Who will win the 2024 NBA Finals? As all 30 teams prepare to resume the season following the All-Star break, there is still no clear-cut answer to this question. Although the Boston Celtics have clearly cemented themselves as the best team in the league this year with a 43-12 record, there are still several other notable teams, such as the defending champion Denver Nuggets, who still have their eyes set on the Larry O'Brien championship trophy.
Compared to previous seasons, there is truly no telling how the postseason could play out because of all the talent that exists across the league. For once, we enter the home stretch of the NBA season without really having an idea of how the playoffs will shape up. After all, you can never count out LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. They may currently be in the play-in region of the Western Conference standings, but nobody is going to want to see them come playoff time.
In the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks have staked their claim as two of the better teams in the league prior to the All-Star break. Then again, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, and the Milwaukee Bucks can't be written off so easily despite their struggles as of late. Maybe even Joel Embiid returns at the end of the season and the Philadelphia 76ers can go on a run.
This is why the 2023-24 season is far from over. So many teams and so many talented players in both conferences will influence every game and every potential playoff series from here on out. However, only one team can call themselves NBA champions in June.
In the midst of the NBA All-Star break, ClutchPoints conducted a poll featuring media members from around the country, some of whom are official voters the league uses to determine the winner of their end-of-season awards. Some cover the league at large, while others cover individual teams. Nonetheless, each media member was asked a variety of questions pertaining to the major awards and the 2024 NBA Finals.
ClutchPoints Full NBA Midseason Media Poll
Most Valuable Player | Rookie of the Year | Most Improved Player|
Coach of the Year | Sixth Man of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year
In terms of who the media believes will win it all this season, the Celtics are clearly still the favorites, seeing as they own the league's best record. Still, there are several Western Conference teams on the media's mind, as is one other Eastern Conference team other than Boston.
Below are the results from the voting that took place during the All-Star break for the 2024 NBA Finals.
ClutchPoints 2024 NBA Finals Media Poll predictions
- Boston Celtics – 46.7%
- Denver Nuggets – 33.3%
- Los Angeles Clippers – 10.0%
Other teams receiving votes: New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns
Celtics, Nuggets picked for 2024 NBA Finals showdown
The team with the best record in the league at the All-Star break usually ends up being the favorite to win the NBA Finals. This is the case here in the media vote, with the Celtics receiving just under 50 percent of the total votes. The Nuggets finished right behind Boston with exactly a third of the votes. The Celtics are at the top of the NBA standings, and the Nuggets are the defending champions, but there is more to each team that makes them true title threats.
Boston has been defined by their starting five, which has been the best in the league this season. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday make up a deadly quintet that has been able to find success against any opponent on either end of the floor. Roughly 71 percent of the team's offensive scoring production has come from these five players. Plus, White and Holiday are both All-Defensive Team candidates yet again.
As a whole, the Celtics rank first in offensive rating and third in defensive rating coming out of the All-Star break. They also rank first in three-pointers made and attempted per game, as well as first in rebounding. On offense, when either Tatum or Brown are having an off day, someone else is able to handle the scoring load. Unlike most teams, which have just a few primary scoring options, the Celtics are confident with any of their starting five having the ball in their hands. Veteran big man Al Horford also has the freedom to take any shot he has while on the floor.
Through 55 games, the Celtics have never lost more than two consecutive games, and they did so once in their sixth and seventh games of the season. Boston has yet to lose more than once to the same opponent all season.
In the Western Conference, the Nuggets are going to be the team to beat until they are dethroned in the playoffs. The tandem of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray is still one of the toughest to stop when they run their two-man action near the three-point line, and Jokic once again finds himself at the front of the MVP conversation.
The Nuggets understand what it takes to win a championship after the journey they went on last season, which is why this season is a little easier for them in a sense. Obviously, the completion is still extremely hard, and they are going to have to find new ways to win in the fourth quarter if they are to have a shot at repeating as champions. However, the mindset of closing out games and winning in the playoffs becomes a little easier because of what they achieved last season.
Michael Malone is one of the best head coaches in the league and always flies under the radar, even after the Nuggets won the 2023 NBA Finals. He will have his team ready to go come playoff time, regardless of what their record or position is.
The Celtics and Nuggets are the two most common answers regarding teams to win the 2024 NBA Finals, but there are still some in the media who feel other teams are being overlooked.
Dark horse title contenders
The Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns, and New York Knicks were the only other teams to receive consideration in the media vote for the 2024 NBA Finals. The Clippers received a total of 10 percent of the votes, while each of the other teams received a single vote.
With Kawhi Leonard and Paul George healthy, as well as James Harden finally comfortable in his role, Los Angeles has been one of the hottest teams in the league since the start of 2022. In fact, they have lost only five games since January 1, two of which came in their final four games before the All-Star break.
When the Clippers were fully healthy a few years ago, with Leonard and George leading the way, they made their first-ever appearance in the Western Conference Finals. After Leonard tore his ACL in the playoffs, the team was unable to finish the job. As long as this group stays healthy, they will be awfully tough to take down in a seven-game series.
The same can be said about the Suns, with their three-headed monster of Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker on offense. Three of the best pure scorers in the league, this trio has led Phoenix to a 14-4 record over their last 18 games. Unlike the Clippers, the Suns have been unable to remain healthy over the course of the season so far, which could come into play as we inch closer to the playoffs.
Then there are the Warriors, who currently find themselves as the 10-seed in the West with a 27-26 record. Even though they have had their fair share of struggles to this point, one voter, who participates in the league's end-of-season voting for major awards, shared their thoughts as to why the Warriors are still threats if they make it to the playoffs.
“Stephen Curry is still playing at an MVP level despite not being in the MVP conversation, and the same championship core remains with this team,” the voter told ClutchPoints. “Maybe these are big ifs at this point, but if [Andrew] Wiggins can find his grove and if Klay [Thompson] just knocks down a couple of more threes here and there, this is a team that is much better than their record shows. They have played in the most one-possession games out of any team this year. If you turn three or four of those dumb losses they had into wins, we are looking at the Warriors as a 31-22 team that is right in the running for the 6-seed coming out of the All-Star break.
“We can't count them out until they are eliminated.”
Many wrote the Warriors off during the 2021-22 season, claiming that they were too old to contend for another championship. They went on to win three straight games and defeat the Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals after being down 2-1 in the series. Although much older now and starting to show major regression, the Warriors wholeheartedly believe they can still be championship contenders. If there is one thing we know, it is that no other team in the Western Conference is going to want to have to win four out of seven games against them.
Lastly, the Knicks also received some love in the NBA Finals conversation. At full strength, the Knicks may just be one of the deepest teams in the league, especially after acquiring Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks at the trade deadline. Assuming they can get healthy in time for the playoffs, Tom Thibodeau's crew is going to be a handful for some of the top teams in the East.
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