2023-24 NBA media day: Best moments, quotes and updates from around the league

The 2023-24 NBA season is just weeks away, and as the players and coaches prepare for training camp, our NBA insiders are breaking down some of the biggest things we overheard from this season’s media days.

The San Antonio Spurs’ highly anticipated rookie, Victor Wembanyama, is no stranger to the media as the first overall pick prepares for his first NBA training camp amid expectations he will help lead San Antonio alongside Jeremy Sochan, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson.

Other teams got to introduce their biggest offseason additions. The Milwaukee Bucks debuted recently acquired seven-time All-Star Damian Lillard alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez.

There are still some organizations with serious questions to address heading into the season. The Boston Celtics will face some growing pains with a revamped coaching staff on top of the offseason additions of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. The Memphis Grizzlies, who grabbed media attention for all the wrong reasons last season, will be confronted with questions about navigating Ja Morant’s 25-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the league.

And most notably, the Philadelphia 76ers will try to manage the drama surrounding James Harden, who did not attend media day as he continues to seek a trade.

Here’s what players, coaches and teams are talking about as media day kicked off across the league.

Jump to a team:
BOS | DEN | DET | GS | LAC
LAL | MEM | MIL | PHI | SA

, a championship coach in Nick Nurse and versatile veteran talent.

But the specter of James Harden’s absence — and when or if the disgruntled point guard will return to the team — hovered over it all.

It made for a confusing scene that likely won’t get much clearer as the team shifts to Colorado State’s campus in Fort Collins, Colorado, for training camp the rest of this week.

76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey opened his presser by declaring the team needs to be given time to prove it can achieve its lofty expectations. Embiid, meanwhile, questioned an assertion that Milwaukee and Boston had “surpassed” the 76ers with their acquisitions of Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday, respectively.

“You can do whatever you want off the court,” Embiid said, “but you still gotta go out there and put the ball in the hoop. I believe that any team that I’m on, we’re always going to have a chance.”

No one had any idea when Harden would return.

Instead, those questions were met with shrugs or hope that last year’s NBA assists leader would return to the fold.

“That ain’t for me to answer,” 76ers forward P.J. Tucker said. “I hope they figure it out soon. But if not, it’s going to be what it’s going to be.”

Unlike the Ben Simmons situation two years ago, there is seemingly no animosity between Harden and his teammates, which is partly why the 76ers believe there’s a path to him returning to the court. The fact there’s no obvious trade partner for Harden doesn’t hurt, either.

But it’s also clear that, without Harden, the 76ers have little chance of keeping up with the East’s elite. It’s a task that will be difficult even if he does eventually rejoin Philadelphia’s ranks.

— Tim Bontemps

, will play alongside another superstar.

“My whole career has been off-the-dribble 3s, pick-and-roll pull-up 3s, contested [shots]. Double-teamed. Trapped,” Lillard said. “I’m curious to see how that can be possible with a player as dominant as [Antetokounmpo] is. I’m excited for an opportunity to play with him. I’m excited for the opportunity to be freed up and the opportunity to have more space and opportunity to play. It’s going to be fun.”

The gang takes their first group photo 📸 pic.twitter.com/sIDCbBZmCk

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) October 2, 2023

Lillard and Antetokounmpo have long admired each other from afar — Antetokounmpo made Lillard the No.1 pick during the 2023 All-Star draft — but what struck them both following their first phone conversation after the trade was how similar their personalities were.

Antetokounmpo said it was like they were both the same person, if different sizes.

So even though this pairing comes with heightened expectations, both stars are approaching the season in similar fashion.

“We got to stay locked in,” Antetokounmpo said. “There’s going to be so much hype around us, lot more TV games, lot of conversation about us. But at the end of the day, you don’t win a championship by making a move.”

Added Lillard: “It made me feel good to see that he thinks that way.”

— Jamal Collier

and Grant Williams departing. Joe Mazzulla replaced most of his coaching staff. The arrival of Kristaps Porzingis was a planned adjustment to playing with two big men on the floor most of the time.

Then, boom, Jrue Holiday got traded 24 hours before the start of media day and the snow globe was shaken up again. Down the line, Celtics players were excited about the deal and praised what they know about Holiday, but there was no doubt the team was a little rocked by the adjustment to the adjustment.

For example, guard Derrick White talked about how new assistant coach Sam Cassell came to Colorado this summer to spend some time getting to know him and preparing him for taking over as starting point guard — and then Boston acquired a new All-Star point guard.

Porzingis had been in Boston for two weeks working out and getting to know big man Robert Williams III, a defensive anchor whom Porzingis was preparing to play a lot with — and now will not.

“I already could see how Rob is that charismatic guy for this group,” he said. “So it definitely hurts for this organization that he’s not here anymore.”

Mazzulla doesn’t seem sure what his starting lineup or his rotations will be yet. The team has two roster spots open and is now hunting for another player, likely a big man. Holiday is living out of a suitcase.

The Celtics have great promise, but this might take a little time.

— Brian Windhorst

and Los Angeles Lakers forward was a little taken aback when he saw how small he looked compared to James when the team posted snapshots on social media.

“My weight was fine,” Hachimura said with a chuckle at the Lakers’ annual media day Monday. “But they put the picture next to [LeBron].” While Hachimura admitted that his body might be more “defined” since we last saw him in May when the Lakers were being swept out of the Western Conference finals by the , he is planning to punish opponents in the paint much the same way James has mastered.

“I just watched him closely and he taught me a lot of little tricks, pointers, the footwork.” Hachimura said of the joint workouts organized by Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy.

As the 38-year-old James enters his 21st season, some drop-off in production from the lofty standard he has set for himself is expected, if not inevitable. But by pouring his knowledge into Hachimura in the summertime, it could mean Hachimura will be better equipped to support him as a teammate during the season.

“I see a lot in him,” James said of Hachimura. “I call him my Daniel-san and I’m Mr. Miyagi. And I call him my understudy.”

Hachimura already showed signs of being ready for a starring role last postseason. He opened up the playoffs with 29 points on 11-for-14 shooting against the Grizzlies to help L.A. steal Game 1 of their first-round series on the road.

He stayed hot through L.A.’s playoff run, averaging 12.2 points on 55.7/48.7/88.2 shooting splits — a significant uptick from his efficiency during the regular season after being acquired in a trade with the LeBron James called “an alien” last year and who , has taken San Antonio by storm ever since the Spurs won the draft lottery in May.

There are murals going up around town, including one Wembanyama posed in front of in his latest Instagram post in which

“Man, it’s just been so comfortable to have people welcome you like this, and I’m very thankful,” Wembanyama said Monday. “I’m a very lucky, lucky human.”

Not only has Wembanyama started to acclimate himself to his new city, but he also has done so with his new teammates.

“We often have team dinners and team meetings, so I’m really glad everything’s happening the way it’s happening,” Wembanyama said. “And yes, as I was saying, I feel very lucky. I know I’m in a good environment from every aspect.”

— Andrew Lopez

have become synonymous with small ball, and with the addition of guard and the possibility he could be a starter, the Warriors could have the smallest starting lineup in the NBA.

That being said, would they want more options with size? Draymond Green has heard that before.

“They said we didn’t have enough size in 2022, and we won,” Green said Monday. “I’ve been told I wasn’t the right size forever, and I’ve won. …

“I can show you where we didn’t have enough size and we won. In saying that, I’m not totally against having another big.”

The Warriors brought in Dwight Howard for a set of workouts a few weeks ago, but nothing materialized. Golden State did add Usman Garuba on a two-way contract and Rudy Gay on a non-guaranteed training camp deal to add some more size.

The two players will surely get more run time in the preseason with Green sidelined for at least the next two weeks with a left ankle sprain — but the Warriors still don’t have a traditional center to back up Kevon Looney.