2022–23 NBA season

The 2022–23 NBA season was the 77th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 18, 2022, and ended on April 9, 2023. The 2023 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 19, 2023, at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.^[1] The play-in tournament was held on April 11–14, 2023. The 2023 NBA playoffs then began on April 15, and ended on June 12 with the Denver Nuggets defeating the Miami Heat in 5 games in the 2023 NBA Finals.

Transactions

Retirement

• On July 21, 2022, J. J. Barea announced his retirement from professional basketball. He won an NBA championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 and multiple gold medals with the Puerto Rican national team.^[2]
• On August 20, 2022, Gustavo Ayón announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played three seasons in the NBA and won multiple titles in the EuroLeague and Spanish League in his 16-year career.^[3]
• On September 3, 2022, Jodie Meeks announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played for seven teams in his 10-year NBA career and won an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019.^[4]
• On September 6, 2022, Toure' Murry announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played for three teams during his two-year NBA career, as well as numerous teams overseas.^[5]
• On October 26, 2022, Gal Mekel announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played for two teams during his two-year NBA career.^[6]
• On November 29, 2022, Chandler Hutchison announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played for three teams during his four-year NBA career.^[7]
• On December 15, 2022, Tyrell Terry announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played for two teams during his two-year NBA career.^[8]
• On December 24, 2022, Jon Teske announced his retirement from professional basketball. Teske played three games for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2022.^[9]
• On March 31, 2023, LaMarcus Aldridge announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played for three teams during his 16-year NBA career, earned seven NBA All-Star honors, as well as five All-NBA selections.^[10]
• On May 4, 2023, Keith Langford announced his retirement from professional basketball. Langford played two games for the San Antonio Spurs in 2007.^[11]
• On May 22, 2023, Carmelo Anthony announced his retirement from the NBA. He played for six teams in 19 NBA seasons, earned 10 NBA All-Star honors, as well as six All-NBA selections, led the league in scoring during the 2012–13 season, and was selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.^[12]
• On June 2, 2023, Shayne Whittington announced his retirement from professional basketball to become an assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers. He played two seasons for the Pacers as well as several teams overseas.^[13]
• On June 9, 2023, Eugene Jeter announced his retirement from professional basketball to become a player development coach for the Portland Trail Blazers as well as assistant GM for the Rip City Remix. Jeter played one season for the Sacramento Kings, as well as numerous teams overseas.^[14]

Draft

The

• On April 11, 2022, the
  NBA championship in 2020.^[19]
• On April 11, 2022, the Sacramento Kings relieved interim head coach Alvin Gentry of his duties. Gentry was named interim head coach after the team fired Luke Walton in November 2021.^[20]
• On April 22, 2022, the Charlotte Hornets fired James Borrego after four years with the team with no playoff appearances.^[21]
• On May 9, 2022, the Sacramento Kings hired Golden State Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown to become the Kings' new head coach.^[22]
• On June 3, 2022, the Los Angeles Lakers hired Darvin Ham as their new head coach.^[23]
• On June 5, 2022, Quin Snyder resigned from his position as head coach of the Utah Jazz after eight seasons with the team.^[24]
• On June 24, 2022, the Charlotte Hornets hired Steve Clifford as their head coach for the second stint.^[25]
• On June 29, 2022, the Utah Jazz hired Will Hardy as their head coach.^[26]
• On September 22, 2022, the Boston Celtics suspended head coach Ime Udoka and named his assistant Joe Mazzulla as interim head coach.^[27] On February 16, Mazzulla was named permanent head coach.^[28]

In-season

• On November 1, 2022, the Brooklyn Nets and head coach Steve Nash agreed to part ways,^[29] and Jacque Vaughn served as interim head coach until November 9, when he was named permanent head coach.^[30]
• On February 21, 2023, the Atlanta Hawks fired Nate McMillan, who spent three seasons with the team. Joe Prunty, the team's assistant coach, was named the interim head coach.^[31] On February 26, the Hawks hired Quin Snyder as their head coach.^[32]

Preseason

The NBA often hosts preseason games in non-NBA markets, with the following being played domestically:

International games

Preseason contests in the NBA Global Games returned for the first time since the 2019 preseason, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regular season

The regular season schedule was released on August 17, 2022.^[41]

By conference

Notes

• z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
• c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
• y – Clinched division title
• x – Clinched playoff spot
• pi – Clinched play-in tournament spot
• * – Division leader

International games

After nearly three years without an international regular season game due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NBA brought back the NBA Global Games with two regular season matchups:

Play-in tournament

Only the top six seeds in each conference advanced to the main rounds of the 2023 NBA playoffs, while the next four seeds participated in a Page playoff system tournament from April 11–14, 2023. In each conference: The 7th place team hosted the 8th place team in the double-chance round needing to win one game to advance, with the winner clinching the 7th seed in the playoffs. Each of the 9th place team and the 10th place team required two wins to advance to the playoffs. The 9th place team hosted the 10th place team in the elimination round, with the loser being eliminated from the contention. The loser in the double-chance round hosted the elimination round game-winner, with the winner clinching the 8th seed and the loser being eliminated.^[43]

Eastern Conference

Bold Game winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage

Western Conference

Bold Game winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage

Playoffs

The playoffs began on April 15, 2023.

Bracket

Statistics

Individual statistic leaders

Individual game highs

Team statistic leaders

Awards

Beginning with this season, the team who finished with the best overall regular season record would receive the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, named in honor of Maurice Podoloff, who served as the commissioner of the NBA from 1946 to 1963. The Podoloff Trophy was originally given to the NBA's Most Valuable Player of the regular season until 2021. The MVP trophy was then renamed in honor of Michael Jordan, a five-time winner and often considered the greatest player in league history. A new award, the Clutch Player of the Year Award, was also introduced to honor players who best come through for their teammates in the clutch. This trophy was named after Jerry West.

The league also announced updated trophy designs for the Coach of the Year Award, Defensive Player of the Year Award, Executive of the Year Award, Most Improved Player Award, Rookie of the Year Award, Sixth Man of the Year Award, Sportsmanship Award, and the Teammate of the Year Award. The Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year trophies were then renamed in honor of Hakeem Olajuwon, George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, and John Havlicek respectively.^[44][45]

Yearly awards

Players of the Week

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week.

Players of the Month

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month.

Rookies of the Month

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month.

Coaches of the Month

The following coaches were named the Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month.

Arenas

• The Miami Heat's home arena, formerly known as FTX Arena, was renamed Kaseya Center on April 4, 2023.^[103] It was previously renamed to Miami-Dade Center on January 12 after the previous naming rights deal with FTX was terminated due to the company's bankruptcy.^[104][105]

Media

National

This is the seventh year of a nine-year deal with ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV.^[106] ESPN broadcasts Wednesday and Friday night games for most of the season, and games during selected Sunday nights from February to April. ABC airs NBA Saturday Primetime during eight games selected Saturday nights between December and March, with a tripleheader on January 28, the first tripleheader on the network outside of Christmas Day along with a Saturday afternoon game on January 14. The network also broadcasts NBA Sunday Showcase on three selected Sunday afternoons in February and early March.^[107] TNT airs Tuesday games all season, and Thursday games from January to April.^[108] NBA TV televises games primarily on Mondays all season, Saturday and Sunday nights for most of the season, Thursdays during the first half of the season, Fridays during the second half of the season, and any other time when neither ESPN/ABC nor TNT are airing games nationally.^[109]

Five

Four games were held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, with TNT and NBA TV each airing two of them.^[42]

The NBA designed January 24–28 as "NBA Rivals Week", with every nationally televised game featuring "

On March 8, ESPN had another all-female crew for an NBA game for the second straight year. The 7:30pm (ET) telecast between the Dallas Mavericks and the New Orleans Pelicans had Beth Mowins and Doris Burke as commentators, with Cassidy Hubbarth on the sideline, while the 10:00pm (ET) telecast between the Toronto Raptors and the Los Angeles Clippers had Mike Breen and Mark Jackson as commentators, with reporter Ros Gold-Onwude joining the broadcast team as an analyst/color commentator.^[112][113]

On the final day of the regular season, April 9, two games with playoff implications were flexed into ESPN's afternoon doubleheader.^[42][107]

Local

In September 2022,

In October 2022, the Clippers launched a direct-to-consumer streaming service called ClipperVision. The service includes all non-national games.^[116]

On February 24, 2023, the AT&T SportsNet regional sports networks sent letters to the Houston Rockets and the Utah Jazz saying they had until March 31, 2023, to reach an agreement to take their local television rights back. Warner Bros. Discovery, the owners of the networks, intends to leave the regional sports networks business. If a deal is not reached the networks would file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The Portland Trail Blazers's deal with Root Sports Northwest is not affected because Warner Bros. Discovery only has minority control of that network.^[117][118]

On March 14, Diamond Sports Group, the operator of the Bally Sports regional sports networks, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Diamond plans to continue to broadcast games for the 16 NBA teams it has regional rights to while it plans to separate from majority parent Sinclair Broadcast Group as part of the reorganization.^[119]

Notable occurrences

• The NBA and NBPA announced a pension plan for former ABA players who played at least three seasons in the league.^[120]
• The Board of Governors approved the permanent adoption of the NBA play-in tournament that had been in place for the previous two seasons. Previously, the Board approved the tournament on a season-by-season basis.^[121]
• The league instituted a new penalty for the "take foul". The offensive team will be allotted one free throw and retain possession with this penalty in place. The defensive player who commits the foul will be assessed one common personal foul. Previously, the penalty was a common personal foul on the offending player in addition to a side out for the offensive team if they were not in the bonus.^[122]
• Following the death of 11-time champion Bill Russell, the NBA permanently retired the number 6 across the league, the first time a player's number has been retired across the league.^[123] However, players who had the number 6 beforehand can keep their number unless they voluntarily change it or retire.^[124]
• The NBA honored Russell with a jersey patch. Every team wore a commemorative patch on the right sleeve of their jerseys. Every NBA court honored Russell with a clover-shaped logo featuring the No. 6 on the sideline.^[123]
• On July 9, 2022, Nikola Jokić signed a five-year, $264 million supermax extension with the Denver Nuggets, the largest in league history at that time.^[125]
• On September 13, 2022, the NBA and WNBA suspended Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver for one year after an independent investigation determined that he used the n-word multiple times, sexually harassed and assaulted multiple male and female employees, and engaged in demeaning behavior towards employees.^[126][127]
• On September 21, Sarver announced he was exploring selling both the Suns and WNBA's Phoenix Mercury franchises.^[128]
• A record 23 Canadians appeared on opening-night rosters,^[129] marking the ninth consecutive season of Canada being the second-most represented country in the NBA.^[130]
• On October 19, 2022, Walker Kessler of the Utah Jazz became the first player to record a double-double, with 12 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 100% (5/5) in his rookie debut.^[131]
• On October 22, 2022, Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic became the first teenager to score 20 points or more in his first three games.^[132] This streak ended on his 7th game, where he scored 18 points on October 30, 2022.^[133]
• On October 25, 2022, the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns set a record for the most combined technical fouls (7) in a quarter (3rd)^[134]
• On October 28, 2022, DeMar DeRozan became the 50th player to score 20,000 points.^[135]
• On October 31, 2022, Kevin Durant passed Vince Carter for 19th place on the all-time scoring list.^[136]
• On November 3, 2022,
  Nikola Jokic recorded the most turnovers (7) in a quarter since tracking began 2016-17^[137]
• On November 4, 2022, Luka Dončić became the second NBA player to score 30 or more points in the first eight games of a season, joining Wilt Chamberlain.^[138][139]
• On November 4, 2022, the Golden State Warriors became the first defending champion to start the season 0–6 on the road.^[140]
• In commemoration of Election Day in the United States, the league did not schedule regular season games on November 8.^[141] The league, in turn, scheduled a full slate of games on November 7 with all 30 teams in action, with a unique schedule that saw staggered tip-offs every 15 minutes. The NBA mobile app aired commercial-free whiparound coverage on NBA CrunchTime.^[142][143]
• On November 7, 2022, the Los Angeles Lakers set the record for the worst 3-point field goal percentage in any four-game span (min. 125 attempts) in NBA history^[144]
• On November 11, 2022, Stephen Curry became the first player with 40 points, five 3-pointers, 65% field goal percentage in consecutive games^[145]
• On November 13, 2022, Joel Embiid became the first player in NBA history to record 50+ points, 10+ rebounds, 5+ assists, and 5+ blocks in a game.^[146] He scored a career high 59 points along with 11 rebounds, eight assists, and seven blocks in a 105–98 victory over the Utah Jazz, with 26 points and five blocks coming in the fourth quarter.^[147]
• On December 10, 2022, former player and coach Paul Silas, the father of current Houston Rockets head coach Stephen died at the age of 79.^[148]
• On December 15, 2022, the Denver Nuggets set the record for the most paint points (98) by a team in a game since tracking began in 1998^[149]
• On December 20, 2022,
  Joe Tsai when he purchased the Brooklyn Nets from Mikhail Prokhorov in 2019.^[150]
• On December 26, 2022,
  Duncan Robinson became the fastest player to hit 800 3-pointers. He did so in 263 consecutive games, surpassing the previous record held by Luka Dončić in 288 games, in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.^[151]
• On December 27, 2022, Luka Dončić became the first player in NBA history to record a 60-point, 20-rebound triple-double (60 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists) in a 126–121 comeback overtime victory over the New York Knicks.^[152]
• On December 29, 2022, Buddy Hield scored the fastest three point field goal since play-by-play was registered, by doing so in 3 seconds.^[153]
• On December 31, 2022, Luka Dončić became the first player in NBA history to record 250 points, 50 rebounds, and 50 assists in a five game span.^[154]
• On January 2, 2023, Donovan Mitchell became the seventh player in NBA history to score 70 or more points in a single game. He had 71 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds in a win over the Chicago Bulls. He also became the first player in NBA history to score at least 70 points and record at least 10 assists.^[155][156]
• On January 10, 2023, the Miami Heat went 40 for 40 from the free throw line in a win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, breaking the record (39 for 39) set by the Utah Jazz in 1982.^[157]
• On January 13, 2023, the San Antonio Spurs set a regular season single-game attendance record with 68,323 people at the Alamodome in a 144–113 loss against the Golden State Warriors.^[158][159]
• On January 15, 2023, LeBron James became the second player in NBA history to score 38,000 career points.^[160]
• On January 24, 2023, LeBron James became the first player to score 40 points against all 30 NBA teams with a 46-point performance against the Los Angeles Clippers.^[161]
• On January 25, 2023, Damian Lillard posted the highest true shooting percentage (89.8%) in a 60-point performance (21/29 total FG and 9/15 from three) in NBA history^[162][163]
• On January 31, 2023, Russell Westbrook surpassed Gary Payton for number 10 on the all-time assists list.^[164]
• On January 31, 2023, LeBron James became the first player to have a triple-double in his 20th season, accumulating 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 129–123 overtime win over the New York Knicks.
• On February 6, 2023, the NBA's Board of Governors held a vote approving the sale of the Phoenix Suns to Mat Ishbia, with a 29–0 unanimous vote approving the sale, with only Dan Gilbert of the Cleveland Cavaliers abstaining from the vote.^[165] The move was then made official a day later.^[166]
• On February 6, 2023, Klay Thompson tied the NBA record for most 3-point field goals made (12) in a game without a free throw attempt^[167]
• On February 7, 2023, LeBron James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in NBA history in a game versus the Oklahoma City Thunder with a fadeaway jumpshot over Kenrich Williams.^[168]
• On February 11, 2023, Jayson Tatum (24 years, 344 days) became the youngest to reach 1,000 3-point field goals made in NBA history^[169]
• On February 24, 2023, the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Clippers competed in the second-highest scoring game in NBA history. The Kings defeated the Clippers 176–175 in double-overtime at the Crypto.com Arena.
• On February 26, 2023, Damian Lillard became the eighth player in NBA history to score 70 or more points in a single game, and the oldest to do so at the age of 32. He had 71 points, six rebounds and six assists, in a win over the Houston Rockets. He made 13 three-pointers, one shy of the NBA record. He is the only player in NBA history to score at least 70 points while making at least 10 three-pointers.^[170][171]
• On March 2, 2023, Damian Lillard broke a 25-year old Michael Jordan record for most 40-point games in a season at age 32 or older^[172][173]
• On March 29, 2023, Keegan Murray of the Sacramento Kings passed Donovan Mitchell (187), to record the most 3-pointers made for a rookie in a single season in NBA history with 188. He made this feat in a winning effort, 120–80 against the Portland Trail Blazers, as well as clinching their playoff berth after 16 seasons.^[174] Subsequently, on April 4, 2023, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft recorded his 200th 3-pointers, in a 121–103 victory against the New Orleans Pelicans.^[175]
• On April 3, 2023, Lauri Markkanen became the first player to make 100 dunks and 200 3-pointers in a season^[176]
• On April 9, 2023, the Miami Heat set the record for the most bench points (111) by a team in a game^[177]
• For the first time since the 2000–01 NBA season, no team won 60 games in a full 82-game regular season.
• All three Texas teams missed the playoffs in the same season for the first time ever, after the Mavericks were eliminated by losing to the Chicago Bulls on April 7, 2023.
• With the Lakers winning their play-in game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 11, 2023, all four California teams qualified for the playoffs in the same season for the first time ever.
• For the sixth time in history, an eight-seeded team defeated a first-seeded team in the first round of the playoffs when the Miami Heat defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in five games. The Heat also became the first play-in team to win a playoff series.
• The Los Angeles Lakers became the second play-in team and first seventh seed in the play-in tournament era to win a playoff series after defeating the Memphis Grizzlies in six games.
• On May 28, 2023, the NBA opened an investigation into referee
  Eric Lewis for using a burner Twitter account.^[178]
• On June 7, 2023, Udonis Haslem, aged 42 years, 363 days became the oldest player to play in the NBA Finals, surpassing the previous record held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1989.^[179]
• LeBron James set multiple NBA records by averaging the most points (28.9 ppg), rebounds (8.3 rpg), assists (6.8 apg), minutes (35.5 mpg) and field goals (1,219 total) in 20th season or later^[180]
• Golden State Warriors set the record for the most 3-point field goals made (1,363) by a team in a season^[181]
• All five teams from the Pacific Division qualified for the playoffs, marking the third instance every team in a division qualified for the playoffs since the NBA adopted the current six division format in 2004–05. Previously, all five teams from the Central Division during the 2005–06 season and the Southwest Division during the 2014–15 season qualified for the playoffs.

See also

• List of NBA regular season records

References