As I always say… it’s truly a wonderful time of year! All the four major North American sports are being played and channel, along with web surfing, are at an all-time high! But the sport and specifically league we’re most interested in is the one and only, NBA!

It was truly the busiest off season in league history. It started off with a busy draft, then a crazy free agency period, followed by some unpredictable trades and to this day, not one coach being fired.  First time in decades all 30 teams will start the season with the same coach as the previous season had ended.

From all accounts the West still remains the conference with the most competition. Golden State remains the team to beat, however Houston, Oklahoma City and San Antonio will challenge for the top spots. In the East, Cleveland looks like the ones to beat with Boston, Toronto and Washington playing for the remaining top positions.

As for the young and up and coming teams, Philadelphia will finally make the playoffs after several years of looking up in the standings. Bryan Colangelo, Marc Eversley and the 76ers executives, have done a solid job mixing their very talented youngsters with some key, reliable and character veterans. Milwaukee will also continue to make strides with the Greek Freak & Co. and will continue to challenge everyone in the East. As for the West, Minnesota added some solid players, most notably Jimmy Butler, to a roster that includes Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.

This will truly be an incredible 72^nd year of the league. How everything unfolds will be beyond exciting!

Predictions for this upcoming season…

 Individual

Most Valuable Player: LeBron James (Cleveland)
Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Gobert (Utah)
Most Improved Player: Jusuf Nurkic (Portland)

Sixth Man of the Year: Eric Gordon (Houston)
Coach of the Year: Erik Spoelstra (Miami)
Rookie of the Year: TIE! Ben Simmons (Philadelphia) and Dennis Smith (Dallas)

Other ROY Considerations: Jayson Tatum (Boston); Josh Jackson (Phoenix)

 Eastern Conference              Western Conference
1. Cleveland Cavaliers            1. Golden State Warriors
2. Boston Celtics                     2. San Antonio Spurs
3. Toronto Raptors                  3. Oklahoma City Thunder
4. Washington Wizards           4. Houston Rockets
5. Milwaukee Bucks                5. Minnesota Timberwolves
6. Miami Heat                          6. Los Angeles Clippers
7. Charlotte Hornets               7. Portland Trail Blazers
8. Philadelphia 76ers              8. Denver Nuggets

Eastern Conference Finalists: Cleveland Cavaliers

Western Conference Finalists: Golden State Warrios 

NBA CHAMPIONS: Golden State Warriors