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Our Top 5 NBA Futures Predictions 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander MVP +600

SGA sits well behind the top two favorites for MVP Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic. Both of the players definitely can win the MVP. Jokic has done it three times, and Luka carried his team to the Finals. However, SGA did finish second in voting last year. He is already on the minds of voters. The Thunder also managed to improve their roster around SGA this year as well. Adding Isaiah Hartenstien to the mix and Alex Caruso, who will help round out some of the issues with the team. 

Many experts expect OKC to finish at the top of the Western Conference this year. The team is in a prime position to win tons of games in a challenging Western Conference setting. With SGA being the lead guard on that roster, he’ll undoubtedly be at the top of MVP voting. That team could step back with Jokic losing another key role-playing this off-season in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jamal Murray struggling this summer in the Olympics. The Mavs faired a little betting in the off-season, adding Klay Thompson, but they did lose their lead defender in Derrick Jones Jr. Either way, SGA at +600 is a solid pre-season bet. 

Dalton Knecht Rookie of the Year +1100 

Dalton Knecht may have fallen into the ideal situation for his talents. He joins a Lakers roster that is in desperate need of shooting. Knecht played at Tennessee last year, putting up an impressive stat line and a great shooting split. Now joining LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the 23-year-old rookie has a chance to make a real impact this season. If he can help the Lakers compete in this western conference stacked top to bottom with talent, he’ll have an excellent shot at ROY. 

Knecht also has the advantage of the LA media. In such a centralized media market, if Knecht looks good early, his name will be everywhere, which is half the battle in the ROY race.

New York Knicks to Win the 2024 In-Season Tournament +1000 

The Knicks were the big winners of the off-season this year. Landing Mikal Bridges from the Nets in a trade, adding to their in-season acquisition of OG Anunoby. Things are happening in New York basketball that we haven’t seen in a long time. As the Knicks look like they could be a legitimate challenger for the title. Their team is filled with talent as they reunited the championship-winning Villanova teammates. Jalen Bruson, Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart, with OG and Julius Randle making this an elite squad! 

They’ll play in group East A: New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, and Charlotte Hornets in the tournament. With the Celtics and Bucks noticeably absent from their group schedule, the Knicks have a great chance to make it out of the group stage. We think at +1000 odds, this is wild value for a team that will be stacked this year! 

Phoenix Suns to Win the Pacific Division +215

Phoenix hasn’t exactly had the smoothest ride under new owner Mathew Ishbia. After trading away almost everything besides the kitchen sink to land Kevin Durant and Brady Beal, they’ve struggled to make an impact in the league. That’s not to say they didn’t win a ton of games last year. With Devin Booker and Kevin Durant returning from their gold-winning efforts in the Olympics, we could see this team gain some traction. However, adding Tyus Jones in free agency may be the most significant addition to the team.

Last year, one of the biggest issues was the primary ballhandler. That’s not to say Durant and Booker can’t do it, but that’s not their best role. That is exactly what Tyus Jones excelled at, though. He is one of the best primary ballhandlers in the league, with an insane assist-to-turnover rate. He’ll hopefully provide a more sure hand to this offense and allow these other guys to focus more on scoring.

Conversely, the other teams in the division have all stayed the same or become worse. The Clippers lost PG in free agency, the Lakers didn’t address their scoring issues, the Warriors lost Klay Thompson, and the Kings did the best by adding Demar DeRozan. It will be a close race, but if KD can stay relatively healthy, the Suns should be in a great position to finish as the division winners. 

Scoring Leader Giannis Antetokunmpo +600 

This might be the longest shot take of the whole article, but we think Giannis has it in him to take the scoring title. He has been in the top 5 of scoring for the last 5 years and often in the top 3. Joel Embiid has been the leader for the previous three years, but this may be the best offensive team that Embiid has played with. Considering his injury history and the hunger of that team to make a big push in the playoffs this year, we expect Embiid to reel it in this regular season. We don’t think Embiid will chase it like he has in the past, and other candidates like SGA might just have too much scoring around them. 

Many of the other candidates are on more talented offensive teams this year. Luka is the favorite for this title at +140, but with Kyrie and Klay now, we could see his scoring drop mildly. Overall, Giannis is set up very well to chase the scoring title this year with Dame next to him. He’ll hopefully have more chemistry with him, which will elevate the pair. Overall, this is just a dart at the board, but there is some logic behind it.

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