A New Venture For a New Basketball Season
This season, fans can subscribe and keep it locked right here for a new venture, featuring revamped NBA G League scouting and coverage around the household names of tomorrow.
How will Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo mesh in Milwaukee? Now that James Harden has finally reported to the 76ers, how much longer will he ultimately remain in Philadelphia? As the oldest player in the NBA, how far will LeBron James’ prowess take the Lakers? Which of the Western Conference’s teams will serve as the biggest threats to the Nuggets’ hope for a repeat?
As preseason basketball gets underway, all these questions are lingering amid NBA circles. Nevertheless, beyond talk of obvious star power comes a deeper look at the next generation of the game. Rosters will dwindle down from as many as 20 players to about 15 or when the season begins, and many of those that fail to make the big league cut will instead embark on a new journey in the NBA G League.
Minor league training camp begins at the end of the month, and the Showcase Cup portion of the season will start on November 10.
In my decade plus covering and being around the NBA G League, (which includes heading up Vox Media’s minor league coverage and running the show at RidiculousUpside.com, to eventually working directly for the NBA), its impact on The Association — highlighted by a continued supply of rising stars in the form of players, coaches, and other personnel alike — has been evident.
You can’t afford to turn you back on what’s going on, because those scratching the surface in the minor league could become tomorrow’s household names at the next level (much like Seth Curry and Gary Payton II, both featured above). Like an eager young hooper anxiously awaiting their shot to take on the winner of a blacktop battle, the question at hand is often, who’s got next?
With that in mind comes a renewed focus and revamped venture. This season, you can keep coming here for answers to that very question. I’ll be ranking this season’s top performers, recognizing players of the week/month, coaches of the month, keeping an eye on G League Ignite, paying homage to some soaring alums, and when the time comes, bestowing year-end honors, too.
Being around the league for as long as I have, it’s easy to recognize somewhat of an elephant in the room: it’s difficult for many to put much stock in minor league standings and who is winning on a day-to-day to basis. But the Showcase Cup heightens the stakes a bit and gives NBA G League athletes a platform to perform under brighter lights — one that could better prepare them for what may lie ahead.
There will be big time moments, grander stages, highlights to consume, and performances to appreciate — all with an added focus on who is primed and ready to handle the heat at the next level. I invite fans to get a head-start on who that may be, by subscribing (for free) and checking back here.
The scouting starts now.