We just have a handful of teams still in contention for the NBA championship, and it seems like the Larry O’Brien trophy is up for grabs now more than ever.
With that in mind, former NBA player JJ Redick put together his list of the top-five threats to win the NBA championship, and there weren’t many surprises.
.@jj_redick's top five NBA title threats:
1. Nuggets
2. 76ers
3. Lakers
4. Celtics
5. Suns pic.twitter.com/aVRYt8yEBI— First Take (@FirstTake) May 10, 2023
At No. 5, he has the Phoenix Suns, a team that hasn’t lived up to the hype and expectations about them but that could still mess around and beat the Denver Nuggets to advance and go the distance, especially if Chris Paul is able to come back for Game 6.
Then, Redick chose the Boston Celtics, citing that they also haven’t been as good as expected and calling them out for their inconsistency throughout the course of the NBA playoffs.
Redick later made things interesting by choosing the Los Angeles Lakers as the third-biggest favorite to win the NBA championship this season.
The Lakers have the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors against the ropes, and a win in Game 5 on Wednesday night would send them back to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since the NBA bubble in 2020.
At the No. 2 spot, Redick chose his former team, the Philadelphia 76ers, lauding Joel Embiid for being dominant again after coming back from injury.
Last but not least, Redick claimed that the Denver Nuggets have been the best team in the playoffs and predicted that they were poised to win their very first title in franchise history this season.
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