NBA 2023/24 Season Preview

A new NBA season will get underway when the Denver Nuggets host the LA Lakers at Ball Arena on 24th October. The indomitable Nikola Jokic inspired the Nuggets to a 4-1 series victory over the Miami Heat in last season’s NBA Finals. They are among the favourites to defend their crown this time around, but they face fierce competition from several elite rivals. It will be fascinating to see how they fare against a Lakers team featuring LeBron James, Anthony Davis and new signing D’Angelo Russell when the new campaign tips off.

To celebrate the advent of the 2023/24 season, we decided to examine six of the leading contenders for glory. We picked the top three teams in the Western Conference – the Nuggets, the Phoenix Suns and the Golden State Warriors. This article will also examine the three of the leading lights from the east – the Boston Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Heat.

BOSTON CELTICS

The Boston Celtics have been the most consistently brilliant team in the league over the past few years. They went all the way to the NBA Finals in 2022, only to be undone by the brilliance of Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry. The Celtics were installed as the favourites to win the NBA Championship last time around, and they lived up to their billing by reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. However, they suffered a surprise 4-3 series defeat to the Miami Heat.

They will hope to make it third time lucky this season. The franchise recently signed Jrue Holiday, who will bolster an already elite team. Holiday is a two-time NBA All-Star, and he helped lead the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA title in 2021. Kristaps Porzingis has also joined the roster, while Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III have left Boston. On paper, the Celtics have an even stronger roster this season. Holliday and Porzingis will join Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford and Derrick White in a formidable top-six rotation. As such, the Celtics will take some stopping, but they could struggle if they suffer a few injuries, as there are question marks over their roster depth.

DENVER NUGGETS

The Nuggets ended a 47-year wait for an NBA Championship last season. Jokic was the star of the show, but Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon were also superb. All four players are still operating at the peak of their powers, and they will make Denver the team to beat in the west once again this season. They are not as deep as they were last season, but if that core can stay healthy, they will be very dangerous.

Only 12 teams in NBA history have won back-to-back titles since the merger in 1976. The Bulls dominated in the 1990s, but only four teams have pulled it off since then: the Warriors, the Heat and the Lakers (twice). It takes a monumental effort to shake off the fatigue from a title-winning season and come back stronger the following season, so it will be interesting to see if the durable Jokic can lead his team to more success.

MILWAUKEE BUCKS

The Bucks won the NBA title for the second time in franchise history in 2021. They built a strong team around two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, featuring Khris Middleton, Holiday, Brook Lopez and P. J. Tucker. That team has now been dismantled, as Holiday has moved to the Celtics and Tucker plays for the Philadelphia 76ers. However, the Greek Freak is still going strong. Meanwhile, Middleton returned from a long-term injury lay-off last season, and Lopez finished second in the voting for the Defensive Player of the Year award.

Milwaukee pulled off arguably the biggest trade in the offseason, as they brought in Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers. Pairing him with Antetokounmpo creates the most fearsome offensive powerhouse in the Eastern Conference. It is hard to see how teams can cope with a Dame-Giannis pick-and-roll. Yet it remains to be seen whether they can complement one another, as neither has ever played with such a talented teammate before. If they form an effective unit, supported by Middleton and Lopez, the Bucks could be unstoppable, so they are among the favourites in the basketball spread betting. If you would like to learn more, our NBA spread betting explained guide within the training centre can help.

PHOENIX SUNS

The Suns have built their own super-team in the desert, featuring Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. It remains to be seen how well the Big 3 complement one another, but head coach Frank Vogel can keep at least one of them on the floor at all times, allowing him to maintain a high-powered offensive juggernaut. There are concerns over their defensive consistency, and injuries could also be an issue, as was the case for Durant in Brooklyn.

However, they will be terrific on the ball, and it will be interesting to see what sort of line-ups Vogel selects. They were Western Conference champions in 2021, losing to the Bucks in the NBA Finals, but the team has changed beyond all recognition since then. Booker is the one constant, and he is determined to bring success to Phoenix. “Everybody knows that we need a ring,” said Booker in a recent ESPN interview. “We have too much talent in the house, with a coach that's won it before. We're all on the same page. We'll have fun during the journey, but we all know what we’re working towards.”

MIAMI HEAT

The Celtics and the Bucks are the clear favourites in the east, leaving the Heat alongside the Cavaliers and the 76ers in the next tier. However, these players are accustomed to defying the odds. They won the Eastern Conference title in 2020 and 2023, despite being major outsiders on both occasions. Yet they are still hunting for their first NBA championship title since the Heatles went back-to-back in 2012 and 2013.

Erik Spoelstra remains a brilliant coach and Jimmy Butler is phenomenal, so you can never write them off. However, the Heat have a mountain to climb after an underwhelming offseason. They missed out on Beal and Lillard, and Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr. will need to hit the ground running after Gabe Vincent and Max Strus left.

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

Golden State fans are looking forward to another exciting season after Chris Paul moved to the Bay Area to link up with Curry, Klay Thompson and Damian Green. Seeing that quartet on the court together will be strange, but intriguing. The Dubs have been the most successful team in the league over the past decade, racking up four NBA Championships and six Western Conference titles.

Curry, Thompson and Green have been consistently brilliant for the entirety of that spell, barring injuries. However, they are now 35, 33 and 33 respectively, and their powers may soon start to wane. Head coach Steve Kerr insists that this is not their last dance, but it certainly feels like it. Paul is 38, so he is by no means a spring chicken either. Jordan Poole has joined the Washington Wizards, so they can no longer rely on him to inject some energy alongside the older players. The Warriors suffered a surprising defeat to the Lakers in last season’s conference semifinals, which is concerning, but these players know how to get the job done in the playoffs, so they are certainly contenders.