The NBA season begins Tuesday night, when the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Houston Rockets and raise their first championship banner.
In the nightcap on NBC, the Warriors will visit the Lakers in Los Angeles.
The league completely eschewed the Eastern Conference on its first showcase night in four months, indicating it understands something many fans have felt for some time now: The West is the far better conference.
That’s especially true this year as Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton are recovering from Achilles tears in the playoffs and likely to miss all of this season.
Can the Thunder climb above Denver, Minnesota, the Los Angeles teams and the Warriors to repeat as champs? Will the Knicks or Cavaliers break through to reach the Finals from the East? And can Victor Wembanyama threaten for the MVP in just his third season?
We asked our NBA coverage crew to predict the season. Here’s what they foresee:
Joseph Dycus
West playoff picture (1-8): Thunder, Nuggets, Spurs, Rockets, Warriors, Clippers, Timberwolves, Lakers
West finals: Thunder over Spurs
East playoff picture (1-8): Knicks, Magic, Cavs, Bucks, Celtics, Pistons, Heat, Hawks
East finals: Cavs over Magic
NBA Finals: Thunder over Cavs
MVP: Victor Wembanyama, Spurs
Rookie of the year: Ace Bailey, Jazz
Coach of the year: Jamahl Mosley, Magic
Comment: Wembanyama stakes his claim to being the best player in the world, but no one and nothing can stop OKC from becoming the first team to repeat since the Warriors.
Dieter Kurtenbach
West playoff picture (1-8): Thunder, Nuggets, Warriors, Clippers, Rockets, Timberwolves, Lakers, Spurs
West finals: Thunder over Warriors
East playoff picture (1-8): Knicks, Cavs, Hawks, Magic, Heat, Pistons, Bucks, Bulls
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East finals: Knicks over Hawks
NBA Finals: Thunder over Knicks
MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder
Rookie of the year: V.J. Edgecombe, 76ers
Coach of the year: Quin Snyder, Hawks
Comment: There will be moments where we wonder if the Warriors’ 73 regular-season wins record is in peril.
Michael Nowels
West playoff picture (1-8): Thunder, Nuggets, Lakers, Warriors, Clippers, Timberwolves, Rockets, Spurs
West finals: Thunder over Lakers
East playoff picture (1-8): Knicks, Cavs, Hawks, Magic, Pistons, Bucks, 76ers, Pacers
East finals: Knicks over Cavaliers
NBA Finals: Knicks over Thunder
MVP: Luka Doncic, Lakers
Rookie of the year: Cooper Flagg, Mavericks
Coach of the year: Quin Snyder, Hawks
Comment: The Lakers become Luka’s in his MVP season, and the Knicks’ collective shocks OKC in the Finals. The old-school, big-market NBA backrooms rejoice.