Starting 5, Oct. 8: Ja Morant Soars High, and NBA Rookie Makes a Memorable Debut on Poster

The 2024-25 NBA season tips off in exactly two weeks. Lauri Markkanen can already see it.

THE LINEUP

What’s inside today’s edition?

Preseason Heats Up: Eight teams opened preseason play on Monday and delivered the highlights

The Next Step: Is superstardom on the horizon for Indy PG Tyrese Haliburton?

GM Survey: Ahead of today’s release, how well did the GMs do last season?

Win Or Go Home: It’s Game 5 of Lynx-Sun with a Finals berth at stake

Hall Of Fame Bound: Meet the Class of 2024 that will be enshrined on Sunday

BUT FIRST … ⏰

More preseason hoops and a win-or-go-home Game 5 in the W …

Six more NBA teams – the Bulls, Cavs, Heat, Pacers, Hawks and Nets – make their preseason debuts during tonight’s five-game slate.

With the Liberty waiting, the Lynx and Sun meet in Minnesota (8 ET, ESPN2) for a decisive Game 5 to decide the final WNBA Finals berth.

1. DIMES, ALLEY-OOPS & POSTERS HIGHLIGHT MONDAY’S PRESEASON SLATE

Grizzlies 121, Mavs 116: Ja Morant suited up for Memphis for the first time in nine months and finished with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists to lead the Grizzlies past the Mavs, who were without Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and newcomer Klay Thompson. | Stats

All Grizz: Brandon Clarke (17 pts) led seven Grizzlies in double figures, while rookie Zach Edey posted six points and seven boards in his debut, including the alley-oop finish from Morant aboveBlock Party: Morant and Edey didn’t just connect on the oop, they also posted two of the game’s highlight rejectionsThe Hard Way:

Jaden Hardy led all players in points (21) and dimes (8), while Dereck Lively (12 pts on 5-5 FG) and Quentin Grimes (8 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast in his Mavs debut) combined to add 20

Thunder 112, Spurs 107: Jalen Williams (18 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 3 3s) needed only 17 1st-half minutes to make his mark in OKC’s win over San Antonio, who played without Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul. Chet Holmgren added 10 points and two blocks in nine minutes. | Stats

OKC Debuts: Alex Caruso (5 pts, 5 ast) and Isaiah Hartenstein (4 pts, 8 reb, 7 ast) got 17 minutes of run together and finished at a plus-20 for OKCGame 1 Poster: Rookie Stephon Castle (5 pts, 3 ast) printed his first NBA poster before fouling out in his preseason debutTop Scorers:

San Antonio’s Julian Champagnie had 22 points with six 3s to lead all scorers, while Ajay Mitchell led OKC with 19 points

Jazz 122, Rockets 113: Lauri Markkanen (17 pts, 4 reb), Jordan Clarkson (14 pts) and Keyonte George (13 pts, 4 ast) combined for 44 points to lead the Jazz past the Rockets. | Stats

Young Rockets: Jalen Green scored a game-high 21 points (with four 3s and this slick reverse and-1 layup), Alperen Sengun and Cam Whitmore scored 17 apiece, and rookie Reed Sheppard scored his first bucket

Pelicans 106, Magic 104: Zion Williamson went off in the 1st half (16 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Dejounte Murray (6 pts, 6 ast) scored his first NOLA bucket and Jordan Hawkins scored a game-high 18 off the bench to lead the Pelicans to the win. | Stats

Not Enough Magic: Paolo Banchero scored 15 points, while Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony added 11 each for Orlando, which trailed by as many as 14 before rallying to take the lead in the 4th but could not close out the comeback

Sixers 139, New Zealand Breakers 84: In just one quarter of work, Tyrese Maxey scored 15 points (5-7 FG, 4-5 on 3s) to put the Sixers in the driver’s seat of a 55-point win without Joel Embiid or Paul George. | Stats

15s Across The Board: Guerschon Yabusele (6-6 FG), rookie Jared McCain (4-9 3s, including his first bucket) and Reggie Jackson (3-5 3s) joined Maxey in scoring a team-high 15 points

2. HALIBURTON’S NEXT STEP, RISACHER’S FIRST STEP

When the Pacers and Hawks make their preseason debuts tonight in Atlanta (7:30 ET, NBA TV), Indy point guard Tyrese Haliburton will begin his fifth NBA season, while Atlanta forward Zaccharie Risacher will suit up for the Hawks for the first time beyond Summer League.

Haliburton is the driver behind Indiana’s high-octane offense – which averaged 123.3 points per game last season, the highest mark the NBA had seen in four decades.

And just like an elite driver picking up speed on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Haliburton has upshifted his game since the day he entered the NBA in 2020.

2020-21: Went from 12th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft to a third-place finish for Rookie of the Year and named to the All-Rookie Team2021-22: Traded midseason from Sacramento to Indiana, returning to his Midwest roots, 350 miles from his hometown of Oshkosh, WI2022-23: Earned his first NBA All-Star selection with the Pacers, helping Indy make a 10-win improvement from the previous season2023-24: Earned his second NBA All-Star selection (and first All-Star start), led the NBA in assists (10.9 per game), earned first All-NBA selection (Third Team), led the Pacers to the In-Season Tournament Championship Game and the East Finals in the Playoffs2024-25:

Enters his fifth season on the precipice of superstardom

On the other side tonight will be a Hawks squad that missed the Playoffs for the first time in four years in 2024, but adds a young talent in Risacher to pair with the scoring and playmaking abilities of Trae Young.

The 19-year-old forward from France brings an intriguing blend of size, length and shooting ability to the HawksMeet The Rookie:

Risacher

discusses his journey to the NBA

and how his father – who played professionally in Europe and won silver at the 2000 Olympics for France – influenced his love for the game

3. ANNUAL GM SURVEY RELEASES TODAY

This year marks the 23rd season that NBA.com has conducted the annual GM Survey – when the NBA’s general managers offer predictions and answer questions about the upcoming NBA season.

Before the results of this year’s survey are released, let’s take a look back at last year and see which predictions proved to be true — and a couple that were just off.

Which team will win the 2024 NBA Finals?

T-1. Boston Celtics – 33%T-1. Denver Nuggets – 33%3. Milwaukee Bucks – 23%4. Phoenix Suns – 7%5. LA Clippers – 3%

Partially Correct: The GMs gave the Celtics and Nuggets each a 33% chance of winning the title and Boston came through, while Denver fell in the West Semifinals.

Who will win the 2023-24 Kia MVP?

1. Nikola Jokic, Denver – 43%2. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee – 20%3. Jayson Tatum, Boston – 13%4. Luka Doncic, Dallas – 10%

Correct: Jokic proved the GMs correct by winning his third MVP in the past four seasons, but they did not have runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ranked in the top four.

Who will win the 2023-24 Rookie of the Year?

1. Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio – 50%2. Scoot Henderson, Portland – 27%3. Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City – 20%4. Sasha Vezenkov, Sacramento – 3%

Correct: Wemby received half of the GMs voters but earned 100% of the official first place votes to win the award.

Which player would you want taking a shot with the game on the line?

1. Stephen Curry, Golden State – 37%2. Kevin Durant, Phoenix – 27%3. Damian Lillard, Milwaukee – 17%T-4. Jimmy Butler, Miami – 7%T-4. Nikola Jokic, Denver – 7%

Correct: Curry was named the second annual Kia Clutch Player of the Year after hitting a league-high 59 clutch buckets.

Which team will be most improved in 2023-24?

1. Oklahoma City Thunder – 30%2. Houston Rockets – 23%T-3. Dallas Mavericks – 10%T-3. Detroit Pistons – 10%T-3. Orlando Magic – 10%

Close But … The top two picks by the GMs should have been flip-flopped as Houston made a 19-win improvement compared to a 17-win leap by OKC.

4. WNBA: ONE WIN FROM A FINALS BERTH

The New York Liberty are waiting. The No. 1 seed in the Playoffs earned its second straight trip to the WNBA Finals on Sunday and will watch along with all of us tonight (8 ET, ESPN2) to see who they will match up with for the championship.

Will it be the Minnesota Lynx? One of only two teams in WNBA history to win four titles (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017), Minnesota is looking to be the first franchise to reach five WNBA titlesWill it be the Connecticut Sun?

No team has a better record over the past eight seasons than the Sun (181-91) – nine games better than the second-ranked Aces (172-100). But the Sun are still in search of that elusive first title

After a back-and-forth series that has seen both teams win on the other team’s home court, it all comes down to a win-or-go-home Game 5 from Target Center in Minneapolis. How did we get here?

Game 1 (Sun 73, Lynx 70): The Sun struck first behind Marina Mabrey’s 20 points and Alyssa Thomas’ near triple-double to steal home-court advantageGame 2 (Lynx 77, Sun 70): With MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier having an off night, Courtney Williams (17 pts) and the Lynx supporting cast evened the seriesGame 3 (Lynx 90, Sun 81): Collier shined (26 pts, 11 reb) as the Lynx took the first game in Connecticut to snatch back home-court advantageGame 4 (Sun 92, Lynx 82):

The Sun dominated the 2nd half (49-32) to extend the series with big games from Tyasha Harris (20 pts, 4 3s), Thomas (18 pts, 11 ast) and DeWanna Bonner (18 pts, 4 stl)

The prize for winning tonight’s decisive game is a matchup with a Liberty team that finished a league-best 32-8 during the regular season and is 5-1 in the Playoffs.

The Liberty went 3-1 this season against the Sun and 1-2 against the Lynx as Minnesota was the only team to beat NY in their season series.

5. HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2024 TO BE ENSHRINED THIS WEEKEND

On Sunday in Springfield, Mass., 13 players, coaches and contributors to the game will earn basketball immortality by being enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Leading the Class of 2024 is one of the game’s all-time high-fliers (Vince Carter), one of its most clutch performers (Chauncey Billups) and one of its top lockdown defenders (Michael Cooper).

North American Committee: Billups, Carter, Cooper, Walter Davis, Bo Ryan (coach), Charles Smith (coach)Women’s Committee: Seimone AugustusMen’s Veteran Committee: Dick BarnettWomen’s Veteran Committee: Harley Redin (coach)International Committee: Michele TimmsContributors Committee:

Doug Collins, Herb Simon, Jerry West

Jerry West – who was inducted into the Hall as a player and a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic team – will enter for a third time for his contributions as a league executive with the Lakers, Grizzlies and Warriors following his playing career.

He will make history as the first member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame to be inducted as both a player and a contributor.

NBA TV will have wall-to-wall coverage of enshrinement weekend, beginning with Saturday’s press conference (2 ET) and Awards Gala (8 ET) and continuing Sunday with the Red Carpet (5 ET) followed by the Enshrinement Ceremony (6 ET)

Beginning tomorrow, the Starting 5 will celebrate the careers of the Class of 2024. So get ready to see Carter’s most thunderous dunks, Billups’ most clutch shots and much more.