With fall now officially in full swing, the National Basketball Association (NBA) is set to join the rest of the world’s major league sports in kicking off their annual season. The league is always late to the party, with an annual late October start that has fans chomping at the bit come tipoff time.
On the always changing landscape that is NBA Basketball, fans have plenty to look forward to in the sport’s latest seasonal installment. In addition to a seismic trade in the late offseason (featuring two of Kentucky’s very own alumni), multiple superstars are returning back to health and helping set the stage for a fully powered showdown across the board.
In the Western Conference, the Memphis Grizzlies will see the return of franchise-head Ja Morant, as well as defensive anchor Marcus Smart and the drafted plus of big man Zach Edey. After a season rife with bad health and little wealth, they’ll look to contend with the conference’s juggernauts for a bid to the NBA championship.
Namely, teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks are teams to look out for, among others. The Wolves, led by Anthony Edwards, have been on the cusp of a championship berth for years. Given another offseason of undeniable improvement, they may have finally waited long enough to have earned a real shot at the title.
The Mavericks look to get back to the ultimate series after losing it to the Celtics just last year, while the Nuggets have the same goal after winning it all the season before last. Whether or not the Thunder or any other potential dark horse rise to the challenge is yet to be seen, but eager fans can rest easy in knowing that the Western Conference will be a fast paced shootout yet again this year.
The East, in equally usual fashion, looks to be much less competitive. Leading the pack are the defending champion Boston Celtics, who have retained every bit of their league-best talent from the previous season. On paper, it should come down to the C’s and the New York Knicks, who added Karl-Anthony Towns in the aforementioned alumni trade in hopes of bolstering their roster to the needed extent to topple Boston.
Also in the mix are the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers, but it seems that each of these units falls behind the top two in one crucial way or another, even considering Indiana’s unexpected triumph over the Knicks in last year’s conference semifinals.
In the end, don’t be surprised if Boston returns to the championship once more… but don’t be surprised if they get beat, too. With the Knicks’ improvement and a fully healthy Western conference in the contest, Boston should have an abnormally tough road to repeating their title win this year.
We’re looking at a highly competitive battle from beginning to end this season that should serve as a treat to all the fans who have waited since Spring for the sport to return.
When it comes to basketball there’s no stage quite like the NBA, and the 2024-25 season is stacking up to be one of the best in a very long time. Sound the buzzer and play ball.
