10 Bold predictions for the Pistons and NBA in 2024-25 season

#2: The MVP comes back to North America 

The last six NBA MVP awards have been won by players born outside the United States and while I don’t think that will change, it will at least come back to the continent when Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins the award. 

People are sick of voting for Jokic, Embiid won’t play enough games and Tatum and Brown will split their vote, which leaves Giannis, Luka and SGA as the most likely candidates. If the Mavs are near the top of the West, it might be time to finally crown Luka, which seems like an inevitability, but if OKC is the best team, then it’s SGA’ s award to lose, especially if he leads the league in scoring. 

#1: The end of two eras 

Even though both guys are still top players, I predict that both LeBron James and Stephen Curry will miss the playoffs this season. 

The Lakers finished 8th last season and that was with LeBron and Anthony Davis both playing over 70 games. What are the chances that happens again? Without them, the Lakers are a lottery team. 

The Warriors have a lot of question marks around their roster and are counting on unproven players, not to mention both Andrew Wiggins and Buddy Hield, guys I do not trust in the least. 

Heild may replace Klay Thompson’s shooting, but he’s a woeful defender. Wiggins hopes to bounce back after a poor season last year, but if he doesn’t? This team has very little depth and barely made the play-in last season. 

To be fair, both teams could make big trades that alter this projection, but as of right now, it’s hard to see either of them making the playoffs.