Predicting The 2024-2025 NBA Playoff Seedings — Post Free Agency

Before wasting any time expounding on how this list materialized, let’s get right to it below.

2024-2025 Seed Projections

Eastern Conference

1. Boston Celtics

2. Philadelphia 76ers

3. Milwaukee Bucks

4. New York Knicks

5. Indiana Pacers

6. Miami Heat

7. Cleveland Cavaliers

8. Orlando Magic

9. Atlanta Hawks

10. Charlotte Hornets

11. Toronto Raptors

12. Detroit Pistons

13. Chicago Bulls

14. Brooklyn Nets

15. Washington Wizards

Western Conference

1. Denver Nuggets

2. Oklahoma City Thunder

3. Dallas Mavericks

4. Sacramento Kings

5. Minnesota Timberwolves

6. Phoenix Suns

7. LA Clippers

8. LA Lakers

9. Golden State Warriors

10. Memphis Grizzlies

11. New Orleans Pelicans

12. San Antonio Spurs

13. Houston Rockets

14. Utah Jazz

15. Portland Trail Blazers

Briefly Explaining The “Why” For Each Team

Eastern Conference

Boston Celtics: Reigning champs, best-designed roster in the East, flexible rotation, stable front office.

Philadelphia 76ers: Despite their continuously failed attempts at assembling a super-team, Philly has remained competitive thanks to Joel Embiid being unstoppable and Tyrese Maxey panning out quite well. Adding PG13 to an already tough team, offloading Tobias, and keeping key rotational pieces, their outlook is a little better for 2024.

Milwaukee Bucks: Unfortunate as it is, Damian Lillard isn’t looking like Dame time anymore (he’s almost 34), Khris Middleton is nice but almost 33 and injury-prone, and, in short, Giannis does not have the support staff he needs, but bringing on Gary Trent was a nice addition.

New York Knicks: The Villanova Knicks are set to be one of the toughest, most consistent, defensive-minded, reliable teams in the league after trading for Mikal Bridges and welcoming back Julius Randle from injury — they’re a sleeper pick to go to the Conference Finals.

Indiana Pacers: The Pacers are suddenly nice again after the addition of Haliburton and Siakam in recent years, and this, combined with their depth, makes them a formidable, exciting team to watch for now — albeit not championship-level.

Miami Heat: Jimmy Butler is almost 35 now. Outside of Adebayo, sometimes Tyler Herro, and some nice rotational pieces, he doesn’t exactly have much help, and Miami doesn’t seem like they’re trying to do much about it.

Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cavs have come a long way from their former reputation as a bottom-feeder without LeBron, but they’re still just “ight” at best, even with Donovan Mitchell resigning.

Orlando Magic: Paolo Banchero might very well soon be the Jayson Tatum of Florida and might have just turned this franchise around for the first time in a long time. Banchero, Isaac, the Wagners, adding KCP, and a plethora of guards will be enough to move this team into playoff contention next year.

Atlanta Hawks: It’s clear that Dejounte Murray wasn’t a great fit with Trae, but it’s not clear what exactly the Hawks plan is from here, especially with trade rumors circling the camp. In 2024, they’ll be heavily reliant on Trae alongside the recent emergence of Jalen Johnson, Hunter, Capela, and typical role players.

Charlotte Hornets: In a best-case scenario, the Hornets end up with two franchise cornerstones in LaMelo and Brandon Miller — and they may already have, but the team isn’t ready yet anywhere else.

Toronto Raptors: The Raptors have cleaned house and kind of…halfway started over with a combination of RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, Gary Trent, and some nice pieces like Quickley, Brown, Boucher, etc. The team is in somewhat of a limbo right now though, and fans with high hopes will likely just be frustrated by this odd-ball casting next year.

Detroit Pistons: They’re here because it’s hard to be much worse than the Wizards.

Chicago Bulls: Chicago’s front office hasn’t had any idea what it’s doing since the D Rose, Jimmy Butler era ended. They’ve made whimsical trades and odd pairings to try and get by. Remember the D Wade, D Rose, Jimmy Butler offense? They’ve tried it again with Lonzo, LaVine, and DeRozan and wasted that too. They have aging, injured stars that all pretty much just want out.

Brooklyn Nets: The road is closed, and rebuilding is underway.

Washington Wizards: It would be a stretch to even call this one a rebuild, it looks more so just like run-of-the-mill mismanagement.

Western Conference

Denver Nuggets: The West is arguably one of the most equally stacked, equitably distributed landscapes for star power across the league. In an environment like that, team chemistry, coaching, and cohesion usually win out. They may have lost to an enthusiastic Timberwolves team last year, but it doesn’t sway their standing for now.

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Oklahoma City Thunder: The NBA’s all-aura one-seed from 2024 has gotten even better in free agency — it could very well be #1 again.

Dallas Mavericks: Did Dallas outperform themselves last year? Maybe, or maybe the team chemistry is just that good. Here’s to hoping Klay can make a meaningful impact and give the team another scoring option it desperately needs.

Sacramento Kings: The Kings have been on the come-up for a few years now and have assembled a very well-rounded roster that can compete with almost anyone. Ambivalence and uncertainty amongst the former top teams in the West may grant them an opportunity to enter the top half.

Minnesota Timberwolves: They didn’t improve that much this offseason, so they could very well slide back down in 2024 — here’s to hoping the Anthony Edwards hype can continue carrying them into 2024.

Phoenix Suns: They’re here simply because of sheer star power, but the fact of the matter is that they’re a very redundant team with a starting backcourt of extremely talented, offensive clones. KD trade request incoming?

LA Clippers: James Harden, Terrance Mann, Kawhi Leonard, PJ Tucker, Zubac, and Westbrook off the bench. If this was 2019, this might be a super team, but right now, it’s just an uncertainty.

LA Lakers: For now, an enigma at best — hoping they can make the playoffs.

GS Warriors: 35-year-old Curry, Podz, Wiggins, Draymond, and Looney. Kuminga, Moody, Saric, and Payton. As great as Steph still is, this isn’t going to cut it. The addition of Buddy Hield is a very nice pickup, but it only marginally moves the needle without the addition of another borderline star like Lauri Markkanen.

Memphis Grizzlies: If they get a full season of Morant alongside this tough supporting cast, they could very well end up much higher. For now, an uncertainty.

New Orleans Pelicans: Murray, McCollum, Brandon Ingram, Zion, and a hole at center. In a best-case scenario, this team could actually be very fun, but who will start at the 5? Will BI even be there? They’re Pandora’s Box for now.

San Antonio Spurs: As great as Wemby already is, adding 40-year-old CP3 isn’t going to do much.

Houston Rockets : Sometimes, they are a fun, formidable team with some nice pieces, but in the grand scheme, they are uncertain at best.

Utah Jazz: With trade rumors encircling Markkanen, the Jazz don’t have much to go on right now.

Portland Trailblazers: The Blazers have some nice, young, talented pieces, but ultimately lack any clear direction. They are still collecting themselves after the end of the Lillard era.