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Congratulations to the Liberty for winning their first title in franchise history. We can dig into their climactic Game 5 after wrapping our NBA season previews.
Pacific Division Preview
Do five playoff teams reside here?
We are previewing the 2024-25 season leading up to opening night tomorrow, by going through each division and every major individual award. This is the last division for us to preview! We’ve also done all of the individual awards except for MVP, which we tackle today. For each team, I’ll make a bold prediction and offer a take on the over/under set by BetMGM. Five 🥶 emojis on the hot seat meter is job security. Five 🔥 means let’s update that résumé. Let’s preview the Pacific!
Best-case scenario: Kawhi’s knee magically heals, Harden returns to 2019 form and LA’s newfound depth proves to be better than Paul George as the Clippers reach at least the second round of the playoffs.
Worst-case scenario: Kind of what’s happening to start the season! Kawhi is never truly healthy, Harden is just fine and LA ends up in the lottery, which then swaps its pick with OKC’s.
Confidence in the Clippers: 💪💪
Best-case scenario: The Budenholzer regular-season effect brings them to a top-two seed in the West, and the star power carries them deep into the playoffs in the West.
Worst-case scenario: More of last season. A so-so season for a good team followed by a brief playoff appearance and zero flexibility to change the roster.
Confidence in the Suns: 💪💪💪💪
Best-case scenario: They avoid the Nuggets, their 3-point shooting boosts the offense under JJ Redick, and the LeBron-AD combo carries them past the second round.
Worst-case scenario: LeBron and AD don’t maintain last season’s health, and Redick isn’t able to get everybody on board with his plan before a first-round playoff exit.
Confidence in the Lakers: 💪💪💪💪
Best-case scenario: DeRozan fits, this team is a monster in the fourth quarter, and the defensive improvements from last year get them toward that top-six spot.
Worst-case scenario: The defense is a mess, DeRozan addition is clunky and the Kings start questioning if Mike Brown is the right coach.
Confidence in the Kings: 💪💪💪💪
Best-case scenario: Green doesn’t get suspended, the new guys blend in perfectly, Kuminga takes a leap and Curry has more Olympic-esque moments as this team gets at least into the second round.
Worst-case scenario: Green can’t stay on the floor, Hield can’t replace Klay and Steve Kerr struggles with Kuminga and Moses Moody. This all leads to being knocked out of the Play-In.
Confidence in the Warriors: 💪💪💪💪
Awards Predictions
Who will take home MVP honors this season?
“[Insert favorite player here] should have been the MVP!” This is the state of internet fandom and the approach to MVP voting results. Fans of the Thunder and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander felt he was robbed last year. Mavericks fans and Slovenians thought Luka Dončić had the MVP hardware stolen from him. Jayson Tatum can’t believe he didn’t win it. The current state of the MVP conversation is both entirely frustrating and incredibly encouraging for the NBA.
We’re going to have crowded MVP fields for the foreseeable future. Maybe 20-year-old Victor Wembanyama eventually changes that, when he’s making it an annual foregone conclusion. However, the league has so many deserving stars in so many great situations, that you’re going to have legitimate cases for at least three guys every season. Maybe it will go to someone from the USA this year? That hasn’t happened since Harden won in 2017-18. With that said, here are BetMGM’s favorites for this coming season’s Most Valuable Player award.
Favorite: Luka Dončić (+350)
Threats: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+400), Nikola Jokić (+475), Giannis Antetokounmpo (+850), Anthony Edwards (+1200), Jalen Brunson (+1400), Jayson Tatum (+1500)
Darkhorse: Zion Williamson (+8000)
My prediction: SGA. OKC will probably win 60 games, and he’ll be phenomenal.
Finals Controversy
The Liberty notch first WNBA title 🗽🏆
The New York Liberty won Game 5 of the WNBA Finals 67-62 in overtime. It’s the best WNBA Finals in the league’s history. It’s one of the best basketball finals period. Breanna Stewart continues to win at a crazy high level, and the role players for the Liberty – particularly Jonquel Jones (finals MVP), Nyara Sabally and Leonie Feibich – lifted up the star combo of Stewie and Sabrina Ionescu, who combined to go 5 of 34 from the field.
Instead of celebrating the Liberty’s first title after a 28-year wait, viewers without a New York rooting interest were trying to figure out how the league and the refs got away with a very one-sided decision. The officiating was bad. It followed the pattern of favoring the coach who complained last in a postgame interview. But this play at the end is where the controversy went from “this is bad officiating” to people on the internet outright saying this was rigged.
Stewie clearly traveled before being bailed out with a foul call. Every replay angle showed no contact. The Lynx challenged it. The refs reviewed it. Then, the crew chief said Alanna Smith wasn’t in legal guarding position, which is objectively absurd, but the call stood. Two free throws were knocked down before Kayla McBride missed a wide-open 3-pointer to win it. The Liberty won in overtime, but not without some outcry. When I said earlier people on the internet were complaining and accusing, I don’t mean random people in Mankato, Minnesota.
LeBron James: “I’m sorry but that wasn’t a foul! Let the damn players dictate the outcome of a close battled tested game.” He added a facepalm emoji.
Damian Lillard: “Refs called this game like they knew the assignment in the 2nd half boy. Great game .”
Isaiah Thomas: “They lowkey cheated for NY but I get it lol.”
As the broadcast celebrated the Liberty closing it out and we got to the trophy ceremony, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert was wearing a dress with New York City buildings. As my friend Brennan, a Lynx fan, said in a group chat, “Unless she was planning to come out wrapped in lutefisk if we won, this doesn’t seem fair.” It’s straight out of a Vince McMahon playbook. The optics don’t look great when you add everything together.
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said after the game, “I know all the headlines will be ‘Reeve cries foul.’ Bring it on. Right? Bring it on. Because this shit was stolen from us. Bring it on.”
Ultimately, it’s probably all for naught if McBride knocks down that 3-pointer. That won’t stop non-Liberty fans from tarnishing this historic moment with valid questions, though. Many say the NBA took off in the ’80s after Larry Bird and Magic Johnson established a rivalry, Michael Jordan entered the league and alleged NBA lottery chicanery led to New York landing Patrick Ewing. Maybe this finals controversy was the day the WNBA became president?
This was the best season in WNBA history – the start of something truly fun and special for a league that has found a new path in recent seasons. Regardless of who won, it deserved a more legitimate ending. But that’s sports, folks.
Bounce Passes
This is everything you should know from the preseason.
Dynasties are good for the NBA! Does everybody agree?
This is a pretty great piece by Marcus Thompson on how stars still affect young NBA players.
What are scouts saying about Wizards rookie Bub Carrington? Josh Robbins has you covered.
The Warriors have agreed on a contract extension with Moses Moody for three years and $39 million. That’s officially a steal.
Most-clicked in Friday’s newsletter: Hall of Famer Rick Barry is 80 years old but will cook you and your loved ones at pickleball.
(Top photo: Jordan Johnson / Getty Images )
