The history of the NBA has been defined by strong dynasties. Yet in recent years, that has been undone. Teams can rise to greatness and fall from it quickly. This makes it a fantastic sporting league, with last year’s favored teams aiming to improve or repeat their success, and underdog wild cards springing out of nowhere. In this climate, predicting a clear winner and standout players becomes a gargantuan task.
The Teams to Watch
Three teams are being hotly tipped across the board as the ones to watch: The San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and New York Knicks. They were the only ones to win games in the conference finals.
All around them, the outlook is tight. Polymarket has only a percentage between the Spurs and Thunder at the time of writing, with the latter being 21% and the former at 20%. The Knicks could be the outsider here, trailing at 13%, showing just how strong the top three are. By using the Polymarket sign-up details, fans of either can create an account and begin making predictions on who will win divisions, conferences, and the NBA Emirates Cup.
All are more than capable. Spurs hit the finals much earlier than anticipated last season, showing how strong a team they have built. Yet both the Knicks and Thunder have been the two most recent winners.
Eyes on the MVP
Last year, Victor Wembanyama showed himself to be one of the most exciting defensive players in the league. While he did get Defensive Player of the Year, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander claimed MVP for the second year in a row. He was only the fifth active player to do so in consecutive seasons, and a third will be in his sights.
At the other end of the career ladder is LeBron James, who marks his 24th NBA season with this latest instalment. After eight seasons with the Lakers, he could have gone to a multitude of destinations, yet settled on the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Divisions
In 24 of the last 27 seasons, the Eastern Conference has lost to the West. The West has also claimed 17 of the 27 championships over that time period, meaning many believe it to be the tougher draw with stronger teams. This means very little, though, as reigning champions the Knicks are in the Eastern Conference, and teams in the East also have a better winning record.
It’s hard to look at the divisions and not see quality inherent in each. Take the Atlantic, with Celtics, Knicks, and the 76ers all in. Even teams like the Brooklyn Nets should be much more formidable this year, despite projections that have them as possibly the worst team in the NBA. With Jordi Fernandez as coach and some quality free picks over the summer, even the underdogs will come out fighting.