Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics. The NBA has had six different champions in the last six seasons, but the last ones to win the ring aim to break that streak. The Celtics start the season as the favorites to retain the title. The team led by Joe Mazzulla and led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown won the franchise’s 18th title with authority in June, breaking a drought that had lasted since 2008. In an increasingly equal NBA, those from Boston want to break the curse that chase the champion in recent years and begin to mark an era.
They won’t have it easy. Not even Larry Bird’s Celtics, champions in 1981, 1984 and 1986, achieved two consecutive titles. In fact, the most successful team in American professional basketball has not won in two consecutive years since 1969, when the legendary Bill Russell was a player-coach.
The great virtue of the Celtics is that they keep the group that led them to victory intact. In addition to Tatum and Brown, they have in their ideal quintet the Latvian giant Kristaps Porziņģis (who starts the season injured, replaced by the veteran Al Horford), the effective point guard and brave defender Jrue Holiday and the reliable Derrick White. A balanced and united team, with guaranteed substitutes and a coach who is clear about what he wants, aspires to mark an era.
The path of the Celtics last year was a triumphant ride. They came first by a wide margin in the regular season and only lost three of the 19 games the teams playoffsin which they did not have to face the theoretically most powerful teams in the championship. This year, predictably, they will have a more difficult time, even in the Eastern Conference.
The New York Knicks, their rivals this Tuesday (early morning on Wednesday in mainland Spain, 1:30, Movistar) in the first game of the season, emerge as the first alternative after the signing of Karl Anthony Towns (from the Minnesota Timberwolves), Mikal Bridges (arrived from the neighboring Brooklyn Nets) and Cameron Payne (76ers). They have sacrificed, among others, guard Donte DiVincenzo and power forward Julius Randle, but if Jalen Brunson maintains the level of last season, the title will no longer be the utopia of the last two decades.
The Philadelphia 76ers have extended the contract of their great star, Joel Embiid, in which they have their main asset and their Achilles heel. He is a decisive player, but prone to injuries and needs minutes of rest. The signings of Paul George (from the Los Angeles Clippers) and Caleb Martin (from the Miami Heat) will give a new look to the starting five.
For the Milwaukee Bucks, the best signing would be to be able to count on Giannis Antetokoumpo and Damian Lillard when push comes to shove, injured last year in the playoffs. With that duo in shape, they are a fearsome rival. The Indiana Pacers led by Tyrese Haliburton and Donovan Mitchell’s Cleveland Cavaliers maintain the block, but seem a step below, as do Paolo Banchero’s Orlando Magic, who have added Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. For the rest of the teams in the East – including the Brooklyn Nets coached by the Spanish Jordi Fernández – getting into the playoffs would already be a success.
Western favorites
In the West, the favorites are the Oklahoma City Thunder, revelation of last regular season and disappointment in the playoffs, waiting to see how the new pieces fit together in Minnesota and without forgetting Nikola Jokić’s Denver Nuggets or Luka Dončić’s Dallas Mavericks, Conference champions last season.
The Thunder rely on the scoring power of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams and the power under the hoops of Chet Holmgren, the second best rookie last season. They have signed center Isaiah Hartenstein (from the Knicks) and have acquired Alex Caruso, in exchange for giving Josh Giddey to the Bulls, making them appear stronger than last season.
The Western Conference, if anything, is more even. To start, the Denver Nuggets, champions of 2023, still have Jamal Murray and Jokić, a lethal pair. They have lost Reggie Jackson and Caldwell-Pope, who did not play an essential role. A big question is whether his main signing, Russell Westbrook, a nine-time all-star, at 35 years old, is in a position to provide enough quality minutes, even as Murray’s backup.
The Western team that has undergone the biggest change is the Timberwolves, with the departure of Karl Anthony-Towns and the arrival of Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle. The Timberwolves sacrifice one of their stars in exchange for more outside shooting and the versatility they lacked to beat the Dallas Mavericks in last year’s Western Conference final, which they reached for the first time in 20 years. The Wolves had budget constraints to retain Karl-Anthony Towns and their big star, Anthony Edwards, long-term, and have moved to compensate as best as possible for their departure.
Luka Dončić’s Mavericks also aspire to fight for the ring again. They were the surprise of last season – largely due to the signings of the winter window – by reaching the final, in which they succumbed to the Celtics. Tim Hardaway, Josh Green and Derrick Jones have left, but with Dončić, Kyrie Irving and the signing of veteran Klay Thompson (four-time champion with the Golden State Warriors) they have a fearsome three-point shot, plus the power of Daniel Gafford and the 2 .16 meters of Dereck Lively II under the rings. His options will depend on the success of his stars and the maturity of the latter.
Stephen Curry in the Warriors, Kevin Durant in the Phoenix Suns and LeBron James, in the Lakers, seem condemned to the role of old glories, as happened last season. James, of course, will continue to add to his records. With his longevity, the King has become the first father to play alongside his son, Bronny, on an NBA team. This Tuesday, against the Timberwolves, in the other game of the opening day, they will have the first opportunity to do so in an official match (early morning on Wednesday in Spain, 4:00, Movistar).
The new generation of rookiesIt’s a complete mystery. No one arrives with a dazzling business card. The first two places of the draftThey corresponded to the French Zaccharie Risacher (Atlanta Hawks) and Alex Sarr (Washington Wizards), although experts now see the third on the list as more promising Reed Sheppard (Houston Rockets).
In reality, much more attention will continue to arouse last year’s star rookie, Victor Wembanyama, called to mark an era in the NBA, but parked for now in the marginal San Antonio Spurs. Wemby has gained 11 kilos of pure muscle and watching him play will be quite a spectacle.