An epic 2023-24 NBA campaign is behind us, and it's time to review the entire season through the tried and true "winners and losers" lens.

Several teams and players undoubtedly raised their profiles. Plenty outperformed expectations. But of course, it wasn't all positive. The inverse of those things happened too.

And now, it's time to examine the biggest examples on either side of that ledger. This year's clearest winners and losers can be found below.

Winner: Victor Wembanyama

He was already a lock to appear as a "winner" on this slideshow, but Victor Wembanyama put an exclamation point on his 2023-24 with a dazzling penultimate performance against the reigning champion Denver Nuggets.

His team was down 23 points in the second half, but that deficit wasn't enough to stop Wemby, who dropped 17 by himself in a three-minute stretch that spurred his San Antonio Spurs to victory.

For the season, Wembanyama finished with averages of 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocks and 1.2 steals, but even that doesn't do his development over the course of the campaign justice.

Wembanyama adjusted to the speed and athleticism of the NBA game faster than just about anyone could've predicted, and now the rest of the league has to be concerned about the future.

Wemby can shoot from seemingly anywhere. He drilled a dribble pull-up three from several feet behind the line during the comeback against the Nuggets. He's already perhaps the game's most feared rim protector. Beyond leading the NBA in blocks per game, he forced tons of about-faces from would-be drivers. He's an underrated playmaker and cheat code around the rim too.

The hype surrounding Wembanyama coming into this season was unreal. That he's already exceeding it is even harder to believe. As a rookie, he's made it clear he'll be a perennial MVP candidate, and that could start as early as next season.

Loser: Everyone Who Missed Out on Victor Wembanyama

Every team that was in the 2023 lottery or didn't quite tank hard enough to get better odds has to be kicking themselves over missed opportunities.

Several others who are in the mix for the top pick this season have to be feeling the same way.

The 2022-23 season was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to get a player who could legitimately overhaul your culture on both sides of the floor and put you on track to title contention within a few years.

And even if Brandon Miller has shown plenty of three-and-D-plus upside as a rookie, and Scoot Henderson has had some hope-restoring performances of late, neither is likely to erase the "what ifs" their fans will be dealing with for years to come.

And that's not to single those two out. The Utah Jazz certainly could've been more aggressive in hunting losses in 2022-23. The teams that had the same odds at No. 1 as San Antonio (the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons) have to be annoyed at the lack of luck.

It doesn't make much sense to dwell on it, but Wembanyama milestones will always be bittersweet for those who missed out.

Winner: Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics took their foot off the gas toward the end of the campaign, but that's because they gave themselves the luxury to do so by dominating most of the regular season.

Boston has, by far, the best net rating and point differential in 2023-24. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are both All-NBA candidates. There was a fringe All-Star case for Derrick White back in February. And the offseason additions of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis couldn't have gone much better. Both fit the team brilliantly and magnified their new roles.

And, as if all that wasn't enough, reserves Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard both showed serious developmental strides, while Al Horford seems to have found a way to freeze the aging process.

Of course, all this means Boston will face as much pressure in the playoffs as it has during this era. But the Celtics are a historically great team that looks prepared to face that pressure.

Loser: East Cellar Dwellers

A handful of Eastern Conference teams—the Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets—have been at or near the bottom of the standings all season. And instead of singling out just one, we'll give all three nods as "losers" this season.

In most campaigns, it might be easy to simply justify the losing by referencing upcoming draft odds, but landing the No. 1 pick in this draft might not be quite as valuable as it would be in other years.

This class has reportedly been described by multiple NBA executives as "the worst draft they have ever seen."

And while that might not be as chilling a report for the Hornets (who do have an interesting core with LaMelo Ball, Miller and Mark Williams), the Pistons and Wizards could justify a little self-pity.

They just suffered through seasons with 60-plus losses, neither has a surefire future star on the roster and the 2024 draft may not offer them one either.

Winner: Jalen Brunson

From Patrick Ewing's departure up until Jalen Brunson's arrival, the New York Knicks were dead last in the NBA in winning percentage and point differential.

Multiple big-name players, including Carmelo Anthony, came and went without being able to break that culture of losing. Brunson has.

The Knicks have made the playoffs in each of Brunson's two campaigns in the league's biggest market. And in 2023-24, he has a bona fide First Team All-NBA case.

While the pressure of playing in New York can be overwhelming for some, Brunson seems to thrive on it.

And smashing expectations as a 6'2" guard in a league packed with players much bigger has helped Brunson relate to the "chip on their shoulders" fans that survived the two decades prior to this one.

The Knicks have been desperate for a hero to change their culture for 20 years, and now they finally have him.

Loser: Brooklyn Nets

Meanwhile, just south of Madison Square Garden and across the East River, the Brooklyn Nets spent 2023-24 establishing themselves as perhaps the NBA's most aimless and unexciting franchise.

They didn't lose as much as the Hornets, Wizards or Pistons, but Brooklyn is packed with players who aren't likely to top out much better than third or fourth options.

Most of their own first-round draft picks are still headed elsewhere, thanks to the short-lived Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden era. The first-rounders they do have coming in (like a 2025 first from the Phoenix Suns and a 2027 first from Philly) are controlled by teams that figure to be in the playoffs for years to come.

In other words, tanking doesn't really do anything for the Nets.

Barring some team overpaying for Mikal Bridges (something Brooklyn reportedly passed on in February), the only way out for Brooklyn is seemingly just waiting out the mediocrity.

And there are few places in the NBA more painful than the middle.

Winner: Western Conference

From style of play, to wins and losses to championships won, the Western Conference has absolutely dominated the East since Michael Jordan's 1998 retirement.

Occasionally, some team from the Eastern Conference has broken through, but in general the West has been the better and more entertaining conference.

And 2023-24 didn't offer much hope that the balance of power will ever shift back.

Wemby is in the West. That alone makes it hard to foresee the shift. But that side of the league also has Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Dončić.

All four of the reigning champion Denver Nuggets' best and most important players—Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr.—are still in their primes. They're not going away any time soon.

The conference is stacked, and it looks like it will remain so for the foreseeable future.

Loser: Eastern Conference

As recently as last season, it felt like there was at least a glimmer of hope for what has essentially become the league's junior varsity conference.

The top three seeds in the East all had better records than the West's No. 1, but that team, the Nuggets, went on to win the championship in convincing fashion.

Ten of the East's 15 teams failed to meet their preseason over-unders this season. The Celtics finished a whopping 14 games ahead of second place in the conference. The Hornets, Wizards and Pistons morphed into little more than opportunities for opponents to pad their individual stats.

The middle of the conference, populated by the Nets, Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks, offers little hope for shifting the balance of power.

Yes, injuries to Joel Embiid and a handful of Cleveland Cavaliers contributed to the underwhelming nature of this specific season, but again, this is a trend that has persisted for decades.

And 2023-24 didn't suggest change is on the horizon.

Winner: Luka Dončić

Betting odds and ESPN's latest straw poll suggest he'll finish second or third in MVP voting, but Dončić seems to have assumed the mantle of the people's candidate that Joel Embiid held for much of the three seasons prior to this one.

Individual scoring goes a long way with fans, and Luka led the league in points per game at 33.9 (in part because Embiid's 34.7 didn't qualify, due to time missed). But that's far from all Luka provides. He also led the Dallas Mavericks in assists (9.8) and rebounds per game (9.2), while shooting a career-high 38.2 three-point percentage.

And doing all that while helping Kyrie Irving to assimilate and winning 50-plus games in the first season after missing the playoffs makes this season a massive win for Luka.

Even if he doesn't secure the MVP this season, it provided him with plenty of momentum for next season's race.

Loser: the MVP Discussion

After three years of heated debates between fans and analysts supporting Jokić and Embiid that often divorced themselves from basketball and turned downright ugly, it felt like we might get a reprieve from all that noise in 2023-24.

Embiid, who was probably working on a stronger case than the one that won him the award last season, missed several weeks in the middle of the season with a knee injury. And it became clear pretty quickly that he wouldn't reach the 65-game minimum established for postseason awards.

But whatever quiet might've existed in the aftermath of Embiid's injury didn't last long. The vitriol returned. And this time, four worthy candidates were involved.

There are solid cases for each of Jokić, Dončić, SGA and Giannis Antetokounmpo. But instead of hearing what those are, we were treated once again to takes like:

• "[Jokic] is the worst MVP winner in the last 40 years,"
• "They cannot give Joker any more MVPs... It's not good for the NBA,"
• "I don't think [Dončić] is the best player on his basketball team,"
• "I think Luka's game is kind of boring,"

And those are all relatively mild in comparison to what you might find if you go looking for takes from fans (prominent or otherwise) on social media.

Those platforms have fueled a unique kind of rage around the MVP discussion, and 2023-24 probably established that it won't matter who's involved. In this new media landscape, the cases will often be driven more by hate than appreciation.

Winner: Surging Young Teams

A handful of young (or at least youngish) teams crushed their preseason over-unders this year, including the New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets.

The organizational arrows of all of the above are undoubtedly pointed up, and they're all led by stars who haven't even hit their primes yet.

Zion Williamson, Edwards, SGA, Tyrese Haliburton, Paolo Banchero and Alperen Şengün all have superstar upside. Some are already there.

So, while some of the league's advertising and TV partners may be fretting (or at least mildly concerned about) the forthcoming retirements of mainstays like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, the NBA's up-and-comers gave us plenty of reasons for optimism in 2023-24.

Loser: the Old Guard

Meanwhile, some of the teams those old mainstays play for—including the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors—aren't even guaranteed to survive the play-in or first round.

Remarkably, LeBron is still playing at a top 5-10 level, while Curry has been a top 10-15 player, but their days of almost singlehandedly forcing their teams into title contention might be over.

This class of superstars has had a heck of a run as the face of the NBA, but 2023-24 made it clear it's time to start pivoting to new potential flag-bearers.

Winner: Offense

The scoring surge in 2023-24 was so dramatic that the NBA eventually stepped in with a new officiating focus to curtail the league-wide offense.

But even with a couple months of more physical play, offense still reigned supreme this season.

Eight of the top 10 and 14 of the top 26 teams in NBA history by points scored per 100 possessions came from this campaign. Nearly 10 percent of every individual season with 25-plus points per game and a 60-plus true shooting percentage came from 2023-24.

And while the pre-adjustment officiating certainly had something to do with the explosion—flopping and other tricks from scorers had gotten far too effective—the league's players deserve the bulk of the credit.

The skill level in the NBA has never been higher than it is right now. Just about everyone has to be able to shoot. Creation and distribution are no longer the exclusive province of guards and wings.

Just about everyone, regardless of position, is now expected to simply be a basketball player. That includes handling the ball, passing, shooting and defending all over the floor.

And the rising numbers in 2023-24 represented that rise in skill.

Loser: the All-Star Game

This topic has already been analyzed to death, but the 2024 All-Star game really did devolve into a debacle.

The final score was 211-186. No, that's not a typo. Yes, one team cleared 200 points.

Saying there was no defense is an understatement to an almost comical degree. It was a 48-minute shootaround with nothing resembling competitiveness throughout.

And as one of the league's premier TV showcases, the NBA needs that game to be worth watching. What it's become, at least for a lot of fans, probably isn't.

Plenty have offered up potential solutions. Maybe the players would be incentivized by more prize money. Maybe pitting American players against the world would generate a little fight.

But the best idea is one that'll likely never be entertained. If the NBA made the losing team pay the winners' bonuses, we might finally see players invest a little more pride in the outcome.

Winner: International Talent Pool

Back in early March, Gilbert Arenas argued that the NBA should "Get rid of all Europeans" to curb the scoring explosion, saying that their lack of athleticism and defensive ability were to blame for the uptick.

To put it mildly, the take was outrageous, especially during a season in which the dominance of non-Americans took center stage.

Jokić, Dončić, SGA and Giannis are likely to fill out the top four in MVP voting. They're from Serbia, Slovenia, Canada and Greece, respectively. The league's leading scorer (without the typical qualifiers) is Embiid, who's from Cameroon. Domantas Sabonis, a Lithuanian, led the league in triple-doubles. Rudy Gobert, a Frenchman, is on track to win his fourth Defensive Player of the Year. Twelve of the top 18 players in rebounds per game are from outside the United States. The same goes for three of the top five in assists per game.

All told, 359 total players cleared 500 minutes this season, and 81 of them were born outside the US.

No, the NBA shouldn't get rid of the Europeans or any other portion of the ever-expanding talent pool. On the contrary, it should continue to reach more aggressively into every continent.

The league has never been as talent-rich as it is now, and the international players deserve credit, rather than ridicule, for helping drive the game to this point.