Predicting the next NBA champion and major award winners

With the 2023-24 NBA season tipping off Oct. 24, theScore's NBA staff boldly predicts which teams will be left standing and who'll be in line for individual silverware after the campaign.

Eastern Conference finals

Damian Lillard's trade to the Milwaukee Bucks and an eventful offseason for the Boston Celtics has seemingly cemented the top two spots in the Eastern Conference among pundits, theScore's NBA staff included. It's hard to look past these two sides, especially considering the exploits of their main competition.

It helps that the Miami Heat witnessed Lillard join the Bucks instead of taking his talents to South Beach, which hurts even more considering the departures of Max Strus and Gabe Vincent. There's also the James Harden impasse in Philadelphia, which does nothing to improve the 76ers' chances of getting over the second-round hump.

Western Conference finals

Expect more of the same in the West despite multiple teams making offseason moves. Our entire staff sees the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets making the conference finals at the very least. Plus, half of the panelists see a third-round rematch against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Grizzlies and Suns represent two sides of the spectrum amongst other contenders. Memphis has long been in the title discussion but needs to withstand the 25-game loss of Ja Morant to secure a playoff berth. Meanwhile, a full season of Kevin Durant and the addition of Bradley Beal in Phoenix makes that squad the biggest wild card of the bunch.

Finals

There's no better way to demonstrate the newfound parity amongst the league's top teams than our staff choosing four different clubs as 2023-24 champions. None of these picks are out of left field, either. The Nuggets, Celtics, and Lakers were all just in the conference finals, while the Bucks had last campaign's best regular-season record.

At the end of the day, the biggest portion of our staff believed in Boston with its swap of Marcus Smart and Robert Williams for Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. After making at least the conference finals in five of the last seven seasons, a title would finally signify the defining moment for the Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown era of the historic franchise.

15th seeds

We interrupt your regularly scheduled glance at all things positive in the NBA with a look at the Association's basement dwellers. And what a recognizable group of familiar failures this is. It won't be easy to unseat the Detroit Pistons (17-65 in 2022-23) for the worst record in the league, but this lot will try its best.

Lillard's departure from Portland has many expecting a Trail Blazers collapse, while the long-awaited rebuild in Washington should see the Wizards languish in the league's nether regions for the entirety of the campaign. There's also the Charlotte Hornets, who could improve with the addition of Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball's return from injury. They might also be a well-disguised money-laundering scheme that somehow profits from losing.

Rookie of the Year

Two youngsters with similar statures are ready to battle for Rookie of the Year. The 7-foot-4 phenom Victor Wembanyama would've been the consensus pick for the award if Oklahoma City Thunder unicorn Chet Holmgren wasn't in the running due to a Lisfranc injury last year.

After a competitive preseason matchup earlier in October, the tandem will provide mandatory viewing appointments on three occasions this campaign. Other rookies will challenge for the award, like Scoot Henderson of the Portland Trail Blazers and Hornets forward Miller.

Coach of the Year

For Coach of the Year, leading a team to a noticeable improvement from the previous season will be the key deciding factor for the award. Mark Daigneault of the Oklahoma City Thunder will have a great chance after the team was one game away from making the postseason for the first time since 2020. Memphis' Taylor Jenkins is another intriguing option if he can keep the Grizzlies winning with Morant sidelined.

A pair of Eastern Conference teams, the Brooklyn Nets and Indiana Pacers, also have bench bosses that can challenge for the award. The Nets withstood cratering after the Kyrie Irving and Durant trades thanks to the leadership of Jacque Vaughn. The Pacers can push for a playoff spot with Tyrese Haliburton on the court and Rick Carlisle on the sidelines.

Executive of the Year

Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst is looking to join an illustrious list of the NBA's elite pencil pushers. Horst could become just the 12th person to win two or more Executive of the Year honors since the league started bestowing the annual award at the conclusion of the 1972-73 season.

Barring a complete meltdown by the Bucks, there's good reason to believe Horst could add some new silverware following his 2017-18 win after sealing the blockbuster trade for Lillard. Sure, the loss of Holiday will hurt - especially at the defensive end - but when you have one of the best players on the planet in Giannis Antetokounmpo and are scared senseless by his quotes from September, you trade for a generational bucket-getter.

Most Improved Player

As per usual, picking a winner for Most Improved Player is largely a dart throw, with no player receiving more than two votes from our staff. Josh Giddey barely leads the way. A third-year pro, his scoring repertoire is growing to match his passing and rebounding chops on what should be a much-improved Thunder squad.

The rest of the candidates range from players slated for bigger roles like Tyrese Maxey and Mikal Bridges to third-year guys looking to take a star leap in Jalen Green and Scottie Barnes. The case for any of our options is a sound one, but making a confident prediction at this point in time is as challenging as any of the categories listed.

Defensive Player of the Year

It's been a few years since the Defensive Player of the Year was won by the same recipient in back-to-back seasons, but Jaren Jackson Jr. will endeavor to be the first since Rudy Gobert. Despite missing the first 14 games of the season, the Grizzlies big man dominated the paint, leading the league in blocks per game with 3.0.

JJJ has a decent chance to repeat, but he'll be tasked with more offensive responsibility as Morant serves a 25-game suspension. Despite Marcus Smart winning in 2022, the award is usually given to bigs and wings. A new Celtic, Holiday, stands a chance, while Bam Adebayo's postseason showing could carry over into this campaign.

Sixth Man of the Year

After losing out to then-Celtic Malcolm Brogdon last year, Immanuel Quickley is ready for another crack at the award. While Brogdon awaits a trade to a contending team from the basement-dwelling Blazers, the New York Knicks continue to depend on Quickley's energetic scoring punch off the bench. The 24-year-old has steadily improved over each of his three NBA seasons.

Other candidates for the award also play in the same division as the Knicks, including Raptors sharpshooter Gary Trent Jr. and the versatile Derrick White. Both players are slated for bench roles after consequential offseason decisions. The award tends to skew toward guards, with backcourt players being recognized in 11 of the last 12 seasons.

Most Valuable Player

If our staff is correct, one of Antetokounmpo or Jokic will win their third MVP trophy at the end of this upcoming campaign. Outside of that, the two have a lot in common. They're both international big men who stuff the stat sheet in all areas, play on two of the very best teams in basketball, and have an elite shooting point guard as their sidekick.

With Jokic, it's extremely easy to project his value on a team whose core stays mostly intact coming off a championship in June. For Antetokounmpo, his already sky-high ceiling has the chance to be raised even further with Lillard as his running mate.