The 2024-25 season is only three months away and it’s never too early to start thinking about win totals. ESPN BET has posted win totals for all 30 NBA teams ahead of the upcoming season.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the reigning champion Boston Celtics have the highest win total for next season at 58.5. The Celtics led the league with 64 wins last season, the first time they surpassed 58.5 wins since 2009. They are one of eight teams with a win total of more than 50 games.
In the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder have the highest number at 55.5 wins.
The team with the lowest win total heading into the season is the Brooklyn Nets, who are in the midst of a rebuild after trading away Mikal Bridges in the offseason. The same narrative applies for the other rebuilding teams like the Portland Trail Blazers (21.5) and Washington Wizards (22.5). All these teams will be vying for the honor to draft highly touted prospect Cooper Flagg No. 1 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. Although I am cautiously optimistic about one of these teams, which I’ll elaborate on shortly.
Here are six bets to consider before the start of the season:
Odds as of publication. For the latest odds go to ESPN BET .
Cleveland Cavaliers over 47.5 wins
Forty-eight wins seems way too low for the Cavaliers. Cleveland dealt with numerous injuries last season as Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen only played 28 games together, yet the team still won 48 games.
New head coach Kenny Atkinson inherits a Cavaliers team that has won 99 regular-season games over the past two seasons and his recent experience as a head coach with the Nets and assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors should help him continue to make this team better. The continuity between Mitchell, Garland, Mobley and Allen positions Cleveland to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
Atlanta Hawks. This Suns team has a lot of potential.
Detroit Pistons over 24.5 wins
Detroit hit rock bottom last season, losing the most consecutive games in league history and finishing with the league’s worst record, leading to head coach Monty Williams’ termination. The only way to go is up and Detroit has a promising young core in LA Clippers under 40.5 games
The Clippers won 51 games last season but replicating that success will be challenging. Milwaukee Bucks under 50.5 wins
There is reason for optimism in the second season of the Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton trio following a full offseason in Doc Rivers’ system. However, the Bucks will have to fix their defense, which ranked 19th in the NBA last season.
Milwaukee is coming off a season where it fell short of expectations, winning only 49 games, and while injuries played a part, their core is getting older. Antetokounmpo is entering his age-30 season, Lillard is 34, Middleton is 32 and Brook Lopez is 36. All have seen a decline in their statistical production and the Bucks didn’t make a splash in free agency, adding AJ Johnson and Tyler Smith in the 2024 NBA draft. Both rookies are still raw, so their chances of contributing right away are slim.
The Eastern Conference will also be more competitive, especially at the top with Boston, Philadelphia and New York all having better odds to win the Eastern Conference. Fifty-one wins feel more like the Bucks’ ceiling and not their floor.
