There’s a chicken-vs.-egg argument to be had regarding why people who follow the NBA — from the fans to the media to the ex-players in the media who act like fans — focus so much on individuals within the team sport. More than any major sports league, NBA discourse (especially on social media) feeds off individual player rankings and top-10 lists and GOAT arguments and 1-on-1 “who’s better” debates.

Some would say the NBA created this landscape itself, citing the late former commissioner David Stern’s conscious (and shrewd) decision to market the league’s star players above the teams they played for. Whereas the NFL promotes Cowboys vs. 49ers, and MLB hypes up Yankees vs. Red Sox, the NBA went with Magic vs. Bird, and Jordan vs. Barkley, which evolved into LeBron vs. Steph, and Jokic vs. Embiid. Pop into a random NBA discussion about this past season’s playoffs and it’ll sound like tennis fans recapping Wimbledon: Butler beat Giannis in the first round, and then LeBron beat Curry in the second round, but then Jokic swept LeBron in the semis, before Jokic triumphed over Butler in the Finals. If you’ve followed the NBA since the 1980s, you could’ve actually seen the shift in media and league-sponsored commentary from, say, “The Atlanta Hawks, led by Dominique Wilkins” to “Trae Young and his help on the Atlanta Hawks.”

Others would blame basketball fans for this, arguing that Stern simply realized long ago that fans were star-obsessed and he capitalized on that. The league didn’t make the fans that way; it’s just human nature — or at least the nature of humans who sit on couches and in barbershop chairs and behind keyboards arguing about basketball. Think about who you argue with about basketball, and I’m willing to guarantee they could easily rattle off their personal all-time top 10 list of players. Now ask them to give their list of all-time top 10 teams. They’ll have to at least stop and think, and I’m sure many of them don’t even have a list.

Whoever started it, this is where we are and where we’ll probably always be. And so, amid a million 2023-24 NBA season previews that will focus on Players To Watch, and Ranking The NBA’s Top (X) Players, and Which Player’s Legacy Is Most On The Line, in this space the focus will be on NBA teams. As the season tips off Oct. 24, here are 10 teams to watch.

***** *****

1. Denver Nuggets — The reigning NBA champions won the franchise’s first title fueled by the ol’ reliable “nobody believes in us” narrative, which in 2023 sounds more like “people don’t talk about us as much as we want them to.”

Some introspection could lead the Nuggets to realize that some of that attention deficit was their own doing — namely their two-time league MVP and 2023 Finals MVP Nikola Jokic, who has become the new Tim Duncan with how coldly he dominates opponents on the court and how expertly he deflects attention off the court. As I once wrote about Duncan during his heyday: Jokic isn’t boring, he just isn’t interested in being interesting.

But if the rest of the Nuggets wants the spotlight, they’ll have more of it this season as they aim to repeat as champions. Denver brought back most of its core from last season. It’s led by Jokic, whose place among Hall of Fame centers is officially up for debate; point guard Jamal Murray, who is knocking on the door of superstar status even though he’s somehow not yet made an All-Star Game appearance; and forwards Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr., who entered the league with All-Star expectations but have found their niche as standout role players on an excellent team.

2. Boston Celtics — A lot of people are picking the Celtics to win it all. Last season, a battle-tested but still relatively young Boston squad got to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals before losing to Miami in a game they could’ve won if star forward Jayson Tatum hadn’t gotten hurt in the first few minutes.

Boston then made some roster upgrades in the offseason, trading for 7-footer Kristaps Porzingis and somehow getting Jrue Holiday, a veteran point guard with championship experience and a reputation as maybe the best defensive guard in the league. Doing so did cost the team Marcus Smart, the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year who was in some ways the heart and soul of these Celtics; but Holiday and returning backcourt vet Derrick White can provide a lot of what Smart brought to the table.

The Celtics also re-signed All-Star wing Jaylen Brown (who I’m pretty sure is Muslim) to a $304 million contract extension that is (for now) the richest deal in NBA history — and he’s not even the best player on the team. That would be Tatum, who last season finally put enough separation between himself and Brown to crack the league’s upper echelon of superstar MVP candidates.

3. Golden State Warriors — As long as Stephen Curry is playing at a high level, you can’t write off the Warriors as a championship contender. They are the Kansas City Chiefs of the NBA, with Steph playing the role of Patrick Mahomes. No game or series lead feels safe against Golden State. When you’re ahead by 10 points, it can feel like you’re only up by two. When there are two minutes left in the game and you’re trying to hold onto a lead, it can feel like there are 10 minutes left. And that sense of dread all starts with Curry’s unmatched shot-making, and the chemistry he’s built with fellow future Hall of Fame teammates Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.

And now the Warriors have added a fourth future Hall of Famer in Chris Paul. After the Warriors’ quest for repeating its 2022 championship fell short in the second round of the 2023 playoffs, youngster Jordan Poole (and, to some extent, Draymond) was scapegoated and traded, and CP3 was brought in. Paul is the opposite of Poole, a classic floor general of a point guard whose passing, decision making, and basketball IQ should overcome what many critics of the move view as a bad fit style-wise between Paul and his new team.

4. Dallas Mavericks — Worst-case scenario for the Warriors adding Chris Paul this season would be something like what happened after the Mavericks added Kyrie Irving midway through last season. Dallas was on the cusp of being a real contender in the Western Conference at the time, with Luka Doncic earning serious MVP talk. The trade for Irving was supposed to give the Mavs the league’s most offensively potent backcourt and two clutch killers in the postseason. But the postseason didn’t happen for them. Dallas went from low-key title threat to missing the playoffs entirely. Was their nosedive Kyrie’s fault for throwing off the good thing that the Mavs had going? Was it Luka’s fault for not adjusting his game to accommodate another star? Was it the front office’s fault for making a trade that improved the team’s offense but significantly hurt its defense?

With a whole offseason and a full regular season to fix whatever went wrong, the Mavs could climb back into the title picture in 2024. They’ve surrounded Luka and Kyrie with shooters (Seth Curry, Tim Hardaway Jr.), size in the frontcourt (Derek Lively II, Richaun Holmes), and, yes, defense (Grant Williams, Olivier-Maxence Prosper).

5. Milwaukee Bucks — Giannis Antetokounmpo, the two-time league MVP, 2021 Finals MVP, former Defensive Player of the Year, and Bucks’ franchise superstar, recently said he views LeBron James as the “blueprint” for how he wants to navigate his own career. In one notable sense, Giannis recently followed the LeBron model to put himself in a great position to add a second championship to his resume in 2024. Without making blatantly combative comments that could make things uneasy between a player, his team, and the fan base, Giannis dropped a few well-timed quotes in the media about his future and his expectations — quotes that apparently inspired the Bucks to go after and ultimately secure the biggest name on this offseason’s trade market.

The Bucks now have point guard Damian Lillard, the ex-Portland Trail Blazers superstar who finally forced his way off a team that wasn’t going to win the championship he craves and found himself in Milwaukee next to arguably the best player in the world. The Bucks are unashamedly leaning into the Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar dynamic with Dame and Giannis; and they still have an All-Star scorer on the wing in Khris Middleton, and one of the league’s best centers in Brook Lopez — and a new head coach in Adrian Griffin who will be expected to right the ship that went slightly off course under Mike Budenholzer.

6. Philadelphia 76ers — For a dramatic alternative to that career-navigation blueprint, there’s James Harden. The former MVP and future Hall of Fame guard chose against making subtle hints like Giannis and opted for a reality-TV-style “put everyone on blast” plan to get what he wanted — a trade away out of Philadelphia.

Harden helped the Sixers have a great 2022-23 regular season, leading the NBA in assists while helping center Joel Embiid lead the NBA in scoring and paving the way for Embiid to win league MVP. Harden even had a few incredible playoff games. But when it mattered most, in the Sixers’ Game 7 against the Celtics in the second round, Harden was again at his worst (Embiid wasn’t any better) and the team lost bad. Head coach Doc Rivers was then fired and replaced by Nick Nurse, who coached the Toronto Raptors to a title in 2019. A few roster tweaks were made, such as adding talented wing Kelly Oubre Jr. and trash-talking sparkplug Patrick Beverley. Philly would also be bringing back electric guard Tyrese Maxey and understated forward Tobias Harris, who can each be top-level scorers on any given night, plus Embiid is coming off his best season as a pro. With Harden running point, Philly would on paper have to be considered a serious contender again for 2023-24.

But Harden doesn’t want to be in Philly anymore. And he made that very clear with public trade demands that also served as attempted character assassinations of Sixers roster-builder Daryl Morey — who had long been Harden’s biggest advocate among NBA executives. This also happened to be Harden’s third time trying to force himself off a team; he previously did it in Houston and Brooklyn. It’s no secret that Harden wants to get traded to his hometown of Los Angeles and play for the Clippers, but the Sixers are holding onto the disgruntled playmaker until they get the trade offer that they want. There’s high disaster potential in Philly this season: on the court if Harden does show up to play but isn’t engaged, and off the court with whatever deal they ultimately make for Harden.

7. Los Angeles Lakers — Whatever team LeBron James is on will be the NBA’s most talked-about, most watched, most followed, most criticized and most praised, and probably its most interesting team. After clearing the hurdle that was the league’s all-time scoring record last season, for LeBron this season’s story line will be trying to win his fifth championship while counting down the months until he can realize another dream and possibly share an NBA court with his oldest son, Bronny James, next season. (Bronny is a freshman at USC and would be draft-eligible in 2024.)

But remember, this preview isn’t all about individual stars. The Lakers are a real championship contender if LeBron can stay healthy in his age-39 season, and if C/PF Anthony Davis can stay healthy while still in his prime. They’ll be supported by Austin Reaves, who emerged as a reliable No. 3 option last season; plus a solid cast of role players like Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Taurean Prince, Gabe Vincent, and Christian Wood, who have all had either big playoff moments or big statistical seasons going into a typical high-pressure, high-expectations campaign in L.A.

8. Phoenix Suns — Just when you thought the “superteam era” was dead, the Phoenix Suns (appropriately) rose from the ashes with a new Big Three. After trading for Kevin Durant midway through last season, the Suns went out this past offseason and traded for another 30-ppg type of star in Bradley Beal. The trio of Durant, Beal, and Devin Booker has to be in the title conversation just by themselves, but the Suns also picked up integral role players like guard Eric Gordon (veteran shooter who can defend multiple positions), guard Grayson Allen (a full-time starter on a very good Milwaukee team the past couple years), forward Bol Bol (forever oozing with potential), and center Jusuf Nurkic (15-and-10 guy when healthy, and who’s Muslim).

In a league where every team seems to stress the 3-pointer, the Suns are built around three stars who are at their best working the mid-range game (but who can also light it up from long range). There are also big questions defensively with this group. This is one of the more interesting “superteam” experiments we’ve seen in a while.

9. Sacramento Kings — The NBA’s usual offseason drama and rampant player movement allowed the Kings to get lost in the shuffle, overshadowed as people forgot about the league’s biggest breakout team of 2022-23. Last season, Sacramento snapped a 16-year franchise playoff drought, and then in the first round took the Warriors to the wire in a Game 7 before losing. The Kings’ 48 wins was an 18-win improvement from the previous season, and it was the first time the Kings cracked 40 wins since 2006, which was also the last time they made the playoffs.

The tandem of point guard De’Aaron Fox and PF/C Domantas Sabonis earned All-Star berths, and Fox won the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year award. Mike Brown won NBA Coach of the Year after guiding the turnaround in his first season in Sacramento. Harrison Barnes had a perfectly solid season, scoring 15 points per game and never missing a game. Keegan Murray had a very good rookie year, Malik Monk made some noise in the playoffs, and Davion Mitchell left his mark as a defensive difference-maker. The Kings’ biggest offseason acquisition was Sasha Vezenkov, a 6-foot-8 forward who won EuroLeague MVP and Greek League MVP in 2023 and will be a 28-year-old NBA rookie.

10. San Antonio Spurs — The Spurs haven’t been this interesting since they were universally mislabeled as boring.

It’s been a rough stretch of losing since the stars of the Duncan-era Spurs dynasty (those “boring” teams who just kept winning) either retired or found other homes, but now the Spurs are back up … at least in terms of watchability, thanks to the arrival of super-hyped rookie Victor Wembanyama. Tagged as the best basketball prospect to come along since LeBron two decades ago, Wemby will have all eyes on San Antonio in his debut season. He’s 7-foot-4 (or something close to that) but moves as smoothly as a guard and has elements of everyone from Durant to Hakeem Olajuwon in his game.

During those post-Duncan low points, the Spurs quietly built a decent young core to go alongside Wembanyama, including wings Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell and Malaki Branham, pure point guard Tre Jones, scoring point guard Devonte Graham, a center in Zach Collins who is built in the Brook Lopez mold, and Jeremy Sochan, who somehow went from a mini-Dennis Rodman type of grinder to … listed as a point guard this season? Oh, and the Spurs are coached by arguably the greatest of all time, NBA career wins leader and five-time champ Gregg Popovich.

***** *****

BONUS: Two teams that didn’t make this list, but I’ll be watching a lot this season, are the Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks.

The Rockets, my newly-crowned favorite, are re-emerging from the rebuilding/tanking doldrums with an exciting young core of Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun (who’s Muslim), Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, and Cam Whitmore — with culture-changing offseasons additions of veteran point guard Fred VanVleet, energy guy Dillon Brooks, and hard-charging head coach Ime Udoka.

The Hawks might be my favorite team in the East thanks in large part to Trae Young, who may never live up to the “next Steph Curry” hype he generated in college, but who is just as fun to watch. Atlanta also has former and potential future All-Star guard Dejounte Murray (who’s from my hometown), sharpshooting Bogdan Bogdanovic, potential breakout scorer Saddiq Bey with his potential best beard in the NBA, and “potential” frontcourt projects Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu.

The Rockets and Hawks will be closer to fighting for a playoff spot than fighting for a championship, but both should be entertaining in the process.