After about four months of break, action returns in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the 30 teams once again ready to jostle for the much-coveted Larry O’Brien trophy.
Year in and year out, teams from the Western and Eastern Conferences go through a rigorous 82-game regular season schedule in order to secure a spot in the playoffs and hopefully reach the NBA Finals.
With tip-off for the 2024-25 season scheduled for Tuesday, October 22, Afrosport dissects through the two conferences to predict the teams that stand a chance of having their hands on the NBA title come June 2025.
24 hours away from #KiaTipOff24!
The 2024-25 regular season tips off Tuesday night on TNT with Knicks/Celtics followed by Timberwolves/Lakers. pic.twitter.com/f8JZQpQyc2
— NBA (@NBA) October 21, 2024
Eastern Conference
Boston Celtics
The NBA’s most decorated franchise secured their record-setting 18th title last season when they saw off the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in a best-of-7 series.
The Celtics, led by the league’s youngest manager, Joe Mazzulla, who heads into his third year with the team, led the NBA in the 2023-24 regular season with 64 wins, at least seven more than the next team.
Having tasted a long-awaited success coupled with Mazzulla garnering more experience and the team holding on to their main guys from the previous season, Boston remains the favorite to emerge as winners of the East and possibly defend their title.
Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks were largely undone by injuries and coaching uncertainty last season, with the sacking of Adrian Griffin after just seven months coming as a shock to everyone despite them being in second place in the East at the time.
The two-time NBA champions brought in Damian Lillard last season, but injuries in the latter part to Giannis Antetokounmpo, as well as fitness troubles with Khris Middelton, inhibited the team’s success under new boss Doc Rivers as they managed to finish third in their conference in the regular season.
Milwaukee was overpowered by the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs, and the 2021 Champions, who brought in Taurean Prince and Gary Trent Jr, will be out for revenge after failing to make it past the first round in the last two postseasons.
New York Knicks
The Knicks have been in the ascendance in the past two seasons, finishing second in the East last time out, clinching 50 wins for the 14th time in franchise history and for the first time in 11 years.
However, they lost 4-3 to the Pacers in the semifinals, which was largely due to injuries to key players, notably Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby, as Julius Randle had been out since April.
Tom Thibodeau’s success with the Knicks was mainly built on solid defence and a Brunson-centred offence, but with the addition of Mikal Bridges and especially Karl-Anthony Towns, some of this reliance can be shared, making them one of the sides to fear coming out the East.
Philadelphia 76ers
Although the game of basketball is not played in between the lines of a sheet of paper, but if there’s one team that looks a bit scary on it, it’s the 76ers.
The three-time NBA champions are in search of their fourth title and first in over 30 years, as they needed the Play-In Tournament last season to reach the playoffs, where they lost to the Knicks in the first round.
With a current roster that has Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, the addition of All-Star forward Paul George, Eric Gordon, Reggie Jackson, Caleb Martin, and France’s Olympic star Guerschon Yabusele provides the team with not just the talent to surpass any obstacle but also the experience and a deep roster that they have lacked in recent years.
The ___ will win the 2024-25 🏆#KiaTipOff24 begins TONIGHT on TNT! pic.twitter.com/harfAEUU5V
— NBA (@NBA) October 22, 2024
Western Conference
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks came really close to winning a second NBA championship last season, but for the Celtics. Dallas, however, have been knocking on the door for a while, having reached the Western Conference finals in two of the last three seasons.
The Jason Kidd-led side made a major coup in the summer as they brought in four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson in free agency as well as Quentin Grimes, who are both 41.3% and 37.1% career 3-point shooters to help stretch the floor and complement last season’s scoring leader Luka Doncic and All-Star guard Kyrie Irving as they hope to make another push for the title.
Denver Nuggets
Coming off as champions of the 2022–23 season, the Nuggets were tipped to possibly make a run for the final again, but did not live up to the expectations as they managed to finish second in the West and got knocked out by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Conference semifinals.
Still with three-time MVP Nikola Jokic in their ranks, Denver cannot be underestimated, as they still possess enough firepower to go all the way, especially with the addition of veteran guard Russell Westbrook to other established faces like Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon.
Minnesota Timberwolves
One of the league’s most exciting teams, the Timberwolves shone last season as they finished third in the regular season, five more than the previous campaign.
Led by emerging superstar Anthony Edwards, Minnesota met their undoing in the hands of the Mavericks in the West Finals. However, despite losing Towns, they can regroup and surge ahead with the acquisition of guard Donte DiVincenzo and wings Joe Ingles and Julius Randle as they look to build on a historic season, which saw them terrorise the league with the aggressive defence.
Los Angeles Lakers
The 17-time NBA Champions will definitely be fuelled by the prospect of chasing down archrivals the Celtics and tying their championship record.
Although they failed to overcome the Nuggets in the first round last season, the Lakers, led by new boss JJ Reddick, cannot be pushed aside as they can still call on the services of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer LeBron James, who heads into his 22nd season, and All-Star center Aanthony Davis.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors make this list because you can never displace championship mentality—something they still have in abundance despite losing the other half of the infamous “Splash Brothers”, Klay Thompson.
After winning their seventh title in 2022, they were stopped in the semifinals by the Lakers the following year and failed to make it out of the Play-In Tournament last season having finished 10th in the regular season.
Going by the just-concluded preseason, Steve Kerr’s side, however, looked revitalised as they ended with an undefeated 6-0 record with new faces like Buddy Hield, De’Anthony Melton, and Kyle Anderson perfectly complementing their usual core of Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, and Kevon Looney.
