The NBA season started, and we can immediately see which teams can be dominant and which can fight for the championship title. The Warriors will defend their crown, but they will not have it easy, there are many candidates.
The preseason was very good, we began to see how the teams were assembled and if the training had paid off, but the beginning of the season already showed the true intentions of the teams. There will be a high level this season.
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These are the candidates to win the NBA championship of the world.
5. Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles team is the hope of the city since Lebron’s Lakers don’t seem to be fighting for anything this season. They have a great team that has been getting very good for a long time.
Paul George leads this team. The versatile player has been with the Clippers since 2019 and the team looks tidy and with a lot of grit. Last season he suffered a serious injury, but still managed to get the team to the conference finals which they lost to Phoenix.
The Pacific division will be very hard-fought because they will have to fight with their tormentors the Suns and the champion Warriors. This obviously raises the level of the team because they will face the best and to be champion they have to beat them.
4. Milwaukee Bucks
The team led by Giannis is one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference. There is a lot of competition, but the champions in 2024 want to regain the throne, and they have many elements to do so.
As we mentioned, they have Greek Phenom Giannis Antentokounpo and his brother Thanasis as the strength of the team. But with Serge Ibaka and George Hill also on the roster, the team becomes very strong. They added Jevon Carter who looks to be a great promise and will help them a lot when the season gets old.
The Bucks are very likely to dominate their division and be one of the contenders to win the East. Last season they made it to the conference semifinals where they lost to Boston, but this season they come in with an improved team. A somewhat lesser failure than the East finals.
3. Phoenix Suns
The Pacific division may have in its ranks the next champion because there is another very strong candidate as the Suns. They are already a constant in the playoffs and even lost the 2024 Finals against the Bucks. The goal is to return and get that title that has eluded them since Charles Barkley.
Their roster is spectacular Chris Paul, Cameron Payne, Dario Saric, well the team is a machine that works perfectly. Last season they won 64 games and won the division and the conference, but fell in the semifinal against the Mavs.
They came in as the absolute favorites and couldn’t prove why they were. Now they want to shake it off and fight for the NBA championship. The free agency for them was very busy, and it was even thought that Chris Paul would leave.
In the end, he stayed, and the Suns are ready to win again the very competitive Pacific Division and at least return to the Finals. The goal is the title, but it depends entirely on them and that they do not collapse everything they built during the season.
2. Golden State Warriors
Surprising but true, the champion is not the favorite, to be NBA champion. The reason is simple, the team is getting a little old, and compared to other tournaments, they have not been as dominant.
This team revolves around Stephen Curry. The star is already 34 years old, and although he is determinant in the performance of his team, he is no longer the same of a few seasons ago that dominated the league at will. His speed is already a little more difficult, although his shooting is still intact, and he continues to increase his three-pointers record, which is practically unreachable.
Injuries have really hurt the team that last season finished second in their division and third in the conference. It was not one of the best campaigns, but in the playoffs, they are transformed and just look at the finals where they beat Boston, who brings a great team that has been the absolute favorite for a long time.
The champion is not going to have it easy to make the famous “back to back” that they did in 2017 and 2018. The difference is that in those times the team was at a level that can be considered the best in history. This time they will have a little more fight and there are rivals that can dethrone them on their way to the title.
Steve Kerr’s goal is to enter the playoffs because he knows that their experience can be the key to beating the opposition, which will be a lot. Curry has looked very good since the preseason and if injuries respect him, Golden State will be a king that will be very difficult to take the crown.
1. Boston Celtics
The favorite of all is Boston and the reason is that they have been playing very well, the team is young, but with a lot of experience. They could say they are the champions, but the Warriors took away that possibility in the Finals, which were very hard-fought.
The addition of Danilo Gallinari gives them a lot of power and that raised their aspirations. They also added the talented Blake Griffin and according to several analysts, they have never looked so good. Maybe only in the Larry Bird era and that’s saying a lot.
Last season they won the division and were second in the conference. For this one, they are expected to be first in everything and crush in the playoffs. The ideal for them is a rematch against Golden State, but Phoenix could be the team they could run into.
Boston has a team to be epochal, they just have to keep the pace and beat their own demons that sometimes give them a hard time like in the finals. You have to be 100% focused, the Celtics with the experience they have, it seems that they can control their emotions to finally hang that title that has eluded them since 2008.
Which of these teams is your favorite?
