6 teams that can keep the Celtics from repeating as NBA champions

The Boston Celtics finished a historically dominant regular season with a relatively easy walk to a title. Yes, the Cavaliers, Pacers and Heat were all limited by injuries but all the Celtics can do is beat the teams in front of them and they did that while dropping just two games in the postseason.

This Celtics roster is loaded and likely won't change much going into next season — Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman are their only unrestricted free agents, Oshae Brissett has a player option, and they hold team options on Sam Hauser and Neemias Queta.

Given their track record — a 64-18 regular season, outscoring opponents by 11.7 points per 100 possessions, followed by a 16-3 blitz through the postseason — and roster continuity, they will likely enter next season as overwhelming title favorites. But their extraordinarily strong fundamentals don't mean there won't be a slew of worthy challengers. The offseason is only hours old, but here are the six teams in the best position to knock the Celtics off next season.

6. Dallas Mavericks

Yes, the Mavericks were absolutely blitzed by the Celtics. But they have a year to prepare for a rematch. That means working their way through an intimidating gauntlet of Western Conference teams again, and getting all the requisite lucky breaks any team will need to advance. But they'll also have a full offseason with P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford. They'll have Dereck Lively II a year older and a year wiser. They also have the opportunity to pursue additional depth, perhaps turning players like Tim Hardaway Jr. and Maxi Kleber into contributors who can offer more in a rematch with the Celtics.

Don't forget — two years ago these same Celtics were blasted off the court by the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals. They got creative, landed key contributors like Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, benefited from Jaylen Brown's ongoing growth and eventually broke through. There's no reason the Mavericks couldn't follow a similar path.

5. Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks gambled big by trading for Damian Lillard before last season, only to see Jrue Holiday, their old starting point guard, make his way to the Celtics and win another ring. Lillard struggled, the Doc Rivers hiring was not a panacea and the entire core is a year older and, presumably, more brittle.

But when healthy, the Bucks have the pieces to beat anyone. They have a full offseason with Rivers to rework things at both the offensive and defensive end and try to upgrade the supporting cast. They don't have many obvious ways of adding youth or skilled role players and they're likely going to lose Malik Beasley. But rookie Andre Jackson played meaningful minutes and could be ready to handle more and they have both the No. 23 and No. 33 picks in the NBA Draft which could be used in a trade or to bring in NBA-ready contributors.

The Bucks' championship odds look considerably more fragile than they did a year ago. But they still have Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo and a chance to do things differently, and better, this year.

4. Philadelphia 76ers

At this point, the Philadelphia 76ers are Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and a blank whiteboard waiting to be filled. But Embiid is still one of the five best players in the NBA and Maxey is knocking on the door of an All-NBA selection. Putting solid rotation players around that pairing makes the 76ers a dark horse contender but they have the cap space and flexibility to add a third star this summer.

The 76ers have been linked with LeBron James, Paul George, Jimmy Butler and OG Anunoby and even if all of those four are longshots, individually, the chances that they can land one of them are significantly higher. But even if they strike out on all four, the 76ers could re-sign Kelly Oubre Jr. and Buddy Hield and still have the room to fill out the rotation with players like Gary Trent Jr., Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Malik Monk, Patrick Williams, Caleb Martin, Isaac Okoro or Miles Bridges.

Landing George or Butler would put the 76ers on the Celtics' level in the eyes of many people but even if they have to resort to building around two stars and depth, they have the flexibility and creativity to be a scary challenger for Boston.

3. Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets are the one elite Western Conference contender that the Mavericks didn't have to go through on their way to the NBA Finals — probably a lucky break for Dallas. The Nuggets beat the Mavs in two out of three games during the regular season, with their two wins coming by a combined 37 points and their lone loss by just two. Denver also won both of their regular season matchups with the Celtics.

The case for the Nuggets as a 2024-24 title favorite is pretty simple — Nikola Jokic is still the best player in the world. The supporting cast came up empty against the Timberwolves but their young bench players will be a year older and more ready to contribute and if they can keep Kentavious Caldwell-Pope they'll be returning their championship core. In addition, the Nuggets could explore trading Michael Porter Jr. in the hunt for a bit more depth.

The Nuggets are one of the few teams who will enter next season with a proven, experienced championship core and there is still no answer for Nikola Jokic.

2. Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves were absolutely decimated by the Mavericks in a gentleman's sweep in the Western Conference Finals. They now have to figure out whether their complicated ownership situation will allow them to keep this core together, and how they want to deal with the same barrier of Rudy Gobert's playoff limitations that the Utah Jazz couldn't overcome.

But the Timberwolves also appeared to be on a rocket ship to the Finals until they hit the Mavs. But Dallas shot an absurd 61.5 percent on tightly contested 3s in that series and a robust 43.3 percent on their open ones. To some degree, the Timberwolves were defeated by unsustainably hot shooting from beyond the arc.

The Timberwolves should be back with most of their core intact, with Anthony Edwards after another year of growth and an enormous chip on their shoulder. They're a scary playoff matchup for the Celtics and everyone else in the NBA.

1. Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder, like the Timberwolves, couldn't get past the Mavericks. But, they were legitimately dominating during the regular season while starting a rookie and two other players under the age of 23. On internal growth alone, there's every reason to expect the Thunder to be even better next season and even more prepared to survive a difficult playoff matchup against a team like the Nuggets, Timberwolves or Celtics.

But the Thunder also have the opportunity to add another huge piece this offseason. They'll have as much as $35 million in cap space to use on another high-level big man like Isaiah Hartenstein or Nicolas Claxton, another depth piece like Malik Monk or Patrick Williams. They can also use that space and their enormous collection of draft picks (including the No. 12 pick in this year's draft) to get themselves in the mix for a player like Dejounte Murray, Jarrett Allen, Mikal Bridges, Brandon Ingram or Keldon Johnson.

The bottom line is that the Thunder were extremely good this season and there's almost no way they aren't much better next year. The Celtics will bring back a roster that should be championship favorites, but actually pulling off the repeat will be no easy task.