And just like that, basketball is nearly back in action.
On Monday, several teams held their annual Media Day and it took over headline news on all major sports networks and social media platforms.
The NBA is coming off one of the wildest offseasons in recent memory.
And what better way to kick off this highly anticipated NBA season than showcasing some of the major offseason storylines on opening night when the Celtics take on the Cavs and the Rockets battle the Warriors on October 17th.
Kyrie makes his first return to "The Land" as a Celtic alongside his new side kick, All-Star forward Gordan Hayward. While Lebron James opens the season up without his new point guard, Isaiah Thomas, but rather alongside a longtime friend who at one point in time made up the other half of the most dominant duo in the NBA, Dwayne Wade.
As for the Warriors and Rockets, future Hall of Famer Chris Paul makes his Rockets debut alongside “The Beard”, James Harden against the star-studded Warriors who you can directly thank for this crazy NBA offseason.
With all that being said and despite playing in the Nation’s Capital, which seems to consistently be the center of attention for news outlets both nationally and internationally for some odd reason, the Wizards quietly remained under the radar and away from front page news in spite of agreeing to long term deals with their top three players: John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Otto Porter Jr., all of whom are 27 or younger and just about to enter the prime of their careers.
Head Coach Scott Brooks said it best on Monday, “We’ve added a lot important pieces for a long term. We’ve got a lot of good players coming back into their prime and by keeping our best players together that will help us win basketball games."
The price was steep, but attaining the center pieces to the puzzle for at least the next four seasons was a major step in the right direction.
And although the team fell short of their yearlong goal of reaching the Conference Finals when they lost to the Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal. The 2016-2017 breakout campaign by John Wall and the Wizards, which included 17 straight wins at home, seems to have caught the rest of the league’s attention.
In 2016 the Wizards were one of 12 teams to receive five or fewer nationally televised games. The 11 other teams on the list: the Heat (5), the Grizzlies (5), the Suns (4), the Pelicans (4), the Bucks (3), the Hornets (3), the Nuggets (3), the 76ers (3), the Kings (3), the Magic (1), and the Nets (1). Only three of those teams (Wizards, Grizzlies, Bucks) made it to the playoffs, yet alone had a winning record after 82 games.
This year, the Wizards are slated to play 18 games on national television, including their home opener when Washington will make their season debut against the Philadelphia 76ers on October 18th on ESPN.
No that isn’t a typo, 18 GAMES on national television.
Only EIGHT other teams will play on national television more than the Wizards this season: the Warriors (31), the Rockets (28), the Cavaliers (27), the Thunder (27), the Celtics (25), the Spurs (24), the Lakers (23), and the Clippers (19). And my prediction is that all eight teams will finish the season well beyond .500 and will be playing past April 11th … except for the Lakers (sorry Lavar, I’m a huge fan, try not to take this too personally).
With all that being said, there seems to be this renewed sense of excitement and energy flowing around the Wizards camp. It’s been too long since the Wizards were considered to be a top contender in the East headed into the season yet alone a top team to watch nationally.
Scott Brooks is back for his second season at the throne. The entire starting 5 is back. And just as Bradley Beal mentioned on media day “hurt, hurt, hurt, hurt, still hurts till this day” – in regards to how last season ended – so the motivation and hunger for success should be on display all season long.
It’s time the Wizards show the rest of the NBA that D.C. is locked, loaded, and ready for the national spot light.