The Rockets hung onto Chris Paul, opting instead to swing a trade for a center. They swapped P.J. Tucker and MT 2K23 Clint Capela for Andre Drummond. The Mavericks held on to Kristaps Porzingis and added Tobias Harris and Rajon Rondo. The Grizzlies traded Mike Conley Jr. within the division to the Spurs. In return, they received Patty Mills, Marco Belinelli, Davis Bertans and Derrick White.

At The Halfway Point

Midway through January, the Eastern Conference's top six teams included the entire Atlantic Division. Philadelphia led the way followed by Milwaukee, Boston, New York, Toronto and Brooklyn. The Pistons, Hawks and Pacers were the other teams that seemed to be in the hunt. The Wizards had five wins halfway through the season, with the Cavs and Bulls joining them in the single-digit win club.

The Western Conference had some surprises. The Rockets had the best record, with the Clippers in second. The Suns of all teams had the third-best record in the West, and the Lakers took a while to get going, sitting in fourth. San Antonio, Portland, Minnesota and Golden State rounded out the playoff teams. Pretty much every Western Conference team remained in the hunt.

Devin Booker, Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving were both averaging more than 30 points. Andre Drummond was averaging just under 17 rebounds a game. Chris Paul, LeBron James and Malcolm Brogdon were all averaging over 9 assists per game. Would the Lakers hit their stride? Could one of the Atlantic Division teams get the upper hand and stand out in the East? Would the Southeast Division even get a team in the playoffs? You'll find out right after the break.

We saw a few things happen that hadn't happened in a while. This would be the first time one conference featured three 60-win teams since the 1998 playoffs (Jazz, Sonics, Lakers). After averaging 29 points and 13 rebounds, Anthony Davis won his first MVP, becoming just the second player in the last 20 years to be named MVP on a team that wasn't a number one seed (Russell Westbrook in 2017 being the first).

After leading all rookies in scoring, Ja Morant took home the Rookie of the Year Award. Steph Curry led the league in scoring at 37 points per game. Andre Drummond averaged a monstrous 18.2 rebounds per game, something that hasn't been done since Dennis Rodman did it in 1992-93. Chris Paul led the league in assists with 9.5. Both LA teams had three players average 20 points or more, and you know who wasn't one of them? LeBron James, who averaged a career-low 14.8, fifth on the team. Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and Derrick Rose accomplished the feat for the Lakers. Lou Williams, Klay Thompson and Russell Westbrook did the same for the Clippers.

The Playoffs

There was only one upset in the first round as Portland beat the Clippers in six games. Philadelphia came back from a 3-0 hole and beat Atlanta in seven. In the second round, the Nets swept Boston, while everything else held to form. The Spurs and Lakers met in the Western Conference Finals. The Spurs avoided the sweep in Game 4, but couldn't stave off elimination long enough and 2K23 MT Buy lost in Game 5. In the East, the battle of New York concluded with a Brooklyn Nets win in Game 6, featuring a 40-point effort from Anthony Davis.