With the NBA season underway, here are five predictions from the Statesman about the NBA season.

The Miami Heat and Sacramento Kings will not make the playoffs.

The Miami Heat just made the NBA finals, why would they miss the playoffs as a whole the very next season? For starters, their run through the playoffs last year was a fluke and their roster did not improve this offseason. After failing to trade for Damian Lillard, the Heat are looking like a team that needs to start a rebuild. On the other hand, the Kings are a young team that had unexpected success last year. They had the third-best record in the Western Conference but fell short in the first round of the playoffs. In addition, the roster is almost identical to last year even though other teams in their conference improved drastically. When it comes down to it, neither of these teams seem to have anything special to offer and will most likely miss the playoffs this season.

There will be a first-time MVP.

For the last five seasons running, the MVP race has been between three players: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokić. With Antetokounmpo gaining a key teammate in Lillard, the weight is taken off his shoulders to “carry” his team. This will affect his player statistics and weaken his MVP case overall. Jokić will not win MVP this year either, at least according to history. The last time a player won two non-consecutive MVPs was LeBron James back in 2012, and before that was Karl Malone all the way back in 1999. Although Joel Embiid is the reigning MVP, team success is a big factor in MVP, and in that category someone like Jayson Tatum has him beat.

Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren will be the two front-runners for Rookie of the Year.

With Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren easily being the two most hyped-up rookies coming into the NBA this year, they have already been thrown into the Rookie of the Year conversation. With both of them being incredibly tall, defending shots, even three-pointers, comes easy to them. Holmgren is on the up-and-coming Oklahoma City Thunder, surrounded by other young stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, where he will  learn the NBA faster than most players. Wembanyama is on the San Antonio Spurs, and is coached by one of the best coaches of all time, Gregg Popovich, who has coached NBA legends like Tim Duncan and David Robinson. With Popovich’s coaching, Wembanyama will be a great player in no time.

Jaden McDaniels will win defensive player of the year. 

McDaniels is one of the most underrated players in the entire NBA. He guards virtually anybody on the court while also providing the ability to make three point shots. He is what many people call a “Three and D” player and is one of the best in the league at that role. Last season, McDaniels was the best 1 on 1 defender and was the best at fighting through screens in the NBA. His ability to lock down the best player of the opposing team is very valuable to what the Timberwolves are trying to accomplish this year. 

The Toronto Raptors will start a rebuild and trade most of their players at the trade deadline. 

The Raptors have been in purgatory since their championship victory in 2019. They have been average since then, never going far in the playoffs and only having one high draft pick. The Raptors need to trade their best players Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby for draft picks and young players. Building around young players like Scotty Barnes and Grady Dick should be the number one priority for the Raptors.