There was Toronto in 2019, the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, Milwaukee in 2021, Golden State in 2022, Denver in 2023 and Boston in 2024.

Less than three months after arriving in a blockbuster trade, the star cites the team’s talent and chemistry in having a shot at achieving the ultimate goal

Los Angeles is considered a title contender with Doncic and James leading the way. The team has several strong role players, as well, headlined by Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Dorian Finney-Smith, Gabe Vincent and Jaxson Hayes.

Newsweek gives out its picks and best bets for each 2025 NBA Playoff series, including who we like to raise the Larry O'Brien Trophy and why.

SportsLine's model just revealed its NBA predictions for the Atlanta Hawks vs. Miami Heat for Friday's Eastern Conference 2025 NBA Play-In Tournament game

This arguably should rank even higher given how little Sacramento has in the way of young, ascending talent. Even the Kings' most promising building blocks aren't all that young: Keegan Murray turns 25 in August, and rookie Devin Carter turned 23 in March.

Anthony Davis recorded 27 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots and the Dallas Mavericks kept their playoff bid alive with a convincing 120-106 victory over the host Sacramento Kings in an NBA Western Conference play-in game on Wednesday night.

Ahead of the 2025 NBA playoffs, the Play-In Tournament tips off tonight, April 15, with the Orlando Magic vs. the Atlanta Hawks at 7:30 p.m. ET. The tournament runs through Friday, April 18. The winners advance to the playoffs as the No. 7 seeds; the losers will play again on Friday.

The pieces are in place for this to be a very compelling NBA postseason, with a mix of a new guard as the top seeds in both the East and West while a repeat threat is more than real in Boston and the duo of LeBron James and Luka Doncic try to go on a deep run to a title.