The 2024-25 NBA season will tip-off on Tuesday. So, it's that time of the year where I pull out my crystal ball to forecast this upcoming season's champion. Last season, I tabbed the Boston Celtics, at 4-1 odds, and was rewarded in June when Boston hoisted the Larry O'Brien Trophy. That was an NBA record-18th championship for the storied franchise (one more than their rival, the Lakers). And they'll look to put more distance between themselves and the Lakers this season.
The Celtics are currently the favorite, with odds of +325 at BetMGM. Other leading contenders include the Oklahoma City Thunder (+500), New York Knicks (+675), Philadelphia 76ers (+1000), Denver Nuggets (+1100), Minnesota Timberwolves (+1200), Dallas Mavericks (+1200) and the Milwaukee Bucks (+1400) (all odds courtesy of BetMGM).
Last season, the Celtics had a scoring margin in the regular season of +11.34. Dating back to 1990, only two other NBA teams had scoring margins greater than 11.34. In the 1995-96 season, the Bulls outscored their foes by 12.24 ppg. And then, in 2016-17, the Golden State Warriors' margin of victory was 11.63. Boston retained all the key pieces from last year's title-winning team, so I don't expect much, if any, of a drop-off -- at least in the post-season. Though it is certainly possible that the Celtics underperform in the regular season, much like Golden State did in the above-referenced 2017-18 season after winning the 2017 title (the Warriors' wins dropped from 67 to 58 that season). Still, the 2018 Warriors and 1997 Bulls did win a title for the 2nd straight year following their historic campaigns.
It's true that off-season acquisitions were made by the Knicks (Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges) and 76ers (Paul George), in particular, to try to close the talent gap between themselves and their Atlantic division rival. But I don't think they've done nearly enough to change the result come the post-season. We'll take Boston at +325 to win the 2025 NBA Title.
Good luck, as always....
Al McMordie