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Ahead of this NBA season, Stephen A. Smith shared some teams he feels should be viewed as sleepers heading into the year. One of the groups he mentioned was among the top teams in the Western Conference in 2023.
With the Phoenix Suns and LA Lakers having strong offseasons, there has been a power shift in the Western Conference. Along with those two teams, the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors are the most talked about squads. However, Stephen A. Smith shined a light on a team some might have forgotten about.
During a recent episode of his podcast, the longtime NBA analyst was asked which teams he felt could knock off someone in an upset. He ended up going with the Sacramento Kings, and gave a special shoutout to De'Aaron Fox.
"For me personally, even though they got knocked out in the first round, the team I look at is the Sacramento Kings," Smith said. "De'Aaron Fox is that dude y'all."
Fox received All-Star and All-NBA honors for the first time last year after averaging 25.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists. He led the Kings to the No. 3 seed in the West, but they were knocked off in the first round of the postseason by the Golden State Warriors.
Stephen A. Smith picks surprise sleeper team in Eastern Conference
After showing love to De'Aaron Fox and the Sacramento Kings, Stephen A. Smith also picked a sleeper team in the Eastern Conference. His choice might come as a surprise to some.
The group Stephen A. Smith picked out East was the Brooklyn Nets. Though he stated that this depends on what form Ben Simmons enters the year in. If the former No. 1 pick looks like his old self, Stephen A. feels he and Mikal Bridges could be an interesting duo.
"If I had to look at anybody it would probably be Brooklyn... Praying that Ben Simmons becomes relevant again, and wants to help out Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson and those boys, I think they could do some things."
After being traded to the Nets in the Kevin Durant trade, Bridges saw a massive uptick in production. In the 27 games following the move, he averaged 26.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
Simmons had the worst year of his career last season, averaging career-lows across the board. He has stated his back is fully healed, and he wants to get back on track in 2024. In a recent preseason matchup against the LA Lakers, he showed glimpses of looking like his former self.
