With just about a quarter of the regular season left in the NBA before the playoffs, the league is experiencing a hectic final push in the midst of back-breaking injuries, shocking trades and surprises in the standings. While some teams fight for a top five pick in the upcoming draft, other teams vie for qualification in the play-in tournament, while others have all but locked up a playoff berth. As players and fans alike gear up for what could very well be a memorable postseason full of surprises and iconic moments, let’s run through some of the league’s biggest stories and the teams that currently seem to be championship contenders.
A Tale of Two Cities
On a fateful day of Feb. 2, the Dallas Mavericks traded superstar Luka Doncic, thought to be their franchise centerpiece for the next several years, to their rivals in the West, the Los Angeles Lakers. In a move that shocked the sports world, and seemingly angered the entirety of the Dallas fan-base, the Mavericks received, among other relatively minimal compensation, Laker star Anthony Davis. Mavericks’ general manager and orchestrator of the trade Nico Harrison described the move as a win-now decision. However, during the first game Davis played in a Mavericks’ uniform, he suffered an injury, delaying Harrison’s vision for the time being. Only a month later, on March 3, Mavericks star Kyrie Irving, who had been playing at an exceptionally high level, suffered a severe injury of his own, which will sideline him for the rest of the year at least.
While the Mavericks’ season is all but over, the Lakers have found recent success as Doncic has begun to show glimpses of his usual MVP-level play alongside Lakers star LeBron James. James, now 40 years old, is playing some of the best basketball he’s played as a Laker, now that he’ complemented by another elite playmaker and scorer in Doncic and a motivated defense-minded surrounding roster. Their upcoming schedule will test the team’s ability to contend at the highest level, but so far they have demonstrated to be a powerhouse on the offensive and especially the defensive side of the floor.
Back-to-Back?
The Boston Celtics have found similar success so far to their 2023-2024 campaign, as they currently sit at the two-seed at 43-18. Having completed one of the most dominant playoff runs in recent memory last year, the Celtics look to be the first team to repeat since the Golden State Warriors in 2017-2018. With six players averaging more than 10 points per game for the season and a tremendous amount of depth, they currently sit at +180 to win the Championship.
However, they will likely have to face the other powerhouse in the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers, who sit eight games above them in the standings. The Cavs started the year 15-0 and have only lost 10 games all season. They too have tremendous depth, and have a well-oiled offensive machine thanks in large part to the recent ascendance of Donovan Mitchell over the last few years alongside young players like Evan Mobley and Darius Garland. The team is tied for the highest scoring offense of the year, and could present Boston a significant challenge on their path for a back-to-back.
Jokic and the other Western Contenders
Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets’ three-time MVP winning center, has been having one of the statistically most dominant NBA seasons of all-time, and very well could earn his fourth MVP of his career. After leading the Nuggets to a Championship in 2023 and being crowned—rightfully so—as the best player in the league, he could not quite make it back in 2024, losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves in seven in the Western Conference semifinals. This year, they are in the midst of another great season again, vying for the second seed.
On top of the Timberwolves, who themselves have changed their roster significantly, the Nuggets will likely face a number of other contending teams in the West in order to once again make it to the Finals. The Oklahoma City Thunder are perhaps the scariest looking team in the league, having essentially secured the one-seed in the West already. The all-star power of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander combined with their pack of young players, namely Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, could yield quite a challenge for the Nuggets and other teams in the West contending for a title. The Thunder’s impressive regular season has made it difficult to dismiss the team as just another team without the ability to translate their success to the postseason.
Teams like the Houston Rockets, who have a lot of young talent and depth, and the Golden State Warriors, who recently received Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat, and seem to have been rejuvenated by his addition, could also shake things up in the West. Ultimately, the West looks like, for another year in a row now, a ripe place for some iconic series and moments for the youngest and oldest players of the league. As fans, this is all we really want.
