Photo courtesy of the NBA via Wikipedia.
The NBA has had a chaotic year. Between surprising trades, improbable playoff runs and devastating injuries, the 2024-25 season had it all. Now that a seventh unique champion in a row has been crowned, the NBA Finals between the Thunder and the Pacers will have a lasting impact on the future of the league.
Since there are no NBA games to watch until Oct. 21, there’s no better time than now to analyze the two conferences heading into next season.
Eastern Conference: In short, the Eastern Conference is up for grabs.
Following the confirmation that Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles in Game 7 of the finals, the Pacers are confronting the reality of what losing a star player to injury means in the modern NBA. They don’t have that much cap flexibility, so the team will have to wait and hope to win without Haliburton as he recovers.
The Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks are in similar situations, as they are reckoning with Achilles tears suffered by Jayson Tatum and Damian Lillard respectively. Both teams still have superstar players on their rosters, but limited roster depth due to large contracts could inhibit both perennial contenders from having strong seasons next year.
In the vacuum left by these major injuries are a few teams on the rise — notably the New York Knicks, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons.
The Knicks have the opportunity to build on their success from last season, when they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to the Pacers. While it’s unknown who will coach the team following Tom Thibodeau’s firing, a new coach has the opportunity to pilot the team’s talented roster to a championship in a weaker Eastern Conference next year.
The Cavaliers need to prove that their regular-season results last year weren’t a fluke. While they dealt with injuries in the playoffs and lost to the eventual Eastern Conference champions in the Pacers, the Cavaliers have no excuse not to make the conference finals next year if they keep the same roster.
The Pistons are a dark horse team to take the Eastern Conference heading into next season. While being six wins over .500 doesn’t seem to be impressive, the Pistons weren’t projected to reach the playoffs, let alone have a winning record after their horrific 14-win season two years ago. Now that this core of players had a taste of winning, the Pistons are unlikely to settle for another first-round playoff exit this coming season.
Western Conference: The Thunder will have a chokehold on this conference — and the rest of the NBA — unless their entire roster is ravaged by catastrophic injuries.
Their roster is loaded with young talent, and they can only continue to go up — as long as the league doesn’t suddenly ban free-throw shooting. Jokes aside, the NBA might be looking at its first dynasty since the Golden State Warriors of the 2010s — and they will continue to have their way with the league until a team stops them.
A prime candidate to bottle up the Thunder is the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets — the only team in the Western Conference that gave the Thunder a challenge in the playoffs — need to have a successful season next year. Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray are still playing at a superstar level, but the team’s championship window is rapidly closing with every year they don’t make it past the second round of the playoffs.
The rest of the Western Conference is a mixed bag, with most teams looking like they have talent on paper but in reality looking unlikely to beat the Thunder when it counts. That said, other teams poised to push for a championship next year might be the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors.
The Timberwolves got embarrassed in the Conference Finals against the Thunder. Watching them get thoroughly dismantled leaves me doubting if they’ll have playoff success while the Thunder are still in the dance. This team will need more consistent output from its superstars — namely Julius Randle — in the playoffs, otherwise they’ll wash out of the playoffs just like this year.
The Lakers want to get Lebron James one more ring before he likely retires, and they have all the pieces to do it. Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves give the Lakers more offensive firepower than they could ever need.
Either those superstars will have to put up insane offensive output throughout the season, or the Lakers will need to get some cheap defensive pieces, otherwise they’ll get blown out again in next year’s playoffs.
Finally, the Golden State Warriors are on their last gasp before their championship window likely fully slams shut for the foreseeable future. They’ve gone all in with contracts they’ve given to Jimmy Butler, Steph Curry and Draymond Green. Unless they win a championship this coming season, it’s all for nothing. They have the experience and the talent, all they need to do is go out and win.
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