NBA Contender Tiers: Which Teams Are True Championship Threats?
We’re at a point in the NBA season where the best teams in the league are starting to differentiate themselves. The contenders are rising to the top while the pretenders are falling back to the pack. While we won’t know for sure how these teams will stack up come playoff time, but we do have a larger sample size than we did at the start of the season. For this exercise, the teams with a legitimate shot at winning the NBA Championship are ranked into tiers of teams with similar profiles and odds.
The Big Dawgs
The Boston Celtics, as reigning champions, are automatically in this highest tier. However, that is not due to lack of performance this season as they are capable almost on will to unleash that dominance that powered them to the NBA Finals last season. Led by dynamic duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. With their core intact, Boston is poised to make an impact in the playoffs again.
After years of playoff underperformance, the Cleveland Cavaliers are shouting, “This year's DIFFERENT.” Unfortunately, we won’t know until May if they are for real. However, based on what they have done this season so far with new man Kenny Atkinson manning the helm, it does in fact seem so. The Cavs have been flying high behind Donovan Mitchell and the reimagined homegrown duo of Darius Garland and Evan Mobley. They are on pace for the winningest season in their history and the best in the league since the 73-win Warriors.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the relatively new kids on the block even though it feels like they’ve been knocking on the door for a while. They have what appears to be one of the deepest and youngest teams in the league. On top of being incredibly fun to watch, they are also just as talented. Being led by one of the MVP favorites, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they have the high-end talent to win it all.
Western Stars
The Denver Nuggets, just like the other team in this tier, are powered by their star. For the Nuggets, a case can be made that they have the best one in Nikola Jokic. Strictly speaking, there is no one at his size in the history of the NBA able to do what he does as an offensive player. While not in the top tier based on their regular season performance, they have the championship pedigree to run with any team on this list in the playoffs.
The new-look Los Angeles Lakers have as high a ceiling as any team on this list. Thanks to the Magic Man Luka Doncic and the ageless wonder LeBron James, there is no team the Lakers can’t beat. This team might be the closest thing to Showtime in recent memory as Luka is capable of flinging it around the court like no one else and LeBron can still get out in transition like the best of them. So count this team out at your own peril.
The Mid-Atlantic Coast
The New York Knicks are not where they want to be after trading the farm, tractor, and weathervane for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns. This is a team that at times is prolific on offense thanks to the versatility of their big man Towns and methodical guard Jalen Brunson. While these two are not black holes on the defensive end, they do have limitations. Those limitations will determine how far this team goes.
The Indiana Pacers, coming off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance, have perhaps the lowest ceiling out of all the teams on this list. However, if a few things break right, they can find themselves back in the Eastern Conference Finals again. From there, it’s two weeks of Tyrese Haliburton constantly making jump shots to winning an NBA Championship. So the Pacers, like the other teams in this tier, are currently on the outside looking in of the elite, but they have as good a chance as the others to break in.
The Milwaukee Bucks, since trading away Jrue Holiday to Boston, have seen their franchise fortunes head in opposite directions. With the latter going on to win an NBA Championship and the former firing their head coach. As long as the Bucks have Giannis Antetokounmpo, they can not be counted out as the former NBA Finals MVP is as dominant as any other player in the sport. The only problem is he is a paint-centric player in an era that shoots more three-pointers than ever before. If the Bucks are able to slow down the opposing team, which they haven’t proven they can do yet, they have a chance to ride Giannis to the NBA Finals. Till they can prove that they can do that, they belong on the Mid-Atlantic Coast.
