Several rivals are approaching, all eyes on the Celtics

Jayson Tatum was already a proven winner before last season.

In Tatum’s first six seasons, no NBA player won more games with one team than him. Tatum played in 334 wins for the Boston Celtics during that span, including the playoffs. He was a five-time All-Star, a legitimate MVP candidate, four-time All-NBA, even an Olympic gold medalist.

He just wasn’t a champion.

“I had to listen to all the (things) people were saying about me,” Tatum said.

That’s all in the past now. The Celtics are champions, coach Joe Mazzulla is leading them to that crown, and when the season begins Tuesday night in Boston, where it ended last season, Tatum doesn’t seem to see it as the start of a defense of the title He sees it as the start of a chase for a 19th title, and according to BetMGM Sportsbook, the Celtics are the favorites to claim the 2025 championship.

“It was never about trying to win one,” said Tatum, who added a second Olympic gold to his collection this summer. “Now you can be mentioned with — at least be in the same room with — the other great Celtics teams, great players. All the guys I loved growing up won at least one championship. Now it’s just a conversation about: ​​”What are you trying to be? What room or what level are you trying to be mentioned in when it’s all said and done?’”

That journey begins with ring night in Boston, where the Celtics face New York in the first game of a doubleheader to formally open the league’s 79th season. Headlining the night is Minnesota at the Los Angeles Lakers, a game that will see LeBron James tie Vince Carter playing in a 22nd NBA season, and potentially the first official game where a father and son are teammates, with Bronny James entering his rookie season.

There will be challengers to a repeat of Boston, and lots of them. New York (added Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns) and Philadelphia (added Paul George) loaded up to try to supplant Boston atop the Eastern Conference. And there are also teams on the rise in the East, such as the Orlando Magic led by Paolo Banchero and the Cleveland Cavaliers led by Donovan Mitchell, who reached the second round of the playoffs last season.

“We just have to keep our foot on the gas,” Mitchell said. “We must continue.”

And the Western Conference also has several contenders.

BetMGM has Oklahoma City, the No. 1 seed in the West last season, led by MVP hopeful Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as a close favorite to win this side of the league, with NBA champion 2023 Denver, defending West champion Dallas and a Minnesota. team that went to the finals of the West a season ago all in the mix.

“You have to be careful with expectations of results,” Thunder forward Chet Holmgren said. “Here we put a lot of emphasis on setting expectations in the processes, how we present ourselves every day, how we do our work, what we do and the attention to detail with which we do it. That’s what we’re really focused on.”

Golden State’s Stephen Curry helped the USA win Olympic gold this summer; warriors can never be counted. And with James, neither do the Lakers.

“We’re the chasers, among a lot of other teams,” Curry said. “What can this team do to maximize all the skills we have in this dressing room? That’s the challenge for us.”

The West is just loaded. But these Celtics, who come back virtually intact from a year ago, know what it takes to be the last team standing.

“Boston can say whatever they want. They’ve earned it. They beat all of us and they got crowned,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “So they can feel however they want going into this season. That being said, (they) have yet to win it. But it’s a new season, a new year. There’s going to be a lot of teams looking for that title “.

Trainers on the move

JJ Redick was coaching the fourth grade team at Brooklyn Basketball Academy earlier this year. He now coaches the Los Angeles Lakers.

Redick is one of three coaches about to make his NBA debut, joining Charlotte’s Charles Lee and Brooklyn’s Jordi Fernandez.

Other coaches who have new jobs this season are Mike Budenholzer in Phoenix (a franchise that led Milwaukee to the 2021 NBA title), along with Kenny Atkinson in Cleveland and JB Bickerstaff in Detroit. Bickerstaff coached the Cavaliers last season and schedule officials had the Pistons as the opponent for Cleveland’s opener on Friday.

Technically, Brian Keefe is also a new coach. He finished last season as Washington’s interim coach for the final 39 games and had his interim tag removed in the offseason.

Half of the league’s managers, 15 of 30, enter this season after two years or less with their current clubs.

Key dates to know

— Nov. 2: Miami plays Washington in Mexico City.

— Nov. 4: All 30 teams will be in action, with all start times staggered 15 minutes apart.

— Nov. 5: For the third year in a row, no game will be played on Election Day.

— Nov. 12-dec. 17: The NBA Cup returns for a second season, with the semifinals Dec. 14 in Las Vegas and the title game there three days later. The Lakers are the defending champions.

– December 25: The Christmas games are San Antonio at New York, Minnesota at Dallas, Philadelphia at Boston, Lakers at Golden State and Denver at Phoenix.

— January 20: The league celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Highlights include Minnesota at Memphis and Boston at Golden State.

— January 23 and 25: Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama returns to Paris, with San Antonio facing Indiana in two games there.

—Feb. 6: The commercial term.

—Feb. 16: The NBA All-Star Game takes place in San Francisco.

—April 11 and 13: the last two match days of the regular season, with all 30 teams in action on both days.

—From April 15 to 18: Play-in tournament, followed by the first playoffs on April 19.

—June 5: The 2025 NBA Finals begin.

Image credits: AP