As the summer sun quickly fades away and leaves turn into colorful ornaments perched proudly high atop their great dwellings, the 2024-25 NBA season quickly approaches us. The season will officially begin on Oct. 22, and already, the nation’s basketball fanbase is abuzz with sanguine hopes and faithful forecasts. So, before the venture gets underway, let’s make some predictions of our own about what’s set to be as memorable a season as any for the NBA.
MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Though he perhaps isn’t the No. 1 favorite for MVP, with many analysts ranking him behind the likes of Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic, I would put my money on SGA. Keep in mind that of the leading three, Gilgeous-Alexander is on a team most likely to make it to win their Conference Championship, something that, if true, will undoubtedly be headed by him.
Last season, SGA put up incredibly impressive stats, making the top three league-wide in average points per game, tying for first overall in average steals per game, and even earning second in total points during the season. Though he didn’t have many “stand-out” games, Gilgeous-Alexander was consistent, game after game, week after week, month after month, and that’s why I believe he will win MVP next season; a player who has one outstanding game every week will always be beaten by the one who keeps his head down and stays consistent.
Western Conference Champs: Denver Nuggets
Popular sentiment for this category, especially after their excellent last season and encouraging offseason, dictates that the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to win the Conference spot, and perhaps even the whole championship. Still, I think the Nuggets will come through in the end.
Although last year the team proved vincible in their narrow loss to the Timberwolves in the quarter-finals, their regular season and previous several seasons have actually been very prosperous. Led by the all-star Jokic alongside Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., and Aaron Gordon, Denver certainly has a reliably boastworthy roster. And after all, who doesn’t like to see a comeback from a champion-turned-underdog team?
Eastern Conference & NBA Championship Champs: Boston Celtics
Okay, this isn’t a particularly hot take, but it is still something that I both believe and, as a Celtics fan myself, hope will happen. Coming off an incredible 2023-24 season and dazzling playoff run, retaining virtually the entire superstar squad that made it happen, and with boosted morale after their summer of celebration, the Celtics are in great shape entering the new season.
They’ve been competitive for around 10 years now, and arguably the league’s best team for the last three. Most importantly, Boston’s lineup is what I would call “the perfect balance”: a delicate arrangement of major, though not necessarily the-best-in-the-league, stars, accompanied by a range of other high-level players. None of them individually stand out as the face of the NBA; yet, together, they form the most powerful group of players in the league. That is what I call a strategy for success, whether in the NBA or in any other league, and is precisely why I think the Celtics will be able to finish the job in 2024 by cementing their club’s name in basketball history.
Overall, it’ll be interesting to see what happens. None of the aforementioned predictions are guaranteed, of course; in fact, the first two are, statistically, not super probable. Player injuries, underperformances/overperformances, and other extraneous circumstances are bound to occur, no matter what. Regardless, one thing is for sure: this NBA season will be one for the books.
