NBA Predictions: Stacked West, Finalists, A New Dynasty Formed?

As the 2024/2025 National Basketball Association season draws ever closer, fans and viewers across the globe begin to create narratives about how the new campaign will play out. I am no different than the average NBA enjoyer. With that being said, I have taken it upon myself to paint a picture of what I expect from this upcoming season in regards to the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.

Paul George & Russell Westbrook in 2018.

For years now, The Oklahoma City Thunder have been rebuilding their roster after the implosion of the Paul George & Russell Westbrook led squad. After trading Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers for Shai Gilgeous, Danilo Gallinari & a staggering seven first round picks, nobody could have expected or imagined what these assets would help them build. As of right now, Gileous-Alexander has propelled into one of the top five players in the league whilst two of the first round picks became Jalen Williams & Tre Mann. Williams averaged 19 points per game last year whilst maintaining a shooting percentage of 43% from beyond the arc. In only his second year, it already feels like he is an elite second option behind Gilgeous-Alexander.

Now, in terms of the current Western Conference, I believe it is safe to say that it is the most stacked West we have seen in recent years. There are a plethora of teams who have the ability, quality and squad depth to make some real noise. Through careful consideration I have narrowed down my potential winners of the West to two teams. These two teams are The Oklahoma City Thunder and The Dallas Mavericks. Both teams met in last year's Western Conference semifinals with Dallas winning in six games. However, since this encounter both franchises have made moves to elevate their roster in very different ways. Although some may argue the Dallas Mavericks improved their squad, ultimately I disagree with this. Dallas’ team has not improved nor declined, they still remain as good as they were last season. With that, I truly believe The Thunder have made all the right moves to undoubtedly take over the Conference and potentially the entire league.

Isaiah Hartenstein joined The Thunder this off-season.

During the 2023/2024 season, The Oklahoma City Thunder had mainly struggled defensively against more physically dominant big men whilst also failing to consistently grab rebounds. In the regular season The Thunder ranked 27th in the league for rebounds per game, the fourth lowest. In order to address this problem, Isaiah Hartenstein was signed to a 3-year deal worth $87 million. Hartenstein gives the Thunder a more physical option to Chet Holmgren if they are struggling defensively at the five position, this signing also allows Mark Daigneault to experiment with lineups and potentially play both Holmgren & Hartenstein together. Early in pre-season, we got a glimpse of what a Holmgren & Hartenstein lineup could look like & it was a good start to say the least.

Another addition made by the franchise was the trade for Alex Caruso in exchange for Josh Giddey. This move helped The Thunder acquire a better shooter than Josh Giddey whilst also keeping the defensive ability that he carried. During the playoffs last season, it almost felt like Josh Giddey became unplayable for The Thunder. Opponents constantly targeted him and would force him to shoot high-percentage shots from beyond the arc knowing that he would potentially miss a handful of them. The move from Giddey to Caruso is understandably an upgrade for offence and should help build on last season's 57 wins whilst maintaining their ranking of the fourth best defence in the league. 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Jalen Williams.

On top of this, I fully expect Jalen Williams to continue to progress as a basketballer in his third season and prove to be an even more valuable second option to Shai. Last season the pair averaged a combined 49 points, 11 assists & 3 steals per game which is already a solid total, however despite this I predict these figures to rise in the upcoming season. Williams has real potential to be the Most Improved Player this year whilst Shai is a strong candidate for the Most Valuable Player award, it almost seems destined for these two to take that next step as a partnership. All of these factors are not even taking into account there are still quality role players like Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Joe and Cason Wallace who I have not even mentioned yet. This strong squad depth paired with an elite head coach in Mark Daigneault make them not only my Western Conference favourites but the team I expect to potentially be crowned NBA champions heading into the new season. 

As we are all more than aware similarly to the Western Conference, there are a number of teams in the Eastern Conference who have the prowess to challenge The Oklahoma City Thunder for the crown. After taking into consideration all possible threats in the East, the biggest worry to The Thunder for me are undoubtedly the defending champions The Boston Celtics. Although franchises like The New York Knicks & Philadelphia 76ers have made changes this offseason in the hopes of improving their chances at dethroning Boston, it still feels like they both remain somewhat short in comparison to the champions. Boston’s duo of Derrick White and Jrue Holiday have the capacity to impact matches purely on the defensive end, not to mention the fact that they significantly contribute to offence whenever called upon. Now, the core partnership of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown has already led Boston to one championship, but the reason why I think this partnership can potentially lead them to another is the unpredictability between the two stars. As we saw throughout the previous NBA Playoffs, The Boston Celtics do not have to rely on Tatum to win games, they are stacked with game winners and players who can lead. Jaylen Brown was named the NBA Finals M.V.P and he is supposed to be considered as Boston’s “secondary option.” The squad depth of The Boston Celtics in a way is similar to The Oklahoma City Thunder’s and I relish the idea of both these teams meeting in the NBA Finals.

Now if we do get this particular NBA Finals matchup between The Thunder & The Celtics, I will be the first to say that I think we will witness a finals series that will reach seven games. If this does happen it will be the first time since 2016. It will inevitably be a close series. However, my biggest fear is health and injuries. A fully healthy Celtics versus Thunder NBA Finals series is something that would be enthralling for all basketball fans. As a neutral, I know I can imagine myself enjoying this matchup merely due to the amount of offensive talent mixed with defensive ability that would be on display. The strength in squad depth between both franchises is something to admire as they are truly the best in their respective conferences. However, there can only be one NBA Champion at the end of it all.

Jayson Tatum with The Larry O'Brien Championship.

Although it was difficult to come to a conclusion, I have decided that The Boston Celtics will go back-to-back and lift the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy for the second successive season. Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is the man that transformed the franchise from consistent championship contenders to actual champions. He now has the task of maintaining that level of success through his coaching and leadership. The Oklahoma City Thunder have built a roster that can be considered contenders for the NBA championship but have not yet broken the barrier between contenders and champions. This year will be the layer of foundation for future seasons for The Thunder. Last year they made it back into the playoffs, this year they will make a deeper playoff run and from there it is all about building on from what they have learnt. As for the Boston Celtics, their season will purely be maintaining their standards and generating the label of a ‘dynasty.’ When talking about the team's cohesiveness, Jayson Tatum said: “We accomplished something that is going to bond us together forever. I missed being around the coaches and the guys on the team.” There is a togetherness about the Celtics that just make them stronger and ultimately will be the driving force in ensuring they are remembered as a dynasty and a squad that won two championships back-to-back.