The Oklahoma City Thunder will attempt to become the first back-to-back NBA champions since 2018. (Photo courtesy of The Oklahoman)
It isn’t quite the most wonderful time of the year, but it sure feels like it — unless you’re getting investigated by the FBI for a massive gambling scandal. The NBA season is finally back, and for a league with seven straight seasons with seven different champions, unprecedented parity takes center stage on the court once again.
Western Conference contenders
The reigning champs Oklahoma City Thunder look to go back-to-back for the first time since the superteam era of the Golden State Warriors. OKC runs back a 68-win team with essentially the same roster, and championship fatigue may be the only internal issue on an otherwise loaded roster.
However, the injury-riddled Denver Nuggets took OKC to seven games in the second round of the playoffs, and now return with an upgraded roster. The Houston Rockets added Kevin Durant as a go-to scorer to support their dynamic defense, and the Minnesota Timberwolves are returning the same roster from last year’s conference finals appearance.
Title chances don’t stop there in the west. The California teams pose legitimate threats — just pretend the Sacramento Kings don’t exist.
The Clippers won 50 games last season before being embarrassed by Denver in the opening round of the postseason, but bolstered their roster in the offseason. The Lakers still have some glaring roster flaws, but it’s LeBron James and Luka Dončić on the same team. You can’t count them out. Even the Golden State Warriors have a tough, albeit aging, core group led by Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler. It’ll be mayhem in the west.
Eastern Conference contenders
The previous two conference champions both died by the same fate — a literal Achilles heel. Tyrese Halliburton’s devastating Achilles injury turns the Indiana Pacers from one game away from enshrining themselves in basketball history to what’ll effectively be a gap year, as will be the case for the Jayson Tatum-less Boston Celtics (who also have a frontcourt rotation that only a mother could love).
In this war-of-attrition, last-man-standing conference, the reigning one-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers could make a run if they can stay healthy. The New York Knicks return their conference finals core alongside a head-coaching shakeup. The Orlando Magic acquired Desmond Bane in a blockbuster trade to add to its emerging young core. Even the Atlanta Hawks could throw their hat into the ring with a roster that’s quietly shaping up to be loaded on both ends.
They’re just kind of there?
Despite the wide range of competition, there are still a number of teams that could make the playoffs, but certainly won’t do anything besides that.
In the west, the Dallas Mavericks’ long-term outlook remains positive even after their head-shaking Dončić trade, thanks to some lottery luck (cough, Adam Silver, cough) gift-wrapping them Cooper Flagg, but Kyrie Irving’s ACL injury leaves them in no-man’s land for this season. The Memphis Grizzlies arrow has been trending downwards, and with some key injuries and the recent departure of Desmond Bane, more roster shakeups could be on the way. Victor Wembanyama could will the San Antonio Spurs into playoff contention, but the rest of the young roster probably needs some more time to develop.
In the east, the Milwaukee Bucks still have Giannis Antetokounmpo, and I guess there are 14 other players on the roster. On paper, the Philadelphia 76ers could be contenders, but the health woes of Joel Embiid and Paul George make it hard for them to extend that play beyond pen and paper. The Detroit Pistons’ return to the playoffs was much appreciated for Michiganders everywhere, but barring a massive leap from Cade Cunningham, this roster is just mediocre.
Tank, tank, tank
If your team wasn’t listed above, it’s because they stink. Embrace that.
This year’s draft class looks to be legitimately star-studded. While there’s no such thing as a sure prospect, Brigham Young University’s AJ Dybantsa and Duke University’s Cam Boozer already look the part.
It’s depressing to accept the reality that your favorite team doesn’t have what it takes to win games and that rooting for losses is the best course of action. However, it’s even more depressing to miss out on a top-five prospect and run it back the next year with the same impossibility of competing for anything meaningful (signed, a Nets fan talking himself into Egor Dёmin hoops).