The NBA is full of talented young stars expected to help their teams become championship contenders. Fans can expect to see many clubs jumping to the next level this upcoming season. Here are three teams poised to make a huge impact in 2023.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have the best young core in the Eastern Conference. All of their leading scorers from last season were under the age of 25. These scorers included Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen, who were both named to the All-Star Game. This made the team the only one in the league that had two players who were under 25 years old.

Besides Allen and Garland, the team also has rising sophomore Evan Mobley, who was just shy of winning the NBA’s rookie of the year award. He led all rookies in rebounding (8.3) and blocked shots (1.70), adding 15.0 points per game with 51% shooting from the field.

Aside from their young core, Cleveland also has a variety of veteran players that can provide valuable leadership on and off the court. Some of these include Ricky Rubio, Kevin Love, Cedi Osman, and Lauri Markkanen.

The New Orleans Pelicans caught the attention of NBA fans during their first-round playoff series with the Phoenix Suns. Despite losing in six games, there were many positive aspects of the series.

One of the most positive aspects of the series was the performance of Brandon Ingram, who was able to lead the team in scoring 27.0 points per game. He also provided valuable support to CJ McCollum, who put out 22.2 points himself.

In addition, Jonas Valanciunas provided the team with a dominant performance in the paint, as he contributed 14.5 points and 14.3 rebounds. The other young players from New Orleans, such as Jose Alvarado and Herbert Jones, also significantly impacted the series.

The performance of the New Orleans Pelicans was even more impressive due to the absence of their star player, Zion Williamson. If he is healthy and the team continues to develop, the sky’s the limit for the club’s future.

Despite losing in the first round of last year’s playoffs, the Toronto Raptors still made a significant impact during the playoffs. They avoided being swept by the Philadelphia 76ers by winning two straight games.

The Toronto Raptors are a team that features a variety of talented combo forwards, such as All-Star Pascal Siakam, Gary Trent Jr., and Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes.

Although they weren’t very active in free agency, the Toronto Raptors were able to make a solid pickup by acquiring Otto Porter Jr., who was a restricted free agent from the Golden State Warriors.

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Originally posted on ConnorCroll.net