Ross Olson
MVP: Kevin Durant
Rookie of the Year: Jahlil Okafor
Sixth Man of the Year: Lou Williams
Coach of the Year: Billy Donovan
Western Conference Champion: Oklahoma City Thunder
Eastern Conference Champion: Cleveland Cavaliers
NBA Champion: Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder lost to Lebron James and the Miami Heat in the 2012 NBA Finals and haven’t been back since. This season will be their best chance to return to the Finals but this time they will win it all. Free agent to be Kevin Durant is back and healthy after missing most of last season with a foot injury. Durant rejoins a team that is bigger and deeper than ever after resigning forwards Enes Canter and Kyle Singler and drafting point guard Cameron Payne and forward Dakari Johnson. The Thunder failed to make the playoffs last season despite impeccable play by point guard Russell Westbrook. The team brought in successful collegiate coach Billy Donovan to take the reins of the team and lead them to victory.
Chris Deak
MVP: James Harden
Rookie of the Year: Kristaps Porzingis
Sixth Man of the Year: Isaiah Thomas
Coach of the Year: Brad Stevens
Western Conference Champion: San Antonio Spurs
Eastern Conference Champion: Cleveland Cavaliers
NBA Champion: Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers have a chance to dominate the NBA this year and go wire to wire as the best team in the league. The Cavs were an NBA best 34-9 after Jan. 15 last year after a 19-20 start. That dominant run was a result of Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James being healthy at the same time. The last five years have proven that James alone is enough to get you out of the Eastern Conference and if the Cavs can maintain their health through this year’s playoff run, they will be the favorites throughout the season.
Hunter McAdams
MVP: Anthony Davis
Rookie of the Year: Stanley Johnson
Sixth man of the year: Isaiah Thomas
Coach of the Year: Jason Kidd
Western Conference Champion: Golden State Warriors
Eastern Conference Champion: Cleveland Cavaliers
NBA Champion: Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron James will finally bring a championship home to Cleveland. Last year’s finals was on track to be one of the best ever. That was until the injury of Kyrie Irving. LeBron and Matthew Dellavedova gave it their all, giving basketball fans an entertaining series that left viewers with nothing but respect for the efforts of LeBron and the battered Cavaliers. The Warriors were still too much for the Cavs, taking home the championship. This year it will be a different story. If Irving, Kevin Love and the rest of the Cavaliers can stay healthy they will bring home the elusive championship to Cleveland. If both the Cavs and Warriors are healthy, the series could possibly go down as one of the greatest of all time.
Dominic Baciocco
MVP: Stephen Curry
Rookie of the Year: Emmanuel Mudiay
Sixth Man of the Year: Isaiah Thomas
Coach of the Year: Fred Hoiberg
Western Conference Champion: Golden State Warriors
Eastern Conference Champion: Chicago Bulls
NBA Champion: Golden State Warriors
The Warriors had what you can consider a perfect season in 2014-2015 and hardly touched their roster in the offseason. Why fix what isn’t broken, right? Steve Kerr and Golden State will pick up right where they left off in June and continue to torch the NBA with its overwhelming starting five. Stephen Curry will continue to prove why he’s the best player east of Cleveland, Klay Thompson will keep playing the younger brother roll of the Splash Brothers and the Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green duo will continue to dazzle defenders and shut down offenses. A veteran-led Spurs team has the ability to push the Warriors to the brink, but you can’t use youth to knock Golden State anymore. The Bulls can win the excuse of a conference that is the East and can snag two, maybe even three games from the Warriors in the Finals if Derrick Rose is healthy. That’s a big if, but I’m predicting he’ll play at least 51 games for the first time in four seasons. Coach of the Year Fred Hoiberg will have his team ready to give the Warriors more of a battle than Lebron James did last season, but Golden State will gain more gold come June.
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