With training camps for the 2013 season set to officially open at the end of this month, here is a look at a few milestones we will likely witness once the regular season gets into full gear.

NBA All-Time Scoring List

There are five active players who currently rank in the league’s top 25 in all-time scoring, each possessing a chance to improve their positioning on the all-time list this season.

Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
All-Time Rank: 5
Total Career Points: 29,484
Needs: 1,936 points to move pass Wilt Chamberlain into fourth place

Bryant scored over 1,600 points in the lockout shortened 2012 campaign. Over 82 games, Bryant would need to average 23.7 points to achieve the milestone this season (25.8 points over 75 games). For reference, Bryant hasn’t averaged less than 24 points per game since 2000.

Michael Jordan Watch: Bryant is 2,808 points behind Hall of Fame guard Michael Jordan who sits at No. 3 on the all-time scoring list. If Bryant were to average 22.5 points over his next 125 games he’d surpass his childhood idol.

Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
All-Time Rank: 18
Total Career Points: 24,270
Needs: 99 points to move pass Allen Iverson into seventeenth place

Assuming 70 games played in 2013; if Garnett averaged 15 points per night the veteran forward could land as high fourteenth on the all-time list passing not only Iverson, but Patrick Ewing, Jerry West and Reggie Miller by season’s end.

Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
All-Time Rank: 19
Total Career Points: 24,134
Fact: 137 points behind the still active Kevin Garnett

Assuming 70 games played in 2013; if Nowitzki averaged 20 points per night the longtime Maverick forward could land as high fourteenth on the all-time list passing Allen Iverson, Patrick Ewing, Jerry West, Reggie Miller and Kevin Garnett by season’s end.

If Nowitzki were to average 21.5 points over the same time period he’d surpass Alex English and move into the thirteenth spot.

Ray Allen, Miami HEAT
All-Time Rank: 24
Total Career Points: 22,941
Needs: 209 points to move past Elgin Baylor into twenty-third place

Allen is transitioning to a new franchise where his role will be diminished somewhat playing behind All-Star guard Dwyane Wade, but if the veteran averages 11.7 points per game over 70 contests he could move up to No. 20 on the all-time list passing Baylor, Adrian Dantley, Robert Parish and Charles Barkley.

Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics
All-Time Rank: 25
Total Career Points: 22,591
Fact: 351 points behind the still active Ray Allen

Assuming 70 games played in 2013; if Pierce averaged 18.5 points per contest next season the future Hall of Famer could land in the No. 20 spot on the all-time scoring list. Pierce has averaged less than 18.5 points only two times in his career and is coming off a season where he scored 19.4 per game.

23,000 Point Club

Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs: Only 23 players in NBA history has reached the milestone, but like Allen and Pierce, Duncan should also gain access to the 23,000 point club at some point this season, needing just 442 to get there.

17,000 Point Club

Steve Nash (351), Carmelo Anthony (1,074)

16,000 Point Club

Carmelo Antony (74), Shawn Marion (179), Elton Brand (276), Chauncey Billups (454), Dwyane Wade (1,010), Pau Gasol (1,138), Joe Johnson (1,243)

NBA All-Time Assist List

There are three active players who currently rank in the league’s top 25 in all-time assists, but only one possesses a chance to improve their positioning on the all-time list this season.

Jason Kidd, New York Knicks
All-Time Rank: 2
Total Career Assists: 11,842
Needs: 3,965 assists to move pass John Stockton into first place all-time

Probably the biggest testament to Stockton’s vision as a playmaker, Kidd would have to average 7.9 assists over his next 500 games to move past the Hall of Fame guard into the top spot all-time.

Steve Nash, Los Angeles Lakers
All-Time Rank: 5
Total Career Assists: 9,916
Needs:  226 assists to move pass Magic Johnson into fourth place

Nash has averaged double-digit assists in seven out of the past eight seasons and if that trend continues (10 assists per over 70 games), then the veteran will not only pass Johnson into fourth place but will also overtake current Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson for third place on the all-time list.

Andre Miller, Denver Nuggets
All-Time Rank: 10
Total Career Assists: 7,472
Needs:  560 assists to move pass Rod Strickland into ninth place

Miller would need to average 8 assists per game to surpass Strickland. Last season Miller averaged 6.7 assists as Ty Lawson’s backup off the bench. The veteran hasn’t averaged 8 assists in a season since the 2006 campaign.

Hassan Whiteside Set To Work Out For Minnesota Timberwolves

Hassan Whiteside averaged 5.4 blocks per game as a collegiate standout at Marshall in 2010. This level of success on the defensive end led to the Sacramento Kings drafting the seven foot center with the No. 33 overall pick in that year’s draft.

However, Whiteside would only play in 19 games with Sacramento before being waived earlier this summer amassing averages of just 1.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game.

Whiteside has been working out with former NBA guard John Lucas in Texas this summer and is set on trying to land a roster spot for the 2013 season.

Whiteside tells HOOPSWORLD in this interview he has a work out with the Minnesota Timberwolves set for this week, the adjustment process to the business side of the NBA and adding forty pounds to his frame in order to face the rigors of the league.

Check out the full HOOPSWORLD interview below.

Miami Prepares For Title Defense, Embracing Faster Pace

Over the course of this summer, the level of talent possessed by the league’s elite grew even tighter after free agent signings and trades.  If the Miami HEAT are to repeat their championship performance of 2012, it means the franchise will presumably have to thread through a much tougher road to hoist the hardware.

HEAT head coach Erik Spoelstra says the team will invest more time in pushing the pace and getting out on the fast break next season to take advantage of the team’s athletic strengths.

“I hope to play faster,” Spoelstra told Jorge Sedano of WQAM. “We turned it up a gear last year and I think we have the personnel to hopefully go even faster. And I think with a normal training camp and a full season, we can build that habit a little bit more.”

If Miami is successful in getting out more into the open court, it will likely translate into more transition three-point looks for their prized free agent signing this summer, Ray Allen – the NBA’s all-time leading three-point shooter.

“He’s a Hall of Fame-type catch-and-shoot player,” Spoelstra said. “We haven’t had that element before in our offense. So it’s been a lot of fun, trying to X-and-O and come up with new ways to get him open. I don’t want to overthink it. I don’t want to totally change what we do, but that’s a great element to have, that type of weapon.”

Spoelstra figured the road to a repeat wouldn’t be an easy one and predicted more parity at the top.

“We knew this would be a big summer, one way or another, that there were a lot of teams out there with money, that had an opportunity to make big moves, and some teams did, some teams did improve,” he said. “The Lakers certainly did, and that’s going to make it all the more fun.”