While Ronnie 2K and NBA 2K24 are preparing for the game's worldwide release this week, the NBA season is also gearing up for it's start. In less than a month, all 30 teams will have completed Media Day and begun training camp. For Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and the Phoenix Suns, they'll be starting the biggest year of their NBA careers.

Having traded for Bradley Beal and hired head coach Frank Vogel, the Suns are officially in championship or bust mode for the 2023-24 season. Together with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, the expectations are sky-high for Phoenix's newly re-tooled roster.

Ronnie Singh, also known as Ronnie 2K, recently spoke with ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview to promote NBA 2K24, where he says the Phoenix Suns are picks to win the 2024 NBA Championship.

“Those are my champions,” Ronnie 2K said. “I think they figure it out. The biggest thing is obviously everybody's talking about Bradley Beal joining that trio, but they also got deep. Like their bench, I mean, that was the problem. I mean, it wasn't like Devin Booker and Kevin Durant were sleeping through the playoffs, like they just didn't have anything else. And so I think the changes they made [were great].”

This offseason, the Suns completely revamped their roster around Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. They started off by trading Chris Paul and Landry Shamet in a deal that landed them Bradley Beal and Jordan Goodwin. Phoenix then signed free agents Chimezie Metu, Drew Eubanks, Yuta Watanabe, Keita Bates-Diop, Eric Gordon, and Bol Bol. They also exercised the team option on Ish Wainright while re-signing their own free agents in Josh Okogie and Damion Lee. All in all, nine new players are joining the Suns under newly-hired head coach Frank Vogel.

It's a lot to figure out for a team that doesn't have a clear-cut point guard with the departure of Paul, but there are already rumblings of Booker and Beal splitting playmaking duties.

“The interesting question is going to be can Bradley Beal play point guard or can Devin Booker step up and play point guard?” Ronnie 2K added. “And it's proven that those guys can and Bradley's really talented. Like, James Harden obviously has played point guard in Houston. I think it's a similar situation. That's really the only question, I think, if there is much of one. So yeah, they're the champions in my mind.”

As expected, health will be the biggest factor in the Suns' chase for a championship. Kevin Durant was acquired ahead of the 2023 trade deadline, but only played in eight of the possible 26 regular season games with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.

“I think the secret to success for these teams is who's had continuity for a lot of seasons, right? Like, who's actually got to jell? I mean, that's why the Warriors have been successful. They play together a lot and have for years. And so, I mean, that's really the key with the Suns as well. Like, if Devin Booker and Kevin Durant and those guys get a lot of games together, I don't really see anybody beating them.”

Ronnie 2K also did mention that his favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference are not the defending Eastern Conference Champion Miami Heat, but the Boston Celtics. Boston traded Marcus Smart and acquired Kristaps Porzingis this offseason to surround Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. They also revamped their coaching staff under head coach Joe Mazzulla and signed star Jaylen Brown to a five-year super-max extension worth up to $303.7 million.

In addition to the Celtics, Singh says the Nuggets are the biggest threats to the Suns, with the Lakers and Clippers in the hunt behind them.

Since returning from his Achilles tear suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals, Kevin Durant has averaged 28.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game across three seasons on an insane 53.7 percent shooting from the field and 40.8% from three. The problem is he's been unable to play more than 55 games in a single season, playing in a total of 137-of-236 games, equaling to just under 46 games per season.

Bradley Beal is another player that's been unable to stay healthy the last two seasons, playing in 90 of a possible 162 regular season games for the lottery-bound Washington Wizards. Now, both stars are hopeful for a fresh start in their first full season with their new team.

The NBA season will officially tip off on Tuesday, October 24th, with the Golden State Warriors hosting the Phoenix Suns. The opening night matchup will be Chris Paul's first matchup against his former team as well as Kevin Durant's first game in San Francisco with fans against the Warriors since leaving for the Brooklyn Nets in 2019.