There are six big winners and five unfortunate losers at the midway point of the 2023-24 NBA season.
Just like that, we are more than halfway through the 2023-24 NBA season. The NBA Trade Deadline is less than three weeks away and the NBA All-Star break is less than a month away. With half the regular season in the books, there are plenty of takeaways we can have on the NBA year so far.
As we begin to look back, we take a closer look at six of the biggest winners and five unfortunate losers through the first half of the NBA season.
Zach LaVine - Loser
The first half of this season has been one to forget for Zach LaVine. And it's not just because of how the Chicago Bulls have fallen short of expectations once again. There's an argument to be made that this has more to do with how the perception of LaVine has changed around the league recently.
I feel like there was a point in the last season and a half when LaVine was considered one of the more underrated wings in the league. Because of his scoring prowess, athleticism, and defensive capabilities, he was somewhat of an overlooked player in Chicago. However, in the last few months, that has all changed.
So much so that there's not even a guarantee that the Bulls will be able to move him ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline. The narrative not only has changed on the Bulls but much more so for LaVine. Whenever LaVine does land on a new team, he'll have a lot of work to do when it comes to rebuilding his reputation around the league.