The upcoming NBA season is going to be one for the ages. Following a couple of interrupted campaigns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems like we’re going to be back to normality.
But more than that, this year’s free agency completely shook off the league. Plenty of teams got significantly better and, albeit some are clear-cut favorites, there are plenty of dark horses to go the distance and surprise a lot of people.
Even Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan knows that he’s going to face quite the tough competition.
When asked about the teams that could make a deep run and win the NBA championship, the Chicago Bulls legend said that taking down the reigning champions will be tough.
Nonetheless, he thinks the Heat and Bulls could surprise a lot of people out of the East, while the Lakers, Clippers, and Nets will be contenders once again (3:11):
“Well, it’s hard to knock out Milwaukee,” Jordan said. “I’m a firm believer that if you’re a champion, someone’s gonna have to knock you off the pedestal. You know, Brooklyn in the East, you know Miami’s changed… You know, my old team Chicago made big big changes, you know, so they may compete in the East as well. Lakers gonna come back, Clippers gonna come back.”
The Hall of Famer added that health is going to be the most important issue for teams ahead of this season. Per Jordan, the team that better deals with the COVID-19 situation will have a big edge over the rest:
“Whoever stays healthy, whoever can battle the COVID-19 issues that they may have in the course of the year it’s gonna give that team the best chance. So, staying healthy is the biggest thing for us. We gotta stay healthy,” Jordan said.
On that same note, the six-time NBA champion said that he’s a firm believer in science and advocated for vaccination, hoping that most of the players comply and we have an uneventful season:
“Not at all. I am total in unison with the league,” Jordan added. “Everybody’s been speaking about the vaccinations & I’m a firm believer in science & I’m going to stick with that. Hopefully, everybody abides by whatever the league sets the rules. Once everybody buys in we’re gonna be fine.”
It’s not a secret that Jordan holds great influence around NBA circles.
NBA players grew up looking up to him and value and respect his views on, pretty much every matter. Therefore, maybe he’s going to convince a couple of people who are still on the fence about the vaccine. Especially those who want to have a Zoom background as stacked as his.
As for the season, we couldn’t agree more with Jordan. For the first time in years, there aren’t just 2 or 3 teams with a clear edge over others.
We’re going to witness history and one of the most unpredictable and exciting seasons up to date, hopefully with nothing to report regarding COVID-19 cases or the pandemic as a whole.
