NBA Preseason early reactions

To most of the world, the NBA preseason means nothing but for the rest of us, someone needs to call Ja Morant because there is a parade in my city. The NBA is officially back, so let's jump right into the action.

Starting with the Boston Celtics, Kristaps Porzingis looks like a big addition to this team. Boston has had Al Horford at the center position for years as they have come up just short in the Eastern Conference one too many times which has led them to change things up by acquiring Porzingis from the Wizards.

Porzingis offers more to the team on offense and he will be a threat this season. Through two games played, Porzingis has averaged 14 points and shot 80 percent from the three-point line.

Boston also acquired Jrue Holiday this offseason but he has struggled so far after he went 2-10 from the field against the 76ers.

The Phoenix Suns are one of the more exciting teams to watch this season as they were very active in the offseason acquiring many new faces such as Bradley Beal, Jusuf Nurkic and Grayson Allen.

Arguably one of the biggest moves of the offseason was seeing Bradley Beal on the move to Phoenix after wasting his career with the Washington Wizards. Beal in his first preseason game scored 11 points in 14 minutes and shot 60 percent from the field.

Even though trading for Beal was a huge addition, the Suns suffered some losses in the offseason, the most notable being Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton. The bar has been set high for this team and only time will tell if the Suns' big three is legit.

Other than offseason drama, the most exciting aspect of the preseason may be watching promising rookies and younger players get some action as the NBA season approaches quickly.

One game that caught my eye was a must-watch duel between two players getting their first starts in the NBA, the San Antonio Spurs against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

In the 2023 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs won the lottery and were awarded the first overall pick. This led to the Spurs drafting possibly the best prospect that the NBA has seen since LeBron James came out of high school.

The Spurs have been known for developing some of the best frontcourt players that the NBA has seen and if Gregg Popovich can turn Victor Wembanyama into anything like Tim Duncan or David Robinson, the league will have a serious problem to deal with for years.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, in the 2022 NBA Draft, selected an exciting center from Gonzaga, Chet Holmgren. Holmgren suffered a foot injury during a Seattle pro-am game, causing him to miss his entire rookie season.

This was his first look at preseason action in his career and it was against a similar talent in Wembanyama. Wembanyama and Holmgren battled it out on Oct. 9, where both of them showcased what they are capable of.

Wembanyama started hot, scoring 18 of his 20 points in the first half along with five rebounds, two steals and a block. Wembanyama showed off his versatility and as a Spurs fan, I don’t think you can be more excited than this.

Despite the elite play from Wembanyama, the Thunder were too much for the Spurs as the Thunder won 122-121 behind Holmgren’s 21 points, nine rebounds and one block.

The duel between Holmgren and Wembanyama did not let us down and is one that we will be looking forward to in the regular season for years to come.

The NBA 2023 regular season looks like it will be a great one, as many teams have a chance to contend this year and new stars are emerging in the league. To all the NBA fans, get ready because this is going to be an action-packed season.

Jacob Zacharia is a first-year broadcast journalism student. To contact him, please email jjz5612@psu.edu.