stage, and eliminated the Suns, Pelicans and Pacers in the knockout round to win the first midseason trophy in league history, and James was crowned the first midseason MVP.
10.The Pistons set an all-time losing streak
After the Pistons started the 23-24 season with a 2-1 record, their overall situation was extremely sluggish, and they suffered a 28-game losing streak at one point, which not only set a new record for the longest losing streak in team history, but also surpassed the 26-game losing streak of the Cavaliers in the 11-12 season and the 76ers in the 13-14 season, setting the longest losing streak in a single season in the league. In addition, the Pistons tied the 76ers' 28-game losing streak across seasons in 14-15 and 15-16, tied for the longest losing streak in the league.
The only fortunate thing is that the Pistons defeated the Raptors at the end of 2023, ending a 28-game losing streak and bringing 2023 to an end with a one-game victory. However, they only won 10 games in the year, also setting a record for the worst record in the league, and are destined to be recorded in the history of the league.