With the 2024-25 Nationwide Basketball Affiliation (NBA) season rapidly approaching, all 30 NBA groups are making remaining preparations forward of what guarantees to be one of the aggressive seasons in historical past.
Here is all the pieces you’ll want to know concerning the upcoming season:
When does the 2024-25 NBA season begin?
The brand new NBA season begins on Tuesday, October 22 with the go to of the New York Knicks to the defending champions, the Boston Celtics, beginning at 23:30 GMT (6:30 pm native time) on the TD Backyard Enviornment from Boston.
What’s the format?
- Within the common season, the 30 groups play 82 video games over a interval of seven months.
- On the finish of the season, the highest six groups from the Jap and Western Conferences will robotically qualify for the postseason.
- The following greatest groups, ranked seventh via tenth from each conferences, will take part in a play-in event to safe the remaining seventh and eighth postseason spots in every convention.
Who’re the favorites to win the title?
- Within the Jap Convention, the NBA champion Boston Celtics are the consensus alternative of bookmakers and league executives to win the convention once more, and they’re additionally the favourite crew to repeat as champions. Many basketball commentators contemplate the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers to be the largest threats to Boston within the east.
- Within the Western Convention, the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder have the bottom odds of profitable the convention. Behind them are a number of sturdy contenders for the title: the Denver Nuggets, the Dallas Mavericks, runners-up within the NBA final season, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Phoenix Suns.
What are the important thing dates of the 2024-25 NBA calendar?
- October 22, 2024: NBA common season begins
- November 2, 2024: NBA Mexico Metropolis 2024 match (Miami Warmth vs Washington Wizards)
- November 12, 2024: Emirates NBA Cup (seasonal event) begins
- December 17, 2024: NBA Emirates Cup Championship
- January 23 and 25, 2025: NBA Paris Video games (San Antonio Spurs vs Indiana Pacers)
- February 6, 2025: NBA commerce deadline
- February 14-16, 2025: NBA All-Star Sport (held in San Francisco, California)
- April 13, 2025: NBA common season ends
- April 15-18: NBA play-in event
- April 19: The NBA Playoffs start
- June: NBA Finals (actual dates to be decided)
Three pattern tales to observe this season
#1. LeBron and Bronny James: the primary father-son duo to play collectively on an NBA crew
The countdown is on for when the NBA’s all-time main scorer, LeBron James, turns into the primary participant to share the court docket along with his son.
LeBron’s crew, the Los Angeles Lakers, will play their first common season sport on Tuesday, October 22 in opposition to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Will this be the day historical past is made between father and son, or will it final properly into the season?
#2. The MVP race: SGA vs Luka
Oddsmakers predict that Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) and Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic would be the high two contenders for the NBA common season Most Worthwhile Participant (MVP) award.
Final season, each gamers put up outrageously spectacular numbers: SGA averaged 30.1 factors, 6.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds in 75 video games; and Doncic averaged 33.9 factors, 9.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds in 70 video games.
Along with the tantalizing MVP race between this pair, the 2 superstars play in the identical convention and their groups have an rising rivalry after they performed six video games in a good Western Convention second-round matchup final season with Doncic’s crew prevailing.
#3. NBA groups combating for Cooper Flagg draft
Flagg is perhaps essentially the most hyped rookie small ahead prospect since Lebron James was chosen within the 2003 draft.
Flagg, 17, is not even within the NBA but and just lately dedicated to play for US powerhouse Duke College for the 2024-25 season.
However with the six-foot-nine-inch Newport, Maine, native thought-about the consensus No. 1 decide in subsequent 12 months’s draft, a number of NBA groups are anticipated to tank, a typical observe via which groups which can be already in issue are incentivized to lose. extra, to extend his probabilities of touchdown the primary decide within the 2025 draft.
With Flagg as a possible franchise-saving star on the horizon, the 2024-25 NBA season may very well be outlined as a lot by the race to the underside of the standings as it’s to the highest.
What key gamers moved groups through the offseason?
#1. Paul George to the Philadelphia 76ers
Lengthy thought-about an archetypal small ahead in right this moment’s NBA (tall, nice shooter and with sturdy passing and defensive expertise), George signed as a free agent with the 76ers within the offseason after spending the final 5 seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers. .
Nicknamed “PG-13”, George is a nine-time NBA All-Star and six-time member of the All-NBA Staff, in addition to a four-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Staff.
The 34-year-old’s arrival in Philadelphia completes maybe the NBA’s most deadly “Huge Three” mixture heading into the 2024-25 season, with George becoming a member of forces with former NBA MVP Joel Embiid and essentially the most improved participant within the league since final time. season, guard Tyrese Maxey.
#2. Karl Anthony Cities to the New York Knicks
The 6-foot-11 heart ahead was traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the New York Knicks, the place he’ll be part of mercurial level guard Jaylen Brunson as one of many league’s most deadly 1-2 mixtures.
Cities, a four-time NBA All-Star, is one in every of 10 gamers in NBA historical past to have averaged not less than 22 factors and 10 rebounds per sport all through their profession (minimal of 500 whole video games).
The arrival of the 28-year-old participant to the well-known Knicks franchise elevates them to one of many favorites for the NBA title for the 2024-25 season.
The Knicks hope Cities’ arrival at Madison Sq. Backyard will give their long-suffering followers their first NBA title since 1973.
The place did the 30 groups end final season?
2023-24 NBA standings (Jap Convention) and win-loss document:
Boston Celtics 64-18
New York Knicks 50-32
Milwaukee Bucks 49-33
Cleveland Knights 48-34
Magical Orlando 47-35
Indiana Pacers 47-35
Philadelphia 76ers 47-35
Miami Warmth 46-36
Chicago Bulls 39-43
Atlanta Falcons 36-46
Brooklyn Networks 32-50
Toronto Raptors 25-57
Charlotte Hornets 21-61
Washington Wizards 15-67
Detroit Pistons 14-68
2023-24 NBA standings (Western Convention) and win-loss document:
Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder 57-25
Denver Nuggets 57-25
Minnesota Timberwolves 56-26
Los Angeles Clippers 51-31
Dallas Mavericks 50-32
Phoenix Suns 49-33
New Orleans Pelicans 49-33
Los Angeles Lakers 47-35
Kings of Sacramento 46-36
Golden State Warriors 46-36
Houston Rockets 41-41
Utah Jazz 31-51
Memphis Grizzlies 27-55
San Antonio Spurs 22-60
Portland Path Blazers 21-61
The right way to watch the 2024-25 NBA season?
NBA League Cross continues to supply out-of-market video games, reside entry to NBA TV and on-demand replays of each sport. Test your native TV guides for cable/satellite tv for pc providers in your area.
You possibly can observe the motion on Al Jazeera’s devoted basketball web page with all of the information and options, in addition to occasion build-up and reside textual content commentary on choose NBA video games all through the 2024-25 season.