Golden State Warriors
The Warriors have 23-year-old All-Star D’Angelo Russell, will be moving into the vaunted new Chase Center next season and are soundly managed both from an ownership standpoint and the front office. It is likely the Warriors will remain among the upper echelon of the league even beyond the Splash Brothers careers.
Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers have transformed their culture after being purchased by Steve Ballmer and hiring coach Doc Rivers. They also have arguably the best combination in the league right now in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, plus plans for a new sports complex in 2024.
With assets like Leonard and George, a new arena, the postseason success they should enjoy over the next several seasons and the winning culture that has been installed there, don’t expect the Clippers to slide back into their perennial lottery spot but rather look for them to emerge as one of the premier franchises in the league, which should keep them in contention well after Leonard and George have moved on in free agency or retirement.
Brooklyn Nets
When Kevin Durant returns from his Achilles tendon injury, the Nets should vault right into title contention with Durant paired up with Kyrie Irving. The Nets look to have cemented their spot as the premier franchise in the biggest market in the country, New York City, so don’t expect their run with Durant and Irving to be the end of the Nets, but rather the dawn of a new age.
Utah Jazz
At only 22 years of age, Donovan Mitchell is on the brink of becoming an All-NBA caliber player. His stature as one of the superstars of the league should keep the Jazz in contention for well beyond the next five years.
In the current era of player empowerment in the NBA, fortunes can change overnight. Perhaps I will be writing this same article next year at this time making a case for the other 15 teams in the league not mentioned here. It is hard to project the maintenance of the status quo or predict present trajectories in a league that has seen nine of last year’s all-star payers change uniforms over the last 13 months.
However, if you are looking for any futures bets on the 2025 NBA Champion, I would recommend looking at one the teams you believe will have a top ten player on their roster. Will that be the Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Sixers with Embiid and Simmons, the Pelicans with Zion Williamson or the Lakers with Anthony Davis?
It’s hard to say considering four out of these five players will have hit free agency in the next five years and Simmons will be in the final year of his contract. In the meantime, however, we can revel in following the Bucks, Sixers, Clippers, Lakers and Rockets battle for supremacy over the next several seasons, while watching the Pelicans, Hawks, Mavericks, and Kings develop their young rosters.