This NBA season is wrought with competition. 

There is a long long list of teams fighting for that winning spot, while several others race to the bottom of the leaderboard. Will the Boston Celtics repeat last year’s win? What team will come out of the Western Conference? Who will be the team with the No.1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft? 

Can anyone catch Boston? 

With the first week of the NBA season in the books, the Boston Celtics look like they are in a prime position to repeat as NBA champions. Star players Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are both averaging over 25 points per game in the early part of this season. The Celtics are also getting great production from their bench so far with Payton Pritchard averaging 16 points. On opening night, the Celtics dominated the New York Knicks, 132-109, in a game where they made an NBA record-tying 29 three-pointers. All of this is being done without Boston’s seven-foot center Kristaps Porzingis, who is out with an injury. Once Porzingis is healthy, it is hard to imagine the Celtics slowing down this season. 

Along with the Celtics, there are some notable challengers including the new-look New York Knicks, who added All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges this offseason. This re-tooled roster already appears to be taking shape, as Towns scored 44 points Wednesday night versus the Heat in a New York victory. With this level of production, New York will struggle to be competitive with Boston for the Eastern Conference Title. The Philadelphia 76ers also added an All-Star in guard Paul George to go along with the duo of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. They also added some new depth pieces including Eric Gordon, Caleb Martin and Andre Drummond to round out their rotation. So far, the 76ers have limped out of the gate due to injuries of both George and Embiid, but it will be interesting to see this team compete when they are fully healthy. Along with these two, the Milwaukee Bucks, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, with Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley, will also contend in the East. 

Loaded Western Conference 

Unlike the East, the Western Conference is loaded and should be very competitive all throughout the season. The defending Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks return their star-studded backcourt of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving while adding former four-time NBA Champion Klay Thompson. This addition should help the Mavericks raise their three-point percentage while also taking pressure off Luka Doncic. 

Thompson has been thriving in his new shooting-specialist role for the Mavericks, as he is already averaging 16.5 points per game, and the Mavericks are off to a good start so far. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder also return MVP-caliber guard Shai-Gilgeous Alexander along with big man Chet Holmgren. The Thunder strengthened their depth this offseason by adding big man Isaiah Hartenstein from the Knicks and defensive guard Alex Caruso from the Bulls. If these new players can gel and their young core takes another jump, don’t be surprised if you see this Thunder team making it out of the West. 

The Minnesota Timberwolves may have lost Karl-Anthony Towns, but they were able to get Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo from the Knicks, which should bolster their depth. The experiment is paying off so far with Randle averaging 23.3 points per game in this early season alongside superstar Anthony Edwards’ 30 points per game to help the Timberwolves remain competitive in the Western Conference. 

Additionally, the Lakers and Nuggets both made key offseason acquisitions. The Lakers brought in new Head Coach JJ Redick to lead this team with LeBron James facing his twilight years in the NBA, and the Nuggets brought in Russell Westbrook to compliment three-time MVP Nikola Jokic. It’s going to be a wild ride in the Western Conference. 

Cooper Flagg Sweepstakes  

Finally, there are some bottom teams chasing No. 1 overall college prospect Cooper Flagg. Flagg reclassified up a year to come out of high school a year early and play at Duke University, and, as of right now, is the consensus No. 1 overall draft pick for 2025. Some teams to watch out for are the Nets, who traded away Mikal Bridges in an effort to jumpstart a rebuild, and the Jazz who are off to a winless start to the season and may be headed towards a rebuild, as well.