NBA 2023-24 season: Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, LeBron ...

Generational talents and some in-form stars to watch for di NBA 2023-24 season

Wia dis foto come from, BBC Sport

Victor Wembanyama na di number one overall pick for dis season

one hour wey don pass

E dey hard to believe say na just four months - or 134 days to be exact - since Denver Nuggets clinch NBA title.

As di NBA dey enter new season, BBC Sport go look at star players and teams wey go get ogbonge effect for wia di Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy go end up.

Victor Wembanyama - San Antonio Spurs

NBA analyst Mo Monceey tok say NBA never see talent like Wembanyama before

As a new player wey dey enter NBA e dey common to be compared to former stars and, if you dey lucky, even one of di greats sef.

But dat one no be di case for Victor Wembanyama.

To put am in simple terms, in di 78-year history of NBA, no player don ever be like am.

Di 19-year-old Frenchman, wey be di number one overall pick for dis season draft, get am all.

Wembanyama dey listed at 7ft 3in, although some believe say e tall pass like dat.

Im na elite shot blocker wey also get ball handling skills and quickness usually display by point guards.

"Halloween dey come up, but if you be opposing player for di NBA, nothing dey scarier dan Wembanyama," Mo Mooncey, wey be NBA analyst and host of di Hoop Genius podcast, tell BBC Sport.

"We never see a player wit im height get such agility. You seem am for pre-season, di way e dey make plays, throwing no look passes - e dey do evri tin.

"I no dey expect Spurs to get a huge season but I dey expect dis year to be great for im development.

"If pre-season na any indication of wetin e go be like at 19 years old, di entire NBA need to dey worry.

"And wetin I go tok be say you better win your championships now becos wen e reach im prime, e dey over".

Chet Holmgren - Oklahoma City Thunder

Chet Holmgren

Before Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren don bin dey around.

Di 21-year-old dey also over seven foot tall and na di second overall pick for di 2021 draft. However, e bin dey watch from di sidelines last time out afta e suffer a season-long foot injury.

Former NBA champion and ESPN analyst Richard Jefferson believe say Holmgren go edge out Wembanyama for Rookie of di Year.

"I tink a little bit of advantage always dey for player wey miss dia rookie season," Jefferson tok.

"E dey give a player a full year to work out with dia team, a full year to learn di system, and also dia training and eating properly".

LeBron James - Los Angeles Lakers

Di fact be say LeBron James play im first NBA game before Victor Wembanyama even enter dis world.

Now at di age of 38, four-time champion James dey enta im 21st season in di league wia na him be di all-time record points scorer.

While e fit no be di attacking force like before, di belief na say if im team-mates namely Anthony Davis - step up den di Lakers fit be genuine contenders.

"E dey rest for the whole off season and e get fresh legs," Mooncey tok.

"Over di course of 82 games, you fit get worn down, pick up little injuries, also pick up little knocks here and there.

"So e dey important say Lakers get balanced team to keep am fresh for the play-offs."

Damian Lillard - Milwaukee Bucks

One much debated topic for basketball loving circles na who be di best player never to win a championship?

More often dan not Allen Iverson, Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing names dey get mentions.

So too for Damian Lillard, wey don dey wit Portland Trailblazers since 2012.

Di team dey often limp out of di post-season play-offs despite di best efforts of di 33-year-old, as many dey question if Lillard loyalty go keep am for di "best to never do am" debate.

But something happun last month as Trailblazers trade am wit Milwaukee Bucks.

Di new pairing of Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo dey mouth-watering for pipo, especially wen you consider say Antetokounmpo almost single-handedly deliver Bucks di 2021 title.

Di general feeling na say if di team fit get di balance between offence and defence right, dem go dey very hard to beat.

So which teams be di favourites?

E get sections of di Nuggets fan base wey still dey celebrate di success dem achieve in mid-June - and rightly so.

Nikola Jokic dey unstoppable as he lead di franchise to dia first NBA championship with victory over Miami Heat.

But while di Serbian centre dey widely considered as best player for di league, im team no dey tipped to retain di trophy.

Di Boston Celtics and di Phoenix Suns na di two favourites to take di prize dis season.

Di Celtics don boost dia squad, bringing in point guard Jrue Holiday, an All-Star pick last season, to play alongside Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

The Suns get dia own 'Big Three' in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, and dem surely get di attacking threat to cause defenders headaches night afta night.

And di 'world champions' debate?

Di NBA season na very tough one. Wit 82 regular season games alone, na long journey to be crowned world champions.

American track star Noah Lyles start debate earlier dis year afta e question if NBA team deserve to be branded world champions wen dem dey play for domestic league.

"We be north American league but we get di best players for di world," NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum tell BBC Sport.

"We get di best Cameroonian players, di best French player, di best Canadian player... I fit put dem up against any team in di world.

"I laugh at it. I tink say na fun debate to have."

And di best of di rest

E dey somehow disrespectful to dey put Stephen Curry and di Golden State Warriors for dis category, but dis na testament to di strength of di league.

Curry na arguably di best shooter di game don ever see, a man wey hold di record for di most three pointers ever scored.

But di Warriors golden years dey behind them?

Wit dia core of Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, di team bin win championships for 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022.

Dis time, many believe say dem fit fall short becos of dia lack of 'size'.

Dem fail to address dat, as dem no draft or trade for a traditional centre for di summer.

Meanwhile last season Most Valuable Player (MVP) Joel Embiid go dey ask questions of di Philadelphia 76ers management staff.

E dey appear say e go start di season without James Harden afta di guard fight wit some of di boardroom staff.

As for di Dallas Mavericks, dem dey threaten to deliver without ever really doing so. Falling short again go pose questions about di balance of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

Last but by no means least, di Brooklyn Nets' Ben Simmons dey back on di court.

Di Australian, di top draft pick for 2016 miss over half of last season wit a mixture of injury and off court wahala.

Di 27-year-old na elite defender and e appear to don find im shooting stroke too just before di season begins.

If di games match di wait, den we dey in for some season.

Make di games begin.