Predicting win-loss records for Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and all 30 NBA teams in 2024-25 season

After months of trade rumors, the Atlanta Hawks finally broke up the failed duo of Dejounte Murray and Trae Young. Now they go into the new season with Trae Young as the elder statesman on a young team. They will need top draft pick Zaccharie Risacher to be an impact player immediately. If not, they are likely to be near the middle of the pack in the division.

The Boston Celtics are again stacked in 2024-25 and will bring back nearly all of the pieces from their championship team. The road back to the playoffs will be stiffer this season. Due to the improvements the Knicks and 76ers have made this summer. However, it is hard not to expect Boston to win another Atlantic Division title this season.

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This could be a very ugly season for the Brooklyn Nets. Yes, they have a couple of nice young players in Cam Thomas and Nic Claxton. But the club is completely in rebuild mode this season and expectations are very low. They will likely be aiming for ping-pong balls for next year’s draft while hoping to develop Thomas and Claxton into legitimate building blocks going forward. That’s why we expect another last-place finish in 2024-25

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The Charlotte Hornets disappointed again in 2023-24. And top star LaMelo Ball mirrored his brother Lonzo as a gifted player who had trouble staying on the court. The expectations are low for the team this season. But, last year, rookie Brandon Miller gave hope that the franchise could have a second All-Star level player on the roster.

If Miller is legit and Ball can stay healthy, Charlotte could be much better this season. But it doesn’t mean they will get anywhere close to the top of the Southeast division.

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It was another lost season for the Chicago Bulls in 2023-24 after injuries and dram curtailed any hopes they had of a return to the playoffs. Now, with DeMar DeRozan gone head coach Billy Donovan has an even tougher test ahead. If Lonzo Ball can return healthy and make an impact, Josh Giddey can look more like the player he was a few seasons ago, and Zach LaVine can return to All-Star former then Chicago can be better than early projections have them finishing this season.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers will return with much of last year’s team. And that is not a bad thing. Especially since Donovan Mitchell signed the extension many believed he had no interest in. However, the one big change is JB Bickerstaff is out and Kenny Atkinson is in as their new head coach. The long-time assistant showed his potential in Brooklyn. The big question in the early months of the regular season will be on the changes he makes to take this group to a higher level.

The Dallas Mavericks quieted a lot of doubters last season after a disastrous finish to the 2022-23 season. In the offseason, they added future hall-of-famer Klay Thompson. And they will have key role players Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington on the roster from the start of the season. Expect Dallas to be firing on all cylinders from the start of the season en route to the Southwest Division title.

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The Denver Nuggets feel like another team flying under the radar entering the new season. They again have the reigning NBA MVP but they aren’t as popular a choice to win it all this season. Some believe the departure of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope could have a major impact. And we are all watching to see how Russell Westbrook fits in this group. The Nuggets are a tough team to get a feel for but they should nonetheless be formidable again in the West.

The hope last season was that new head coach Monty Williams could bring the Detroit Pistons back to respectability like he did when he won a Coach of the Year award with the Phoenix Suns. Unfortunately, the losing ways of 2022-23 actually got worse under Williams and it led to his stunning firing after the season.

Outside of adding veteran Tobias Harris in the summer, many of the same players from last season are back. However, Detroit’s new management will be hoping Williams’ replacement, JB Bickerstaff, can elevate the games of Jadey Ivey, Jalen Duren, and Ausar Thompson to better complement top star Cade Cunningham.

This will be the dawn of a new age in Golden State. The Big Three era is over and a shift is beginning to Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski being core players of the roster. Nevertheless, after a stellar showing in the Olympics, Stephen Curry remains an elite talent and the Warriors need to maximize the final years of his prime.

While they failed in attempts to add an impact piece in the summer this new-look Warriors team has played well in the preseason and seems primed to surprise experts in the new season.

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The Houston Rockets return with many of the same pieces from last season’s team despite trade rumors in the summer. They competed for a play-in spot late in the year but fell short. They have the parts to make the postseason in 2024-25 and they should be better in year two for head coach Ime Udoka. Plus, talented big man Alperen Sengun has room to elevate his game and the team in his second season as the go-to guy. They should be a play-in team this season.

The Indiana Pacers were a formidable team in the East last season and now they will have the luxury of Pascal Siakim being there from the start. We all know Indy can fill it up, the big task for Rick Carlisle this season will be to get this group to buy into playing better defense. Like they did in the playoffs. If they can do that, they have to chance of being a problem in the East.

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It will be interesting to see what Ty Lue can do with this current Los Angeles Clippers roster. Both Paul George and Russell Westbrook are gone and James Harden and Kawhi Leonard are another year older. The expectations will be much lower now than in years past. In the end, it all boils down to Leonard’s health. If he can stay on the court the Clippers do have an elite player that can lead them back to the playoffs.

The expectations for the Los Angeles Lakers this season are not high. But it doesn’t mean they are not expected to at least make the playoffs. Since much of last year’s roster is back the biggest story in the weeks ahead will be on how good a coach JJ Redick is. Implementing a new system is never easy, and despite the good talent they have on the roster it will take some time for LA to get rolling. That is why they will finish near the bottom of the Pacific in 2024-25.

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The Memphis Grizzles will be a fascinating team to watch in the preseason and the months ahead. If healthy and out of trouble, Ja Morant can be a force of nature. And is among the great young stars in the game. Furthermore, two-time NCAA Player of the Year Zach Edey has looked good in preseason and carried that momentum to the next level. The Grizzlies are serious sleepers heading into the first weeks of the NBA season.

The Miami Heat should be a competitive team again this season. But they are far from a serious title contender. They are always a threat for a big trade but that wouldn’t come until early next year. Jimmy Butler is still a very good player, but at 35 he is not getting any better and is more likely to get injured. It is hard to be elite while relying on one superstar whose best days are behind him.

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The Milwaukee Bucks were one of the most fascinating teams to watch in 2023-24. They had a pair of elite stars and a strong roster but they had to deal with the drama of firing a first-year head coach and then replacing him with an old-school bench leader in Doc Rivers. The talent is there for this to be an elite squad in the East. Buying into Rivers’ system and style will be the biggest story in the months ahead.

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The Minnesota Timberwolves were one of the best squads in the NBA all of last season. While there was a lot of doubt about whether this group was for real after a red-hot start, they maintained their strong play and did so with an outstanding defense. Many thought Karl-Anthony Towns would be traded this summer, and they were surprisingly right when he was sent to New York in a blockbuster deal just days before the preseason schedule kicked off.

The Timberwolves landed three-time All-Star Julius Randle and talented bench scorer Donte DiVincenzo in the deal. Finding out if they actually got better in the deal will be a major story all season long. They won’t win the division but they should still be elite.

New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green has a tough task ahead this season. And it likely puts him on the hot seat. On paper, the Pels have the talent to get into the postseason and go far. But making this unique mix of stars work together will be a major challenge. Atlanta found out that pairing Dejounte Murray with another star was much more difficult than expected. Can Green make him a better fit in New Orleans? We don’t have a lot of confidence he can.

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The New York Knicks front office went all in this summer to bolster this roster for a serious championship run. Star guard Jalen Brunson will now have two-way stud Mikal Bridges with him in the backcourt, and four-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns as his scoring partner. This team is built to win now. But building chemistry could be an early season hurdle.

However, having elite defense as their backbone will be very beneficial as they smooth out those rough edges on the offensive side of the ball.

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The Oklahoma City Thunder added underrated center Isaiah Hartenstein and defensive ace Alex Caruso in the offseason. Those moves help to make them the team to beat out west until further notice. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be a serious MVP candidate again and young sensation Chet Holmgren should be even better this season. The Thunder are a scary good when fully healthy.

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After another strong season last year, the Orlando Magic are no longer a surprise team in the East. They are a legitimate top-five squad and Paolo Banchero is one of the future faces of the league. The organization is hoping veteran swingman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope can be the missing piece to a dark horse team this season. While they won’t get much attention, Orlando is a squad to keep an eye on in the Eastern Conference and should win the Southeast this season.

The Philadelphia 76ers should be a major player in the East this season. They added future Hall-of-Famer Paul George to the mix and guard Tyrese Maxey showed he has perennial All-Star potential last season. But like every other season, Joel Embiid’s health will be a story to watch. It doesn’t help that George has also had trouble staying healthy in recent years and already hyperextended one of his dodgy knees in preseason. It is worrisome to have elite potential but with major health concerns and it’s why we expect them to finish third in the division.

There is a lot of pressure and high expectations on this Phoenix Suns roster. That is what comes with investing a massive amount of money in three players that may not necessarily be a perfect fit. But after Frank Vogel failed to turn this unique group into a title contender the task now falls to Mike Budenholzer.

Top star Kevin Durant knows his title window is closing, so expect another strong all-around season again in 2024-25.

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Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups is on a very hot seat this season. They have a roster that can be far more competitive. So Billups must finally get the pieces to fit, as well as elevate the game of Scoot Henderson, last season’s top pick. If he can not do that, Portland will be linked to trade rumors again over the first half of the 2024-25 season.

The Sacramento Kings surprisingly regressed a bit last season. That doesn’t mean they can’t be a force again in the West this season. They have the same players that took the league by storm two years ago. Plus, Keegan Murray is a year older and they now have the grit and leadership of DeMar DeRozan. The Kings are flying under the radar right now but don’t be surprised if they give the Suns a serious run for the division title.

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In his first season in the league, French phenom Victor Wembanyama completely lived up to the hype. He led the San Antonio Spurs in many key statistical categories and showed he can not only be the face of the league but it may happen sooner than some expected. He then followed that up by leading the French national team to the finals of the Summer Olympics.

This year will be all about seeing if the Spurs can compete for a play-in spot. With the addition of future Hall-of-Famer Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes, they should have a real chance to do just that.

While Scottie Barnes elevated his game and grew into the new face of the Toronto Raptors, the team went into rebuild mode last season after shipping off OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakim before the trade deadline. Can former Knick Immanuel Quickley, who got a massive five-year, $162 million contract this summer grow into a serious impact player? Can RJ Barrett take his game to new heights in his first full season back home in Canada? They will be the deciders of how far the Raptors go this season.

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The Utah Jazz were one of the best stories in the NBA power rankings for much of the 2022-23 season. However, reality eventually set in and it has never let up ever since. In the summer the organization gave top star Lauri Markkanen a new long-term deal but the pieces around him are still not good enough to be a serious playoff contender. However, Utah is a team to watch on the trade block since they have the assets to make a move for a star that may become available.

The Washington Wizards were a disaster last season despite adding some nice players, like former Warriors bench ace Jordan Poole. In the offseason, they brought in worthwhile veterans like Jonas Valanciunas and Malcolm Brogdon. They also used their top pick on French big man Alex Sarr. On paper, this can be a competitive team in the East, but it will be new head coach Brian Keefe’s job to make that a reality.