NBA Finals: Predicting the Next 5 NBA Champions

I've got to tell you guys something I haven't told anyone else before.

I have a crystal basketball.

When the Jamario Moon gets at just the right position and lets the World B. Free, the right vibes fly in and I get the perfect signal from Darryl Dawkins out on Planet Lovetron letting me see into the basketball future.

Now, this has only worked once before, this same crystal basketball was used by my grandfather to predict the coming of Bill Russell Dynasty back in the late '50s, and conditions are looking eerily similar to that time.

There is only so much I can look at in this small window of time, and I don't get exact answers from the crystal basketball, but I get generalizations that, if read right, can accurately tell who is going to win titles in the near future.

So let's see if we can't take a look into the future and pull out the next five NBA Champions.

2012: Who's Up, Who's Down?

The 2012 NBA season is going to be a short one.

With the lockout progressing slowly, as both the players and owners are dragging their feet, staging what looks to be talks where they each put forth their outlandish demands, while the other side emphatically says, "No!"

Who's Up?

Oklahoma City Thunder: Once the Thunder sort out their alpha-male issues (if they exist), they should be the best team in the West.

Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe Bryant is determined to tie Michael Jordan and new head coach Mike Brown is going to toughen them up.

New York Knicks: Another year together for Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire, plus additional time to develop their rookies.

San Antonio Spurs: They won't have a better regular season, but a better post-season will happen as their old guys will have fewer games under their belt with a lockout shortened season.

Who's Down?

Atlanta Hawks: Joe Johnson is on the downslope of his peak and they may end up trading Josh Smith to start planning for the future.

Dallas Mavericks: Another year older, free agent losses and maturing young teams in the West make a repeat look unlikely.

Boston Celtics: They lost their big man (Kendrick Perkins) and have very little chance of replacing him in free agency. This is the beginning of the end for the Celtics.

2012 Champion-Los Angeles Lakers

This is based on the will of Kobe Bryant and his unwillingness to let what happened last year die in the locker room.

The Los Angeles Lakers should be a much more motivated team after last year's embarrassment and will only be helped if there is a lockout.

Bryant is going to be fresher when the playoffs role around. He will continue to work on his game and  is going to put forth a performance to vault him into the top ten of all-time in everyone's minds.

If they meet the Heat in the Finals, there is no way they lose to Miami, as it would eat at Kobe until the day he dies if he lost to LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Pat Riley.

2013: Who's Up, Who's Down?

A full season coming after a lockout shortened year, along with a star-studded free agent and draft class is going to make for one of the most interesting offseason and regular season of all-time.

Who's Up?

Miami Heat: It's starting to get embarrassing.  Two seasons and zero championships is going to turn LeBron James into the player we all thought he was, or Dwyane Wade is going to completely take over.

Oklahoma City Thunder: They feel it, it's their year, and they are going to have their easiest road to the finals with the Lakers, Mavericks and Spurs dropping.

New York Knicks: They managed to wrangle Chris Paul away from the Hornets and have their own trio from Hell.

Orlando Magic: They retained Dwight Howard, something nobody thought possible, and now can concentrate on accumulating championships in the near future.

Who's Down?

Los Angeles Lakers: They were banking on a sign-and-trade for Dwight Howard for the past five months, but they are left with an aging roster.

San Antonio Spurs: Tim Duncan is tired, and close to being retired—he can't be the man to keep the Spurs afloat for much longer.

Dallas Mavericks: Their super high payroll catches up to them when they can't sign any free agents after Jason Kidd retires.

Boston Celtics: Everyone is getting old, but Rajon Rondo. Either Ray Allen or Kevin Garnett has left and things begin to look bleak for Boston.

definitely

2013 Champion: Miami Heat

Live it up Miami. After two long years of "suffering" with three amazing players not getting you a championship, they finally will grab one in year three.

LeBron breaks down in tears on the court while his mom watches with Delonte West from the stands, Chris Bosh literally shouts so loud that he ends up a mute and Dwyane Wade rejoices that dealing with the circus that he helped put together actually paid off.

The most annoying championship celebration in the history of the NBA ensues as the streets of Miami flood with hair gel and STDs.  Pat Riley observes from some rooftop looking like the Green Goblin menacing down on the city with a smug grin on his face.

Can you tell I'm just a little bitter even predicting their success?

2014: Who's Up, Who's Down?

The Miami celebration lasts until about December, when they realize that they still have to play basketball, they were not crowned unanimous the best all-time basketball team ever.

Who's Up?

Chicago Bulls: Carlos Boozer's contract finally becomes fungible, as the Bulls flip him for a tough guy to pair with Joakim Noah. They finally take the hardwood with some swagger.

Los Angeles Clippers: DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin are looking like monsters in the low post for the Clippers, while Eric Gordon is emerging as an amazing third option.

Charlotte Bobcats: The trio of Kemba Walker, Bismack Biyombo and Harrison Barnes (projected draft pick in 2012) is looking like a promising young combo. They crack the top five in the East.

Who's Down?

Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe is using a walker to play these days and they are struggling to stay in the top four.

Miami Heat: They start to have a bit of a wiggle downward this season with the Heatles able to now opt out of their contracts at the end of the year.  Distractions loom as they start to look like they may break apart.

2014 Champion-Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder take advantage of the shift of power moving toward the East with the Spurs and Mavericks fading fast, the Lakers slipping and the up and coming elite of the West looking too inexperienced to do much.

Oklahoma City steamrolls their way to the Finals, threatening to take it in four, until they get slowed down by the Bulls in the Finals.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook party until they can't move, while the city of Seattle holds a week long period of grieving.

2015: Who's Up, Who's Down?

The world is stoked after the Thunder win a title, especially after suffering through the Miami show the year before, but they shouldn't be happy for long.

Who's Up?

Miami Heat: Remember all of that business about the Heat breaking up?  Didn't happen.  They start to get down to business and look like they are determined to get another ring.

Utah Jazz: Enes Kanter is pulling the Jazz along, threatening to become the best center in the league, while the other pieces they acquired in the Deron Williams trade and from free agency start to pay off big time.

Minnesota Timberwolves: They aren't elite, but they end up a top-six team in the West.  The reason, they fired David Kahn the year before.

Cleveland Cavaliers: They aren't elite either, but they finally made the playoffs again, and I have to gloat about something.  After all, it is my premonition.

Who's Down?

Oklahoma City Thunder: The disease of more gets to them.  They just have too many good players.

2015 Champions: Chicago Bulls

Derrick Rose has his breakthrough year as a stone cold killer.  He takes his team by the reigns and helps shake off their loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder the year before.

Rose leads his Bulls on an impressive run through the unexpectedly tough Cleveland Cavaliers, the powerhouse New York Knicks and the dangerous and much-loathed Miami Heat.

They come out on top in a rapidly improving Eastern Conference for one of the most impressive championship runs of the decade.

2016: Who's Up, Who's Down?

The Heatles come in with a year left on their respective contracts with something to prove; while the Chicago Bulls come in looking like the best candidate for a repeat since the Lakers did it in 2009 and 2010.

Who's Up?

New York Knicks: They are tired of dominating in the regular season and coming up short in the playoffs, they look like they have the eye of a champion.

Charlotte Bobcats: Michael Jordan finally takes a lesser role in team direction, instead focusing on player development and helps lead the 'Cats to crack the top four in the East.

Oklahoma City Thunder: They've weeded out the "me" players and are ready and re-tooled to make another championship run.

Who's Down?

Minnesota Timberwolves: They fall out of the playoffs, it couldn't have lasted that long, could it have?

Memphis Grizzlies: After years of hanging around the middle of the West, they start to fade away.

2016 Champions: Miami Heat

The celebration after this championship is much more somber than the championship they claim in 2013. They start to gain the respect of the fans—even if they still aren't well liked.

Miami realizes that this was harder than they imagined it would be originally, and for that they soak in every minute of this championship victory.

The first one was sweet, but getting back to this point is just so much sweeter.

Dwyane Wade smiles as LeBron James accepts his Finals MVP award. Both knew deep down that they could get to this point, but just didn't know how much they would have to go through.

I still don't like the team, but an older, wiser me realizes that they worked hard to earn this, even if they got together through some shady dealings.

I don't forgive LeBron, but I start to respect him at this point, and that's a step in the right direction, I suppose.

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