Last Sunday the La Lakers led by LeBron James, claimed their 17^th title tying the Boston Celtics as the most successfully franchise in NBA history.  It was a momentous win for LeBron James to, claiming his 4^th NBA title and 4^th Finals MVP.  This was his 3^rd Championship with a different team, making him the first player to have to have won finals MVP with 3 different teams.

Where does this leave the league looking towards next season? Opening night is set to be on Martin Luther King Day, January 18.

Expected Winner

The Lakers with the expected resigning of Anthony Davis are the odds-on favourite to repeat again this year. They still have the best player in the world in LeBron James and many of the same role players that allowed them to win this year. Their size and length makes them a matchup nightmare for almost all presently constructed teams.

My Pick

With the return of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to a team that made the playoffs this year without them, the Brooklyn Nets are a team I expect to make a deep playoff run. Concerns as to what sort of player Kevin Durant will be following his torn Achilles are warranted as few players ever return to be the player they were. However as said by NBA analyst Stephen A Smith ‘Durant’s game is not based around athleticism its based around his ability to shoot the ball’. If Durant can be 85% the player he was with the talent of Kyrie, I could see this team matching up the best with the LA Lakers in a potential final’s meeting next season.

Dark Horses

The First Dark Horse, shouldn’t be in this category at all, The Golden State Warriors with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are far better than a team with an outside chance of winning. With debatably the two best shooters of all time fully fit this year, the Splash brothers should be back to their scintillating best, pulling up from anywhere and everywhere. The doubts in this team are around the players around the two superstars, with a very young and untested roster the ability of role players to step up and perform is what makes this team a doubt to win it all next season.

The Second Dark horse team is the Dallas Mavericks, but this choice is on the assumption that they acquire another star player this off season. The emergence of Slovenian Superstar Luka Doncic is a major factor in the success of this team, however as seen in this year’s playoffs no one player can win on their own. Despite the quality of Kristaps Porzingis, his injury plagued career to this point makes him impossible to count on in the event of a deep playoff run. There has been rumours that the Mavericks with their available cap space are angling towards a potential trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, see bellow, the current MVP and Defensive player of the Year, however at this point it is more fantasy than reality. Therefore, they remain one of the most exiting teams in the NBA such as the Denver Nuggets, with an outside chance of winning a Championship next season.   

https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2020/10/14/21515164/the-mavericks-pursuit-of-giannis-antetokounmpo-is-going-to-turn-me-into-the-joker