Courtesy of Reuters
Warriors guard Stephen Curry is defended by Lakers guard Luka Doncic in the season opener game on Oct. 21.The NBA season began on Oct. 21 with the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder beating the Houston Rockets 125-124 in double overtime.
If that thriller was any indication, this is going to be a wild ride of a season, and many teams have chances to win this year’s top prize.
The Western Conference is filled with a mix of both new and old talent, with most contenders having their own dynamic duo or trio.
Despite this hyper competitiveness, we believe the Warriors can still take on every team and make it to the finals with 37-year-old Stephen Curry leading the way and a healthy 36-year-old Jimmy Butler there to support him.
While the youthful and talented reigning champion Thunder deserve their favorite status, other teams have been on the rise; for our money, we think the Thunder will fall short of repeating amid all of this competition.
The addition of veteran center Al Horford, 39, to the Warriors’ squad will supplement up-and-coming players with huge amounts of playoff experience. Although we’re still bitter about Horford’s performance ina win against the Warriors in Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals where he led the Celtics in scoring with 26 points, we still will welcome his skill set with open arms. He is a big man who shoots the 3 and stretches the floor for scorers like Curry and Butler to execute their own play styles more efficiently.
Additionally, Steph’s younger brother, guard Seth Curry, is set to join the team in a few weeks. This means that the Splash Brothers we lost when guard Klay Thompson went to the Mavericks in 2024 will be back in some fashion — except this time, they will be actual brothers. The excitement of playing with his brother will be what Steph Curry needs to perform his best every game.
But the Warriors are hardly shoo-ins in the West, especially since their core players are well into their 30s. Some talented teams with high hopes for the season include the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs.
The Rockets were able to acquire superstar forward Kevin Durant over the summer, a huge addition to the young core of the team with rising stars like center Alperen Sengun and forward Amen Thompson. With the veteran experience of Durant, the team has a great shot at making a run to the finals, something they almost achieved six years ago with superstar James Harden but were ultimately stopped by, ironically, Durant and the Warriors.
The Mavericks were able to secure the first pick of the NBA draft, where they selected Cooper Flagg, an extremely talented 6-foot-9-inch forward out of Duke. With Flagg paired up with veteran forward Anthony Davis and guard Kyrie Irving, the team looks to come back even stronger after their blockbuster trade where they sent their franchise player, superstar guard Luka Doncic, to the Lakers last year.
The Lakers are entering their final years with 40-year-old superstar forward LeBron James, a full season of Doncic, as well as the addition of a much needed center, former first pick Deandre Ayton. With this newly rebuilt roster, the Lakers hope to make a deep playoff run, something they haven’t been able to do since winning the trophy in the bubble back in 2020.
The Spurs are also a team to watch out for as they have surrounded 2024 Rookie Of The Year (ROTY) center Victor Wembanyama with multiple fast guards to help expand the team’s versatility. The Spurs selected Dylan Harp second overall in this year’s NBA draft, a fast, crafty 6-foot-6-inch guard out of Rutgers. They will also have a full season of star guard De’aaron Fox, who can help guide the younger guards like Harper and Stephon Castle. The combination of Wembanyama’s freakish athleticism and guards that could feed him the ball while also scoring puts the Spurs as a top contender.
While the West is full of talent, the East seems to be weaker because of some crucial injuries that may affect some teams. All-star guard Tyrese Haliburton had a miracle run with the Indiana Pacers last season, bringing the team all the way to the finals. In a tragic twist, he was injured in Game 7 of the finals with a torn right Achilles tendon, which will put him out for the entire 2025-26 NBA season. Superstar forward Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics also suffered a torn right Achilles tendon , forcing him to possibly miss the entire season and marking a huge setback to the 2024 champion team.
With multiple new faces in different teams, the season is full of uncertainties, but we think that the Golden State Warriors, with an ancient roster in NBA terms, will still make a deep playoff run, and potentially get legends Curry and Draymond Green, 33, their fifth ring.
