2023–2024 NBA Season Preview

The 2023–2024 NBA season is here and it’s time to take a look around the league at all 30 teams before the season starts. For my personal touch, I’m doing this compliment sandwich style. For each team preview, I started off looking at the positives, point out at least one area of concern, and finally wrap it up with a bow and highlight another reason for optimism.

For each division I predicted winners and the basement team, an MVP of the division, the most intriguing player on a new team, and the most League Pass worthy team.

Finally, I lay out some Playoff and mid-season tournament predictions, award winners, Finals teams, winners, and MVP.

Let’s dive into this!!!

Atlantic

Boston Celtics: Top to bottom, they’re the most talented roster in the division and maybe the entire Conference. Bringing on Jrue Holliday to be the fourth or fifth most important player is a luxury in this league so even if Boston slightly overpaid, it was 100% worth it. I question how many games Kristaps Porzingis will miss due to injury as reports are he’s already dealing with a bit of plantar fasciitis. If Porzingis stays healthy and Holiday can turn back the clock a bit, at worst, I see Boston finishing as the #2 seed out East.

Brooklyn Nets: Time for a fresh start in Brooklyn following the soap opera days of the Irvin-Durant-Harden era. Mikal Bridges is ready for a breakout season and could even make his first All-Star team if selected as a reserve. At this point, I’m not sure what to expect from Ben Simmons and if I’m Brooklyn, I’m not expecting anything other than him just trying hard. Most of the names on this roster won’t blow the casual fan away, but there aren’t 10 better teams in the East this season so get ready to see Brooklyn back in The Playoffs.

New York Knicks: New York has made The Playoffs two of the last three season and are on track to make it three out of four. The Donte DiVincenzo signing this summer was great value for a player who fills several team needs, particularly added shooting from deep. While undeniably talented, Julius Randle can’t be trusted not to resort to bad one-on-one iso ball and is only a bad streak of games away from pouting on the bench again. With plenty of draft capital and tradable contracts, New York are well positioned to pursuit the next disgruntled All-Star, whether it be Joel Embiid or another player down the road.

Philadelphia 76ers: Tyrese Maxey looks like he might be ready to be the true second option for this team alongside Embiid. Philly has done a decent job of adding some depth to the roster with additions like Patrick Beverly, Kelly Oubre Jr., Mo Bamba and will receive added depth once they ultimately execute a James Harden trade. On that Harden note, the uncertainty surrounding his situation has the team in a holding pattern until a trade is worked out, and it appears Embiid is about over it. I think Nick Nurse was an excellent coaching hire and if he can help convince Embiid there are brighter days ahead for Philly, he will have already paid for his contract and then some.

Toronto Raptors: Starting with Scottie Barnes, Toronto has the start of a young strong foundation in place as they go through a rebuild. I think the decision to move on from Nick Nurse for an unproven option at coach in Darko Rajakovic could prove to be a mistake but perhaps firing Nurse was more a financial decision than anything. With several players on this roster who scream trade-deadline candidates (O.G. Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr., Thaddeus Young, Otto Porter Jr.) Toronto might prioritize player development and increasing their draft lottery odds this season, and that wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world.

Winner; Boston Celtics- Despite chemistry concerns, there’s too much talent and enough depth to carry this team through the regular season. Besides, there’s too many question marks in Philly and still not quite enough in New York.

Basement; Toronto Raptors- It was between Toronto and Brooklyn but I think the Nets have their eyes set on a Play-in/Playoff spot this year. Toronto is prime for a rebuild as Siakim and Anunoby are the lone holdover from the 2019 Championship team, and I imagine at least one of those two could be traded sometime between December 15th and the February trade deadline.

MVP; Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)- I’m going Tatum over Embiid here simply because Boston is a less messy situation and I think Boston finishes with the better record.

New Team Watch; Kristaps Porzingis (Boston Celtics)- It’s off to a bad start considering he’s already managing an injury but given the changes Boston has made this offseason, this move needs to work and step one of the plan is Porzingis remaining healthy and on the court. Let’s see how long he can do that for.

League Pass Team; New York; The Knicks are the rare team in today’s NBA whose best players prefer to attack the rim. Brunson, Randle, and Barrett are throwback players from a lost era but dammit sometimes I just want to watch a team hell bent on getting to the rack!

Central

Chicago Bulls: Zach LaVine is coming off a career year where he started more games, 77, than he has since his second season and though it feels like he’s been in the league forever, he’s only turning 29 this season. It’s likely we’ve seen the last of Lonzo Ball and it remains to be seen if Alex Caruso, Colby White, and Jevon Carter are solid enough point guard options. Assuming they don’t trade either LaVine or DeRozan, this team could be good enough to again be in a the running to make a Play-In spot.

Cleveland Cavaliers: This was a 50-win team last season that has only improved over the summer adding Max Strus, Georges Niang, and bringing back Caris LeVert. One of the few weaknesses of the team is the backup point guard spot, as Ricky Rubio (who is currently away from the team citing mental health reasons) is the only other point guard on the roster behind Darius Garland. After winning 50 games but losing in the opening round of The Playoffs last year, I expect Donovan Mitchell to lead an improved and hungrier Cavs team, even earning some top-five MVP votes at seasons end.

Detroit Pistons: By all accounts, Cade Cunningham is fully healthy and ready to lead a young and intriguing Pistons roster. While depth is a good thing, there is a lot of positional redundancy in Detroit and over the next season or two their front office will need to make some tough calls on who to pay and who to either trade or let walk in free agency. The Pistons are slowly moving in the right direction and if the starting lineup of Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Bojan Bogdanovic, Isiah Stewart, and Jalen Duren, can stay healthy and log quality minutes together, I think the Pistons will fight to avoid finishing in the bottom three out East for the first time since 2019.

Indiana Pacers: Now that Tyrese Haliburton has signed his extension, Indiana has an All-Star under the age of 24 locked in long-term and can keep building from there. Personally, I’m happy Bruce Brown got a bag, but from Indiana’s standpoint, they could have found a better way to reach the salary-cap floor. Reports are Buddy Hield is looking to be traded but as currently constructed (and depending on their return in a Hield trade) this roster is good enough to finish in the top-10 out East.

Milwaukee Bucks: Before the Dame Lillard trade, it might have been a battle between Milwaukee and Cleveland for the Central. Now… not so much. Perhaps the only concern with this team is maintaining the health of their older players with injury histories in Lillard, Khris Middleton, and Brooke Lopez. Lillard, it should be noted, hasn’t started more than 70 games since 2019 so the only way I can see this failing is due to missed time. Otherwise, Milwaukee is far and away the best team in this division and will be fighting all season for the number one overall seed in The Playoffs.

Winner; Milwaukee Bucks- Cleveland will present a challenge, and before the Dame trade I might have even picked them, but Milwaukee just has too much now.

Basement; Detroit Pistons- I almost went with Chicago, but I think LaVine is too good. If Cunningham stays healthy this season, I expect Detroit to be a lot better, but still not good enough to avoid last place.

MVP; Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)- The two-time league MVP is about to play alongside the best player he’s ever played with. Can you imagine how much easier things are about to feel for him?!!

New Team Watch; Damian Lillard (Milwaukee Bucks)- This one’s easy, it’s far and away the biggest transaction of the NBA offseason. Even at his age, Dame is still a top-10 player in the league joining the conference’s top seeded team a season ago. Every night will be must-watch.

League Pass Team; Indiana Pacers- If for no other reason because everyone should watch Tyrese Haliburton. He’s a walking 20 and 10 and is the second-best player in the NBA under 24 (I see you Anthony Edwards).

Southeast

Atlanta Hawks: For now, it seems like this team is done shuffling the roster and are ready to let Quinn Snyder come in and get things going in the right direction. Trae Young and Dejounte Murray are one of the best backcourts in basketball and if they can find the usage-rate balance that works best for the team, Atlanta can win 40 games again this season. All that said, if I had to put money on it, I would bet that Young is more likely to be traded than he is to play out the remaining three years left of his contract. I don’t know if he’s getting traded this season so for now, I imagine Hawks basketball will be entertaining and they might even turn out to be the best team in the division this season.

Charlotte Hornets: It’s good to see LaMelo back healthy as he’s the engine for this team and one of the most exciting players in the league. A bigger scoring-wing like Brandon Miller is exactly what Melo and this team was missing last season. Speaking of missing, based on the latest reports, its time, maybe even overdue, for Charlotte to part ways with Miles Bridges. With new ownership on board, it’s time to set a different culture in Charlotte. In other small forward related matters, Gordon Hayward’s contract is finally coming to an end this spring. The Hornets will have plenty of cap space in the summer to spend on players to support their young core of Ball, Miller, Mark Williams, and P.J. Washington.

Miami Heat: This was an eight seed that made The Finals last season on the strength of…we have to say it…their culture. Jimmy Butler had some epic performances, but at key moments during last year’s season and Playoff run, it was the undrafted, former G-League guys making key contributions to keep the Miami machine rolling. Obviously missing out on Lillard hurts doubly as not only did they fail to execute a trade, but they had to watch him go to a conference postseason rival in Milwaukee. The hope now becomes that Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and their current group of role players can do what Miami teams have done so well the past four seasons; overachieve.

Orlando Magic: Paolo Banchero quietly had one of the best rookie campaigns in league history and even though it’s just preseason, what I’ve seen from him this fall looks even scarier. While I expect Banchero will improve in year two, he’ll need help leading this team to the postseason. Adding Joe Ingles helps them offensively, but I don’t think the rest of the roster is good enough unless they see a significant jump from either Cole Anthony or Jalen Suggs. Orlando won 34 games last season when 40 wins was enough for a Play-In spot. For this season, Vegas set their over/under win total at 37.5. If you’re feeling frisky, take the over because Orlando could be a 38-win team this season.

Washington Wizards: Saying anything, let alone two positive things about this Washington team is a challenge but I’ll start with a congrats for turning Chris Paul into Jordan Poole. Now the rest of this Wizards roster looks like a team bound for a top-three lottery pick, they’re $45 million dollars over the salary cap and are paying just under $40 million dollars in dead money to players no longer with the team (no wonder they were the first NBA team to say yes to that Saudi money). It’s going to get darker in D.C. before things get better, but Poole and Kyle Kuzma can give people watching Wizards basketball this season some entertaining moments. If Washington can be competitive while also landing a top-five lottery pick this spring, it could be the start of a rebuild for an organization in desperate need of one.

Winner; Atlanta Hawks- On paper, Atlanta has an intriguing roster, but it does feel wrong to go against the established order that is the Miami Heat.

Basement; Washington Wizards- The Wizards made a whole bunch of moves this offseason and still look like a bottom-three team in the league. I might make them my League Pass team though because watching Poole and Kuzman have a nightly inefficient shot contest will be highly entertaining.

MVP; Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks)- I was on the fence between a couple names but because Quinn Snyder was brought in almost specifically to pull winning basketball out of Young, he gets the nod.

New Team Watch; Joe Ingles (Orlando Magic)- I love watching Jingles (™ nickname by me) and his old man game! If he stays healthy, he can be a good play-initiator for a team void of a true point guard.

League Pass Team; Charlotte Hornets- LaMelo Ball is back healthy which is always fun to watch, Brandon Miller is an intriguing #2 overall pick, plus coach Steve Clifford claims “this is the most talented roster he’s ever coached”. While that’s a sad statement, the Hornets do have a young and exciting roster I’m interested to watch play this season.

Northwest

Denver Nuggets: It’s no longer an argument; Nikola Jokic is the best player in the world. Denver is again expected to emerge from the West but in an offseason where several contenders have added pieces to get better, Denver is running back the same team, banking their improvement this offseason on player development and continuity. My only concern with the Nuggets would be depth. Names like Christian Braun (being the most proven), Peyton Watson, Hunter Tyson, and Zeke Nnaji may be called into action throughout the season and how prepared they are to slide into the rotation is something we’ll find out together. Jokic is a lock for top-five in MVP voting so the more interesting award chase will be Jamal Murray’s run at an All-NBA team. Murray is a strong candidate for “Contract Baller Of The Year”; he stands to make between 26–27% more on an extension with the Nuggets if he’s named to an All-NBA team either of the next two seasons.

Minnesota Timberwolves: At just 22-years-old, Anthony Edwards is ready to take over the NBA. The rest of this Minnesota roster is about as frustrating as it gets. Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, the two highest paid players, don’t play well together, Mike Conley doesn’t fit the age-timeline of the rest of this roster, and no one has cornered the center market like the T-Wolves, who have committed $90 million in team salary next year to the trio of Gobert, Towns, and Naz Reid. Thanks to additions around the fringe, the roster in Minnesota will be deeper than it was last season so I’m expecting they return to the postseason. The last time Minnesota made three straight postseasons was from 2001–2004 so things in Minnesota are as good as they’ve been in a long time.

Oklahoma City Thunder: No team is expected to make a bigger leap this season than this young OKC team. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is now a certified star and leading a team whose oldest rotational player is only 30 years old. Other than outside shooting, my biggest concern for this team would be their lack of seasoned veterans. A talented team made up of 20-somethnig-year-olds has its advantages, especially over the course of a grueling regular season, but come playoff time, there is no replacement for experience. Speaking of experience, in his super-rookie season, Chet Holmgren can be a difference maker for this team and is a good value bet for Rookie Of The Year behind one obvious favorite.

Portland Trail Blazers: If you’re going to trade the second greatest player in the history of your franchise, trade him a couple months after drafting Scoot Henderson. Henderson is widely projected to be a future multiple-time All-Star/All-NBA level player who could easily carry this franchise into their next decade and beyond. Bright future aside, I’m not sure what the immediate plan in Portland is. After a summer of change, I’m looking at a Blazers roster filled with players likely to be trade candidates sooner rather than later (namely Malcom Brogdon, Robert Williams III, Matisse Thybulle, and Jerami Grant) and are still several seasons away from winning basketball. The future in Portland is promising with not only Henderson set to blossom but also Shaedon Sharpe, and if he can get right, Deandre Ayton forming a young core that this team can plan around.

Utah Jazz: Trading for John Collins makes this Utah team that was on the fringe of the postseason last year an even stronger squad and might push them into the postseason for 2024. There’s a lot to like about this Jazz team but perhaps there should be some concern that 2023 first time All-Star, Lauri Markkanen, just had far and away the best season he’s ever had and it’s possible there’s a regression to the mean coming. Granted his roles on previous teams varied but Markkanen’s career ppg average through his first five seasons was 14.8 and last season he was at 25.6. If Markkanen falls closer to 20 ppg this year, Collins is someone who can pick up a scoring load. Also while it might have gone unnoticed nationally, Jordan Clarkson decided to lock in long-term, and his instant offense is vital to this team’s success.

Winner; Denver Nuggets- OKC may stay close through January, but I expect the defending champs to eventually take the division and maybe the entire Western Conference.

Basement; Portland Trailblazers- I’m going with the only team in the division currently going through an active rebuild. Scoot Henderson should be in the running for Rookie Of The Year but the focus in Portland this season is building for the future.

MVP; Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves)- The obvious answer is the two-time MVP and reigning Finals MVP, however Jokic has teammates he’s more than happy to share the light with. Ant has to go out every night and get his for Minnesota to be any good and I think in year three, we’re going to see his game reach yet another level.

New Team Watch; Deandre Ayton (Portland Trail Blazers)- Will the change of scenery be exactly what Ayton needs to reignite his career or are we on a collision course for Ayton beefing with Trail Blazers management soon?

League Pass Team; Oklahoma City Thunder- I think this team is good enough to win 50 games and host a first-round playoff series. SGA is ready to go full star mode and I can’t wait to see how Holmgren looks in this lineup anchoring their defense.

Pacific

Golden State Warriors: Steph Curry is still an All-Star-level player headed into his 15th season, but now he’s the teams only All-Star and likely the only player on Golden State with a realistic shot of being named to an All-NBA team. Hot take alert, but this Chris Paul experiment will not work, and the Warriors might struggle to secure a postseason berth. This team is undersized, old, and without Draymond Green to start the season, could be below average defensively. Despite roster concerns, the championship culture at Golden State is real and even though this season might mean a step back, if Steph is playing at a high-level, the title-window, while maybe not this season, isn’t quite closed yet.

LA Clippers: If healthy, this Clippers roster is one of the deepest not just out West but across the league. The problem, as it seems to have been since 2020, is the health of their two best players, mainly their best one. When healthy, Kawhi Leonard is one of the 10 best players in the league but the last time he played in more than 60 regular season games was 2016–17. L.A. seems to be playing hardball in the Harden negotiations, but it might be time to give in and send Philly what they want. If Kawhi and/or Paul George are going to regularly miss chunks of the season, Terrance Mann (the player reportedly L.A. is reluctant to let go of in a trade with Philly), almost certainly will not make a difference in the outcome of the season, but James Harden could.

Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers improved this offseason via free-agency while avoiding dishing out any back-breaking contracts in the process. My concern is they are still too reliant on LeBron James, league’s oldest player, to lead the team in scoring, assist and be the team’s best player. If Anthony Davis doesn’t miss time this year, it will be an upset, at which point the question becomes is the rest of this roster good enough to carry LeBron through January and February so he can carry a heavier minute load come postseason time. This team got to the Conference Finals last season with a thinner roster so Lakers fans should feel fine that they can do it again this season.

Phoenix Suns: Obviously adding KD last season and then Bradley Beal this offseason has made the Suns one of the most talked about teams in the West. Offensively, a lineup with Durant, Beal, and Devin Booker will be tough to stop from scoring, but it’s fair to question what this unit looks like defensively. They were able to add some depth in the Deandre Ayton trade, but this is a very top-heavy lineup with not a lot of other options past the 7th or 8th man. Fine tuning rotations and building chemistry on the fly will be a challenge for newly appointed coach, Frank Vogel, but in a league where acquiring star talent is the top priority, the “Big 3” in Phoenix is as talented as it gets.

Sacramento Kings: The Kings were the surprise team of last season and prioritized keeping their core intact and running things back for 2024. They’re one of the most fun teams to watch score the ball but defensively, they leave a lot to be desired. By not bringing in much defensive help this offseason, it’s possible Sacramento could regress from their 48 wins last season, however I do expect them to again make the playoffs, something they haven’t done in back-to-back seasons since 2004–2006.

Winner; Phoenix Suns- In the only division where every team can make the postseason, I think the trades Phoenix made this offseason makes them the regular season favorites.

Basement; Golden State Warriors- They’re big offseason addition was to trade for the second oldest player in the league, and now seem to be shoehorning him into their starting lineup. I don’t see how this season won’t be a disappointment for a team with incredibly high standards.

MVP; Paul George (Los Angeles Clippers)- Phoenix has too many options to choose just one, Steph’s Warriors are going to struggle, and neither AD nor LeBron will play enough games. It was between De’Aaron Fox and Paul George. PG is coming into the season as healthy as he’s been in a while plus he’s a free agent at the end of the year. He’s going to be playing for what will likely be his last big time long-term contract.

New Team Watch; Bradley Beal (Phoenix Suns)- Since Matt Ishbia bought the team, this Suns experiment has been fun to watch. Beal brings with him not just his 20 plus points a night but also the expectation that he will put this team over the top and deliver a championship. Durant, Booker, and Beal are arguably the most talented Big 3 in the league today and when all three of them are firing, the offensive numbers will be laughable.

League Pass Team; Sacramento Kings — Don’t let the star power in Phoenix blind you because the Kings are still one of the most fun teams to watch play on a nightly basis. Sacramento is bringing back largely the same team from last year so tune in for those late-night tip-offs and enjoy the De’Aaron Fox one-man breaks, the beautiful player and ball-movement, and of course the one and only point-Sabonis.

Southwest

Dallas Mavericks: Let’s start with the biggest item which is I expect Dallas to return to the postseason this year. They got better this offseason and using history as a guide, Jason Kidd in year three in Milwaukee had his best regular season by win percentage so perhaps that carries over with him in Dallas. The Seth Curry addition helps, but I would have liked to see a bit more shooting added to the roster as far as role players go. Contrarily, the most important role to fill on a team with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving is defense and leave the shooting and scoring to the toughest backcourt in the league to stop.

Houston Rockets: Houston spent in free agency this season to help ensure they are no longer an embarrassingly bad roster. Their starting five went from abysmal last season to now being respectable but let’s not go setting the bar for success too high. Jalen Green is finally getting a chance to play with other real NBA players however if I’m Houston, unless I see an improvement and fast, I would say yes to almost any trade offer anyone wanted to throw my way for Green. Hiring Ime Udoka means this team hopes to be competing for the postseason, maybe not in 2024, but sooner than it looked just several months ago.

Memphis Grizzlies: This young Memphis nucleus has had a chance to grow together and have steadily improved the last four seasons under Taylor Jenkins. The trade for Marcus Smart helps them on defense and adds another point guard option to the roster on a very reasonable deal. The obvious elephant in the room is that Ja Morant will start the season serving his 25-game suspension and we’ll have to see how this year’s team plays without him. Once Morant returns, I expect it won’t take long for him to look like himself again and if Memphis can win at least 13 of those first 25 games, I like their odds of making the top half of the postseason brackets.

New Orleans Pelicans: New Orleans is another Western Conference team whose success all hinges on the health of their often-injured super star. If he’s on the court, Zion Williamson will be dominant and lead this team to the postseason but if he’s not, this is a team with a lot of talent, but not good enough without him to contend for the playoffs. If Zion misses time and the team isn’t winning, we could see the Pelicans turn sellers at the mid-season trade deadline. While it’s more fun to route for a postseason run than another retool, New Orleans has some very trade-able players and as a fan, I’d trust in my GM, David Griffin, and his long-term plan.

San Antonio Spurs: Its possible Victor Wembanyama will change the game of basketball right out of the gate. Players are already having to adjust to the idea there is a player who when standing inside the paint on defense is perfectly capable of blocking a three-pointer then on offense, can dunk the basketball from a standing leap without ever needing to step foot in the restricted circle, even to land. Now for the obligatory mention that the rest of this team isn’t ready to be good yet, but that won’t stop the basketball world at large from enjoying as much Wemby as possible all season long.

Winner; Memphis Grizzlies- I want to pick the Pelicans but the whole Zion being an injury away from it all crashing down scares me. Even with Ja suspended to start the season, I’ll take Memphis as this team has an established defensive identity.

Basement; Houston Rockets- I’ve seen enough from Wemby to say if he starts at least 60 to 65 games, the Spurs can win 30 maybe 33 of them. Houston on the other hand, I have my concerns. They hope it will be either Jabari Smith Jr. or Jalen Green but right now their best player is Fred VanVleet.

MVP; Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks)- This is a pretty easy one as Luka could easily find himself in League MVP discussions any season. This roster is a bit more tailored to his skillset than it was last season and now with a full training camp together, Luka can develop chemistry with Kyrie.

New Team Watch; Marcus Smart (Memphis Grizzlies)- Smart is a great addition for Memphis as he helps with point guard duties while Ja is out and can also do some of the things Dillion Brooks did for them defensively.

League Pass Team; San Antonio Spurs- I considered going New Orleans, especially if we can get a season of Zion, but watching Wemby all season is too enticing to pass up.

Predictions

East Playoff Standing

1. Milwaukee Bucks

2. Boston Celtics

3. Cleveland Cavaliers

4. New York Knicks

5. Philadelphia 76ers

6. Atlanta Hawks

7. Miami Heat

8. Brooklyn Nets

Play In #1: Indiana Pacers

Play-In #2 Orlando Magic

West Playoff Standing

1. Phoenix Suns

2. Denver Nuggets

3. Oklahoma City Thunder

4. Los Angeles Lakers

5. Memphis Grizzlies

6. Dallas Mavericks

7. Sacramento Kings

8. Los Angeles Clippers

Play-In #1 Minnesota Timberwolves

Play-In #2 New Orleans Pelicans

Award Winners

MVP: Jason Tatum-(Boston Celtics)

Rookie Of The Year: Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs)

Most Improved Player: Mikal Bridges (Brooklyn Nets)

Sixth Man Of The Year: Immanuel Quickley (New York Knicks)

Coach Of The Year: Mark Daigneault (Oklahoma City Thunder)

Executive Of The Year: Jon Horst (Milwaukee Bucks)

In-Season Tourney

West Group A Winner: Phoenix Suns

West Group B Winner: New Orleans Pelicans

West Group C Winner: Oklahoma City Thunder

East Group A Winner: Cleveland Cavaliers

East Group B Winner: Milwaukee Bucks

East Group C Winner: Orlando Magic

In-Season Tourney Winner: Oklahoma City Thunder

Finals Prediction:

Finals : Milwaukee Bucks (4) over Denver Nuggets (2)

Finals MVP: Damian Lillard (Bucks)