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 first season, cannot be underestimated.
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 Anthony 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.
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What are your thoughts on the upcoming NBA season? Share your predictions and opinions in the comments below.
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