The NBA's final four takes shape

No word on the NBA's world series, super bowl

The 2024-25 season enters its second week on Tuesday evening and, yeah, we can tell who the best teams in the NBA will be. We could tell ‘em last June, July. August. Boston and Oklahoma City.

Challenging them? The groups with hot-shot, brand-new, first-year, hyphenated coaches. The Lakers (coach: J.J. Redick) and Suns (coach: Mike Budenholzer) would love to meet that Thunder in the third round. Boston likely awaits the victor of the Cavaliers (coach: Kenny Atkinson) and Knicks, whose head coach sweats past every season like it was his first on the job.

Then, this “parity” everyone keeps yapping about.

THAT THUNDER

Dominant without yet unveiling the clubs’ two cleverest bigs, Jaylin Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein. Without dumping first-round picks on a proper board hoarder or pinning Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with a “pure point guard.”

I don’t want to be mean but the Thunder could bring Mike Muscala back for 15 minutes a game and still be really really good.