2021 is just one day away. Everyone in the sneaker community seems to be doing their “year in review.” Whether it’s their top pickups of the year, most slept-on releases of 2020, shoes I regret buying in 2020, etc. – shoes have been an integral part during these last 365 days. At Sneaker Reporter, one of those lists we wanted to compile was the Top 10 LeBron Releases of 2020. King James just turned 36 years old, he’s coming off of his 4th NBA Championship, he’s the reigning NBA Finals MVP, and he is on his 18th signature shoe with the Swoosh while simultaneously having a successful retro line as well.
Looking back on 2020, LeBron and Nike had quite the lineup of releases. LBJ’s Lebron 17’s had a very successful run that spanned most of 2020, even all the way into the NBA playoff bubble. James debuted his LeBron 18’s during that same time and even sported a new colorway while hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy back in October. Coinciding with his 17 and 18 signature models, Nike retro’d quite a slew of LeBron 7’s this past year as well. The LeBron 7 is the most universally loved by sneaker enthusiasts when it comes to the LeBron line. Its clean lines, mix of materials, excellent logo placements, and on-court/off-court appeal are what make this model a true homerun.
Only a handful of LeBron 18’s have released to the public so far so our list of the Top 10 LeBron Releases will be comprised of mostly his 17’s as well as 7’s that came out in 2020. There are a few rules or stipulations we wanted to agree on before making our list of the top 10 LeBrons. No LeBron-exclusive colorways that only he can get his hands on, no sample colorways, no college player exclusive colorways, no customs. Each shoe on our list had to have released to the public at some point in the calendar year of 2020, keep in mind that can be domestically or internationally.
Lastly, what makes a shoe fit a particular slot on our countdown? When it comes down to iconic moments, sometimes that athlete elevates the desire around that shoe depending on what he/she accomplished while wearing them. A release that was going to be “just another release” can immediately be catapulted into a must-have shoe once a monumental feat is attached to it. Keep this in mind for the #3 selection in the countdown. This past year, Nike was bringing LeBron 7’s out of the vault that were previously samples and fetched over the $1,000 mark. True LeBron collectors pounced on these releases, not relinquishing the opportunity to scoop shoes at retail that were once their grails. Nike also got creative with the 17’s and released one of the best hybrid models we have ever seen. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for the LBJ line come 2021. Scroll below to find out what our Top 10 Nike LeBron Releases of 2020 are.
**Honorable Mention** – Nike LeBron 18 “X-Mas in LA”
These just squeaked into 2020, having released on December 30th. But hey, they still count as releasing this year, right? LeBron and Nike went through models 14, 15, 16, and 17 without a true Christmas-themed colorway. Nike basketball fans and LeBron collectors alike were happy to see the LeBron line make a return to the Christmas color scheme. It just missed our Top 10 but we wanted to make at least one Honorable Mention shoe and this was it. Since Christmas colors are both red AND green maybe in the future we can see a bit more balance of the two colors on a LeBron Christmas shoe instead of an iteration that is 98% red with one green Swoosh thrown on it and some green laces. Nonetheless it’s still a clean colorway and we’re glad to have Christmas LeBrons back.
10. Nike LeBron 17 “Command Force”
Simple and clean with a pop of color. These “Command Force” 17’s had great reception to them and sold well. Each shoe featured a different swirl pattern on the knitposite material. These were inspired by the Nike Air Command Force in the “Billy Hoyle” colorway. Throw these on with some fresh white Nike socks in the summertime and you’re good to go. Really nothing more you can say about these, just a clean colorway with a dope concept behind them.
9. Nike LeBron 17 “Courage”
The first LeBron in our list that did not release in the U.S., but was a China-exclusive. You really have to hold these shoes in your hand to see how much the color pops as well as the gold details. A metallic gold swoosh on the lateral outrigger, gold speckles on the midsole and heel counter, a red dragon laying across a gold tongue, and gold stitching detailing the black laces – need I say more? These are hard to get your hands on, yes, but they actually don’t fetch that high of a resale price on your local re-sell apps.
8. Nike LeBron 7 “Fairfax”
There might be some disagreeance with these even being on the list but hear me out. Imagine a high school P.E. only made for the players of the Fairfax basketball team and then all of a sudden they’re being released to the masses. A shoe that was once a grail to many, and fetched over a $1,000 price tag, you will now be able to get for $200 and in a lot of cases less than that, depending on what size you wear. It is so rare to see a former high school PE sample colorway finally make its way to retail. This is similar to when Nike brought back the SVSM Air Zoom Generations in 2018. For whatever reason the hype died down on these pretty quickly as soon as people found out there were more than enough pairs to go around. Just because a shoe is readily available for retail price doesn’t diminish its extrinsic value. Plus, it’s hard to go wrong with black patent leather on a LeBron 7.
7. Nike LeBron 17 “I Promise”
Boy if you passed on these I already know you regret it. Some groups of colors just go together and this is definitely one of those instances. Turquoise, yellow, pink, grey, and black – perfection. Quite possibly the best-looking outsole on a LeBron 17 as well, not to mention they also glow in the dark. When LeBron first wore these on-court last season we were all praying that Nike would drop them, and low-and-behold, they actually did. This is a colorway that is surely to go up in price over time. Get ’em while you can.
6. Nike LeBron 7 “MVP”
The 2009-10 MVP season. Another shoe that was previously almost impossible to obtain and cleared the one thousand dollar mark. “Witness History” stitched on the heels, “MVP” sewn in on the medial heel counters, chenille swooshes on the lateral sides, metallic gold eyelets, all wrapped in white tumbled leather – boy these LeBron 7’s hit the mark. If these weren’t on your hit-list of 2020 and aren’t in your Top 10 countdown, there’s not much more convincing that can be done.
5. Nike LeBron 17 “Graffiti Pack”
So I know I somewhat cheated with putting these three shoes into one spot, but I didn’t want each one of these releases taking up an individual slot in the list. If there’s ever a way to do a “hybrid” shoe right, then this is it. Combining the very rare samples of the LeBron 4 “Graffitis” and the new tooling of the LeBron 17’s, these releases ended up being a match made in heaven. There was a lot of buildup to these three shoes and they sold well, however it appears Nike made more than enough pairs to go around. In what was originally thought to be a very limited release, ended up being one of the most GR LeBron 17’s to come out. In some instances, buyers were even able to secure pairs from this pack on heavy discount. If you’re a fan of nostalgia and of the LeBron line in general, I’d be surprised if you don’t have at least one shoe from the Graffiti Pack.
4. Nike LeBron 8 “Lakers”
Just like the Christmas LeBron 18’s, these Laker 8’s just snuck into the release roundup of 2020. These are the first LeBron 8 retro ever to release (in the U.S.). Dressed in the iconic Lakers purple and gold, it’s nice to see some retros in the team colors that LeBron plays for. LBJ was first seen wearing these for the 2020 NBA Media Day and boy did they look sharp. These instantly sold out online the day of the drop, but I guess the one positive thing is that they aren’t going for completely outlandish prices (yet). If you’re planing on scooping these, I’d do it sooner rather than later.
3. Nike LeBron 18 “Melon Tint”
The only LeBron 18 officially in our Top 10, but I think everyone can agree you simply can’t leave these out. The colorway that King James was wearing while bringing home his 4th NBA ring, and 17th championship to the Laker organization. Release info for the Melon Tint 18’s have been (and still are) fuzzy. They released overseas way back in October and then saw a very slim SNKRS only release a month later via special access. This eye-catching colorway is the first iteration of its kind in the LeBron line. How could you not want, or like, the shoe in which your favorite athlete was sporting while winning a championship? If there’s one LeBron 18 that’s a must-have, you’re looking at it.
2. Nike LeBron 8 “Gym Red” (Beijing)
I hope you don’t plan on walking into your local Champs Sports and securing these, because it isn’t going to happen. Once again, a LeBron shoe that is international-only, the LeBron 8 “Gym Red” seemed to come out of nowhere in 2020. We all somewhat expected a Laker-themed LeBron 8 to drop, but Nike kind of snuck this “Gym Red” release in there, well before the Laker 8’s came to retail. For anyone who actually owns these I have heard, “Best LeBron of the year,” “The materials are bar none,” “This is the proper way to retro a model.” The only downside with these, along with the Melon Tints and Courage 17’s, is that the biggest size they come in is a 13 due to them being an international release. – *Insert big-footers sigh right here* – The Gym Red (or Beijing) LeBron 8’s started off the retro run for the model with a bang; a shoe that is surely to break necks if ever seen on-feet in person.
1. Nike LeBron 7 “Media Day”
Media Day 2019, our jaws hit the floor when we saw LeBron James walk out of the tunnel sporting these beauties. For the time being we just figured, “Great, another insanely sick P.E. that’s only meant for LeBron James.” Then come to our delight, they were actually releasing in May of 2020!! The hype for this release was HUGE, and it was warranted. People were posting their “W’s” and “L’s” all day, and individuals just had to get a pair. Collectors were even coming out of ‘retirement’ to try to cop these. A mismatched LeBron 7 and in his Laker team colors – need I say more? I’m sorry, but you can have all the sick colorways on a LeBron model until the cows come home, but nothing compares to a shoe that’s in a team’s color scheme that the athlete plays for. Nike and LeBron executed this release to perfection. A shoe that was originally thought to be a P.E. but ended up seeing a widespread release. A shoe that doesn’t fetch exorbitant amounts of money but still keeps a little of that exclusivity factor. A shoe that you can get in ALL sizes and don’t have to hit up your overseas plug to obtain. The LeBron 7 “Media Day” is Sneaker Reporter’s top LeBron release of 2020. We’ll do this again next year, when we recap the best Nike LeBrons of 2021.
A new season is upon us, and quite frankly the first week of it threw just about anyone and everyone watching it for a wrench. Quite arguably the craziest Sunday in recent league memory concluded a turbulent week one of the NBA Season – the Los Angeles Clippers losing to the Dallas Mavericks by 50 points, the Milwaukee Bucks getting shellacked by the Knicks by 20, the Philadelphia 76ers’ road woes carrying on from last year in a 24-point rout from the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Brooklyn Nets having their 82-0 hopes dashed from losing to the Charlotte Hornets in a tight contest. And that was just one part of the week one story.
There was a lot of information to take in from the occurrences of the first week of regular-season action for 2020-21, and much of it served as a precursor that couldn’t be dispelled as early-season growing pains. For the A-tier group of teams, it was smooth sailing and a reminder to the league that their championship intentions are being known from the jump, but for the rest, problems now shown by them will likely permeate them for the rest of the year. So, let’s get to talking about all 30 teams in the first Power Rankings article of the new year.
To clear up any confusion, we’ll be adding each team’s current record, as well as the record and seed in the respective conferences they’ve all finished with last year.
1. Brooklyn Nets (2-1, Finished Last Season 35-37, 8th in East)
Think of all predisposed notions of how the Kevin Durant – Kyrie Irving tandem would work out, with all the media ears and eyes focused on their “incoming” fractured relationship as a result of the two once-conceived locker room disruptors causing yet another rift in a team’s chemistry. Now take that opinion and toss it out of the window, because we’ve yet to see it. The Brooklyn Nets look like a train moving over 100 MPH, that simply cannot be stopped on offense.
Aside from their upset loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night, Durant and Irving have transformed a Nets team that barely scratched the surface of the postseason a few months ago into a title contender overnight. Brooklyn opened their season on a fantastic note, blowing out the Warriors at home and the Celtics on the road. However, their loss to Charlotte – and the loss of Spencer Dinwiddie for the year due to a partially-torn ACL – showed that getting a reliable third scorer when the KD-Kyrie duo is benched is a necessity.
2. Los Angeles Lakers (Finished Last Season 52-19, 1st in West)
The plan going forward is to keep LeBron James and Anthony Davis conveniently rested and simultaneously in the flow of playing a full schedule, but even with Frank Vogel sitting Anthony Davis for Sunday’s game against the Timberwolves, the Lakers still looked like one of, if not the most, domineering squads out West. Picking up Montrezl Harrell, Marc Gasol and Dennis Schroder look like it will pay off mightily in the long run.
Their second units composed of the three mentioned and the surprising arrival of Talen Horton-Tucker, as well as the improvement of Kyle Kuzma, help to confirm that the Lakers are, again, for real. A season-opening loss against the Clippers was somewhat expected since the two Pacific rivals know each other and play each other the best, but subsequent convincing wins over highly-touted Dallas and younger Minnesota are proving a bunch of Laker prophesies right about their high chances of repeating as champions.
3. Milwaukee Bucks (1-2, Finished Last Season 56-17, 1st in East)
Okay, so it’s not quite the ideal start Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks had in mind after their superstar power forward signed the largest supermax deal in NBA history. Losing on opening night on the road to a competitive Boston Celtics team via a banked-in Jayson Tatum signature sidestep three is one thing, but getting destroyed by the rebuilding New York Knicks is a different ballgame.
But while some kinks need to be worked out, it’s clear as day they won the Eric Bledsoe-for-Jrue Holiday swap even with him working his way into the system, and Antetokounmpo’s running mate Khris Middleton is looking like he’s front in line for another All-Star appearance, even if the All-Star festivities aren’t being celebrated in this abridged year. Antetokounmpo hasn’t been as effective as he’s been in season openers past and what could be a league-wide adjustment to his forceful, breakneck style of play has certainly slowed him down. He’s opening his season shooting only 47 percent from the field, and his jump shot looks (mechanically-wise) like it hasn’t gotten better either.
4. Miami Heat (1-1, Finished Last Season 44-29, 5th in East)
Miami’s only played two games this season so far, and you couldn’t draw a correlation between the two performances If you tried. They suffered an opening-night loss to the Magic on the road but bounced back to obliterate the New Orleans Pelicans on Christmas Day, resembling that defensively suffocating team that knocked off the entire East and cleared their own path to the NBA Finals. They found their chemistry following their loss to Orlando, as the continuous development of Duncan Robinson (10-19 from deep on the season so far) and Tyler Herro as the starting guards in South Beach is still in an upward trend. Jimmy Butler’s ankle is worth monitoring at this point since he had to leave Friday’s contest, but for a surprise find, Precious Achiuwa – their 2020 first-round selection out of Memphis, could fill a sorely anemic role of backup center/power forward once Bam Adebayo sits.
5. Indiana Pacers (3-0, Finished Last Season: 45-28, 4th in East)
The first 3-0 team on this Power Rankings list jumped out onto a very strong start, led by the skillful and confident Domantas Sabonis. And granted, two of the three teams they’ve played aren’t the strongest opponents – New York and Chicago only have one win combined – but their seismic win over Boston without Victor Oladipo proved that the Pacers are capable of competing with the best of them. Malcolm Brogdon gave Boston fits on the offensive end through the second half of Sunday night’s second home game of the season, and Myles Turner displayed his skills of defending both the perimeter and rim, though he struggled to score the ball on different occasions.
6. Atlanta Hawks (2-0, Finished Last Season 20-47, 14th in East)
The Atlanta Hawks’ new offseason acquisitions have made this offense must-see when they’re on television. They haven’t disappointed at all, and Trae Young, who is averaging a whopping 36.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 8 assists off 55.6 percent from the field and 46.2 percent shooting from deep, is leading the charge. He opened the season by dropping 37 on the Chicago Bulls on a mere 12 shots, which is the most ever on 12 or fewer shot attempts in a single game in the shot-clock era. He then gave 36 to Ja Morant and the Grizzlies for the Hawks’ second-straight win. Their depth is the catch here, with seven players averaging double-figure scoring in the first two games.
7. Los Angeles Clippers (2-1, Finished Last Season 49-23, 2nd in West)
After beating the Lakers on opening day, with Paul George leading all scorers with 33 points on 18 shots, it seemed as if the Clippers would easily roll to a 3-0 start when analysts looked into their schedule, but it seems those predictions went awry, and quickly. They were stomping the Denver Nuggets on Christmas Day and leading by eleven up until the 6:08 mark in the fourth quarter against the Nuggets, and then everything just shifted.
The Clips went on to keep their lead and win, but they would lose Kawhi for about a week as the two-time Finals MVP was elbowed by friendly fire from Serge Ibaka and left grotesquely bloodied, gushing crimson from the mouth. He’d require eight stitches, and was promptly sidelined by the Clippers during their franchise-worst 51-point loss to the Mavericks. Keeping leads doesn’t seem like their M.O., but make no doubt about it, these Clippers are still in the thick of things atop the Western standings at 2-1 with a new head coach in Tyronn Lue.
8. Boston Celtics (1-2, Finished Last Season 48-24, 3rd in East)
Thanks to Jayson Tatum’s heroics, the Celtics aren’t that out of the picture just yet. The 22-year-old, who grew two inches and amassed some extra muscle mass in the offseason, banked in a game-winning three-ball over reigning defensive player of the year and MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo with 0.4 seconds remaining on the clock left. And of course, Boston was lucky the game didn’t extend into overtime since Antetokounmpo shot short of the iron during his second free throw from a trip to the line via a last-second Tristan Thompson foul.
While the C’s have been led by the burgeoning superstars of Tatum and Brown, the lack of bench scoring still carries on as a plaguing problem to them one year later, even after addressing the role of backup PG and rebound-absorbing center off the bench. That was more apparent than ever during their Christmas blowout loss to the Nets and giveaway loss to the Pacers two nights later. It goes to show Kemba Walker’s importance as the third option on a championship-caliber team and if Boston can’t have him healthy before the end of January, they’ll likely struggle in the first two months of the regular season.
9. Philadelphia 76ers (2-1, Finished Last Season 43-30, 6th in East)
The 76ers picked up consecutive wins to kick off the Doc Rivers era on the right note, but rather in unconvincing fashion. Just barely scraping off a home win against the Wizards and late accumulation of a twenty point lead over the Knicks for their first road win of the year, they fell back into their old ways of losing by wide margins on the road following an underwhelming double-digit loss to Cleveland. Something worth the mention: Joel Embiid has been absolutely carrying the Sixers on the offensive end, averaging 28 points, but the offense around him hasn’t lived up to expectations, at least not yet.
Seth Curry and Danny Green cause defensive coverages to adjust differently as a virtue of their adept skill of sharpshooting, but they haven’t really done anything noteworthy to help space the floor and knock down shots on the outside when those collapses are made. A major roster is now a prerequisite to their success, and they’ll have to add some legitimate names for the right asking price (paging Daryl Morey) if they want to be taken seriously as a contender.
10. Utah Jazz (1-1, Finished Last Season 44-28, 4th in West)
Utah started off their season beating the defensively-struggling Portland Trail Blazers by 20 and lost a comeback bid to the Timberwolves with the offense looking solid from the get-go. Two major reasons why: Jordan Clarkson started off his 2020-21 campaign for Sixth Man of the Year in exclamatory fashion, averaging 19 points off a 48.3 field goal percentage and 41.7 three-point percentage, and he’s greatly helped the Jazz start off their season on the right foot, and Mike Conley is just about acclimated to his new role as Utah’s starting guard. Derrick Favors’ return to the team he started with looks like it’s worked well for him, as the power forward has looked like he’s never left.
Still, some injury residue from last season may continue to hurt the Jazz going into this season, since Bodan Bogdanovic’s wrist injury that kept him out for the final quarter of the season looks like it’s still bothering him; He’s only made 8 of his 30 attempts from deep since his return to the NBA hardwood.
11. Orlando Magic (3-0, Finished Last Season 33-40, 7th in East)
With their opening day upset over Miami, back-to-back road victories over winless Washington, the Orlando Magic are one of the lone undefeated teams in the Eastern Conference and have been fueled by not just Nikola Vucevic’s numbers of 17.3 points off 40.9 percent shooting from the field, 12 rebounds and 3.3 assists – it’s been the Terrence Ross and Markelle Fultz show in their three wins so far. For Ross, the former Washington Husky is averaging 23.3 points on 53 percent 3-point shooting over his first three games, and for Fultz, the other Washington Husky product has been brilliant both throughout their three games and late down the stretch.
After scoring a career-high 26 points, it’s been really fulfilling seeing Fultz’s confidence blossom from being the young man that struggled even getting his arms up to make a shot to being the guard that Steve Clifford can rely upon as a leader in a starting rotation. He’s averaging 20.7 points off 49 percent shooting and is getting to the cup while creating for others efficiently, both in transition and in the half-court. His jumper will improve over time, but the game is slowing down for him, and now he’s looking like the true 2017 first-overall pick.
12. Cleveland Cavaliers (3-0, Finished Last Season 19-46, 15th in East)
The Cleveland Cavaliers are 3-0 to start out their season for the first time since their championship-defending season back in 2016-17, and their first perfect start without LeBron James since 2000-01. It seems like the Collin Sexton – Isaac Okoro – Darius Garland trio is a glaring example of the future in The Land being pretty bright, and what’s been more surprising is that they’re getting it done without Kevin Love, who’s scheduled for an MRI on his right calf sometime this week.
You can chalk up their first two wins against Charlotte and Detroit as “poor competition”, and that could be perceived as an opinion that holds water. But what cannot be denied was their shocking whooping handed to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night, in which these young Cavs held the Sixers offense to 94 points. Cleveland scored 35 in the second quarter against Philly, and Andre Drummond had a triple-double in the winning effort.
13. Dallas Mavericks (1-2, Finished Last Season 43-32, 7th in West)
Their Christmas performance against the Lakers looked like more of a Laker Holiday showcase, and not a competitive basketball game. And therefore, the Dallas Mavericks looked at themselves in the mirror, held themselves and each member of the organization accountable for their mishaps in starting the season 0-2, and responded by giving the Los Angeles Clippers their worst loss in franchise history, all done without Kristaps Porzingis.
Luka Doncic is a one-man supernova of offense, and yes, he needs to get those numbers from deep up a little, but what the rest of the team has done on the offensive end should not be scoffed at. They’ve posted the sixth-best offensive rating in basketball through the first week of the season, but the defense has struggled down the stretch, evident in their inability to put away the Suns and have LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Kyle Kuzma run rampant on them on Christmas.
However, Josh Richardson, their offseason trade acquisition in a deal with Philadelphia, has stepped up quite nicely. The 27-year old is supplying the Mavs with 16.7 points off 52.8 shooting and around 4 rebounds, and while taking the defensive pressure off of Doncic, has averaged 1.3 steals per game in his first three games as a Maverick.
14. Phoenix Suns (2-1, Finished Last Season 34-39, 10th in West)
The new-look Phoenix Suns opened their season with a solid win over a contending Dallas Mavericks team and guarded them sufficiently in the clutch while the brand new duo of Chris Paul and Devin Booker both knocked down two crunchtime jumpers to claw for their first win of the season. But, as all good things come to an end at some point, that was the unfortunate truth for the Suns, who lost their first regular-season game since March 10 against the Sacramento Kings by three points, months after winning all eight of their seeding games in the bubble. CP3 is up to his usual galvanizing, selfless ways, dishing 27 assists with only five turnovers as a member of the Phoenix Suns through three games.
15. Portland Trail Blazers (1-1, Finished Last Season 35-39, 8th in West)
As there is in every preseason, the hype surrounding the Portland Trail Blazers suggested Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum might finally have the roster help to seriously improve their chance of competing in a stacked West. Turns out, they have a ways to go until that preseason prediction becomes true.
Portland opened their season on an unimpressive note, losing to the Utah Jazz by 20, further raising doubt in a Blazers team still in the midst of incorporating new parts on the defensive end, and in Damian Lillard as an MVP candidate, as he scored an inadequate 9 points off 4-13 shooting in 34 minutes. Some legitimacy was redeemed in a subsequent home OT win in a thriller against Houston, and CJ McCollum willed his Blazers to victory by scoring 44 points and draining nine threes in the 128-126 win.
There’s more to this season, and though it’s probably too soon to tell if the Blazers new additions help them out to overcome the likes of their Western Conference rivals, giving up over 120+ points in two straight games when their specific focus was addressing the defense in the offseason isn’t the best example of saying “improvement” from last year.
16. New Orleans Pelicans (2-1, Finished Last Season 30-42, 14th in West)
After beating the Toronto Raptors in the season opener, the worst that the Pelicans have looked was on Christmas Day against Miami, and since then it’s been nothing but clear skies for them, earning a big win over the Spurs two nights later. Brandon Ingram’s grown credibility as the Most Improved Player award winner, and his outbreak has been nothing short of phenomenal as he’s averaged nearly 27 points off 44 percent shooting and an astounding 47 percent from downtown. Zion’s minutes restriction is a thing of the past, and new head coach Stan Van Gundy has taken the training wheels off and allowed the slashing power forward to do what he does best. The Pels’ defense has also been noteworthy; they’ve kept opponents in two of their three games under 100 points, a feat only reached four times all of last season.
17. San Antonio Spurs (2-1, Finished Last Season 32-39, 11th in West)
DeMar DeRozan is shooting threes now??? As shocked as fans were in the Spurs second win of the season, the USC standout and four-time All-Star shot above 70 percent from deep against the Raptors for a 27-point performance, and is shooting a little under 38 percent from downtown. As for the team he’s playing with, he’s benefitted quite well from the uptick in pace that the Spurs inherited as their new style of play from their 6-2 outing in the bubble. He’s taken a facilitating role, involving Lonnie Walker IV and Keldon Johnson into the offense to average over nine assisnts in the three games of their season. They got their first loss handed to them by the Pelicans, but were in it down the stretch with DeRozan taking the last shot from deep, which was amazingly swatted by the switched-on Eric Bledsoe off a sideout.
18. Denver Nuggets (0-2, Finished Last Season 46-27, 3rd in West)
An 0-2 start isn’t what Mike Malone and his Nuggets had in mind to kick off their 2020-21 season, but there have been some positives so far: Nikola Jokic has looked regularly outstanding both as a scorer and facilitator and Michael Porter Jr. is being propped up as the third-best player on this Nuggets roster. But the negatives are glaring, and are hard to ignore. Jamal Murray, apparently, forgot his shot was still in the bubble and has been a shell of the player that he was during the Orlando restart. Defensively, they’ve given up 118 points per 100 possessions in the first two game of their season, but they need to get on track in an unforgiving West that will keep them on the outside looking in if they don’t give more of an effort on the defensive end.
19. Toronto Raptors (0-2, Finshed Last Season 53-19, 2nd in East)
A pair of consecutive losses puts the Raptors in a bad spot, and this is the first time in seven years that they’ve been under .500. Is this a sign of things to come for a franchise that paid Fred VanVleet max money, unsure of Kyle Lowry’s decision to remain a Raptor after this season, as well as a franchise that’s trusting of 2018-18 Most Improved Player Pascal Siakam being their leader when he’s noticeably struggled being Nick Nurse’s main initiator of offense?
Big man depth has really thrown Toronto for a loop, losing Serge Ibaka to the Clippers and getting Aron Baynes (who hasn’t been that significant of a pickup yet) in free agency, but Chris Boucher’s development is headed in the right direction. The former Oregon Duck scored 22 points, nabbed 10 rebounds and swatted seven shots in their first road loss of the year to San Antonio. The Raps can “look competitive”, but they’ll have to prove it against top teams in the East with what little they have, or be comfortable as a lower seed in an increasingly challenging Eastern Conference.
20. Sacramento Kings (2-1, Finished Last Season 31-41, 12th in West)
Opening up their season in shocking fashion, it was Buddy Hield’s instinctive actions that sent social media sites everywhere into a blaze, as the Bahamanian scorer tipped in a missed Harrison Barnes Game-winning dunk off a Nikola Jokic turnover with a tie score on the board, promptly sprinting out of Denver’s Ball Arena as the buzzer sounded. The Kings followed those heroics with a close win against the Phoenix Suns one game later. They would see their first loss of the season against those very Suns a couple of nights after, but one of the biggest question marks heading into the season was whether or not De’Aaron Fox has enough offensive talent to get wins, and just how healthy the rest of the team could be.
Turns out, per early indication of how this season could go, he does. Eight players have started the season averaging eight points per game or more, led by De’Aaron Fox’s 19 points per contest. Additionally, rookie Tyrese Haliburton has looked good so far, averaging 9.7 points and five assists while shooting 42 percent from 3-point range.
21. Houston Rockets (0-1, Finished Last Season 44-28, 4th in West)
What a weird week for the Houston Rockets. After having their season opener postponed due to several Rockets being forced to quarantine as a result of being deemed close contact from some individuals who tested positive for COVID-19, more stories broke over disgruntled star James Harden’s unwillingness to stay in H-Town. The star guard was caught being in high-risk, “population-affluent adult areas” without a mask on his face on video on multiple occasions, and was questioned over his whereabouts in Las Vegas and Atlanta during a press conference. When asked about his own actions hurting the team, he scoffed at media and uttered the same sentence of “I’m here to play in my 12th season.”
He then was activated during December 26th’s game against the Trail Blazers, a game that many believed was going to be postponed or canceled due to the Rockets having but only eight healthy, COVID-free bodies on the depth chart. But, after all of that fiasco, it stil seems that the best idea would be keeping James Harden around for the rest of the season, and hoping that time heals all wounds between him and owner Tillman Fertitta.
Because you still have to admit, he’s been the most unguardable player in the NBA for quite some time, regardless of the drama off-court.
Seems unlikely, but he broke his silence on that court with a grandiose 44-point, 17-assist firestorm of a show against the Portland Trail Blazers, albeit in a losing effort that extended into overtime. The duo of Christian Wood and James Harden could be lethal, if the two were to stick together all year. However, it’s probably a matter of time until the tandem is broken up and Harden’s trade request is fulfilled.
22. Minnesota Timberwolves (2-1, Finished Last Season 19-45, 14th in West)
The Wolves’ 2-0 start came to a close once star big man Karl Anthony-Towns dislocated his left wrist, as he’s scheduled to miss some time, and his missed presence on the floor against the Lakers felt like a crater on barren land. There wasn’t a whole lot of offense to run through Naz Reid, who’s significantly underskilled in comparison to the All-Star big man out of Kentucky. Tough it’s not a long-term injury, it’s a shortened season, and some missed days for your top guy in the West can mean early death, especially when you lack the talent on the offensive end.
But the Wolves are young, and see a bunch of promise in their first-overall pick Anthony Edwards, who is averaging 16 points off 42 percent shooting. They’re off to a roaring start, but likely will have a repeat of last year when Towns was sidelined for more than fourteen games and the T’Wolves only won 9 of 37 games following his knee injury last December.
23. Memphis Grizzlies (0-2, Finished Last Season 34-39, 9th in West)
The Grizzlies need Jaren Jackson Jr. back soon, and badly. Even though Ja Morant has been amazing, leading the Grizzlies in scoring and assists, their team defense has been anything but what Grit N’ Grind represents. They allowed 131 points to the Spurs, then 127 to the visiting Hawks. They’ve allowed 129 points per 100 possessions throughout two games this year, and especially when games have been decided by two possessions or more, they’ve had difficulty incorporating other scorers to accompany Ja on the box score and assist him in picking up wins for this very young team.
24. Golden State Warriors (1-2, Finished Last Season 15-50, 15th in West)
The Warriors, fresh off of losing their first two games by the second-largest combined margin in NBA history, earned their first win of the season with a Damion Lee handoff-and-shoot three with five seconds left on the clock. In all of their games, new Warrior Kelly Oubre (has yet to make a three in 17 attempts) and Andrew Wiggins (when not chucking airballs, is shooting 33 percent from the field) have underperformed, as it’s been a difficult start to the season for a lot of people’s postseason lock team from the Pacific Division. Though, it won’t be that much of a confirmation if the outside shooting numbers for the team don’t improve soon.
Stephen Curry had a bounce-back game against Chicago in the Dubs’ first win of the season, scoring 23 second-half points for an accumulated 36 points off 11-of-25 shooting and draining a total of five threes. A bit of a problem, however: Curry hasn’t looked all that “inspirational” shooting from deep this year, and while that may be a result of the different spacing and defensive adjustments made when he’s not sharing the floor with Draymond Green, Klay Thompson or Kevin Durant, he’ll have to find a way out of his deep-shooting slump. He’s shot a combined 9-35 from behind the arc through three games.
25. Oklahoma City Thunder (1-0, Finished Last Season 44-28, 4th in West)
While Sam Presti was out exchanging assets left and right for future draft picks, the Thunder have stayed atop the West, for now at least. One of the lone undefeated teams in the NBA right now just so happen to be these young Thunder, who have been led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. SGA has shown that experience has been the best teacher for him, and as is every guard who ever plays with Chris Paul, he’s begun to flourish in his starting role since Paul’s departure.
Along with the Rockets, their season was canceled and they had to look quickly at their next opponent in the Hornets just nights after. Gilgeous-Alexander took over the reigns of primary initiator in their season opener, knocking down a game-winning jumper off a swift in-and-out move to lose Cody Martin in transition. The playoffs in the bubble showed a hushed, and seemingly nerved young guard who thought the challenge was probably a bit too much to palate. Now, the third-year man out of Kentucky is more than comfortable to be the franchise’s leader with George Hill and Al Horford continuously providing knowledge off the floor and a veteran presence on it.
26. Charlotte Hornets (1-2, Finished Last Season 23-42, 10th in East)
The Hornets have shown they have several pieced on the roster to be deemed an arduous opponent that can swing with the best of ’em on any given night. Still, they lack the defense convincing enough to call them that (16th-highest defensive rating, have allowed 111.3 points per 100 possessions in three games) and can’t quite finish in the clutch confidently just yet, but all signs point to them being a good – maybe not great – team in 2020-21.
Gordon Hayward has earned his contract, averaging 22.7 points, his former Celtic teammate Terry Rozier is scoring around 27 points per game after exploding for 42 against Cleveland on opening night, and LaMelo Ball certainly doesn’t look rattled with the big NBA lights flashing on him, averaging a respectable-for-a-rookie 6.3 points and 3 assists off 33 percent shooting.
27. New York Knicks (1-2, Finished Last Season 21-45, 12th in East)
The Thibs era is off to a pretty good start in NYC, if you count the 24-point scalping of the Milwaukee Bucks as the starting point. Then again, if you don’t and see the 1-2 Knicks as a defensive horror show, (20th-highest defensive rating) you wouldn’t be wrong. Sure, the Knicks knocked off a healthy Bucks team two days removed from Christmas, but larger problems hinder the Knicks at the moment. Rookie and first-rounder Obi Toppin won’t return to the court for another week to 10 days from a calf strain, and RJ Barrett’s streaky scoring could be at the detriment to the Knicks.
Conversely, Julius Randle has been above adequate in the extra minutes he’s playing with his rookie understudy Toppin watching from the bench, averaging 23.7 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists off 55.3 percent shooting in his second season as a Knick.
28. Washington Wizards (0-3, Finished Last Season 25-47, 9th in West)
Russell Westbrook has provided a talent-deficient team a household name to keep them competitive in games throughout the year, and his cohort Bradley Beal isn’t just letting Russ have all the fun scoring the basketball. But, just like last year, the Wizards can’t stop a nosebleed, peaking in the 21st percentile of defensive teams in the NBA and for the second-straight season, appearing in the bottom-20 of teams with an abhorrent defensive rating.
In their second loss to the Magic, they allowed Orlando to score 43 fourth quarter points, so if the defensive issues don’t clean themselves up, it won’t matter how many points Russ and Beal score, since the Wizards won’t ever be close to winning games since they won’t be able to get stops consistently.
29. Detroit Pistons (0-2, Finished Last Season 20-46, 13th in East)
Detroit lost to the Cavs and Timberwolves to start the year, but more often than not, the first two to three games never define a season. The pickups they acquired in the offseason – Killian Hayes in the draft and Jerami Grant in free agency – have contributed well, but are very much so experiencing growing pains while jelling with each other for the first time, something in which new General Manager Troy Weaver had come to expect early in the season.
30. Chicago Bulls (0-3, Finished Last Season 22-43, 13th in East)
Move over, Washington Wizards – we have a new league-worst defensive team in the National Basketball Association. The Arturas Karnisovas tenure in Chi-Town is off to an awful start, and the Billy Donovan era is already causing rifts between the team’s most prominent players. It’s almost been a year, and Zach LaVine and Coby White’s lack of chemistry is boldened, and by the looks of it, it’s not getting better any time soon, which could indicate that White could be sent back to the bench in his initial-but-incendiary sixth man role he was in during his rookie year.
The Bulls opened their season with three losses, and all three losses have been by an average margin of 39 points. That’s tied for the worst point differential through two games in team history. Their last loss to Golden State, however, might have stung the worst of all; Golden State’s Damion Lee knocked down a deep three off a scene and missed opportunity for Tomas Satoransky to go over it and contest it to force OT, as the Bulls suffered a tough 129-128 home loss to dig them into an even deeper hole.
Week 1 of the 2020-21 NBA season is now over. There have already been blowouts, buzzer beaters, injuries, and of course, new sneaker storylines. Ranking the Top 10 sneakers worn on court this week was quite a challenge. There were shoes that didn’t make the countdown this week that would’ve been in the Top 5 on other weeks not even a year ago. James Harden finally debuted the Adidas Harden Vol. 5 on court. Paul George also had a debut of his own, sporting the much-anticipated Nike PG 5 in his Christmas Day bout against the Los Angeles Lakers. Second-year stud, Ja Morant, continues to turn back the clock and sport some of the most prominent models and colorways in the Kobe line’s history. De’Aaron Fox rocked one of, if not the best, Kobe 5 Protro P.E. colorway we have ever seen. It’s going to be hard to compete with the Swoosh this season as they have a stronghold on both the retro market and new models alike.
LeBron James might very well break the record this week for amount of times he is in the countdown. James had a few things going for him in his favor though – special “Ring Night” colorways that he donned in the Lakers’ first game of the season, his first Christmas-themed signature colorway since the 13’s, as well as a throwback color scheme to perfectly match the old school Minneapolis Lakers uniform. New Balance has officially signed Jamal Murray to their roster, joining the likes of Kawhi Leonard, Dejounte Murray, and Darius Bazley. Dejounte Murray recently broke out a brand new basketball silhouette for NB called the Two-Way. Could a signature sneaker for Jamal Murray be in New Balance’s future plans? Scroll below to see a stacked week of the first installment of Kicks Through the Lens for the 2020-21 season.
Merry Christmas everyone! From our extended SneakerReporter family to yours, we wish you happy, happy holidays! It’s been a long, rough year, but if you are able to just be with family and friends during this wondrous time, that’s a blessing in itself. And per tradition on Christmas day, we have one more NBA Basketball game that’s just a little under an hour away! Five games, and a preview of each of them, are coming down the chimney for viewing and reading pleasure, so go and grab your favorite Yuletide beverage, kick back, and get ready for game one of our NBA quintuple-header choc’ full o’ holiday action!
The last game on the schedule: Tyronn Lue and the Los Angeles Clippers head to the mile-high city to do battle against the host Denver Nuggets for the fifth and final Christmas Day game of 2020, tipping off at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
To say there’s dignity on the line for the first of four matchups between these two teams in the West is a bit of an understatement. It’s been a little over 86 days since the last time these two teams saw each other in a secluded Western Conference Semifinals, and it didn’t end well for the Clippers, whose main stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard shriveled up in the clutch, making a combined 24 points off 10-38 shooting in a decisive game 7.
That devastating series loss debunked any beliefs about the Clippers being title favorites last season, and from becoming the talk of the town with arguably one of the best offseasons ever, that blown 3-1 lead over the Nuggets did irreparable harm to the synergy of the team. They let go of their head coach, were forced to watch Montrezl Harrell switch colors in LA to purple and gold after contractual talks deconstructed, and have had months to transpire over what went wrong in the bubble. They’re in a new campaign now, with new leaders in place and new goals.
They made sure of succeeding in one of those goals by knocking off the world champion Lakers last Tuesday on opening night, and when they allowed Paul George to move things in the offense, there was a new adjusted mindset that was visible; these Clippers were here for business.
As for Denver, they lost an overtime nailbiter to the Sacramento Kings, as Buddy Hield tipped in a botched Harrison Barned dunk attempt at the buzzer. Nikola Jokic was in early MVP form with a 29 point, 15 rebound, 14 assist triple-double, but everyone with the exception of Michael Porter Jr. (24 pts.) looked flat and played uninspiring basketball in their home opener. With national eyes on them, it’s likely they won’t play like that again.
But if the Jamal Murray that NBA fans witnessed ravage the bubble averaging 22.6 points per game against the Clippers shows up tonight, as well as the duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George play with a sense of redemption on their minds, it could be the best conclusion for an NBA Christmas Day you could ever watch.
Merry Christmas everyone! From our extended SneakerReporter family to yours, we wish you happy, happy holidays! It’s been a long, rough year, but if you are able to just be with family and friends during this wondrous time, that’s a blessing in itself. And per tradition on Christmas day, we have more NBA Basketball just a little under an hour away! Five games, and a preview of each of them, are coming down the chimney for viewing and reading pleasure, so go and grab your favorite Yuletide beverage, kick back, and get ready for game one of our NBA quintuple-header choc’ full o’ holiday action!
The fourth game on the schedule: A battle of 0-1 squad, as the winless Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers, continue a rich Staples Center holiday tradition and add another chapter to this historic Western Conference rivalry, live on ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET.
It’s a tale of the game’s greatest, squaring off against the future’s brightest. And a tale as old as time it is. Consider it the war of the Triple-Double, as LeBron James and Luka Doncic square off for what feels like the fifth time in their careers. It’s true that your idols become your rivals when you make your name known, and that’s been the case for the MVP preseason favorite Luka Doncic. The 22-year old has been dynamic in every way, and quite literally is a five-tool player.
And for the Mavericks, who are playing on Christmas Day since 2011 when another European forward was making all types of plays for a defending champion, they get the chance to showcase their youth and growth into a competitor in a saturated West against LeBron James again, the benchmark of greatness in this league.
It feels like yesterday when LeBron James was going toe to toe with Dirk Nowitzki were having their classic battles in Western-Eastern exhibition, but now Luka is the man leading the charge against the old guard. And the reigning champs, desperate to earn their first win of the season after nearly going scoreless in the fourth quarter against the Clippers, want to keep their foot on the gas pedal and beat a team they went 3-1 against last year.
Anthony Davis will look to make some shockwaves against the Mavs in his second-ever Christmas Day game. This will be one of the most offensively-endowed games today, and Luka and LBJ are more than likely going to fill the stat-sheet with all types of crazy assists and other highlights, set for your pleasure and enjoyment as you and your family eat up all those delectable holiday treats.
The Thibs era is off to a pretty good start in NYC, if you count the 24-point scalping of the Milwaukee Bucks as the starting point. Then again, if you don’t and see the 1-2 Knicks as a defensive horror show, (20th-highest defensive rating) you wouldn’t be wrong. Sure, the Knicks knocked off a healthy Bucks team two days removed from Christmas, but larger problems hinder the Knicks at the moment. Rookie and first-rounder Obi Toppin won’t return to the court for another week to 10 days from a calf strain, and RJ Barrett’s streaky scoring could be at the detriment to the Knicks.
