Dwyane Wade shoots at Brooklyn Nets's 113-94 home victory over Miami Heat on April 10, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)
By sportswriters Lin Deren, Wang Haoyu and Li Bowen
BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The 2018-19 NBA regular season drew an end with the final play-off berth won by Detroit Pistons on Thursday.
The seasons saw records set, new stars rise and some veterans retire.
The Milwaukee Bucks topped the league with a 60-win season, showing the world an even stronger Eastern Conference after the absence of LeBron James, who chose to become a Los Angles Laker.
Russell Westbrook and James Harden kept refreshing their records in their own way. Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade finished their legendary careers, while rising stars Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic proved that they can be dominant enough when it counts.
NEW RECORDS
A lot of records were produced this season. 13 players reached 50 points in one game, the most in NBA history. Harden scored at least 30 points in 32-straight games, including a 60 point, 15 rebound and five assist show against the New York Knicks. He was able to score at least 30 points against all other 29 teams.
Westbrook became the first NBA player to get triple-doubles in 11 straight games, including a big night which saw him finish with 20 points, 20 rebounds and 21 assists.
Golden State Warriors shooter Klay Thompson hit as many as 14 three-pointers against the Chicago Bulls, surpassing his teammate Stephen Curry, marking the most three-pointers made in a single NBA game.
James moved up again. He surpassed Michael Jordan, becoming the fourth on NBA all-time scoring list.
The 30-team league made 273,573 points throughout the season. 111.2 points per team per game marks the 11th most in NBA history.
The love on three-pointers still grew. The teams finished 32 attempts beyond the arc for each game. The Houston Rockets totaled 27 three-pointers in a game versus the Phoenix Suns, refreshing their own record of most three-pointers made in one game.
LEBRON JAMES DELIVERS A SHOCK
James shocked the league when he chose to move to the Lakers last summer.
However, he encountered the toughest season of his career as the Lakers missed the playoffs for a sixth consecutive year, which snapped his remarkable run of 13 straight playoffs and eight straight NBA Finals appearances.
At the age of 34, James proved that he is still one of the best players on the planet, averaging 27.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists this season. But his future in Los Angeles seems uncertain. Magic Johnson has already stepped down as president of basketball operations.
With the departure of the King, a post-James Eastern Conference watched the Milwaukee Bucks, who finished seventh in the East last season, become the NBA's best team with a 60-22 record.
Under a better system built by new head coach Mike Budenholzer, Antetokounmpo is expecting to win the 2019 NBA MVP award, averaging 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and shooting 57.8 percent, leading the Bucks to be the favorites to represent the East in the NBA Finals against defending champions the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors are looking forward to snatching four of the last five season championships. The back-to-back NBA champions finished the season with a conference-high 57 wins, but sometimes they seemed to be slipping on the floor, especially on the defensive end.
The defending champions' defensive rating (108.3) is 11th in the NBA this season. However, history shows that the Warriors can turn on the switch during the playoffs. They won the 2017-18 championship to become the first champion team who finished outside of the top 10 in the defensive rating during the regular season since the 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers.
Who are biggest threats for the Warriors to lift their third consecutive championship? The Houston Rockets, the Denver Nuggets, the Oklahoma City Thunder all have the ambition and capacity to beat the Warriors in the Western Conference finals. In the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Boston Celtics will fight with the Milwaukee Bucks for the opportunity to knock the Warriors off their throne.
MEMORIES AND HOPES
40-year-old Nowitzki announced his retirement in an emotional speech after the Mavericks' last home game of the season. In his record 21 seasons with the Mavericks, he led the team to 15 playoff appearances and its first and only NBA championship in the franchise history in 2011. The German star was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player in 2007 and the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 2011.
Wade concluded his 16-year career with a triple-double game. It was the fifth time in his career to achieve that, but that wasn't enough for Heat to get into the playoffs.
This season witnessed the retirement of the jerseys of Chris Bosh and Manu Ginobili.
Dallas said farewell to Dirk, but Doncic brought hope to the city. The Slovenian teenager averaged 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists in his first NBA season. Nowitzki spent all his 21 NBA seasons in Mavericks, so there are definitely more to expect from Doncic.
24-year-old Antetokounmpo gives even more hope to the city of Milwaukee. The 2017 Most Improved Player proved that he could still better himself. His 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists season show secured the Bucks the top place in the league. They will hold the home advantage over any other team in playoffs.
The only NBA title for the Bucks came in 1971, but Antetokounmpo makes it possible for them to chase another one.