The 2021-22 NBA season tips off on Tuesday with a pair of high-profile games. First up, the defending champion Bucks will raise the banner against what is likely their biggest competition in the East in the Nets. Then some of the game's biggest stars clash at Staples Center when Steph Curry and the Warriors visit LeBron James and the Lakers.
Three of the four teams (Milwaukee, Los Angeles and Golden State) have combined to win four of the last five titles, with the fourth (Brooklyn) a favorite. But will one of this quartet in fact win it all some next summer? Here are our picks for the five teams likeliest to do so:
5) Philadelphia 76ers: The Ben Simmons drama is tiresome and, yes, distracting. But there's no doubting the talent on the Philly roster. Joel Embiid could win MVP if he stays healthy, and if he can share the floor with three (or even four) shooters it makes the offense multi-dimensional and near-impossible to stop. Of course, none of this matters if the Simmons situation becomes so toxic that it drags the team down.
4) Phoenix Suns: Last year's Western Conference champs bring back basically everybody from the 51-21 team a season ago... and yet it seems like everyone is sleeping on Phoenix? The Lakers (whom the Suns bounced in the first-round last year) re-loaded, and Steph Curry is healthy so in Vegas the Suns aren't even considered a top-two team in the West. We'll respectfully disagree, as Devin Booker continues his ascent to superstardom and DeAndre Ayton goes out to prove he's worthy of the max extension the team didn't offer him on Monday. Plus, Chris Paul shows little signs of slowing down after a resurgent 2020-21.
3) Los Angeles Lakers: Was last year a blip, given some injuries, or a sign of things to come? Bet against LeBron James and Anthony Davis at your own risk, especially with the addition of Russell Westbrook, but this is the oldest roster in the NBA. It might not matter in November or December, but May or June? It could take its toll. The good news is that with the triumvirate you can regularly manage all of their workloads while still having high-quality players on the floor. Instead of easing their way to a five-seed, they could do it and still fight for a one or a two.
2) Brooklyn Nets: If Ben Simmons is a distraction, then what on earth is Kyrie Irving? That's seemingly the only thing holding Brooklyn back at this point. Kevin Durant is as good as ever, and in his second year back from his Achilles tear it's officially a thing of the past. It doesn't get better than him and James Harden. You'd think by midseason the Irving situation would settle itself. Either he's playing by that point or he isn't, and by the end of the regular season it will be, one way or another, a thing of the past. And with or without him, the Nets probably have more talent than anyone in the East.
1) Milwaukee Bucks: The defending champs, until proven otherwise, have shown no reason to not be the favorites. They still have Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday. In fact, the Bucks bring back their top five scorers from a year ago. Giannis has also shown flashes of a new shooting touch in the preseason, as if he weren't unstoppable enough already. The top-heavy East will be a gauntlet to go through, and we don't yet know how the players handle fighting a championship hangover. For now, that doesn't matter.