Welcome to Layup Lines, our daily NBA newsletter where we’ll prep you for a tip-off of tonight’s action, from what to watch to bets to make. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every afternoon.
The 2022-22 NBA season officially begins tomorrow, and before our in-season coverage begins, I’ve got some fun predictions to share with you.
If you follow our team at BetFTW, you’ll know that we’ve already walked you through our best bets for each team’s win total, and whether or not each team makes the postseason.
But if you were wondering about individual awards, too, I figured I’d give you some insight into what I’m thinking for the upcoming campaign. Here is what I’ve got thus far:
Most Valuable Player: Joel Embiid (Philadelphia)
Rookie of the Year: Keegan Murray (Sacramento)
Defensive Player of the Year: Bam Adebayo (Miami)
Sixth Man of the Year: Malcolm Brogdon (Boston)
Most Improved Player: Devin Vassell (San Antonio)
Coach of the Year: Chris Finch (Minnesota)
Executive of the Year: Koby Altman (Cleveland)
Feel free to copy any of these answers and make sure to bring them up to all of your friends. They will all think you’re a brilliant basketball mind and that you really know your stuff.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
Bronny James is already one of the most well-marketed high school athletes of all time, and he already has quite an endorsement portfolio. Bronny’s latest campaign is for Beats By Dre, and FTW’s Andrew Joseph has more:
“NIL hasn’t just opened doors for college athletes to profit off their names, it has also paved the way for high school athletes to make money before ever stepping foot on a college campus.
And no high school athlete has more lucrative opportunities than Bronny James.
Just a week after Nike signed LeBron James’ oldest son to its first high school NIL deal, Bronny took his marketing game to another level with an endorsement from Beats by Dre. The Apple-owned headphone brand got both LeBron — Beats’ first-ever athlete signing — and Bronny to team up for a 90-second ad spot with the two playing a game of one-on-one.”
Shootaround
— 1 question every NBA team must answer to have a successful season
— 5 players who could be in line for big bounce-back seasons in 2022-23
— Celtics Wire has photos from Jaylen Brown’s 7uice store grand opening
— HoopsHype’s Yossi Gozlan explains what Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins extensions mean for the Warriors