2024/25 NBA Season: At the All-Star break

The All-Star break for the 2024/25 National Basketball Association (NBA) season takes place this weekend and it comes almost immediately after the completion of two of the most jaw-dropping trades in recent history. This, to sit alongside the storylines of blistering starts to the season by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference.

Before the NBA trade deadline on February 6, the blockbuster swap of Anthony Davis and Luca Doncic, between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks, shook the NBA world at its core. To describe the trade as unprecedented is an understatement, then added to the conflagration was the news of Jimmy Butler’s move from the Miami Heat to the Golden State Warriors, after he previously indicated that the move was not in the cards. These trades have the potential to redefine the league (particularly in the west) and, for the Lakers and Warriors in particular, immediate signs were on display.

Butler made his Golden State debut last Saturday night against the Chicago Bulls, the team with which he spent the first six seasons of his career. In the first half, it appeared Chicago, with their 24-point lead, would spoil the moment for Golden State’s new US$113-m acquisition, but with a 77-point second half, leading by as many as 25 points, the Warriors were able to overcome and pull out 132-111 victory. Butler, who hadn’t played since January 2, because Miami suspended him three times last month, scored an impressive 25 points and recorded four assists in his first appearance.

Doncic’s debut with the Lakers on Monday was his first game since playing for the Mavericks on Christmas Day, due to a calf injury. The 25-year-old saw his playing time limited to 24 minutes but was impactful, finishing with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists, including a length-of-the-court zinger to LeBron James. Despite reports out of Dallas of his conditioning issues and work ethics, Doncic is undeniably a top-tier player in the league, and this has not been lost on the bookmakers, influencing JustBet to make them sixth best to win the league. As for Davis, he finished with 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks in 31 minutes, in his Dallas debut against the Houston Rockets last Saturday but had to retire in the third quarter due to an injury. The Mavericks held on for the win, but Davis is expected to miss a few weeks.

As for the surprising conference leaders, the Cavaliers currently sit atop the Eastern Conference, on the strength of a 15-0 start to the season, which is tied for the second-best start in franchise history, and the scintillating play of guard Donovan Mitchell. Their first loss of the season came at the hands of the defending champion Boston Celtics on November 19, 2024, with a 120-117 scoreline, but they have reeled off impressive performances between then and now, including a dominant 128-107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. At the start of the season, JustBet offered odds for them to go all the way at 26.00, those odds are now at 9.20 and see them at third in the championship depth chart.

The Thunder currently leads the Western Conference, after starting the season with a franchise-best 7-0 record and becoming the first NBA team to win their opening seven games by 10 points or more. Led by guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder suffered their first defeat on November 6, 2024, against the Denver Nuggets, 122-124, after a hard-fought battle, but they are on pace to exceed whatever expectations they had coming into the season. At the start last October, JustBet offered Oklahoma City to win at 10.00, but they are now joint favourites, behind the defending champion Celtics.

Coming off 48 and 57-win seasons, respectively, the Cavaliers and Thunder are on pace to reach 70 wins this year. For perspective, only two teams in the NBA’s 78-year history have eclipsed the 70-win mark, those being the 1995/96 Chicago Bulls (72-10) and the 2015/16 Golden State Warriors (73-9), with the Bulls being the only 70-win team to raise the Larry O’Brien trophy. There’s still a lot of basketball to be played, but Cleveland and Oklahoma City have displayed historic levels of dominance up to this point and the rest of the league has taken notice. Thankfully, the All-Star break provides a brief respite from the onslaught.

Speaking of which, All-Star weekend starts this evening, and the three-day extravaganza will be highlighted by the spectacle of the 3-point contest, the slam dunk competition, and the All-Star game, with this difference, there will be multiple games, shaped in a mini tournament format for the first time in All-Star Weekend’s 74-year history. The NBA All-Star mini tournament will have four teams and three games. Two teams will meet in one semifinal (Game 1), and the remaining two teams will meet in the other semifinal (Game 2). The winning teams from Game 1 and Game 2 will advance to face each other in the championship (Game 3). For each game, the winner will be the first team to reach or surpass 40 points.

The 3-point contest tomorrow, Saturday, will be headlined by two-time champion Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks, who will be eyeing a record tying third straight title, to join Larry Bird (1986-88) of the Boston Celtics and Craig Hodges (1990-92) of the Chicago Bulls, in that category. The 8-player group will be completed by Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks), Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons), Darius Garland (Cleveland Cavaliers), Tyler Herro (Miami Heat), Buddy Hield (Golden State Warriors), Cam Johnson (Brooklyn Nets), and Norman Powell (Los Angeles Clippers).

Likewise, the slam dunk contest, with two-time champion Mac McClung, who has played only five NBA games, is looking to become a three-time champion, to join Nate Robinson as the only three-time dunk champion, though Robinson’s titles didn’t come in consecutive seasons. The 6-foot-2 standout G League guard, who currently plies his trade with the Osceola Magic, got rave reviews from some of the biggest NBA-affiliated names when he first won in 2023, then skied over Shaquille O’Neal to win it again last year, will parade his skills tomorrow against rookie Matas Buzelis (Chicago Bulls), rookie Stephon Castle (San Antonio Spurs), and second-year man Andre Jackson Jr (Milwaukee Bucks).

The All-Star Tournament rounds off the weekend on Sunday with Game 1: featuring Kenny’s (Smith) Young Stars vs Chuck’s (Charles Barkley) Global Stars, and Game 2: featuring Shaq’s (Shaquille O’Neal) OGs vs Candace’s (Parker) Rising Stars, which will be the winning team from the Castrol Rising Stars 4-team mini-tournament this evening, that will feature the best NBA rookies, NBA sophomores and G League talent. The winners of Game 1 and Game 2 will play in the final.

After the fun and games this weekend, the NBA action picks up where it left off next week and the push to the playoffs will kick into high gear. With only about 29 games left to be played per team, the action will be hot and heavy. The pretenders will be separated from the contenders, and no one wants to be left on the wrong side of the postseason fence.

JustBet continues to offer attractive betting options on all popular sports and events (including virtual games) as soon as they become available. Please visit one of the over 130 locations (or visit www.supremegames.com/#/prelive) for details and place your bets on the prediction of your choice for maximum winnings…… Get in the GAME!

NBA 2024/25 Champion

Team Odds

Boston Celtics 3.25

Oklahoma City Thunder 3.25

Cleveland Cavaliers 9.20

New York Knicks 13.00

Denver Nuggets 15.00

Los Angeles Lakers 16.00

Milwaukee Bucks 30.00

Memphis Grizzlies 30.00

LA Clippers 35.00

Minnesota Timberwolves 50.00

*Only Top 10 odds shown (see website for full list)

Note: Odds are subject to change