If you wind down the clock to 2010, no one would have ever thought that the Golden State Warriors would be the future of the NBA for countless seasons. Sure the Miami Heat with Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh were special but, they didn’t have the same level of league impact that the Warriors had. From Stephen Curry changing the way basketball is played to Kevin Durant shocking the world and signing with the Warriors, Golden State is easily the face of the 2010s as they reached the finals for half of the decade! However, eventually, with every dynasty that is formed, it is also dismantled, which leads to today’s topic of what teams will be the next faces of the NBA! With that being said, let’s start by listing some honourable mentions that barely missed the cut.
Note- (Utah Jazz were very close to making this list; however, most of their rotation is either in their primes or are old except for Donovan Mitchell, who is 23 and Rudy Gobert who is 27.)
Honourable mentions
Minnesota Timberwolves
Having the Timberwolves as an honourable mention seems very surprising considering that this team has been rebuilding for it appears to be an eternity. From the disappointing production of Andrew Wiggins to the Timberwolves trading away what would be their second-best asset in Zach Lavine for a season and a half of Jimmy Butler, the Timberwolves have been nothing but a disappointing disaster of an organization. However, what makes them an honourable mention is their new exciting duo of D’Angelo Russell and Karl Anthony-Towns. With Towns being nothing but a superstar while D’Angelo is a certified all-star, the future of Minnesota looks promising but also misleading due to the organization’s track record. If someone told me five years ago that the Minnesota Timberwolves would still be rebuilding and missing the playoffs, I would be shocked considering how much hype and excitement this team had at the time. Nevertheless, the Timberwolves have a new young duo while also exhibiting a decent young core of Malik Beasley, Jarrett Culver, Juancho Hernangomez, Josh Okogie, and Omari Spellman. The Timberwolves look promising, and even if they fail to make playoffs, they will still be a fun team to watch for many years to come.
Phoenix Suns
Like Minnesota, the Phoenix Suns were another team that had many upsides but quickly failed to live up to it. Even though the Suns have a superstar in the making with Devin Booker, Phoenix has been unable to bring anything else until last season, where they drafted De’Andre Ayton with the first pick and traded for Kelly Oubre. The Suns barely missed the cut for making the top five solely because they haven’t shown any flashes off stardom. Although 2K20 has the Suns as a dynasty when rebuilding them, this team is far from being anything special. Phoenix has a great package of talent but is lacking a serviceable coach and front office IQ. If the Suns can fix these significant errors, they are a shoo-in to make it in the top five down the road, but for now, they barely miss the cut.
New Orleans Pelicans
Having the Pelicans this low may come to a surprise; however, here are the reasons why they barely miss the cut. A big issue about the Pelicans is the uncertainty of whether Zion Williamson will remain healthy and what the future of Brandon Ingram looks like. At the start of this season, the Pelicans did not extend a contract to Ingram, which determines that there is no confirmation of whether or not the Pelicans will re-sign him. Although it is a no brainer, the Pelicans might have a different route they want to pursue and focus primarily on the growth of Lonzo Ball and Zion Williamson. Furthermore, the Pelicans have played less than 30 games together when healthy, which does hurt their value on this list. The development of Zion is another factor, and even though he has played phenomenal and would have been rookie of the year this season if he played more games from the beginning, the biggest weakness to Zion’s game is if he can remain healthy. If they had more games to work with and more certainty of Zion remaining healthy, they would most likely be in the top five; however, due to all of these unanswered questions and lack of promise, the Pelicans miss the cut by nearly an inch.
6. Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks have a chance to become the best dynasty out of all of these teams mentioned. From the quick development and growth of Trae Young to the acclamation of Clint Capela at the trade deadline, the Hawks are already slowly starting to look like a scary team in the future despite currently being the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference.
What makes this team so dangerous is not so much Trae Young, but the number of assets they have. The Hawks have an abundance of draft picks and young talent including, Deandre Hunter, John Collins, Cam Reddish, and Kevin Huerter, while also having a chance at getting the first pick in the 2020 NBA draft! That’s a lot to work with, and even though they are bad right now, they will be an absolute knock-out for many years to come and could very well be the face of the NBA!
Despite all the upside, the reason why they are at number six and not at number one is solely due to team success. With all these puzzle pieces that the Hawks currently have, they are still trying to figure out where to incorporate these pieces to complete their puzzle. The Minnesota Timberwolves in 2015 were in a similar situation as they had all the pieces but struggled to integrate them and, as a result, had to restart from scratch. The Hawks could very well run into the same problem but will most likely not as they have a solid foundation to work with in Trae Young, John Collins and Clint Capela. If the rest of the roster can develop and make an impactful contribution to the team’s success, the Hawks could very well be number one on the list; however, the next five teams have already proven enough and have shown more dominance than the Atlanta Hawks.
5. Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies have had one of the quickest rebuilds in recent history. After trading away Marc Gasol and Mike Conley last season, NBA fans started to realize that the grit and grind era of Memphis basketball would officially come to an end. Even though those teams were fun to watch, the future of the Grizzlies looks much better. The Grizzlies have brought themselves one of the best young duos for many years to come with the additions of Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. With other young talents of, Brandon Clarke, Josh Jackson, Jonas Valanciunas, Dillon Brooks, and Justice Winslow, the Grizzlies have formed one of the deepest young cores in the NBA!
What makes the Grizzlies at number four is how fast this team has been able to mesh together in just one season. From the quick growth of Ja Morant to the contributions of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas, the Grizzlies are already a playoff team, which is quite scary. Before the season started, the Grizzlies were projected to win only 25 games but are already at 32 wins! Even though they were about to enter the second half of the season as having the hardest schedule in the NBA, it is still very impressive to see how quickly this team has developed while also being in the Western Conference!
4. Miami Heat
When Jimmy Butler joined the Miami Heat, the NBA world was lost for words because Jimmy wanted to win. Before joining the Heat, Miami was an average team that needed many pieces to contend for the finals. However, most if not all of their issues were resolved as the Heat shocked the NBA and quickly became a top team in the Eastern Conference. From the unexpected growth of Bam Adebayo to the young shooting core of Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson, the Heat have quickly become one of the best offensive teams in the NBA. Their defence is also terrific as they managed to not only slow down the force of Giannis Antetokounmpo but is also the only team in the NBA to have beaten the Bucks twice this season! The Heat are currently a dark horse team in the Eastern Conference and have shown staggering improvement since the start of the regular season!
What makes the Heat so unique is how fast they were able to get accustomed to Jimmy Butler’s demands. In the last three seasons, Butler was starting to build the reputation of being hard-headed when all he wanted was a team that will work hard and love the game just as much as he did. The Heat not only worked hard but also matured as a unit hence why they are as successful as they are. Playing alongside a player like Jimmy Butler can be intimidating and somewhat difficult; however, the young core of Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Kendrick Nunn, Duncan Robinson, and Derrick Jones Jr., have all put their egos aside and instead reached to the consensus of what their goals are while also having great chemistry with each other. If the Heat failed to get acclimated, Jimmy Butler would have regretted his decision to join this team and instead looked to join a contender like the Los Angeles Lakers or the Philadelphia 76ers. Although Jimmy and Bam have been terrific, the rest of the roster is why the Heat is as successful as they are hence why they will be a top team for many years to come.
3. Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are easily one of the best teams in the NBA while also having one of the youngest rosters in the NBA. Although Kemba Walker and Gordan Hayward are both 30 years old, the rest of the roster hasn’t even reached their primes yet. Jayson Tatum, who has become the face of the organization, is 22 years old and has been named an all-star and the best player on the Celtics. Tatum’s production on the court has quickly granted the Celtics a playoff spot and an opportunity to contend in the Eastern Conference. Jaylen Brown, who has also played like an all-star, took some time to develop; however, all he needed was the organization to trust him and give him the contract that he most definitely deserves. Furthermore, other players including, Marcus Smart, Daniel Theis, Grant Williams, Romeo Langford and Carsen Edwards, have been essential pieces in the rotation or future assets that the Celtics can use to either trade away or develop.
With the Celtics being the third seed in a top-heavy conference is very impressive and should be taken much more seriously when discussing the future of the NBA. Although the Hawks and Heat have a much more completed young core, the duo of Tatum and Brown have been the most successful out of the three considering that these two alongside Terry Rozier and Al Horford managed to lead the Celtics to the Conference Finals in 2017. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown is the future of the Celtics and will look to dominate the Eastern Conference in many years to come.
2. Denver Nuggets
Out of all the teams mentioned so far, the Nuggets have been the most successful regular-season team. Last season, the Nuggets were the second-seed and almost made the conference finals, however, lost to Damian Lillard and the Portland Trailblazers in seven games. Considering that this was the first time making the playoffs with this roster and coach goes to show how incredible Denver is. With Nikola Jokic arguably being the best center in the NBA to the young depth that the Nuggets posses, this team has an argument of being the best team so far on this list. The Nuggets have drafted well and developed their players into borderline all-stars or vital role players. Their incredibly deep team consists of, Jamal Murray, Will Barton, Jerami Grant, Monte Morris, and Gary Harris while also having future young assets in Bol Bol and Michael Porter Jr. Although this team is very young, they have been the most successful young team in the Western Conference. If this team were able to almost make the conference finals in their first year together, the Nuggets would be a team that will reach the finals and potentially win it all.
1. Dallas Mavericks
Luka Doncic could very well be the best player in the NBA in the next three seasons! With him almost averaging a 30-point triple-double should already be a scary sight as he does it with ease. Although he is a liability on defence, his offensive game and play-making make up for it considering how the Mavericks are only a game away from being the fourth seed in the Western Conference. However, Luka isn’t the only upside to this team as they also have Kristaps Porzingis, who has played phenomenal basketball in the last few months before the outbreak of COVID-19. In addition to the incredibly advanced young duo of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, the Mavericks still have other young assets including, Jalen Brunson, Delon Wright and Dwight Powell who might not be much so far, but is definitely a great start to the future of this team.
What makes the Mavericks at number one is that they have the best young duo out of all of these teams. Even though the Boston Celtics, for instance, have a much more established and proven young duo in Tatum and Brown, Luka and Porzingis have been playing like all-time greats while also having a much worse team to work with. Entering this season, the Mavericks were one of those teams that no one could determine where they would be in the standings; however, most analysts felt that the Mavericks were not much of a threat. That statement would very quickly be false as the Mavericks were at one point the third seed and have quickly shown the NBA that they will be the best team in the NBA for many years to come.