Welcome back to NBA Star Power Index: A weekly gauge of the players getting the most buzz around the league. Inclusion on this list isn't necessarily a good thing -- it simply means you're capturing the NBA world's attention. This is also not a ranking. The players listed here are in no particular order. This column will run every week throughout the regular season.
When James was asked prior to the Lakers' game against the Knicks if he has made a decision about whether he will pick up his player option with the Lakers next season, he responded with a simple "No."
There's still not another player in the league who can stir up such a sea of chatter by muttering just one word. Rumors were even popping up about LeBron being traded before Thursday's 3 p.m. deadline.
James' agent, Rich Paul, quickly shut that idea down, telling ESPN's Brian Windhorst "LeBron won't be traded, and we aren't asking to be." But the fact remains that James is likely to pass on his player option this summer and the Lakers, unless they can pull off a major trade, are headed away from contention rather than toward it.
From our Sam Quinn, who details all the scenarios in which James and the Lakers part ways, whether because of retirement, a trade, or LeBron leaving as a free agent:
The [trade] rumors gained ground among fans and on social media in a way that no previous James rumblings ever really have. James himself hasn't exactly helped matters on that front. Tweeting an hourglass after an embarrassing loss to the Hawks that dropped the Lakers below .500 doesn't exactly scream "I'm happy where I am."
James has a player option after the season. The Lakers, as presently constructed, don't look close to championship contention. They're currently out two first-round picks thanks to previous trades, and while they'll have three to trade over the summer, it's hard to believe they'll be able to compete for a third star in a bidding war against teams like the Knicks, Nets and Thunder. They may not have a first-round pick this season to use on Bronny James, which might be a necessity in securing his father's signature on a new contract. Their coach has had a colossally disappointing sophomore campaign in which he's given the starting five that led him to the Western Conference Finals last season a grand total of 32 minutes of playing time.
James is a Laker today. He'll probably be a Laker in a week. But we've seen him jump off of sinking ships before. The Lakers are either at the end of their championship window or soon will be, and even if that isn't true, James is 39 years old. He's probably not going to be a Laker for very much longer simply because he probably isn't going to be an NBA player for very much longer. Thursday's rumor caught on because it hinted at a reality we all know to be true. Eventually, LeBron James is no longer going to be a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, and it's time for both sides to start preparing for that eventuality.
It's tough to come up with a better piece of evidence that Curry needs help than his 60-point performance that went for naught in a loss to the Hawks. Curry, whose career high is 62, is the 10th player in history to record multiple 60-point games, the third to score 60 with at least 10 made 3-pointers, and the second 35 years or older to put up 60. The other is Kobe Bryant, who scored 60 in the final game of his career.
Stephen Curry dropped a SEASON-HIGH 60 PTS in a tough overtime battle against the Hawks!
— NBA (@NBA) February 4, 2024
60 PTS
22-38 FGM
10 3PM
6 REB
📊 Curry joins Kobe Bryant as the only players in NBA history to record 60+ points in a game at 35 years or older pic.twitter.com/fhBJJARS2l
Still, as mentioned, it wasn't enough for the Warriors to beat a sub-.500 team, making Curry just the 11th player in history to put up 60 in a loss.
Has scoring become too easy in today's NBA? It's a legitimate question. Curry's showing was the fifth 60-point game in less than two-week span: First, Joel Embiid went for 70 and Karl-Anthony Towns 62 on the same night. Three days later, Luka Doncic (73) and Devin Booker (62) did the same thing. Then Curry.
Throw in Giannis Antetokounmpo's 64 against Indiana in mid-December, and that's six 60-point games, the most in any season in NBA history and there are still two months to play.
Last season, Damian Lillard and Donovan Mitchell went for 71 each in consecutive months. We've now had two different 70-point scorers in two straight seasons. That's also never happened before.
Young will be an All-Star for the third time in his career, as on Tuesday it was announced that he -- along with Toronto's Scottie Barnes -- will be an injury replacement (Joel Embiid and Julius Randle are out with injuries). Perhaps Young was always going to one of those two spots, but if there was any doubt, Young likely erased it with his play over the last week.
Since being left off the original All-Star roster, Young has averaged 30.7 PPG on 61.5% shooting, including 58.6% from 2. Dating back to his 6-for-9 3-point showing against the Lakers, Young hit 20 of 31 triples, which goes down as the best three-game stretch of his career.
Trae Young made 14 threes in two days pic.twitter.com/xqrP44ysg0
— joe schmidt (@Joe_Schmidt07) February 4, 2024
Leonard has been extraordinary all season and should be climbing up MVP boards. Over three games in Febuary he's averaging 31.3 PPG on 62/64/100 shooting splits. If this guy misses a shot right now, you're legitimately surprised.
The Clippers are scorching hot at 25-5 over their last 30 games, and Kawhi, as the great Mark Jones would say, is cooking with fish grease over that span.
In the past 30 Clippers games, Kawhi Leonard has a 25-5 record while averaging:
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2024
• 26.4 PPG
• 57% FG
• 51% 3-pt FG
• 92% FT
He’s the first player to average 25 points on 55-50-90 shooting splits over any 30-game span all-time, per @Statswilliams.
Bad news for the Sixers and Embiid, who underwent a procedure on his injured left knee Tuesday (Feb. 6) that will sideline him for an extended period of time.
Embiid will be re-evaluated in approximately four weeks, and how he responds then will determine whether or not a return this season is possible. From our Colin Ward-Henninger:
Embiid was diagnosed with a displaced flap of the meniscus in his left knee and opted for a corrective procedure to repair the issue.
Embiid's specific issue, which is known as a flap tear, is a complex injury and is often treated with a partial menisectomy (removing a small portion of the meniscus), per Jeff Stotts, a certified athletic trainer and injury analyst for Rotowire.
Sixers president Daryl Morey is in a tight spot with the trade deadline set for Thursday and the very real possibility that Embiid is done for the season hanging over his head. How can Morey go out and make a major trade with an eye on competing for a championship with no guarantee his best player will even be available?
This is brutal for the Sixers, and certainly for Embiid, who was having the best year of his career and was almost certainly headed for his second straight MVP.
Can we get a little love for the Cavaliers? Led by Mitchell, who should be an All-Star starter over Damian Lillard, Cleveland has won 15 of its last 16 games to surge into the East's No. 2 seed.
Since the last Star Index, Mitchell has gone for 45, 25, 31 and 29. He is 18 for his last 41 from 3 (44%). He's averaging a career-high 6.4 assists per game, fulfilling a greater facilitation role during Darius Garland's extended absence.
Mitchell is a lethal creator. His super tight handle, stop/shift-on-a-dime burst, force, athleticism and pull-up shooting (his 1.07 PPP on dribble jumpers is the same as Kawhi Leonard's, per Synergy) make him virtually impossible to defend with a live dribble.
Hell, even when you get him to pick up his dribble, he can do things like this:
DONOVAN MITCHELL NO WAY. 🔥🔥
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 6, 2024
pic.twitter.com/812hLufkXr
