2024-25 NBA Season Preview and Predictions

Anthony Edwards guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Fadeaway World.

The next season of the National Basketball Association (NBA) opens with two games on October 22, and the 2024-25 season looks to be a thrilling one. In this article, I give you, the reader, my preview and predictions for the upcoming season. If you have any disagreements about my assessment and predictions, then I hope you eventually realize how wrong you are. I got all the information and statistics in this article from Basketball Reference, Wikipedia, ESPN, StatMuse, and the NBA’s official website. Without further ado, enjoy the article!

STARS WHO CHANGED UNIFORMS
 There were some big and shocking moves in the offseason. The Atlanta Hawks traded underrated shooting guard Dejonte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans. Murray looks to team up with a hopefully healthy Zion Williamson for some monster alley-oops! The Brooklyn Nets traded starting forward Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks, and the Knickerbockers look to have a mean starting five, perhaps among the best in the league! New York also traded for Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves, exchanging All-Star talent Julius Randle and sharpshooter Donte DiVincenzo. This trade left both fanbases in a state of shock. The Chicago Bulls acquired Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey in a trade, and dealed six-time All-Star starting forward Demar DeRozan to the Sacramento Kings in a 3-team sign and trade. The Golden State Warriors’ veteran splash brother Klay Thompson moved to the Dallas Mavericks in a sign and trade. The Warriors also waived twelve time All-Star point guard Chris Paul, who signed a one year deal with the San Antonio Spurs. Russell Westbrook signed a two-year deal with the Denver Nuggets, while another former All-Star left the Los Angeles Clippers in what was widely considered the biggest move of the offseason—Paul George signed a four-year max deal with the Philadelphia 76ers! George looks to form a new big three along with superstars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, which could lead to Philly seriously competing for the championship.

TOP ROOKIES
 Although many experts felt that this year’s NBA Draft was underwhelming, there are still some rookies who could make a name for themselves and possibly make the All-Star team. The Atlanta Hawks held the number one overall pick of the draft, and selected Zaccarie Risacher. The French forward scored eighteen points in his first Summer League game. With the second overall pick, the Washington Wizards selected Alexandre Sarr, who is over seven feet tall and played in the Australian Basketball League last season. The Houston Rockets drafted Kentucky’s Reed Shepard third, and he was impressive in the Summer League. The San Antonio Spurs had the fourth pick and went with Stephon Castle, a guard from Connecticut where he won the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Another NBA freshman to take note of is the Memphis Grizzlies’ Zach Edey, who was drafted sixth. Edey was the tallest player selected in this year’s draft, clocking out at seven-foot-four while weighing three hundred pounds. He won the six big awards for male college players last season with Purdue, but he lost the NCAA Tournament final to Connecticut.

TOP TEAMS
 In the Eastern conference, the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics are again the favorites to win the finals this season. Their starting five, with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and hopefully a healthy Kristaps Porzingis, combines size with shooting ability and smart playmakers. Meanwhile, their rivals, the Knicks, seem to have their best squad in a long time. This includes a bonafide superstar in Jalen Brunson. Besides Brunson, who averaged 28.7 points last season, the Knicks have speed and size in new additions Mikal Bridges and number one overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft Karl Anthony-Towns. Additionally, they have playmakers who leave it all on the court like O.G. Anunoby and Josh Hart. Injuries will once again be a concern for the squad, but if their key guys are healthy, they should be a top three team in the East.
 The 76ers had perhaps the best center/point guard combo in the league last season in Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, and they picked up six-time All-NBA forward Paul George as mentioned above. George has had some injury issues the last few seasons besides a generally healthy 2023-24 campaign. Philadelphia’s problem will be depth, as last season their reserves ranked twenty-third out of thirty teams in points scored off the bench. The often overlooked Cleveland Cavaliers, who finished fourth in the East last season, are led by Donovan Mitchell, who averaged 26.8 points and 6.1 assists per game last season. Mitchell is supported by two former All-Stars, center Jarret Allen and point guard Darius Garland. The Indiana Pacers are led by twenty four year old point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who averaged 20.1 points and 10.9 assists last season. He is surrounded by strong players in forward Pascal Siakam and center Myles Turner.
 The Milwaukee Bucks, who won the finals only four seasons ago, have an aging duo in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. The Bucks, like the 76ers, need to have better depth. The Miami Heat’s duo of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo both have had to deal with a lot of injuries the last few seasons, but they have some nice playmakers around them including veteran Terry Rozier, and youngsters Jamie Jasquez, Tyler Herro, and Duncan Robinson. The Orlando Magic, who surprisingly finished fifth in the East last season after not finishing with a winning record in the 2020s before, have a young budding star in Paolo Banchero, who made his first All-Star team last season after winning Rookie of the Year in the 2022-23 season, and who teams up with Franz Wagner to create one of the best under twenty-five year-old duos in the league.
 Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, talented teams both young and old look to make a run in what was a highly contested league last time around (eleven teams in the West had a record of .500 or above last year, as opposed to only eight in the East). The Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers both have aging squads, with household names Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, and James Harden all having dealt with injuries the last few years. Although I could see one of the two aforementioned teams being a top-eight seed (probably Golden State), I don’t envision either squad making a serious run in the playoffs. The Los Angeles Lakers’ Lebron James (who is now on the same team as his son, Bronny, who will probably mainly ride the bench as a rookie), will turn forty on December 30, and is still a top-ten talent in the league when healthy, contrasting the aforementioned players. Anthony Davis, who had his healthiest season in a long time last year, is one of the best defenders in the league, averaging over twenty-four points last season. Additionally, L.A.’s dynamic duo, effective playmaker Austin Reaves and sharpshooter D’Angelo Russell give the Lakers a sense of reliability when James isn’t on the court.
 The Phoenix Suns, led by the aging Kevin Durant and the often-injured Devin Booker, have a fifty million dollar-a-year problem in Bradley Beal, who averaged only 18.2 points last season (his lowest since the 2015-16 season). Phoenix also has the man with the best three-pointer percentage last season, Grayson Allen, and one of the top rebounders in the game in Jusuf Nurkic. The Sacramento Kings have undoubtedly a top five point guard and center combo in the NBA with De’Aaron Fox (who averaged 26.6 points and tied for the lead in steals per game) and Domantas Sabonis (who led the league in triple-doubles last season). Plus the Kings added a superb talent in DeMar DeRozan, who led the league in minutes played. Sacramento could be an under-the-radar pick for a top three team in the West! The Dallas Mavericks made a run to the finals last season, led by once-in-a-generation talent Luka Doncic and the smoothest player in the league in Kyrie Irving. Dallas is a great offensive team that needs their fast pace of play to click come playoff time. Meanwhile, the Mavs’ interstate rivals, the Houston Rockets, have a young squad with All-Star level talents in Alpheren Sengun and Jalen Green, who haven’t unlocked their full potential yet.
 The Memphis Grizzlies are led by the controversial Ja Morant, who joins former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr., and scorer Desmond Bane to form an underrated trio. The New Orleans Pelicans have four players on their current roster that averaged twenty or more points last season in big man Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, and new addition DeJounte Murray. Murray had four forty-point games with the Hawks last season! Wunderkind Victor Wembanyama, last season’s Rookie of the Year, hopes to make the NBA playoffs for the first time, and looks to receive help from a washed Chris Paul (who’s turning forty next May) and playmaker Devin Vassell. The Denver Nuggets, led by reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and the underrated Jamal Murray (who has surprisingly never made a NBA All-Star team), look like a top-three seed again, but with the league seeming more competitive than ever, only time will tell.
 The Oklahoma City Thunder, who tied for first in the West with Denver last season, are a feisty young squad led by one of the most consistent superstars in the league in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who last season led the league in thirty-point games, and center Chet Holmgren, the second-best rookie last year by all accounts, having had the second most blocks in the league. Oklahoma also features crafty youngster Jalen Williams and new addition Isiah Hartenstein, in order to defend their first place title, while making a longer run in the playoffs. The Minnesota Timberwolves, who lost to the Mavericks in five games during last season’s West Conference Finals, are led by the confident, All-NBA talent Anthony Edwards and the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Frenchman Rudy Gobert. Minnesota also acquired a two-time All-NBA forward in Randle, and his Knicks teammate DiVincenzo is valuable as a shooter behind the arc. The Timberwolves also have Naz Ried on the bench, who was named the Sixth Man of the Year last season.

PREDICTIONS
 When it comes to the awards, I predict that the Grizzlies’ Edey wins Rookie of the Year, while his teammate Jackson Jr. narrowly loses the Defensive Player of the Year award to Wembenyama. The coveted Most Valuable Player award will be a five-man race between Gilgeous-Alexander, Doncic, Antetokounmpo, Embiid and Mitchell. In the end, Doncic will likely earn his first of possibly many MVPs. When it comes to standings, I predict that in the regular season, the Celtics and the Thunder top their respective conferences, while the conference finals matchups are the Celtics versus the Knicks in the East, and the Thunder versus the Timberwolves in the West. I have a feeling New York’s beloved squad will somehow be able to stop the combination of Tatum and Brown, while in the West the Thunder will fight a tough, seven game series with the Timberwolves and in the end, Oklahoma will make their first NBA Finals appearance since the 2011-12 season. In the Knicks-Thunder Finals, Shai and Chet will help Oklahoma win the first two games in close victories. Then, New York will rally to win three straight. In a pivotal game six, the Knicks will win in a gritty fashion to produce their first championship season since 1973! I am excited for the next NBA season, and while it will undoubtedly bring some jaw-dropping moments, time will tell when it comes to my predictions. I hope you, the reader, join me in following what will surely be an electrifying season of action!