#national basketball association
After the most hectic summer the NBA has ever seen, the 2017-18 season is finally here.
And with that, the NBA staff at USA TODAY Sports takes a look ahead to the newest campaign with our annual semi-scientific record projections.
We have the Golden State Warriors leading the league in wins, again, after another stellar offseason. If they hit the 65-win plateau this year, that would be four consecutive seasons doing so (they became the first team in NBA history to do so three years in a row in 2016-17).
Thunder’s Russell Westbrook wins NBA MVP
Russell Westbrook’s triple-double season for the ages deserved to be rewarded.
In the Finals loss to Golden State – a 129-120 victory in Game 5 secured the championship for the Warriors – LeBron James became the first player to average a triple double in the finals, posting 33.6 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists per game.
It was an efficient effort, too. James shot 56.4% from the field and 38.7 on three-pointers (just 64.9% on free throws). In Game 5, he finished with 41 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists in 46 minutes. The Cavs needed James on the court for almost the entire game just to have a chance to win.
“I left everything on the floor every game, all five games,” James said. “So for me personally, I have no reason to put my head down. I have no reason to look back at what I could have done or what I shouldn’t have done or what I could have done better for the team. I left everything I had out on the floor every single game for five games in this Finals, and you come up short.”
In my defense, that is a very believable drawing of Pac-Man.
