The 2022-23 NBA season concluded with the Denver Nuggets and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic beating the Miami Heat to win the NBA Finals.
Favorites for the 2023-24 championship are the reigning champions Denver Nuggets, revamped Boston Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks — featuring a new superstar — the classic Los Angeles Lakers and the star trio of the Phoenix Suns.
Denver won it all last season and still has the best player in the world in Jokic, and along with his co-star, Jamal Murray, the offense hummed smoothly in the season opener, where they defeated the Lakers. The Celtics’ additions of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday looked good, with Porzingis scoring 30 points in the opener to beat the New York Knicks.
“My Finals favorite is the Celtics,” said Brennan Cone, a GC alumni. “The reason is because of their all-around roster construction and the quality of their players. All starters and bench pieces are very good and work well together.”
Milwaukee constructed the best two-man game in current basketball by trading for seven-time All-Star Damian Lillard this off-season to pair with top-three player Giannis Antetokounmpo. Phoenix went for a similar route, exchanging depth for an added offensive punch by trading for Bradley Beal and shipping out Deandre Ayton for a package surrounding Jusuf Nurkic.
The Lakers did not make major moves over the off-season. Instead, their front office did major work at last year’s trade deadline, starting the year 2-10 but finishing 43-39.
Lurking in the lower level of championship contenders are the Golden State Warriors, the Miami Heat and the Philadelphia 76ers. Healthy Stephen Curry has been a recipe for success since 2015, and adding a historically great player, even though he has aged, in Chris Paul will always do good things for an offense.
The 76ers have the reigning MVP, Joel Embiid, and a budding young star with Tyrese Maxey but are far from a solid contender; James Harden is on their roster but did not show up to training camp and was not allowed on the team plane opening night.
The Miami Heat lost the Lillard sweepstakes over the off-season but have shown that they should never be counted out. Jimmy Butler has been a monster for stretches of every postseason for half a decade, and the pairing with head coach Eric Spoelstra has brought success to the bay.
The hometown Atlanta Hawks ended last season at 41-41 and lost in the first round to the Celtics. Another year under Quin Snyder’s instruction and system should improve the regular season record. Trading away disgruntled forward John Collins and opening more minutes for shooters Saddiq Bey and AJ Griffin will also smooth out some offensive wrinkles.
Third-year forward Jalen Johnson has also looked promising since playing more minutes for the Hawks, so there is optimism for their record. An offense still structured around Trae Young and an underwhelming Dejounte Murray does still have its problems, which we have seen in the past.
“They aren’t in good standing for this upcoming season,” said Andrew Dozier, a junior Management Information Systems, or MIS, major. “They didn’t make any major plays in the off-season, and Dejounte Murray showed he wasn’t as big of a help as we thought he’d be.”
MVP odds range depending on the website, but many familiar faces are atop the race. Two-time MVPs Jokic and Antetokounmpo headline the race. Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum, superstars entering their prime, are high in the odds, but neither have an MVP yet.
Reigning league MVP Embiid is the fifth MVP option on all major betting sites. Long-shot MVP bets could go to either explosive scorer Devin Booker or Curry, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also garnering top-10 odds.
“I think Jokic probably gets another one,” said Tyler Baker, a senior nursing major. “After opening night, it’s obvious his production is still top tier.”
This season’s playoff hopefuls in the East are the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic. The Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors and Heat all likely got worse, and both the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic boast impressive young talent that could boost them into the playoff race.
The playoff hunt in the West is even more competitive. The Memphis Grizzlies are missing their star guard, Ja Morant, for the first 25 games, and the Los Angeles Clippers are likely going to miss their best players for around half of the season or more — as has been the case the past few seasons.
An Anthony Edwards jump could secure the Minnesota Timberwolves’ playoff spot, but Karl-Anthony Towns could also lose them that spot.
The Oklahoma City Thunder’s collection of great young players will make them a competitive regular season team jockeying for a spot, and the Dallas Mavericks will be relying on superstar and MVP candidate Doncic and an underwhelming — and unproven — surrounding cast to hopefully earn a spot in the playoffs, which they missed last season.
Overall, the league is going to be extremely entertaining this season. A rookie class headlined by Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson is looking to make a splash, and the sophomore class, featuring last year’s rookie standouts, Paolo Banchero, Jalen Williams, Bennedict Mathurin and Keegan Murray, should all be involved in the playoff race.
The West will have 11 teams realistically fighting for the Play-In Tournament; the East will have 13. The regular season will matter, and even the teams not looking to compete will have highlights. The playoff hunt should be bloody, and for a large middle pack, every game matters.
