Predicting the Most Improved NBA Teams Ahead of 2024-25 Season
Improvement is the entire point of the NBA offseason—unless, of course, your favorite squad is hot for Cooper Flagg.
Even then, though, every team is on some level looking to actualize the best possible version of itself. That can in many cases mandate taking deliberate steps back. For most, however, it requires leveling up the on-court product relative to the previous season.
This space seeks to identify which teams have made the most progress, positioning themselves to significantly outstrip last year's performance, perhaps ascending by leaps and bounds.
Taking this slant allows us to travel beyond the standings. Straight records no doubt matter, but this isn't about predicting which teams will increase their win totals the most. It isn't about singling out the franchises who have made the most new additions.
It's about spotlighting the teams who will end next year having most meaningfully upgraded their place in the Association's overall hierarchy.
Dallas Mavericks
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It turns out you can significantly improve an NBA Finals team even when you don't have cap space.
Fretting over the loss of Derrick Jones Jr.'s defensive malleability and athleticism is fair. But there's no world in which DJJ is valuable enough to second guess the overall bundle of talent added by Dallas.
Klay Thompson brings a motion-sniper element the Mavericks have never placed beside Luka Dončić. And where his shot selection may have been an issue on Golden State, changes of scenery have a way of encouraging change. So, too, does playing next to a pair of stars more ball-dominant than pretty much anyone you've ever teamed up with at your previous stop.
Naji Marshall will negate some of the defensive versatility lost with Jones. You don't always want him on smaller advantage creators, but he's capably handled change-of-pace guards before. And what he lacks in raw pop, he makes up for with strength against larger assignments. Dallas should also find his spacing beyond the arc more translatable to the playoffs.
Quentin Grimes' arrival, meanwhile, is being slept on. Injuries and poor shooting derailed his 2023-24, but he spent the previous first two years busting his butt against point-of-attack defensive assignments and swishing threes.
Measurable improvement from Dereck Lively II in his second year could be a given. The Mavs may even enjoy a jump from P.J. Washington after going through a training camp with him rather than having to incorporate him on the fly.
Viewing Dallas through the lens of its post-trade-deadline surge is a must. Even by those lofty standards, though, it's much better off.
Memphis Grizzlies
2 of 5
Offseason hustle is not the impetus for the Memphis Grizzlies' inclusion.
Drafting Zach Edey was their biggest move. And while his rebounding, rim protection and general deftness at being massive should unlock some filthy defensive lineups in tandem with Jaren Jackson Jr., this is more about what was already in place and the pleasant unknowability of it all.
Better availability from Desmond Bane, the recently re-signed Luke Kennard, Ja Morant and Marcus Smart will be huge. Throw in a healthy Brandon Clarke, and Memphis is getting, like, two impact free agents' worth of games played infused into the rotation.
This says nothing of continued development from Bane and Jackson. Yes, they were already cornerstones. But Morant's suspension and then right shoulder injury demanded they ferry more responsibility and self-creation. Bane, Jackson and Memphis will be better off for that exploration, and how it translates to an expanded pecking order.
Let's not forget about GG Jackson II and Vince Williams Jr., either. Their value inside the larger ecosystem of a good team remains to be seen, but GG, specifically, should help optimize the wing rotation and lineups featuring JJJ at the 5.
Memphis is going to obliterate last year's 27 victories. This core was working off consecutive 50-win campaigns entering 2023-24. And yet, this isn't just about racking up more Ws. It's about the return of a threat at the top of the Western Conference.
New York Knicks
3 of 5
Many will question whether the New York Knicks are much better off after losing Isaiah Hartenstein.
Let's not overthink this.
Hartenstein leaves a significant void up front. But a healthier Mitchell Robinson offsets much of the defensive value he takes with him, and New York can prop up even more offensive dynamism with front lines featuring Julius Randle and OG Anunoby.
Speaking of Anunoby: The Knicks lost just five times after his arrival, across the playoffs and regular season, whenever he played more than five minutes. He is forever a risk to miss time, but the gaps in his availability last year also mean New York has room to grow with him.
A healthier Randle will help, too. He's a divisive figure in national (and Knicks) circles, but his utility as a creator is undeniable in the context of this roster. He also did a better job of embracing and executing accessory work around Jalen Brunson last year.
Then, of course, there's Mikal Bridges. He is not a conventional superstar by any stretch, but his universal scalability is its own superpower. Having him upgrades New York's perimeter defense, shooting, off-ball movement, secondary playmaking and lineup flexibility. That seems pretty good.
Perfection is not a line the Knicks are straddling. But that's true of any team outside Boston, Oklahoma City and, possibly, Minnesota. What the Knicks are, though, is deeper and better at the top of their depth chart relative to last season, even if Brunson tumbles outside the top five of MVP consideration.
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Oklahoma City Thunder
4 of 5
Three "holes" in the roster came back to "haunt" the Oklahoma City Thunder by the end of a season that saw them win 57 games and bag the West's No. 1 seed: physicality on the frontline, playoff-proof spacing from the Josh Giddey and/or Lu Dort lineup slots and secondary shot creation.
At least two of these weaknesses are now strengths.
Flipping Giddey for Alex Caruso arms the Thunder with a shooter opposing teams will respect—not to mention a hellacious defender for a team that didn't really need one. Signing Isaiah Hartenstein gives them more of an F-U factor on the glass and the bandwidth to play huge when matchups mandate or allow it by rolling him out next to Chet Holmgren.
The shot-creation element is dicier. Caruso adds some ball-handling but can be a reluctant finisher. Hartenstein can serve as the hub in the half-court, but not in a way that coincides with Oklahoma City's proclivity for sped-up actions, and certainly not to the degree of an outside-in attacker.
That's something to monitor—not because it's a question unanswered but because the solution may already be in place.
Jalen Williams will get better…again. He may have benefitted from last year's postseason reality check more than anyone on the roster. Holmgren should have the space and time to explore more counters within his driving game now that Giddey is elsewhere. Aaron Wiggins can do much of what we're harping on. Don't rule out functional expansion from Cason Wallace.
Failing that, the Thunder still have a kajillion first-round picks they can use to swing a trade. Just don't beg executive vice president Sam Presti to use them. Oklahoma City may have already improved so much that it's now the most complete team in the league.
Philadelphia 76ers
5 of 5
Signing Paul George alone is enough to cement the Philadelphia 76ers' place in this discussion. But they managed to take their case one step further by assembling meaningful depth.
Tobias Harris, Paul Reed and a 35-year-old Nicolas Batum all ranked in the top five last year of total minutes played for Philly. George, Caleb Martin, Andre Drummond and perhaps Eric Gordon will vie for entry into those slots this coming season.
And oh, yeah, so will Joel Embiid. He finished with just 39 appearances in 2023-24, and given how long he tried to gut out his left knee injury, that number should be lower.
Sure, Embiid is always an injury risk. But counting on him to play in more than half the season's games isn't actually ambitious. Especially when the combination of George and continued ascent of Tyrese Maxey should somewhat streamline the workload he ferries on offense.
Bake in a smattering of digestible contracts and the ability to move up to four first-round picks in midseason trades, and the Sixers are positioned to go from really good to potential juggernaut.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
Unless otherwise cited, stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference, Stathead or Cleaning the Glass. Salary information via Spotrac. Draft-pick obligations via RealGM.
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