It has been a week since the 2022-23 NBA season wrapped up with the Denver Nuggets winning their first title in franchise history. Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Malone, and the rest of the Nuggets winning the chip is as good of a cherry to top off a season to remember.
But before we got there, we had moments that made us laugh, cringe, cry, and throw objects at television sets. We saw empires fall, alliances form, dynasties getting established, and this player getting traded to that coach getting fired. Memorable games, breakthrough seasons for players and teams, kings ruling, and jokers being jokers. We have also seen The Joker become the king.
We at Hoops Habit enjoyed the season as most fans did. So we decided to have some of our writers plot a trip down memory lane as we look at the good, the bad, the ugly, and the outright ridiculous.
Disclaimer: we obviously could not cover every highlight and low point of the season–there are just too many. I mean, the Nets skyrocketing only to catch flames, the trade deadline drama, Patrick Beverly grabbing a camera to prove a point to a referee, Draymond Green knocking Jordan Poole’s lights out, you name it.
This is also listed in no particular order. It’s simply us looking at the rearview and sharing it with our readers. With that said, cue the graduation music.
Leocciano Callao: A wise man once said, “We’re good in the West.”
And everybody knows how well those words of wisdom aged.
The NBA community needs to collectively hand bouquets to the Memphis Grizzlies for their valiant efforts on the basketball court. There’s no denying their talent and hunger to succeed. Ja Morant’s star is rising (or was? We’ll get to it later). With that, he took his cast of teammates and made Memphis one of the best teams in the Western Conference and the NBA.
The young and gritty Grizzlies became the bad boys of the NBA this past season. Their “in your face” approach and fiery play became a recipe to get under everybody’s skin. Unfortunately, the basketball was overshadowed by their villain origin story.
Nobody embraced this more than Dillon Brooks. The 27-year-old decided that turning heal was his way to recognition– and it worked. Brooks took pages from Patrick Beverley and Draymond Green’s books and injected the sum with steroids. He got into altercations with the likes of Green, Donovan Mitchell, and LeBron James. Unfortunately, he did better as a pebble in their shoes than a basketball player.
Meanwhile, Morant was dealing with his own demons. Among several stains, Morant was suspended twice for flashing firearms on social media. These raised questions about his future in the league.
On the bright side, Jaren Jackson Jr. deservingly won NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
The Grizzlies finished second in the Western Conference but suffered a first-round exit, courtesy of the Los Angeles Lakers in six games. At the end of it, the organization decided to excommunicate Brooks. Morant has been handed a 25-game suspension for next season, and Jackson will return and most likely anchor the team in Morant’s absence.
Cal Durrett: the Kings shattered expectations.
After a fourteen-year NBA playoff drought, the Sacramento Kings ended that unflattering streak in a big way this past season. Led by all-stars De’Aaron Fox and Domontas Sabonis, the Kings shattered expectations.
They won an impressive 48 games and finished with the third-best record in the Western Conference. That was a far cry from an almost comical decade-long stretch of ineptitude and missteps that had tarnished a once-good franchise. Fortunately, with the help of their two best players and Mike Brown, who won Coach of the Year, the Kings quickly turned things around. Thanks to a high-powered, record-setting offense, they were often too difficult for other teams to stop.
While the Golden State Warriors ultimately did end their season, they were the then-defending champions and better than a typical sixth seed. That playoff experience could prove useful going forward as the Kings look to build off their best season in 20 years. They will have tough competition with the newly crowned champion Denver Nuggets, but with a lot of question marks surrounding other teams in the Western Conference, Sacramento can build off their successful 2022–23 season.
Wyatt Zetterberg: the second-highest scoring NBA game ever.
One of the best stories of this NBA season was Sacramento Kings’ long awaited return to relevance. Led by All-Stars De’Aaron Fox and Domanatas Sabonis, the Kings earned the three seed in the Western Conference before bowing out to the defending champions Warriors in seven games.
The “Beam Team”, which the Kings were dubbed on account of the purple beam that would shoot up from the Kings’ Golden 1 center after every win, had a season filled with memorable moments. There was their 120-80 win over Portland to clinch a playoff spot for the first time in 16 seasons, De’Aaron Fox’s dominance in crunch time earning him the inaugural Jerry West clutch Player of the Year trophy, and Mike Brown winning Coach of the Year in his first season.
No win took longer or required more points though than their 176-175 double overtime win over the Los Angeles Clippers in the second-highest scoring NBA game ever.
Down 13 with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Sacramento stormed back behind an offensive surge capped off by Malik Monk’s game-tying three at the end of regulation. They overcame Sabonis fouling out with three minutes to go in the first overtime and falling behind 175-169 with under two minutes to go in the second. A pair of Harrison Barnes free throws, a Malik Monk three, and finally a De’Aaron Fox elbow jumper gave the Kings their defining win of a memorable season in Sacramento.
Zach Ciavolella: LeBron James did what once seemed impossible.
The 2022-23 NBA season was one for the record books. The Denver Nuggets won their first-ever NBA championship, and eighth-seed made the NBA Finals; Luka Dončić posted the first-ever 60-20-10 game in NBA history, the San Antonio Spurs set a record for attendance in a game (68,323), and most impressive of all, LeBron James did what once seemed impossible by breaking the NBA’s All-Time scoring record.
An entire season of anticipation culminated on Feb. 7, 2023, as the Los Angeles Lakers faced off against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Though the night ended in a loss for the Lakers, the story of the night was greatly overshadowed by one of the greatest achievements in NBA history.
Entering the night, LeBron needed 36 points to break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record. Finishing with 38 points on the night, Lebron added another notch to his storied legacy, one that won’t easily be broken.
At the end of the 2022-23 NBA season, the All-Time scoring record now sits at an incredible 38,652 points. While many will argue without end about the comparative greatness of LeBron against Michael Jordan, it should be recognized that by the time James finally hangs ’em up,
It took LeBron James 1410 games to overtake the scoring record, and it’s likely he has another season or two still in the tank. As it stands, there are only nine players in NBA history who have played more games than LeBron; Between now and his retirement, his lead will only grow helping to further secure one of the most impressive accomplishment’d in all of sports.
Colin Loughran: the Garden will eventually be Eden again.
In many ways, the 2022/2023 New York Knicks season was a direct continuation of a path that began during the 2020/2021 campaign and is still in progress.
Their year saw them finally find their franchise point guard, post a 47-35 record, and make a trip to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. While the Knicks did not capture their first NBA title since 1973, this past season was a successful one by just about any measure.
When Jalen Brunson inked a 4-year, $104 million deal in July, few could have predicted the kind of impact he would have. He averaged the most assists on the team and was second on the club in terms of points and minutes per game.
Along with Brunson, Julius Randle, Immanuel Quickley, Josh Hart and others provided key play that will not soon be forgotten.
Randle received All-NBA Third Team honors while Quickley received Sixth Man of the Year buzz and posted career highs in terms of minutes and points per game.
The Knicks’ February trade for Josh Hart afforded them an efficient’ talent off the bench. He meshed well with role players such as Quentin Grimes and Isaiah Hartenstein. He also complemented the duo of Brunson and Randle.
No telling of the Knicks regular season story would be complete without mentioning the decision that head coach Tom Thibodeau made in early December. The grizzled coach chose to deploy a nine man rotation that effectively benched Derrick Rose and Cam Reddish.
The Knicks had not won a playoff series since 2013. Their first round gentleman’s sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers granted the franchise a breath of fresh air.
The series was defined by the Knicks’ gritty approach. Mitchell Robinson and RJ Barrett silenced critics who were unimpressed by their regular season performances. Barrett averaged 17.4 points and Robinson played key defense throughout the set.
The Knicks fell to the Miami Heat in the second round, but did not go down without a fight. They won a season-saving Game 5 at MSG in a fashion that encapsulated much of what made their season prosperous, something they could not do in 2021 when facing a similar playoff situation against the Atlanta Hawks.
The 2023 New York Knicks proved that there is reason to believe the Garden will eventually be Eden again.
Richard Nurse: Butler’s antics made them fun to watch.
Masterful and historic are some of the words that have been used to describe Jimmy Butler’s 2023 playoff run through the Eastern Conference. Yet, the most accurate one of them all may be alluring. It was not just his scoring either. What drew audiences in was Butler’s self-confident actions intertwined with the dismissive words the NBA’s microphones would capture.
Whether it was his own teammates, coaches or the opposition, Butler has always been known to be an All-Star irritant. However, this postseason it was showcased on a different level. What started as the comical taunting of New York’s Julius Randle, in a late season game, turned into harsh words for Milwaukee’s Jrue Holiday and two games of on-court disrespect for Boston’s Grant Williams.
What made it more intriguing was that Butler’s talk and demonstrative moves seemed to fuel his offense. So much so that viewers saw him put up Michael Jordan playoff numbers for the Miami Heat. And not the fabricated kind.
At one point, Butler joined Jordan as the only players with multiple road playoff games of 30 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals. They were also the only players in NBA history to record 30-points per game, five rebounds, five assists, two steals and 50 percent shooting averages in a single postseason, before Butler’s eventual dip.
The sporting world always knew the Heat played hard, but Butler’s production and antics made them fun to watch. It also made him a lovable antagonist—unless you were the opposition.
Michael Shearer: Where were you when Udonis Haslem made history?
The Miami native spent 20 years with the Heat, playing rugged defense and hitting clutch shots for a decade-plus before transitioning into the wise-old-elder phase of his career. A nostalgic finale before a raucous home crowd was a foregone conclusion, a cute story to end a solid career. But Haslem had one last surprise in store for everyone. Befitting his jersey number, UD must have used some WD-40 on his joints as he went out with the biggest “BANG!” imaginable.
Haslem’s 9-of-17 shooting performance for 24 points (including three triples after having only bagged six in his entire career to that point!) was tied for his second-highest scoring game ever and the most since he had 28 back in 2009. Just months from his 43rd birthday, Haslem set the record as the oldest player to score 20+ points in a game (topping Vince Carter in age and quantity).
UDominator blocked a blooper, caught a charge, nailed the nail jumpers he always loved, banged home classic baseliners, and even slammed a shot in front of dozens of friends and former teammates, including a Haslem-jerseyed Dwyane Wade. UD spent a career doing the dirty work, but for one night, he allowed himself to break character and hunt his own shot – and it was glorious. To say it was vintage Udonis isn’t true; this was close to the best offensive performance of Haslem’s career, achieved in a way he’d never taken.
And in what might be the most telling Haslem stat of all… the Heat got the win.
Non-superstars almost never retire willingly; they get retired by a league that passes them by. So when a local legend writes his own twist ending, everyone’s a winner.
Weston Titus: from maligned scapegoat to playoff hero.
Coming off of a disastrous first season with the Lakers in 2021-22, Russell Westbrook was once again the subject of endless trade rumors throughout the offseason. He ended up staying put and finding himself once again in an awkward role as a ball-dominant guard playing alongside LeBron James.
Despite pressure on coach Darvin Ham to send Westbrook to the bench, he started the year in the starting lineup and once again struggled to even come close to his career production. By the end of October, the plug was finally pulled and Westbrook was sent to the bench and accepted his role as a 6th man. This newfound spot for Westbrook helped him find a groove and be a more productive player but was still a tough pill to swallow for the Lakers with a $47,000,000 salary relegated to the bench.
As the trade deadline loomed, fans continued to be frustrated with Westbrook, and the joy the team once found with him, even amid his struggles, seemed to fade. Finally, the day after LeBron James set the all-time scoring record in a triumphant moment that overshadowed a crucial loss for Los Angeles, Westbrook was traded to the Utah Jazz in a 3-team 8-player deal. It ended an awkward, frustrating, and toxic tenure for Westbrook with the Lakers that saw awkward team meetings, infuriated fans, and put a future Hall of Famer in a position where he could not play as himself.
Utah quickly bought Westbrook out of his contract, and within days Westbrook was staying in town to team up with old teammate Paul George and the LA Clippers. Westbrook was put back into a starting role for a team that had been looking for answers at the point guard position and thrived with a newfound trust from his teammates and coaching staff.
Westbrook saw his effective FG% skyrocket from 46% with the Lakers to a career high 53.8% with the Clippers. His 3-pointers were falling, his assists were up, and he became a beloved and important part of a Clippers team with championship aspirations. He was playing with a joy, confidence, and trust from his team that was impossible to imagine just a few weeks earlier with the Lakers
In Game 1 of the Clippers’ first-round series against Phoenix, where they found themselves as underdogs, Westbrook became a playoff hero with incredible defense on former teammate Kevin Durant and a game-winning play on Devin Booker to steal Game 1.
RUSSELL WESTBROOK WITH THE GAME WINNING BLOCK ON DEVIN BOOKER
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) April 17, 2023
pic.twitter.com/JeYm9IRxlQ
After Kawhi Leonard got hurt in Game 2, Westbrook and the Clippers would show an admirable fight but eventually fall to the Suns in 5 games. Despite the loss, Westbrook put himself back on the map with a passion, athleticism, and confidence that has helped him build a hall-of-fame resume and establish himself as one of the most unique and athletic point guards in NBA history.
With Westbrook being an unrestricted free agent this offseason, It remains to be seen if he will find himself back with the Clippers or with a new team, but after a miserable start to the season, he showed why plenty of teams will be vying for his services this season.