With the 2024-2025 NBA season coming up, every fan has the question – can their favorite team bring home the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy? On Oct. 22, the NBA season begins with the defending champion Boston Celtics facing off against the New York Knicks. Also that night, the Los Angeles Lakers will host the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has been preparing for the new season with the team.
“We want to win a championship every single year. That’s
the goal, that’s the standard, that’s the expectation” said Mazzulla.
Many people believe that the Boston Celtics have the best chance of winning the 2025 NBA championship, with superstar players like Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Freshman Addison Haynes agrees.
“I think the Boston Celtics will [win] because they have a really good roster, and they have a lot of depth to it,” said Haynes.
Freshman Rowe Carter believes that the Celtic’s matchup in the NBA finals last year, the Dallas Mavericks, also have a shot at hanging up their second banner.
“I think the Dallas Mavericks will win because they got guys like Kyrie, Luka Dončić, Klay Thompson… just some athletic guys,” said Carter.
This season, the Los Angeles Lakers have contributed to a big moment in NBA history. With the 55th pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, the Lakers selected LeBron James’ son, LeBron James Jr., also known as “Bronny”. Sophomore Collin Caputo thinks that this connection can lead the Lakers to a championship.
“I think the Lakers are gonna win the NBA championship because they got LeBron and his son on the same team, you know they got good players, good stats, everything,” said Caputo.
In addition to the serious contenders, there are also a few teams where it would be a miracle if they even made the play-ins. For example, the Detroit Pistons and the Washington Wizards. Both teams had under 20 wins out of an 82 game season and haven’t made any notable changes.
Several teams made offseason moves, acquiring new players who could contribute to an improvement over last season. For instance, the San Antonio Spurs added Chris Paul, an NBA veteran who is entering his 20th season. Paul could be the missing piece for the Spurs’ offense, combining decades of experience with the 2023-2024 Rookie of the Year winner Victor Wembanyama. In addition, Ja Morant, point guard of the Memphis Grizzlies, 2x NBA All-Star, and the 2019-2020 Rookie of the Year winner, only played 6 games last year due to a labral tear. Morant is now healthy and will be starting for the Grizzlies. Memphis also gained 7’4” Purdue University star Zach Edey as pick number nine in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Regardless of the season’s outcome, basketball fans are excited for the tip off of the NBA season, and wish to see their team make it to the finals.
