The past few years of NBA basketball have heralded change. The dynasties of the 2000s and 2010s—Spurs, Lakers, Warriors, and Heat—have faded from glory. The stars of decades past are reaching their final years in the league. So, if everything is different, what does that mean for the upcoming playoffs? What does that mean for us as the viewers? Of course, LeBron James is still playing—his career has outlasted three presidents—but it can be hard to constantly keep up with every new player, team, or big win that comes out of the league. The Herald is here to bring you up to speed on the guys who look like big winners, with a healthy dose of personal opinion. What’s sports journalism without plenty of that? 

As an asterisk, I will note that it is impossible to constantly update a single written article with all the latest news, as the cycle happens so quickly. Those who are on top this week might be toppled by injuries or losing streaks in the next. Generally, however, I’ll try to summarize who’s been on top, and who will more than likely stay there. 

Quickly, for the basketball-uninitiated: the NBA Playoffs have the top 8 teams from each coast play one another, Eastern Conference vs. Eastern Conference and Western Conference vs. Western Conference, until both East and West have battled things out, and one team remains from each coast. Those two teams come together to play in the Finals, a best of 7 series where the first team to win four games is crowned the NBA Champion!

Cool? Cool.

The Eastern Conference

It’s important that we look first and foremost at the Boston Celtics. The Celtics have historically been a great team, and their 2023-24 roster is no exception; they haven’t won the most games in the league by signing incompetents. Super talented with great size and shooting ability, the Celtics are led by young stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who are backed up by extremely formidable players in other aspects. Recent acquisitions of Latvian giant Kristaps Porzingis and shooter-defender Jrue Holiday round out the team even more. Having personally observed the effects of Holiday’s shooting during a Raptors’ home game this January, let me be the first to say that I would not be looking forward to contending with the boys from Boston.

The Bucks are similar. Having won recently in 2021, Milwaukee is a mean looking team led by larger than life personalities: Giannis Antetokounmpo looks like a Greek Shaquille O’Neal, and Damian “Dame Time” Lillard is making clutch shots and providing a veteran presence. These guys are gunning for a championship. Acquiring Lillard is this season’s big change for the Bucks, as the star had been languishing in Portland before Milwaukee brought him to a championship team. To get Dame, they notably had to give up Jrue Holiday to the Celtics, something that they may come to regret if they are to play Boston in the playoffs. After losing in the first round of the playoffs last year to an upstart Miami Heat team, all eyes should be on the Bucks.

Speaking of, you can never rule out the Heat! The boys from South Beach are scrappy, having defied all odds and taken down both the Celtics and Bucks last year. Led by Jimmy Butler—a part-time emo fan, full time basketball monster—Butler earned his nickname “Playoff Jimmy” for his intensity in the postseason. He played so well last year that rumors began to circulate that he was in fact Michael Jordan’s illegitimate Texan son. Despite being ranked as the lowly eighth seed this year, you can never say never about Miami until Butler and Co. have hung up their shorts. 

The Western Conference

What makes the West fun this year is how chaotic it is. While the Eastern Conference is solidly ruled by the Boston Celtics, the west could truly be anyone’s turf. As for teams to look out for this year, look no further than the Denver Nuggets, last year’s champs. The Nuggets haven’t changed up their roster much in the past year, but hey, don’t fix what isn’t broken. Led by a master scorer and facilitator in Serbian centre Nikola Jokić, the Nuggets are a dangerous team. Jokić, “The Joker,” is backed up by great players in Canadian point guard Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Junior, a deadly shooter. Jokić himself is a force to be reckoned with, however. The Nuggets dismantled the Heat in last year’s Finals, winning the Championship in just 5 games. Nothing about this year makes me believe that they could not do it again.

Moving further west, let’s consider the Los Angeles Clippers. Perpetually in the shadow of their big brother, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Clippers have reached a climax as a franchise. The Clips assembled perhaps their greatest team ever, bringing together a “who’s who” of ballers for this year’s roster. If you were in Toronto in 2019, you remember the effect of Kawhi “Klaw” Leonard only too well. After his championship-winning stint with the Raptors, Leonard moved to Los Angeles and now acts as the centerpiece of the Clippers’ roster. As a two-time world champion and two-time Finals MVP, adding another championship to Kawhi’s name would elevate him to the status of a truly generational player. Alongside him are former MVPs James Harden and Russel Westbrook, formidable scorers in their own right, as well as veteran player Paul George.

Finally for the west, we can’t forget about the Oklahoma City Thunder. Led by another Canadian, the pride of Burlington, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a force to be reckoned with. Putting up more than 30 points per game, Alexander draws attention on and off the court with dazzling performances bolstered by a strong social media presence. Backing him up is a young core, most prominently rookie Chet Holmgren. Thanks to Holmgren’s uncanny appearance, NBA fans have gotten a view of what it would look like if Abe Lincoln put down the hat and picked up a jersey. The youthful centre is a widely liked player, at one point having headed talks to become Rookie of the Year.

Dreams and Predictions

Based on what I’ve said, you might assume that I believe the Celtics to be a shoo-in to knock out all of their Eastern Conference opponents. While this year’s Boston team is spectacular, they are not infallible. Last year, the Heat took out the Celtics in a 7 game series, a grueling matchup that saw the Celtics narrowly avoiding being swept in 4 games. While Taytum has gone to the Finals before, he lost to Steph Curry and the Warriors in 2022. The smart money is still on the Celtics to make it to the Finals thanks to their spectacular team this year, but I would not be surprised if someone managed to knock them out of contention. That force might come from the highly regarded veterans on the Bucks, the championship-starved New York Knicks, or even a repeat of last year’s Heat. Regardless of who metes it out, a loss would come as a powerful blow to the egos of Boston fans. Going to the Finals and winning, on the other hand, would help begin raising the legendary franchise back to its once unparalleled heights. Personally, I would be very happy to see Giannis, Dame, and the rest of the Bucks make it to the Finals again. An overperforming Miami team was demolished by the Nuggets last year, and as much as I loved their Cinderella story, I want the East to send a  team of proven winners to face the assuredly potent Western Conference Champions, whoever they might be.

In regards to the West, there is a strong difference between what I would like to happen, and what I think will happen. This year, the Clippers have well and truly won my hearts. I see the Clippers as a team that can validate the legacies of some of the NBA’s greatest stars of the 2010s. Westbrook and Harden managed to win MVPs, and Paul George always played at a high level, but neither of the three stars ever managed to win a championship. The 2010s was very much an era of dominance for a couple of teams, meaning lots of spectacular players never got their flowers from Finals wins. This year could mean the difference between three of the greatest players of our generation being remembered as winners or losers forever. To do so, however, the Clippers would have to make their way through the stone wall that is the Nuggets, and avoid any nasty surprises from an otherwise loaded Western Conference. The Thunder are led by an MVP candidate in Shai, the Timberwolves have spectacular players even after the injury of their star power forward Karl-Anthony Towns, and on the part of the Lakers, LeBron James is still LeBron James. Getting out of the West will not be easy. 

Whether it’s the Celtics’ return to dominance or the stalwart veterans on the Clippers, the high-flying acrobatics of young players or the grizzled toughness of the old, it pleases me to see the passion and care these players put into the game of basketball day in, and day out. A league this full of talent is something we should not take for granted as viewers; if you’re only now starting to tune in, you’re at a moment of “blink and you’ll miss it.” Rookie Victor Wembanyama is a sensation who will win championships for years to come. The Warriors Dynasty may soon unravel, much like Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls of the 1990s. LeBron James may soon retire, bringing a career that’s spanned three decades to an end. 

A lot is happening now, but it’s up to us to keep up.