You Know Ball: Predicting the eventual NBA champion

Unpredictability in sports is great. While it is entertaining to witness greatness, such as Tom Brady winning seven Super Bowls, watching the Warriors and the Cavaliers duke it out in the NBA finals four years in a row or witnessing the Connecticut women’s basketball team dominate March Madness for the entirety of the last decade, the volatility in sports is what keeps fans addicted.

The NBA is one of the leagues enveloped in unpredictability. Superstar players are constantly on the move. Because of that, no franchise has constructed a dynasty since the turn of the century, with no team visiting the Finals more than once since 2020. And now, 20 of the 30 teams will make the postseason. 

The NBA regular season is coming to an end, and it still seems impossible to predict who the eventual champion will be. Will it be the newfound star-power of the Phoenix Suns, or maybe the two teams who made the finals last year in the Golden State Warriors or the Boston Celtics? Well, actually, I believe the answer to the question is pretty obvious.

The Milwaukee Bucks should be the favorite to win it all as the postseason looms. While, yes, the Celtics are on fire, the Nuggets and the 76ers each have a center who seemingly cannot be stopped and the Suns just traded for superstar Kevin Durant, I still believe the Bucks will be the team to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy by seasons end. Oh, and no, for those wondering, I am not a Bucks fan. 

It’s impossible to argue this point without first bringing up the most obvious point — the Bucks have the best basketball player in the entire world. Two-time MVP and one-time champion Giannis Antetokounmpo, otherwise known as the “Greek Freak,” has more than made his case for this title. Antetokounmpo will undoubtably be an MVP finalist for the fifth straight year, once again putting on a jaw-dropping display for anyone tuning in.

The easiest argument when talking about Antetokounmpo is simple: who will stop him? Sure, he will likely run into either Sixers center Joel Embiid or Celtics big-man Robert Williams III, but my question still stands. The 28-year-old phenom has proven that he is the most dominant player in the NBA since Shaquille O’Neal, and it seems that when he looks to score, the best thing the defense can do is try not to foul him because it’s going in either way.

So, you must be thinking, is this all I have to argue that the Bucks will win it all? We see time and time again that the best player in the world doesn’t always win the championship. It takes a full team to get it done. I would like to remind you that the Bucks have also built the perfect team around Antetokounmpo.

The Bucks had two all-stars this season: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday. Holiday, the starting point guard, is currently putting up the best numbers of his career and has been widely regarded as one of, if not the best, perimeter defenders in the league. The Bucks also have Khris Middleton, who has seen the all-star game multiple times in his career. Middleton is seen as their closer when they need a deeper shot and has proven time and time again that he can be trusted to get the job done.

Outside of their top three players, Milwaukee has also built a team with great shooting around Antetokounmpo, who is not known to be a great shooter. If you say, “This team just doesn’t seem good enough on paper to win it all,” I remind you to look back at the 2021 NBA Finals where this exact same core of players won it all with Antetokounmpo at the helm.

If the talent itself isn’t enough to convince you, how about their performance in the regular season? The team currently holds the best record in the NBA by 1.5 games and currently has a top-three defense in the NBA as well as an above average offense to complement this stellar defense.

The Bucks have the best player in the world, the best supporting cast for this player, the team with the best record currently in the NBA and a top defense. Don’t overthink it. The Milwaukee Bucks have all the pieces to go out and win their second title in three years.

Willard is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on Twitter