We’re still a couple of months away from the start of the 2024-2025 NBA season. The off-season is over, though. Don’t expect major transactions or news to pop up in the next few weeks. It is officially… the dog days.

That being said, it is a good time to look ahead and gauge what we can look forward to in the new year.

Let’s do some fun tiers.

Tier 1: The Defending Champs

The Boston Celtics

The champs get their own tier because, personally, I subscribe to the idea that in order to be the champ, you have to beat the champ. The Celtics are bringing back their entire core and have everyone locked in long-term. This team boasted the best offense in NBA history last season and the second-best defense in the league on their way to 64 regular season wins before going 16-3 in the playoffs to win a title. They dominated and, until further notice, will continue to lead the way in the Eastern Conference.

Tier 2: The Number 1 Contender

The Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder are in a tier of their own. A cut above the rest of the contenders in the league, but deservingly the first team that should be mentioned that could topple the Celtics. They’re coming off of an impressive season where they won the West in the regular season but fell short in the playoffs due to a handful of self-inflicted ailments. They were too small, and their historically young team, led by MVP candidate Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, had to iron out the kinks of post-season basketball. But arguably no team had a better off-season. The Thunder added both Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein without giving up any first-round picks and traded away Josh Giddey, who no longer fit with their young core. SGA should continue humming along this season as one of the league’s very best. Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren will have another year of experience under their belt. The additions of Hartenstein and Caruso should make them more versatile and more dominant defensively. This team is deep, has the top-end talent to compete with anyone, and has all the makings of a contender-to-be for years to come.

Tier 3: ‘Things Have To Go Right’ Contenders

Eastern Conference: New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks

Western Conference: Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves

All of the teams in this tier could win the championship, but things would have to shake out just right for them to do so. They all deserve your respect. The Knicks upgraded by adding Mikal Bridges to their wings and retained OG Anunoby in the summer. The Sixers made a massive upgrade on the wings by adding Paul George. The Bucks, cap-restricted, did what they could to improve by adding Gary Trent Jr., Delon Wright, and Taurean Prince and will be in year 2 of the Damian Lillard-Giannis Antetokounmpo partnership.

In the West, the Mavericks added sharpshooter Klay Thompson into the fold. And while the Timberwolves and Nuggets didn’t make any additions (and in Denver’s case, lost a key piece in Kentavious-Caldwell Pope), they still have the top-end talent to win a championship.

However, all of these teams come with a set of intriguing questions. Can the Knicks, Sixers, and Bucks stars stay healthy for long enough to make deep, meaningful playoff runs? Can the Mavericks replicate their late-season surge for a full-season? Can Rob Dillingham step into a role immediately for the Timberwolves? Can Anthony Edwards and Karl Anthony-Towns take tangible steps forward as decision-makers? Will Jamal Murray be healthy enough for the Nuggets to disregard their lack of depth at the guard spot? Or will Christian Braun or Julian Strawther be impactful at that position?

Tons of questions. Not many answers at the moment. But ultimately an incredible amount of championship-caliber talent in a league riddled with parity.

Tier 4: Playoffs Or Bust

Eastern Conference: Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic

Western Conference: Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers

This tier truly shows you the depth of talent in the league, especially in the Western Conference. We’ve already rattled off four teams in each conference in the tiers above, and there are three teams in the East and six teams in the West in this ‘Playoffs or Bust’ section.

Essentially, a few of these teams will leave this season disappointed.

One of the Cavs, Pacers, or Magic could be fighting for a play-in spot in the East, and all three teams pack a level of young, intriguing talent that could be a major swing factor in the race. Can Tyrese Haliburton replicate his pre-injury run from last season and be an offensive engine unto himself next to Pascal Siakam? Will Andrew Nembhard take a big leap following an impressive 2024 playoff run? Will newly-appointed Cavs Head Coach Kenny Atkinson be able to inject some creativity into Cleveland’s offense and squeeze some more juice out of Darius Garland and Evan Mobley? And what dynamic will the KCP addition provide to a fiery group in Orlando led by Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs?

The West is just a mess. The Grizzlies are likely back in the fold with a healthy Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr. The Pelicans are waiting for the Brandon Ingram domino to fall but fully healthy, pack a mean punch with Zion Williamson and Dejounte Murray. The Kings just added veteran scorer DeMar DeRozan into the mix, who should help a team that took a step back offensively last season, perform better in clutch scenarios. And then there’s the Suns, Warriors, and Lakers — led by aging stars hoping to have one last run at title contention. The Suns and Warriors added depth. The Lakers didn’t. Can either of these three make the leap to contender status? Time is ticking.

It’s a fascinating tier, and one (or more) of these teams could prove themselves worthy of the tier above by the end of the season. That’s what makes this group exciting. The stakes are high, the competition is fierce, and there’s only so much room at the top.

Tier 5: On The Outside Looking In

Eastern Conference: Miami Heat

Western Conference: Houston Rockets, LA Clippers

Unfortunately, there are always teams that will have aspirations of getting to the next level, but either don’t have the top-end talent or the depth to get it done.

The Heat are an interesting team for next season. It seems they’ve had this on-again, off-again approach to the regular season for the last few seasons, and it’s difficult to get a read of what team will show up for this one. They still have Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, who have both proven that they can compete with the very best in the league in any given game. Although, the Butler extension discussions may cast a cloud over that idea. Their young crop of Tyler Herro, Jaime Jacquez, Nikola Jovic, Haywood Highsmith, and Kel’El Ware should round out a talented rotation. But has their time passed them? It does feel like they’re on the outside looking in with the rest of the East playoff race as of now, but I’ve learned over the last few years never to doubt Heat Culture. Putting them in their tier will likely look bad in a few months but I’m happy to be proven wrong by a fun group.

As far as the Rockets and Clippers go, the West is just a gauntlet. And while both of these teams could theoretically be mentioned with the ones above, both seem a cut below for different reasons. The Clippers just lost Paul George for nothing, and while they added some defensive-minded depth, they are a single Kawhi Leonard or James Harden injury away from this being a very long season. The Rockets, on the other hand, are one of the most interesting teams in the league next season. Loaded with young talent, they’re looking for one of their guys to pop in a meaningful way so they can steer the ship in a certain direction. Who that player is between Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, Amen Thompson or even 2024 3rd overall pick Reed Sheppard is still undecided — but that’ll be half the fun of this season. They’ll still be competitive every night, led by a veteran Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks, who helped shape them into a top-10 defense last season. How competitive remains to be seen.

Tier 6: Fun, Bad, Play-In Hopefuls (A Star Is Born?)

Eastern Conference: Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons

Western Conference: San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz

This tier is for the real league pass sickos. Outside of the Spurs, none of these teams have any sort of national spotlight on them, but they all have their fair share of intriguing young talent to watch. I would wager that whoever wins the Most Improved Award comes from this group of teams.

The Hawks are re-vamped. Out goes Dejounte Murray. That experiment is over. But how long will Trae Young be content waiting for Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu, and number 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher develop?

The Bulls are equally compelling in a weird way. How will Josh Giddey be as the lead ball-handler next to (a presumably healthy) Zach LaVine? What does that mean for guards Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu, who took meaningful career steps last season? Chicago, as always, is in a puzzling situation.

The Raptors are headed in a new direction as the franchise celebrates its 30th anniversary. Will Vince Carter and Jose Calderon celebrations be enough to keep fans entertained? Or will Scottie Barnes, who turned into an All-Star last year, become an All-NBA level talent following his contract extension? Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett put up career numbers in their short stints with the Raptors; how do they look in their first full season in Toronto? If one of those three truly pops, a leap up the standings is plausible.

The Pistons added shooting, a new head coach, Tobias Harris and are hoping to get some much-needed injury luck from Cade Cunningham to wash away the memories of an abhorrent season. Best of luck to them.

The Jazz, post Lauri Markkanen extension, are likely going to be a feisty young group that will be outmatched in the unbelievably competitive West.

But the two most intriguing teams of the bunch are the Spurs and Hornets. The Spurs, for obvious Wembanyama reasons. But they also added veteran leadership with Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes. Does the Chris Paul effect still linger to this date? We’ll see.

The Hornets, for their part, also have an interesting young group that could make a play-in push if LaMelo Ball stays healthy and if Brandon Miller takes another leap.

As things currently stand, none of these teams are truly good enough to be in the tier above. But they’re all a breakout star away from that changing.

Tier 7: Waiving The White (Cooper) Flagg

Eastern Conference: Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards

Western Conference: Portland Trail Blazers

While the future is bright for all 3 teams (to varying degrees), it’s safe to say that none have any real interest in winning games this year. The Wizards still don’t have a true cornerstone to build around. Neither do the Nets, who pulled the plug entirely this summer by moving Bridges across the… bridge. And while Portland has the most talent and upside of this group, it’s safe to say that they don’t have that true cornerstone piece either. Unless Scoot Henderson or Shaedon Sharpe take sizeable leaps this season (and even if they do) they’re playing for lottery balls in the daunting West.

These teams have entered the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes already. And rightfully so.