NBA 2024-25 Season Preview

The 2024-25 NBA season will kick off on Oct. 22 with a TNT doubleheader. Last year’s NBA champions, the Boston Celtics, will host the New York Knicks in the opener. Minnesota travels to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers in the nightcap. And just like that, the new NBA season will be underway right as the meat of both the NFL and college football schedules hit.

It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. Teams made some solid off-season moves ahead of the new season. One of the biggest moves happened almost out of nowhere just as teams were heading to training camp. That move will definitely have an impact on the 2024-25 NBA season.

KAT to the Knicks

On Oct. 2, the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks announced a trade that also included the Charlotte Hornets. The big news in the three-team deal was the trade of Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle and Donte DiVicenzo. 

It’s another move by the Knicks to shore up a roster that is ready to compete for an NBA title. New York, like Minnesota, won 50-plus games last season. The Knicks were the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, but they bowed out in the conference semifinals to a red-hot Indiana. 

The Charlotte Hornets were also involved in this trade to make the financial numbers work. In the end, the Knicks got Towns and the draft rights to James Nnaji. Minnesota added Randle, DiVicenzo, Keita Bates-Diop, and a future first-round draft pick. Charlotte picked up three players – Charlie Brown, DaQuan Jeffries, and Duane Washington Jr. – three draft picks (one 2025 second-round pick and two futures second-round picks) and cash. 

Both the T-Wolves and Knicks believe they have the roster necessary to compete for the 2024-25 NBA title. Both are among the favorites. Let’s take a look.

Favorites to Win the 2024-25 NBA Championship

Boston finished with the best record in the NBA (64-18) last season and then marched through the playoffs to capture the franchise’s 18th NBA title. The Celtics did so in dominant fashion, losing just three times in the postseason. Boston defeated Luka Doncic and Dallas 4-1 in the NBA Finals. 

It’s no surprise that Boston is the overall favorite (+315) to capture the NBA title once again this season. There hasn’t been a repeat winner since the 2017 and 2018 seasons when the Golden State Warriors won back-to-back championships. There have been six different franchises that have won NBA titles over the last six seasons.

Right behind the Celtics is the Oklahoma City Thunder at +700 at SportsBetting.ag. The Thunder were one of the big surprises in the 2023-24 NBA season. OKC wound up winning the Western conference with a 57-25 record. The lineup is strong and deep with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way. SGA averaged 30.1 points and 6.2 assists last season to lead the Thunder. He finished third in last year’s MVP race and he’ll be right in the thick of that race this year. More on that later.

The Knicks, with their newly acquired Towns, have as good a lineup as anybody when healthy. New York, Denver, Philadelphia, and Dallas round out the favorites to win the NBA title that are currently listed at +1000 or better.

Favorites to Win the 2024-25 NBA Title

• Boston Celtics +315
• Oklahoma City Thunder +700
• New York Knicks +800
• Philadelphia 76ers +900
• Denver Nuggets +1000
• Dallas Mavericks +1000
• Minnesota Timberwolves +1000

The Race in the East

The addition of Towns in New York really gives the Knicks a boost. They had traded for Mikal Bridges in the offseason to play with Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby. Isaiah Hartenstein is now in Oklahoma City and Mitchell Robinson is seemingly always hurt. That’s why adding Towns was so important. He’s a huge upgrade down low.

The Sixers also made a big splash in the offseason when they landed Paul George. Now, Philly has a lineup that includes former NBA MVP Joel Embiid, scoring machine Tyrese Maxey, and solid two-way players like Tobias Harris and Kelly Oubre Jr. George is one of the top 3s in the game and he’ll make an immediate impact in Philadelphia.

Boston didn’t have to do much in the offseason. There was plenty of speculation, but in the end the two-headed monster of Jayson Tatum (26.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg) and Jaylen Brown (23.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg) will return to Boston. The lineup is loaded with two-way players. It showed as Boston was No. 2 in scoring last season and No. 5 in points allowed per game.

How the West Is Won

As mentioned, the Thunder won the Western Conference last year and they are favored to do it again in 2024-25. Denver, led by three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, finished with the same record as Oklahoma City last year (57-25) but lost the tiebreaker to take the No. 2 seed in the conference. The Nuggets weren’t as active as some other teams in the West in the offseason.

Minnesota (56-26) finished third in the West last year and they now can pair 7-foot-2 Rudy Gobert with Randle. Don’t forget, the TWolves have possibly the best young player in the game – Anthony Edwards. He averaged 25.9 points a game last year in the regular season and 27.6 in the playoffs. NBA Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid also returns for Minnesota.

Dallas would finish fifth in the West but upset the Clippers, Thunder, and TWolves to make it to the NBA Finals. Doncic, of course, is one of the best players in the world. If not for Jokic’s season last year, Doncic would have won the league MVP instead of being the runner up. 

The Mavs did Doncic a favor this offseason and added one of the best shooters the NBA has ever seen – Klay Thompson. Adding Thompson will force teams to defend him and take away an opponent’s ability to play gimmicky defenses against Luka. 

The MVP Race

Speaking of Most Valuable Players, the race is on already for the 2024-25 NBA MVP. Jokic has won three of the last four league MVPs. This year, he does not enter the season as the overall favorite. That honor belongs to Doncic, last year’s runner up. Luka is listed at +375 and has been right in the thick of the race in each of the last few seasons. 

Jokic is listed at No. 2 right now. He’s given +400 odds to win another MVP. SGA is third on the board at +500. Embiid, the only other player to win an MVP in the past four seasons, and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo are both listed at +700 to round out the Top 5. Giannis won back-to-back MVPs in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.

Favorites to Win 2024-25 NBA MVP

at BetUS.com

• Luka Doncic +375
• Nikola Jokic +400
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander +500
• Joel Embiid +700
• Giannis Antetokounmpo +700

Rookie of the Year

Unlike last year’s Rookie of the Year race, the 2024-25 ROTY is wide open. Victor Wembenyana was the overall favorite last year from start to finish. As we open the new NBA season, former Purdue C Zach Edey is the favorite to win the ROTY, given odds of +450. Edey should play a significant role for Memphis this season.

Reed Sheppard is a 6-3 sharpshooter who should make a splash in Houston. He’s next on the board at +600. Sheppard was the third overall pick in this year’s NBA draft. What’s interesting is that the first pick in this year’s draft, Zaccharie Risacher, is only third on the ROTY betting board. The No. 2 pick, 7-footer Alexandre Sarr, and the No. 4 pick, Stephon Castle are both given +900 odds to win the award.

Favorites to Win 2024-25 NBA Rookie of the Year

• Zach Edey +450
• Reed Sheppard +600
• Zaccharie Risacher +700
• Alexandre Sarr +900
• Stephon Castle +900