The National Basketball Association season tipped off last week as a new era of players was ushered into the league. Players who have previously dominated the court, such as Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Dwayne Wade, are now handing over the reigns to younger, healthier and more versatile players. The new face of the NBA is quickly transitioning to the forefront of league performance and play. 

After the spry Golden State Warriors took the championship, a trend emerged, leading teams to scout for energetic and youthful talent. The most aggressive utilizers of this game plan are the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers in past seasons drafted point guard Deangelo Russell and power forward Julius Randle in an effort to transition from the once dominant Kobe era in Los Angeles. Randle, who missed his rookie season due to injury, had a noteworthy debut, grabbing eleven rebounds and posting a solid fifteen points.  Russell did not come out quite as strong, scoring only four points. However, it should be duly noted that the great Kobe averaged a mere 7.6 points per game in his first NBA season. 

The Timberwolves, however, have been the true masters of the draft. They stole both number one overall picks in the past two drafts in small forward Andrew Wiggins and center Karl-Anthony Towns and nabbed shooting guard Zack Lavine in the ninth overall spot in 2014. Towns had an equally impressive night to Randle, boasting a double-double comprised of fourteen points and twelve rebounds. Wiggins added a solid but below-average nine points to help give the Timberwolves their first win of the season. With Kevin Garnett back in his old Wolves jersey — signed over the summer — he becomes an instant mentor for the Timberwolves’ nascent core. The Wolves may be looking at a potential championship-caliber team in the near future.  

However, other teams look to transition in the form of off-season signings and trades. The San-Antonio Spurs made a huge acquisition by signing center LaMarcus Aldridge to a four-year deal in an effort to inject some youth into the aging Spurs. The organization increased its efforts by dishing out a five-year, 95-million-dollar deal to 24-year-old small forward Kawhi Leonard, MVP of the 2013 NBA Finals, and a four-year deal with shooting guard Danny Green. Yet with these key deals in the offseason, the upper management understands its limits and looks to a future without center Tim Duncan and shooting guard Manu Ginobili, both of whom are due to retire in the coming years.

With all of these teams becoming younger, the NBA has been given a face lift. In addition to the incoming youth, the NBA already has a few rising stars in potential MVP candidate center Anthony Davis, former MVP point guard Stephen Curry and the high scoring shooting guard Jimmy Butler. 

The challenge from here is upending the veteran staples in the NBA, such as Lebron James’s Cleveland Cavaliers, Chris Paul’s LA Clippers, and Kevin Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder. 

In response to the success of these young teams, the Cavs and Clippers have both solidified their veteran core, signing power forward Kevin Love to a five-year extension and center Deandre Jordan to a controversial four-year deal, respectively.

These teams are not looking to rebuild but rather to bolster their already high level of playing and give them the extra push they need to take home a ring. 

—Jerry Miller