Which NBA Teams surprised this year? 

The NBA season came to a climactic end and one which the Boston Celtics will be able to look back upon as their 18th Championship to date. With that 4-1 series win over the Dallas Mavericks pushed the Celtics away from the Los Angeles Lakers, who have 17 Championships,  to be the outright most successful NBA side in the league's history.

With the likes of Jayson Tatum and many more elite basketball players on the Boston Celtics roster, it was no surprise to see them lifting the trophy at the end of the season. Full credit must go to their work ethic and consistency throughout the year, but there were also a number of surprises from players and teams who were projected to perform and finish very differently to how it all played out.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Scraping into the play-in places finishing 10th in the Western Conference the season before, there were expectations Oklahoma City Thunder would be better this year, but no one would have predicted this. 

Not many who put on a sports bet with their favourite sportsbook would have seen what happened this year. A top place finish in the Western Conference was achieved thanks to the elite level play of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the roster which was outstanding during the regular season in 2023/24. 

There was a really strong cohesion between the offence and defence throughout the season leading into the playoffs before falling to the impressive Dallas Mavericks who are not short on superstars with Lika Doncic and Kyrie Irving to mention just two.

What made this even more impressive from the Thunder was that they had the second youngest roster in the league. Plenty of young talent ready to keep stepping up year on year, the futurelooks bright.

Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic were way short of playoffs last season, finishing 13th in the Easter Conference with 34 wins and 47 losses. Work went into the roster leading in to 2023/24 season and head coach Jamahl Mosley was given the chance to improve the mood in Florida.

Adapting the right style of play to get the best out of their giant point guards in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner when on the attack. Banchero averaged 22.6 points per game which was the 23rd best in the whole NBA during the regular season.

Getting these players on form and consistently was the challenge for young players with so much potential. They were expected to be a playoff side, though turning around their 47 losses last season to 47 wins in 2023/24 was a huge turnaround.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Not quite as big a surprise as the two previous sides, but Minnesota went from a good defence to the best defence from 2022/23 to 2023/24. Anthony Edwards made the leap, while Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker have also been playing at an incredibly impressive level.

After an excellent third place finish in the Western Conference, they fell to the Dever Nuggets in the Conference Semi Finals 4-3 over seven games. The Timberwolves were tough competition for the Nuggets though and with a bit more luck could have been on the winning side of a game or two more.

Houston Rockets

The Rockets were one of the worst sides in the NBA in 2022/23, and while they didnt make it to the playoffs again this season, there was improvement. 

Houstons imporivements are down to the canny hire of Ime Udoka as head coach who has helped develop its players as well as see improvements in the roster with the signings of Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks.

They finished the season with 41 wins and 41 losses, not too far off the Golden State Warriors. With their young roster sprinkled with senior quality should see them advancing up the conference next season.

Underachievers

Not all surprises are good, and there were a few disappointing teams again this season who came in well below expectation.

●    Golden State Warriors

Its simple, the Warriors are older and as players advance in years after many seasons of intense, championship level basketbal, it can take its toll.

Even the swagger and skill of Stephen Curry now has signs of decline. While that decline may be minimal, there is too much on his shoulders and an even smaller margin for error with other players not living up to their expectations. Unless Curry is perfect in every game, the Warriors are at risk.

●    Atlanta Hawks

From seventh in 2022/23 to tenth in 2023/24, the Hawks finished the season before on .500 and this year that dropped to .439.

Whats worse is that this team has telent on the roster but all those partnerships and system alterations havent worked. The fast paced system hadnt open more 3-point chances, the Trae Young and Dejounte Murray duo didnt lift the Hawks either.

Snyder is hanging on to his job by his past achievements, and some of those players who underperformed could be on the way out.