The 2021-22 season provided a plethora of competitive basketball as teams battled for home-court playoff advantage, a playoff spot itself, and even a position in the NBA’s Play-In Tournament.
For the first time since the 2005-06 season, excluding three shortened seasons due to Covid and the 2011-12 lockout, only two teams won over 55 regular-season games.
Those dominant teams, the Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies, both failed to move past the second round of the playoffs. Subsequently, a Western Conference rival, the Golden State Warriors, ended up lifting the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
It was an evenly matched season in both conferences, signifying the equity in talent across the league. Unfortunately for NBA fans, next regular season may not prove as enjoyable.
That’s because of one young man – French sensation Victor Wembanyama. Currently sitting as the consensus best prospect in next year’s Draft, NBA teams are already trying to climb over (or fall under) each other to have the best possible chance at securing the first overall pick.
Victor Wembanyama standing next to Jaden Ivey and 7 footer Chet Holmgren… pic.twitter.com/zvWmFL2Uk4
— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) June 29, 2022
The season may be far from starting, but recent trades and free agent moves provide a clear indication of what we may be in for next season.
There are already eight teams who either have one eye on next year’s draft lottery or probably will by some point early in the season. Wenbayama may well provide excitement for over a decade, but for now, his 7’3″ presence could make for some uncompetitive basketball by the latter half of next season.
Four Western Conference teams could be set to make a play at Wembanyama, all of whom could view him as the final piece in talented young rosters.
2023 NBA Draft: 8 teams competing for Victor Wembanyama: Houston Rockets
The Rockets were fortunate enough to have Jabari Smith slip to them at number three in last month’s draft. With him, Jalen Green, and the likes of Alperun Sengun, Josh Christopher, and Usman Garuba, Houston have stockpiled an array of young talent in the wake of the James Harden era.
The passing of the torch was evident even before the draft, with big man Christian Wood traded to the Dallas Mavericks after averaging 17.9 points and 10.1 rebounds across the 2021-22 season.
Houston finished the season with the league’s worst record at 20-62. Even with the addition of Smith, this team isn’t about to take a significant jump. Nor should they want to. Acquiring a potential superstar in Wembanyama could finalize the Rockets’ rebuild, allowing them to focus their full attention on winning games and returning to playoff action.
2023 NBA Draft: 8 teams competing for Victor Wembanyama: Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City is stacked with young talent and a haul of future draft assets. It’s left many wondering how long it will be until the franchise begins to prioritize winning again.
The Thunder could theoretically make a play for any player in the league, including their former MVP in Kevin Durant. It does, however, seem like general manager Sam Presti wants to finish this through the drafting method.
Securing Wembanyama could be the final step in Presti’s grand plan. They already have their future backcourt in place with Josh Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, while they’ll hope they can form a scary frontcourt duo with Wembanyama and their number two overall pick Chet Holmgren.
2023 NBA Draft: 8 teams competing for Victor Wembanyama: San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs made one of the most obvious rebuilding moves of the offseason to date, sending All-Star guard Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks for multiple future draft selections. They also pulled their qualifying offer for Lonnie Walker IV and let him walk to the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency.
Focusing on the future and actively trying not to win games doesn’t particularly fit within Gregg Popovich’s philosophy. Clearly, they would like to make a push for the number one pick, but their coach is as competitive as they come, which could make it difficult.
San Antonio has been in no-man’s-land for a few seasons now, not really competing for a high playoff position yet also not finishing low enough to add high draft picks. Their offseason moves could be taking the choice out of Popovich’s hands – the roster just isn’t that good now and could easily see them fall to the bottom of the West.
2023 NBA Draft: 8 teams competing for Victor Wembanyama: Utah Jazz
The most controversial team on this list, Utah’s future is somewhat of an unknown after the Rudy Gobert trade brought a host of future picks. They still have Donovan Mitchell on the roster, though, meaning their offense may remain good enough to be a competitive team.
Do they trade Mitchell as well? Are they looking to build around him? Can you actually successfully build around him?
If they don’t decide to trade their three-time All-Star, they still need to find a way to make a play for the number one pick. Mitchell will likely never be the best player on a championship team, but he could be an elite running mate for someone like Wembanyama.
Similar to the Western Conference, the East has a number of teams that could aim to conclude their rebuild with one final major play.
2023 NBA Draft: 8 teams competing for Victor Wembanyama: Charlotte Hornets
LaMelo Ball may be good enough to win 30+ games of his own accord, but pairing him with Wenbanyama would be the ideal result moving forward. The Hornets have had quite the tumultuous offseason – Kenny Atkinson turned his back on the head coaching job before they brought back an old face in Steve Clifford.
Miles Bridges finds his NBA future in a perilous position, with the very real possibility that he’s Charlotte let him go after domestic violence issues. Add that with the ongoing injury issues of Gordon Hayward and this once talent-laden Hornets roster all of a sudden looks run-of-the-mill outside Ball.
Wembanyama could re-energize the franchise in much the same way Ball did after being taken with the third pick in the 2020 draft.
2023 NBA Draft: 8 teams competing for Victor Wembanyama: Detroit Pistons
The Pistons had a fantastic draft on early reflections, securing Jaden Ivery and Jalen Duren to go with last year’s number one overall pick, Cade Cunningham. Cunningham’s late-season form was spectacular, penciling him as a player to watch going into next season.
With a stack of salary cap space, Detroit did have the chance to build around him immediately with someone like DeAndre Ayton. Instead, the Pistons have used that space to absorb player contracts from the New York Knicks while acquiring further draft capital.
They also moved on from Jerami Grant after agreeing to a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers. All in all, Detroit’s offseason moves show they’ll remain a bottom team in the East for at least one more year.
2023 NBA Draft: 8 teams competing for Victor Wembanyama: Orlando Magic
The Magic love their long, athletic wings/forwards, with Wembanyama potentially lining up as the best of the bunch. They just added Paolo Banchero with the first overall pick, a year removed from selecting two top ten picks in Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner.
Because of their depth of talent, Orlando is primed to take a jump up the standings after a disappointing 22-60 season. But perhaps they’ll be better off by having another down season to heighten their chances of another number one pick.
2023 NBA Draft: 8 teams competing for Victor Wembanyama: Indiana Pacers
Another team whose offseason may signal a path towards rebuilding, the Pacers have never held the number one overall pick. Indiana recently traded Malcolm Brogdon to the Boston Celtics, having parted ways with Domantas Sabonis earlier in the year.
Their biggest roadblock may be the evolution of the player they got back for Sabonis – Tyrese Haliburton. Ready to explode with greater responsibilities heading into his third season, the 22-year-old projects as a winning player capable of making teammates better.
Combined with Myles Turner and Chris Duarte, Indiana may find themselves too good to get into this conversation. But if you ever wanted to break the franchise drought of not having the first selection in the draft, next year might be the perfect time to do it.