Photo: Golden State Warriors/Twitter

The Clippers’ executive Lawrence Frank recently said that a case can be made for one third of NBA teams to be contenders this season. He has a point.

With Kawhi Leonard and Paul George being fully ready and with the addition of John Wall, the Clippers are again viewed as one of the top favorites to go all the way this year. Amongst the bookies, they are currently priced at 8.00 with NBA picks site Betway to win next years title

Head coach Ty Lue, who led the Cavaliers to their sole championship in 2016, will have plenty of talent to work with in order to bring the first title to the Clippers.

Staying in the Western Conference, the defending champions cannot be discounted. The Warriors kept their core of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green in addition to Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins.

Furthermore, former number two pick James Wiseman returns to action to bolster the Dubs’ front court. Finally, head coach Steve Kerr has already won four championship with Golden State. So, there is plenty of experience for another run at a title.

Last year’s finalists the Celtics will have ambitions to go a step further this season. It remains to be seen how the suspension of the head coach Ime Udoka will affect the team. But the roster based around stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown is definitely one of the best in the NBA.

The Bucks won a championship in 2021 and remain a contender again. Having the two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo on the roster is a big reason to put Milwaukee among the favorite. It’s not just The Greek Freak though. The core of Giannis, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday has been together for a few years which makes head coach Mike Budenholzer’s job easier.

Even though the Nets failed to reach the expectations since acquiring Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, they still remain among the favorites. The addition of Ben Simmons who is reportedly motivated to prove his critics wrong should give the necessary boost for Brooklyn to finally prove that they are good not only on paper.

The Suns were close to making history in 2021 when they reach the Final, just to lose to the Bucks. Last season ended with a major disappointment as Phoenix went out in the second round of the playoffs. This offseason the Suns kept its core by re-signing Deandre Ayton and will attempt another go at the title.