Now that the NFL season has arrived, the start of the NBA season isn’t far behind. With most teams all but wrapping up their offseason business, we have a clear view of what the rosters for this season will look like. For the time being, rather than being focused on the best teams, we wanted to give some attention to the most intriguing teams for the upcoming NBA season. These are the teams that figure to have interesting storylines or whose performance won’t be easy to project. For better or worse, here are the teams we’re most curious to see during the 2024-25 NBA season.
Houston Rockets
Young talent is always interesting to watch, and the Rockets have plenty of it. Of course, what they don’t have is a playoff appearance since the 2019-20 season. On the bright side, Houston finished strong last season and got to .500 despite failing to reach the playoffs. In fact, finishing just nine games behind the Mavericks, who won the Southwest Division, they don’t have that big of a gap to close. Houston has a young big man in Alperen Sengun and an emerging star with Jalen Green, as well as a veteran point guard in Fred VanVleet. The potential development of players like Jabari Smith, and Amen Thompson combined with the addition of rookie Reed Sheppard could make the Rockets a dark horse to watch in the Western Conference.
Indiana Pacers
Curiously, the Pacers aren’t receiving the attention and respect you’d expect for a team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season. The Pacers have Tyrese Haliburton, who is one of the best point guards in the league and retained most of their key free agents. Also, while the Pacers were swept in the Conference Finals, Haliburton got hurt in Game 2 and didn’t play for the rest of the series. Obviously, there are lingering questions about Indiana’s willingness to play defense. But that didn’t stop the Pacers from finishing just two games behind Milwaukee in the Central Division and advancing to the Conference Finals.
Heading into the season, there are five teams in the Eastern Conference with shorter odds than Indiana to win the NBA title in 2025. However, with a healthy Haliburton, the Pacers are just as much of a contender as anyone else in the Eastern Conference. That means if you’re wagering with betting apps, the Pacers could be an intriguing sleeper bet for the upcoming season.
Memphis Grizzlies
A suspension and an injury limited Ja Morant to just nine games last season. Without him for most of the season, Memphis won just 27 games. But if Morant can come back healthy and get back to the player, he was a couple of years ago before he was embroiled in controversy, the Grizzlies will become an interesting team to watch. Morant alone could be enough to make them a playoff team. Remember that Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson both averaged 20 points per game last season. Drafting Zach Edey also gives Memphis a wild card on its roster. In fact, seeing if the 7’4’ Edey can translate his game to the NBA also makes the Grizzlies a team worth watching closely this season.
New York Knicks
An injury-riddled team got bounced in the Conference Semifinals last season, so now everybody is wondering if the Knicks can run it back this season and contend with the Celtics. New York was close to unbeatable last season, especially when OG Anunoby was healthy. If they can keep Julius Randle healthy this season, the Knicks will have another bonafide star who was missing during the playoffs last season. The team also made a big trade for Mikal Bridges, giving them four former Villanova teammates on the roster. New York’s upside is huge, although how all those pieces come together is what will make them an interesting team to watch.
San Antonio Spurs
The presence of Victor Wembanyama alone makes the Spurs a fascinating team to watch this season. He’s already the most impactful defensive player in the league and will continue to get stronger and more polished offensively. San Antonio has plenty of room to grow after going 22-60 last season. During the offseason, the Spurs added veteran point guard Chris Paul while also drafting point guard Stephon Castle fourth overall. A trade for Harrison Barnes also gives San Antonio a reliable veteran on the wing. While the Spurs are far from being a bonafide contender, with veteran reinforcements like Paul and Barnes joining Wembanyama and a young core, it’ll be interesting to see how much progress San Antonio can make this season.
