The NBA season begins: Meet the favorites to take home the championship title

The best basketball league in the world is back. This Tuesday, the Denver Nuggets - current champions - will host the Los Angeles Lakers at the Ball Arena in the opening game of the 2023-2024 NBA regular season. The second game will be played by the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns at the Chase Center in San Francisco (California).

NBA schedule 2023-2024

The preseason was held between October 5-20. All the franchises got ready before the start of the official games. October 24 marks the start of the regular season, which will conclude on April 14, 2024. Six days later, on April 20, the 2024 playoffs will begin, in which the sixteen best teams in the regular season will go head to head to take home the much-coveted title. Unless something changes, the new champions will be crowned on June 14, assuming the NBA Finals only go four games. If not, we would have to wait until June 17th, 20th or 23rd.

In the middle of the regular season, the NBA All-Star Weekend will be held, in which the NBA All-Star Game and other shows such as the Dunk Contest and the Three-Point Contest will be held. The event is scheduled for the weekend of February 16-18.

The Nuggets want to hold on to the title

After winning the NBA Finals for the first time in their history, the Denver Nuggets are starting the season as one of the big favorites to take home the Championship at the end of the season. They will certainly challenge the other teams in the 82 games that each team plays. Serbian Nikola Jokić will once again lead the franchise, accompanied by Jamal Murray - who was key to last season's success - and other players such as Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr.

The Bucks and the Celtics, the other favorites

Another team that is on the list of favorites is the Milwaukee Bucks. The Wisconsin franchise already started as one of the great contenders last season. The team's goal was to make it far in the playoffs but that was cut short when the Miami Heat - current NBA runner-up - beat them against the odds. The Bucks' chances are better than ever now that they recruited Damian Lillard, who left the Portland Trail Blazers this summer after eleven seasons. The point guard joins a squad led by Giannis Antetokounmpo - considered by many to be the best basketball player today.

The Boston Celtics fell just short of making it to the NBA Finals last season. They were defeated by the Heat in the Eastern Conference Final; a tie in which they were very close to becoming the first team in history to come back from 3-0 down in a playoff series. In the end, the Celtics were eliminated by the Heat. This year, the team will be led by the Jays: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will lead their teammates on the court. The most successful franchise of all time - along with the Lakers - will shoot for its 18th title. Jrue Holiday has boosted the Celtics roster.

Apart from the previous three, there are other franchises that are competing for the title, such as the Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers.