Oklahoma City Thunder
New Year's Resolution: Make the NBA Finals
The case can be easily made that the Oklahoma City Thunder have all the ingredients for success to win an NBA championship. They have a strong NBA MVP candidate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a potential defensive player of the year candidate when healthy in Chet Holmgren, and one of the strongest supporting cast in the league. With that said, even though the Thunder have been one of the most consistently good teams over the past two regular seasons, this is a group that still hasn’t sustained extended playoff success.
That’s why heading into 2025, I believe that the big New Year’s resolution for OKC should be to make it to the NBA Finals. After making the Western Conference Semifinals last season, this could be viewed as the natural next step for a Thunder team that has been dominating a wide-open Western Conference so far this season. The question is, can they find a way to put it all together heading into the second half of this season?
Orlando Magic
New Year's Resolution: Win a playoff series
Like many other contenders in the Eastern Conference, the injury bug has not been kind to the Orlando Magic. With the exception of the first handful of games of the season, this is a Magic team that has been playing undermanned this season. Credit to them, the Magic are one of the few teams in the league that have managed to survive the injury bug fairly well. Even despite having had to play short-handed for a good portion of the season, Orlando has continued to be a real handful in the Eastern Conference.
However, it is time for this team to take the next step forward. That’s why heading into 2025, I believe that the New Year’s resolution for the Magic should be to win a playoff series. It’s been a long time (14 years and counting) since the Magic last won a playoff series and believe that this roster may be ready to take that next step. If they can get and remain healthy down the stretch, this team will be in a position to make it happen.