The NBA season may be a few weeks or days ahead, but a lot of people are so excited about the start of the season that they start to create predictions for various teams and players.

Some of the predictions that people make can be ridiculous, while there are some that are justified by facts or by simply observing the movements and decisions of players and teams.

In this article, we will explore a few of the plausible and crazy predictions about what will happen in the upcoming 2022-2023 season of one of the most popular sports associations in the world.

These predictions can be advantageous for those that frequently bet on basketball games, and some of them would even place their bets on sports betting websites and online casinos.

There are many ways for them to pay for bets, although PayPal is one of the best ways to pay at online casinos because of its hassle-free payment system.

In the NBA, predictions can be faulty, as the season is long and anything can really happen in the league, but predicting the outcome can still be quite fun and exciting for sports bettors and basketball enthusiasts.

So, without more delays, here are our predictions for the upcoming NBA season.

The Golden State Warriors Will Become the Champions Once Again

The Golden State Warriors have been pretty quiet during the offseason, and although some fans think that this is a disadvantage for the team, there are still a lot of people that believe that the quietness of the Warriors is the key to them becoming champions once again.

Although the Warriors did lose important role players like Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damion Lee, they still have their core players like Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole, and Andrew Wiggins.

On the other hand, Draymond Green, another key player for the Warriors, is expressing his desire to get a max deal from the team, which the front office is not really willing to do since they already pay so much for other players.

So, it is likely that Green will be traded, but the Warriors may also negotiate a deal that the front office and Green can agree on. With still having one of the best starting lineups in the NBA, the Warriors have a very strong chance of getting a two-peat this season.

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Ben Simmons will be Traded Again

Despite being traded to the Brooklyn Nets last season, Ben Simmons never actually suited up for the team because he was dealing with back issues, although some fans have speculated that Simmons’s ego was also at fault for his absence on the court.

During the 2021 NBA Eastern Conference semifinals between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Atlanta Hawks, Ben Simmons performed so poorly that the 76ers lost the series, and the fans have heckled him in the stadium and even on his social media accounts.

Because of the backlash Ben Simmons has received from the 76ers, he chose to sit out the rest of the 2021-2022 season, although some sources have stated that Simmons was suffering from back issues.

Then, near the end of the said season, Simmons would be traded to the Nets alongside Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round picks in exchange for James Harden and Paul Millsap.

However, since Simmons hasn’t played for the Nets yet and will most likely decline in terms of performance, Simmons will possibly get traded again.

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The Nets will Keep Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant until the End of the Season

If there isn’t a big drama going on at the office of the Brooklyn Nets right now, then Ben Simmons would most likely still be on the team until the end of the season.

However, the drama that unfolded between the front office of the Brooklyn Nets and the Durant/Irving duo may be too much that the team would most likely rebuild anytime soon.

But, despite their best efforts to trade Durant and Kyrie during this year’s offseason, the people at the Nets’ front office just can’t shake those two NBA All-Stars off.

So, it is highly likely that Durant and Irving will stay as Nets players until the end of the season, although they most likely won’t be playing and would opt to sit out.

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Joel Embiid Will Win the Elusive MVP Award

There were many chances throughout the recent seasons for 76er’s Joel Embiid to be the NBA Regular Season MVP, but the prestigious award wasn’t really meant for him to have during those seasons, as he would often get injured and lose a lot of playing time, which then prevented him from getting enough points and games played that are needed to be MVP.

But, for the 2022-2023 season, we have high hopes that Embiid will finally be able to get the elusive MVP award.

As the 76ers keep getting better and better in terms of lineup or roster, we should expect Embiid to have more support and thus get a bigger spotlight in the NBA and with the media.

With enough traction, especially if the 76ers get the first seed in the Eastern Conference, the chances of Embiid winning the MVP are high.

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LeBron James’s Decline will Start

LeBron James is arguably the most popular NBA player that is still in the league today, and although it is impressive what he has done in recent years despite being in the age where a lot of players retire, we may possibly see the decline of King James this season.

Last season, he was able to average 30.3 points per game, although he was suffering from a few injuries that led him to only play 56 regular season games.

In addition, James’s team, the Los Angeles Lakers, didn’t even make the playoffs last season, as the offense and the flow of the game heavily revolved around him and another star player, Anthony Davis, who was also injured for most games.

Because of the number of injuries stacking up and James’s durability starting to show cracks, it is highly likely that LeBron won’t be the same as before. But, because LeBron James is considered one of the best basketball players of all time, his “mediocre” performance would still be better than most players in the NBA today.

And these are the predictions that we have for the upcoming 2022-2023 NBA Season. Of course, these are just mere predictions and may not happen during the season, but it is always fun for fans, the media, and sports betting enthusiasts to predict what will happen in the NBA.

As well as being a master of the basketball court, LeBron James has an astute business mind and has his fingers in many successful pies. One of those comes in the form of his involvement with FSG (Fenway Sports Group), which owns the English Premier League team, Liverpool.

The Anfield team is currently enjoying an astonishing season and has already won the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup. Jurgen Klopp’s side has an outside shot at winning the Premier League but will need Manchester City to slip up in their final game of the season. 

Meanwhile, the icing on the cake of the season may come in the form of a Champions League success. Liverpool will face Spanish giants Real Madrid in a repeat of 2018 final, which Klopp lost, and LeBron is confident that his side will prevail. 

LeBron James put in a superb individual effort during the current NBA season, and though the Lakers were seen as a big favorite at the start, as seen on the sidelines, they ended with a wholly unacceptable 33-49 record that saw them dumped out of the regular season.

The 18-time NBA All-Star pick will hope that Liverpool puts in a better performance when they go head to head with Real Madrid in Paris this month.

During a Twitter Q&A, LeBron was asked for his prediction for the Champions League final, and he responded;

“4-3 US!!!! YNWA”

The YNWA is an acronym for You’ll Never Walk Alone and a reference to the anthem that is closely connected to the team. A watching neutral will certainly hope for a goal-filled final though one imagines Klopp would be happy to see his side win in any way possible.

Real Madrid clinched the Spanish domestic title some time ago and has therefore had time to rest a number of their star players ahead of the final though Liverpool hasn’t had that luxury, and that may well be a factor when the two teams do battle in the season-ending finale. 

Liverpool has endured a very long season, challenging on multiple fronts, and their chances of success rest on just how much their star players have left in their lockers. 

German coach Klopp is well known for his ability to get the most out of his players, and this is where these skills will become paramount.

The fact that Liverpool is taking part in a third Champions League final in five years is an achievement in itself, and the club’s loyal fans, LeBron included, will hope that they can edge past Real Madrid to secure what would be their seventh European Cup/Champions League triumph.

No doubt LeBron will be present at the Stade-Denis to cheer Liverpool on as they seek to gain a measure of revenge for the 3-1 defeat in 2018. 

As far as their push for the Premier League title, Liverpool faces Wolves on the final weekend of the season, and a win would leave Pep Guardiola’s Man City side needing to beat Aston Villa in their encounter in order to win the Premier League title for the fourth time in five seasons.

Overeality, a multi-chain metaverse and non-fungible token (NFT) infrastructure that aims to bring people together, has added two big football stars to its platform. They are James Rodriguez and Joao Felix.

Overeality is building a metaverse that comprises various communities, one of which is the Football Community, given that football is the most-watched sport by a margin.

The platform’s Football Community offers a space for 3.5 billion football fans worldwide to interact with their favorite football superstars, including by participating in virtual and even in-person events accessible for members.

Besides that, fans can interact with celebrities in various ways, such as trading celebrity NFTs, sharing relevant social media content, and interacting with fan tokens.

First Football Stars Joining Overeality: James Rodriguez and Joao Felix

Recently, Overeality’s Football Community has added its first football celebrities.

Colombian superstar James Rodriguez formerly played for some of the biggest clubs, including Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. He is currently wearing the shirt of Qatari club Al Rayyan, but might return to English club Everton and play again in the Premier League, according to the latest rumors.

No matter where he plays, James has a loyal fanbase, with many football enthusiasts admiring his goal against Uruguay in the 2014 World Cup. That was the best goal of the tournament according to FIFA, the organizer of the World Cup events. It also won the FIFA Puskas Award 2014, i.e., the best goal of the entire year.

Elsewhere, Joao Felix represents the younger generation. The 22-year-old player currently defends the colors of Spanish giant Atletico Madrid, the last winner of La Liga – Spain’s most prestigious tournament. Before coming to Atletico, Felix played for Benfica in the 2018-19 season.

His performance in that season won him the Best Young Player of the Year in Portugal and the Golden Boy award, which is given to the best under-21 football player in Europe. Felix also plays with Cristiano Ronaldo for the national team of Portugal.

Interestingly, James Rodriguez is also connected with Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably one of the best football players in history and the person with the most followed account on Instagram.

James has a partnership with Ronaldo’s management group Polaris Sports, the leading athlete rights platform. Earlier this year, James, Overeality, and Polaris Sports secured a partnership to change the way fans monetize with their favorite celebrities.

Overeality Secures Deal with Real Madrid Star Vinicius Junior

Recently, Overeality announced a strategic partnership with popular Brazilian football player Vinicius Junior (Vini Jr.). The collaboration is more extensive than the deals with James and Joao Felix and will include an exclusive NFT collection on the Football Community platform.

Overeality will work with Vini Jr. to mint, promote, and sell four NFT drops, with autographed memorabilia to be offered to select token holders.

Despite his young age, the 21-year-old player has managed to impress and become irreplaceable at Real Madrid – the most successful club in Spain and in the world.

Vinicius has played for Joao Felix’s direct rivals since 2018, scoring 22 goals in over 100 matches. In 2019, Vinicius debuted on the Brazil national team and scored his first goal in March 2022.

Football analysts praise Vini Jr. for his incredible speed, explosive acceleration, and dribbling abilities on the left wing. 

Overeality Leverages NFTs to Build Fan Economies

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) continue to make waves and experience rapid adoption across the blockchain community. While these tokens have mostly been associated with digital art, there are many other use cases where they can thrive. Creating fan economies is one of the most promising use cases, and Overeality is building up on this opportunity.

Overeality is a curated metaverse and decentralized blockchain meant for the future of fan economies, enabling a fan-driven NFT marketplace where decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) can decide on creating original NFTs around celebrities in sports, music, culture, lifestyle, fashion, and entertainment in general.

The Football Community is the first and currently the only community on the platform, which is expected to grow at a fast pace this year.

Overeality has built its proprietary Layer-2 blockchain network to facilitate NFT trading and give users the opportunity to join its communities and collect fan tokens based on their interests. Its blockchain is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and custom-built for the future of fan economies.

The platform enables creators and celebrities to launch their works and fan tokens to the community. Every NFT holder has decision-maker power in the governance process.

In January, Overeality secured a $5 million in a private funding round led by Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm DHVC. 

There’s a reason why sports are popular all over the world and why millions of fans spend time, money, and emotional energy watching sports. As well as drama, excitement and human interest, sports narratives have wonderful uncertainty.

Even the most mundane ball game or meaningless football encounter can turn into an epic struggle that captures the imagination of fans. In many ways, sports narratives have everything that can be found in the movies and more besides.

Here are four occasions when sports narratives outshone Hollywood:

Muhammad Ali, 1974

When Muhammad Ali took on George Foreman in October 1974, Foreman was the big favorite. Ali, once the darling of US boxing, had been stripped of his titles in 1967 following his refusal to fight in Vietnam. For seven years, he battled to regain his world heavyweight crown.

He was finally given a shot, but at the age of 32, few gave him a chance against the 25-year-old Foreman, who combined immense physical presence with incredible punching power.

The fight, dubbed ‘The Rumble in the Jungle’, was packed with drama. After taking the initiative in the first round, Ali switched tactics, going on the defensive, allowing Foreman to pepper his body with punches, and even goading the younger man to punch him harder.

By the seventh round, Foreman was visibly tiring, but he still had that famed punching power and finally managed to catch Ali on the jaw. Instead of crumbling, Ali taunted him again, saying: “That all you got, George?” Foreman was a beaten man.

The fight was stopped in the eighth round and Muhammad Ali had proved his critics wrong and written his name into the sport’s history as one of the all-time greats.

It is worth mentioning that whilst Muhammad Ali might be the greatest boxer of all time, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the wealthiest. During his career Mayweather’s popularity with audiences guaranteed him high payouts and top billing at the biggest fights in the best venues.

Mayweather has used some of his staggering $560 million net worth to become a serious gambler, often placing large bets on football games. Some of his bets have been so big that they have had to be divided between different sportsbooks such as Unibet.

While his recent exhibition match against YouTuber Logan Paul would probably have deeply disappointed Ali and Foreman, Mayweather remains an impressive figure in the history of boxing.

Green Bay Packers, 1967

The 1967 NFC Championship game was one of the greatest NFL sports narratives of all time. Known as the Ice Bowl, it was played in brutally cold conditions at Lambeau Field between two fierce rivals: the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys were on the rise as an NFL franchise, while the Packers were bidding to become the first team to win three consecutive championships in the modern era.

The Packers raced into a 14-0 lead, but the Cowboys fought back, benefitting from two fumbles to make it 14-10 at halftime. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Dan Reeves scored for the Cowboys off a 50-yard half-back option pass.

Green Bay fought back and earned a field goal to tie the game, but the kick was no good. With time running out, Green Bay embarked on one last drive and quarterback Bart Starr ran the ball into the end zone with 13 seconds on the clock to give the Packers a famous win.

Ian Botham and England, 1981

Two games into the 1981 Ashes series between England and Australia, England was trailing 1-0 and had just seen their captain and best player, Ian Botham, resign his position.

Botham was the most exciting talent to emerge in English cricket in decades, a fearless batter and formidable bowler, with a hunger for action and an astonishing will to win.

His time as captain, however, had been miserable. He had been hounded remorselessly by the press, and his own form with bat and ball had fallen away, to the point where it was uncertain if he would play in the third game in Leeds. 

He did play, after all, but had little impact on the first three days as the game appeared to be going the way of the previous two. Australia dominated and by the time Botham came out to bat on day four, England was all but beaten.

It seemed unlikely that Australia would even have to bat again. However, freed from the shackles of captaincy, Botham unleashed a ferocious onslaught, crashing 149 runs to give England a narrow lead. On a dramatic final day, they clinched the game. Botham the hero was back.

Leicester City, 2016

The English Premier League is one of the richest sports tournaments in the world. Not surprisingly, it is almost always won by one of the big-name teams, who can spend hundreds of millions of pounds on player wages. No team outside the Big Four had won it in the big-money era.

Enter Leicester City. The medium-sized club from the unfashionable East Midlands had very little history or money behind them. In the 2014/15 season, they had been in danger of relegation, but in 2015/16, they defied the odds.

They were rated a 5000/1 chance to win the Premier League at the start of the season, but guided by veteran coach Claudio Ranieri and powered by the goals of former amateur player Jamie Vardy, they shocked the football world by winning the title by 10 points, making history in the process.

Australians love a wager. That might sound like a statement of the obvious – after all, we’ve all heard the old saw about two flies crawling up a wall. But it obscures the fact that Australians really like a wager. According to market research, the annual spend per adult per year on gambling is around $1,200. That’s way higher than any other nation on the planet. 

The fact that is getting lawmakers, regulators and welfare groups hot under the collar is that this number is on an upward trajectory. The advent of online casinos made gambling more accessible, and attempts to block them by the regulator are an exercise in futility.

hen there are the specific circumstances of recent months. With lockdowns caused by Covid-19, the popularity of real money gambling that allow players to win and lose money anywhere has only intensified.

Playing in the dark

The more people gamble the more they lose. It’s a simple, mathematical fact, but one that gamblers everywhere, not just in Australia, find it very difficult to grasp. That’s partly because humans are notoriously bad at assessing risk in terms of probability.

Let’s look at a simple example – the question of our own mortality. Consider the following four ways a young, fit and healthy person might suddenly die:

• Plane crash
• Contracting Covid-19
• Abducted and murdered by a psychopath
• Car crash

The car crash option is exponentially more likely than the other three, and is by far the most common cause of people dying young. Yet the average person is far more fearful about the other three. 

When it comes to gambling, we have a similarly poor grasp of the probabilities. Partly, that’s down to a natural tendency to remember one big win better than 10 small losses. But it is also due to us failing to face the commercial reality of what a casino is and what it does.

RTP and the house edge

A casino is a business, just like a shop or a hairdressing salon or a restaurant. Any business has one primary objective – it needs to make money. In the case of a casino, that means taking enough money in wagers to cover operating expenses such as wages and overheads, plus winnings that it pays out to customers. Then it must have enough left over as a net profit to satisfy the board members and shareholders.

When you look at it that way, it is obvious that a casino has to take more money in bets than it pays out in winnings. Yes, there will be some gamers on any given night who make a profit and others who make a loss, but the latter will outweigh the former, or the casino will soon go bankrupt.

Likewise, and even more crucially, a player might be a winner on some nights and a loser on others, but over time, once again, the latter will outweigh the former. 

We can even calculate how much a player will lose. Every game pays out rewards that are stacked to incorporate a house edge. The easiest way to understand this is to envisage a game that involves the toss of a coin. It’s an even-money bet, but a casino might offer a 95 cent payout on a dollar bet for either heads or tails. This equates to a five percent house edge, sometimes expressed as a Return to Player (RTP) of 95 percent.

Every game has its own house edge / RTP. For European roulette, the house edge is 2.7 percent. Slots vary from around 95 percent RTP to 99 percent. It is all programmed into the machines and the figures are available online if you just search for them.

Let’s assume you wager $20 on roulette every night. One night you might walk away with a few dollars profit, another day with a loss. But the more nights you play, the closer you will come to an overall loss of 2.7 percent. It is a mathematical certainty and there is no way around it. 

Casting some light on gambling 

Most gamblers understand this. They treat casino gaming as a leisure pursuit that has a cost attached and see any occasional win as an unlooked-for bonus. However, those are not the people about whom bodies like the Department of Social Services are concerned. 

Problem gamblers are those who either expect or need to beat the odds. And for them, shining a light on the mathematical realities could be hugely valuable. That’s why they have conducted lab trials on apps that show a gambler how much he is really winning or losing over time, using basic charts. 

The next step is to trial the technology in the real world. It won’t create an overnight change and solve all ills, but anything that leaves gamblers better informed about what they are doing can only be a good thing. 

Kansas City Chiefs’ iconic quarterback Patrick Mahomes has become an NFL record-breaker after becoming the quickest man in the sport’s Super Bowl era to reach 90 career touchdown passes.

The legendary Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino had held the record for some time, having reached the milestone in just 40 games. However, Mahomes broke new territory against the Buffalo Bills with his 11-yard pass to Travis Kelce helping him to the 90 landmark in just 37 games.

Mahomes has been incredibly fruitful for the Chiefs ever since his arrival from college football. However, in the last 12 months he has stepped things up a notch to become the danger that everyone knew he could be.

He now holds the longest active streak for touchdown passes in the NFL too, having thrown touchdowns in 17 consecutive games now. After reaching the 90-pass milestone, Mahomes wasn’t finished there against the Bills either, throwing a second touchdown for Kelce just minutes later.

Even though the 25-year-old has only been in the sport for two seasons as a regular starter, he already has a resume that most NFL athletes could dream of. He has a league MVP, a Super Bowl MVP and a Super Bowl success under his belt.

It’s arguably already more glittering than Hall of Famer, Dan Marino, who never managed to win the Lombardi Trophy in his career despite being one of the most feared quarterbacks in the game.

Mahomes in-line to surpass Dan Marino at the 100 touchdown pass milestone too

It’s looking increasingly likely that Mahomes will go on to defeat Marino’s record of the fastest player to reach 100 touchdown passes too. At 91 passes after just 37 games, Mahomes has six games to throw just nine touchdown passes, with Marino reaching the milestone in 44 games.

Mahomes is unique in that he’s not someone who courts the limelight. He is a genuine team player and is desperate to build a lasting dynasty with Kansas City in the next five-to-ten years, on the same level of Brady’s New England Patriots – although Brady has since moved on to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Chiefs have made a rock-solid start to the 2020 season, with a 5-1 record so far – their only blot on the copybook being a surprise defeat to the Las Vegas Raiders in early October.

It’s looking ominous for Super Bowl 2021 with the Chiefs in peak form

Nevertheless, the Chiefs are now out in front in the NFL betting odds for Super Bowl futures as the outright favorites to secure back-to-back Lombardi Trophies. The Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks may have something to say about those odds in the coming weeks, however, but the Chiefs are certainly the team to beat.

Head coach Andy Reid will have been delighted to see his team rack up a big score in their 43-16 win over the Denver Broncos. Ironically, there was little involvement from Mahomes throughout, with the Chiefs underlining their versatility and ability to win comfortably without Mahomes being at the front and centre of everything they do. They became the first team this year to rack up a touchdown through defense, offense and special teams. The last team to achieve this feat? Tom Brady’s New England Patriots last season during Game Week 6.

There’s no doubt that the playing conditions were by no means conducive for Mahomes. The blustery weather from the Rocky Mountains meant that his passing game was a little off throughout, only completing 15 of his 23 attempted passes.

Mahomes did still manage one touchdown pass, extending his streak to 17 successive games. It’s still a hugely encouraging sign for Chiefs fans that they were able to score in multiple ways and in some of the most challenging conditions.

The one record Mahomes was unable to maintain was racking up multiple touchdown passes in successive games. He earned at least two passes in each of the Chief’s first six games this campaign, becoming the first quarterback in Kansas City history to do so, but he was unable to follow it up in the freezing conditions of Denver.

The NFL’s battle with COVID-19 over the past couple of weeks has led to multiple games being postponed. Several teams have had outbreaks, including notable Patriots players like Cam Newton and Stephon Gilmore. 

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledged that the season will probably have to be extended due to all of the cancellations. He has said that the NFL will be flexible in its scheduling since this is a season like no other. 

Patriots have canceled Friday's practice after a positive COVID-19 test, per @MikeReiss, @FieldYates pic.twitter.com/ms5s8dQWmG

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 16, 2020

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First signs of trouble

The Tennessee Titans had the first major outbreak and went two weeks without playing a game. At one point the team had 15 members of the team including staff and players, test positive. That is, in most certain terms, a COVID outbreak among the organization.

There were reports that the Titans had not been wearing masks as protocol had called for. An NFL COVID outbreak loomed large.

But luckily, the team has not had any positive tests since. 

Sources: As part of Monday's conference call with HCs and GMs, the NFL showed the group pictures of Titans players breaking protocol by not wearing masks in the team facility.

Part of a presentation that also showed the Raiders' charity event, coaches on the the sideline, etc.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) October 7, 2020

Other teams have also had outbreaks within their team facilities. It has led to cancelled practices and games. 

The Atlanta Falcons also closed their facility after they had someone test positive. The Eagles added Matt Pryor to the COVID-19 list on Friday. The Jacksonville Jaguars placed 75 percent of their practice squad on the COVID-19 list as well. 

pic.twitter.com/xHW5ad5AN1

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) October 17, 2020

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Cases continue

The Baltimore Ravens placed Brandon Williams on the COVID-19 list. A Denver Broncos coach tested positive and didn’t travel with the team for their game on Sunday.  The Patriots have had one of the bigger NFL COVID outbreaks. They have had to cancel multiple practices. 

The Philadelphia Eagles’ Darius Slay said earlier this week that the NFL shouldn’t have had a season. 

Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s Chief Medical Officer, says that there have been about 100 positive cases that included players, coaches and team personnel to this point. 

The NFL has also cancelled their version of an All-Star game, The Pro Bowl, for this season due to COVID-19 concerns. 

The NFL has announced that this year's Pro Bowl rosters will be named, but no game will be played. Instead, the game will be replaced by "a variety of engaging activities."

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 14, 2020

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Where does the league stand?

This past Sunday was the first time in weeks where all games on the schedule were played. However, positive tests keep on coming in and the NFL is putting all of its players and team personnel at risk with every game played. 

At least nine teams are allowing fans to come and watch the game in person. It is dangerous for everyone involved, especially when the NFL has struggled to keep the COVID outbreak under control. 

It’s clear at this point that the NFL will continue to put players and personnel at risk if it means that games will be played, and revenue increased. 

CBD (cannabidiol) has been touted as an excellent and safe way to treat various conditions. It is even being used in beauty products to maintain supple, young-looking skin, but CBD has also been making its rounds in the sports and fitness industry, but can it help with your endurance in sports?

Why use CBD for working out?

Most people, when they think of supplements when working out, immediately think of whey proteins, multivitamin tablets, and fat burners. These are used to serve a variety of purposes: from increasing endurance to muscle recovery. 

Is it safe?

CBD is a non-psychoactive compound. Unlike its euphoria-inducing cousin, THC, it will not get you high or stoned. You also will not overdose from CBD. There has been little evidence of toxic effects of CBD in the body. 

What can CBD do?

When working out, or during training, you build your strength as well as your muscle endurance. Lifting weights, or any form of strenuous exercise, causes muscle fibers to break from the strain. This will leave micro tears in your muscles. Your body will then heal these micro tears, causing your muscles to become bigger and tougher. CBD, with its healing properties, helps in this stage of working out. 

The micro tears in your muscles will cause inflammation, much like other types of injury would. This will then cause pain and, if your body is slow to recover, will prevent you from working out effectively on your next work out session. CBD oil’s anti-inflammatory effect will reduce the swelling from these micro tears. This will then lead to pain relief, faster recovery time, and better performance on your next workout. Being able to give your all in every workout will build your muscles and endurance quicker than if you had to take more time off to recover. 

CBD oil is also known to help with sleep. CBD is great in addressing anxiety and stress. It suppresses the production of the stress hormone cortisol. Suppressing cortisol will lead to a more relaxed state without the euphoria (getting high). When you are neither stressed or anxious, you will get better quality sleep; and a good sleep is essential to recovery. 

Having a good night’s sleep, and muscles that have sufficiently recovered from your previous workout in a shorter amount of time will allow you to, over time, build your stamina and endurance. CBD oil, as a workout aid, can help you become a better athlete. 

Dosage

There is no standard dosage for CBD. Everyone’s bodies will react differently to it. The best way to find your optimum dose is to start off with small doses first. Keep adjusting your dose until you feel the desired effects. 

Some people use CBD pre-training. It is what works best for them. Others use it post-training as a recovery aid. Using CBD balms is an excellent way to prevent muscle soreness. Using CBD oil in the form of tinctures, or eating CBD gummies, can give you better sleep. 

CBD: Even athletes use it

One of the main drawbacks of CBD was the fact that if you were working out or training for a competition, it was illegal to use. Luckily, in 2018, the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) has removed CBD from its prohibited list. Now even athletes can use CBD while training. 

Conclusion

CBD is a safe addition to your workout routine. It is a safer alternative to NSAIDs and other analgesics; safer than steroids, as well. It also reduces your stress levels and aids in sleep. Overall, bringing your body back into equilibrium with the help of CBD oils is an excellent way to build endurance and strength and help keep you healthy.

Everyone has their vices.

Sometimes, they get the best of you but other times, you can stay in control. Unfortunately, we’ve seen some of our favorite athletes, specifically NBA stars, fall heed to these exact same vices.

Here are five top NBA players who could have been even better had they stayed in control.

Charles Barkley

For slot developers, basketball and gambling might be a match made in heaven, but for Charles Barkley it was more like a match made in hell.

Indeed, Barkley – an 11x NBA All-Star – once estimated that he lost as much as $30 million gambling. Barkley was one of the top power forwards of the era, but his gambling problem arguably overshadowed what was an outstanding career for the Philadelphia 76ers, the Phoenix Suns and the Houston Rockets.

At the height of his problem with gambling, Barkley lost $2.5 million at the blackjack table in the space of just six hours. His is a cautionary tale for other NBA stars who like to gamble. Barkley did not always lose, of course, with the player claiming to have won $700,000 on a Vegas trip.

Chris Herren

Drug abuse got in the way of Chris Herren’s career in the NBA right from the very start. Rolling Stone and Sports Illustrated were among the publications to have hyped his undoubted talent on the court, but before Herren even made his NBA debut he had tested positive for marijuana and cocaine while at Boston College. He did so again while injured after damaging his wrist.

Herren made it to the NBA regardless – he was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in the second round – while he was also a starter for the Boston Celtics for some time. However, he struggled with drug abuse throughout his time with the Celtics, with painkillers emerging as his top vice.

In 2007, after a nomadic career had come to a close, Herren was caught with heroin at a Rhode Island Dunkin’ Donuts, while the following year he had a car crash after ODing on the drug. While Herren was able to turn his life around, he missed out on the chance to be an NBA star.

Lamar Odom

A single vice was not enough for Lamar Odom, a two-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers. Odom once claimed to have slept with 2,000 women due to his sex addiction, while he made headlines for his tempestuous relationship with reality TV star Khloe Kardashian.

Odom’s issues with drugs and alcohol were well known in 2015 but it was still a shock when he was found unconscious at a legal brothel in Nevada. Odom was close to death before regaining consciousness, but he made an excellent recovery, undergoing treatment for his addictions.

Now 40, Odom has acknowledged that an inability to stay in control of his vices contributed to an early end to his career in the NBA. 

Speaking to Us Weekly in 2017, Odom said: “Living sober, meaning no drugs, is a great feeling. Being in the moment is important — how you react, respond, create.”

David Thompson

Some people regard David Thompson to be the greatest talent the NBA has ever seen, but problems with drug addiction hindered his ability to retain his focus on the court.

Thompson, who was nicknamed Skywalker, was a prolific shooting guard and a 4x NBA All-Star. But a foot injury during the 1979-80 led Thompson to begin to be affected by substance abuse. Thompson got treatment after struggling to make an impact after signing for the Seattle SuperSonics while a knee injury sustained in 1984 proved to be the end of his career.

At the height of his addiction, Thompson was spending a whopping $1,000 on cocaine a day.

Michael Jordan

The great Michael Jordan addressed rumours he has long been battling a gambling addiction in the recent smash hit documentary The Last Dance, which focused on the Chicago Bears.

It had even been claimed that the first time Jordan walked away from the NBA, it was actually because he was serving a suspension over his gambling issues. Jordan, though, strongly refuted that was the case and he continues to claim he was never addicted to gambling.

“I didn’t retire because the league kicked me out or they suspended me for a year and a half,” said Jordan during The Last Dance. “That is not true. There’s no truth to that.”

Regardless, Jordan’s love of gambling was known throughout his career, which saw the shooting guard win the NBA Finals MVP award six times, for each of the Bulls’ titles. It is arguable that Jordan could have been even better if he had not gambled quite so much.