NBA 2021-22 season predictions: 75 picks for the league's 75th season

By Yaron Weitzman
FOX Sports NBA Writer

Who doesn’t love predictions? If I’m proven right (unlikely), I get to gloat, and that makes me happy. If I’m proven wrong (very likely), you get to call me an idiot, and that seems to make readers happy.

What better way to celebrate the tip-off of the NBA’s 75th season than with 75 not-quite-bold predictions? (Note: These are predictions, not sourced reports.)

1. I’ll start with my boldest: Kyrie Irving doesn’t play a single game this season.

2. This begins as being his choice. But as the season progresses, and the Brooklyn Nets — and more importantly, Kevin Durant and James Harden — see how dominant the team is without Irving, it becomes their choice, even as vaccine mandates are relaxed. And speaking of thorny situations …

3. Ben Simmons doesn’t play a single game for the Philadelphia 76ers.

4. Yet Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey still holds off on trading Simmons — until around early December, when he’s forced to settle.

5. Morey is forced to make a deal because the Sixers struggle to start the season, and the Eastern Conference turns out to be stacked, and no superstar players become available. 

6. Simmons is traded to … well, I have no idea. The Sacramento Kings for Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield? The Minnesota Timberwolves for Malik Beasley, D'Angelo Russell and some picks? A mystery team? Let’s go with the Kings. 

7. Morey also makes the Kings (or whichever team he ends up trading Simmons to) take Andre Drummond, just to get Doc Rivers to stop with the five-man bench units. 

8. And also because Joel Embiid makes him. 

9. One reason no superstars become available for Philly: The Washington Wizards, thanks to their depth, get off to a surprisingly solid start.

10. This keeps Bradley Beal happy.

11. Not only does Beal not ask out of Washington, but also, around December, he informs Wizards management that he plans to re-sign with them next summer for a full five-year max. 

12. The Wizards then fall off a cliff and miss the play-in tournament.

13. The other reason no superstars become available: The Portland Trail Blazers, thanks to the presence of a healthy Jusuf Nurkić and the swapping out of Carmelo Anthony and Enes Kanter for Larry Nance Jr., fix their leaky defense.

14. This keeps the Blazers in the Western Conference playoff picture and keeps Damian Lillard happy.

15. But not as happy as Kyle Lowry is to be playing alongside Jimmy Butler in Miami.

16. Or Tom Thibodeau is when he gets to play Taj Gibson for 48 minutes after the Knicks' deep is tested by injuries.

17. Or Kemba Walker is to be back in his hometown.

18. Or New York Knicks fans are to be able to watch Walker play in his hometown.

19. Or to see a Knicks team that spends the season competing for one of the East’s top six playoff spots.

20. Or to have a young player such as RJ Barrett become an All-Defense candidate and a borderline All-Star.

21. Which turns Madison Square Garden into the most exciting place to watch an NBA game this season.

22. However, the league's most exciting team to watch is still the Charlotte Hornets.

23. Despite the East’s retooling, the Hornets once again qualify for the play-in tournament and remain everyone’s favorite League Pass team.

24. They do so because LaMelo Ball takes another step and because Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward provide elite shot-making and also because Miles Bridges becomes a candidate for Most Improved Player.

25. Though Bridges has to compete with Jayson Tatum, who becomes an MVP candidate.  

26. For a Boston Celtics team that thrives under the more open offensive system of new coach Ime Udoka.

27. And, thanks to the additions of Dennis Schröeder, Josh Richardson and Al Horford and the emergence of Robert Williams III, Boston becomes one of the East’s deepest and most versatile teams. 

28. The Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks both earn home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. 

29. With Hawks point guard Trae Young making his first All-NBA team.

30. And DeAndre Hunter emerging as one of the league’s most fun and talented young wings. 

31. Things don’t go quite as well in Detroit, with Killian Hayes looking like a bust and Cade Cunningham — who was the No. 1 pick thanks to his skills, not his athleticism — initially struggling.

32. Eventually Cunningham finds his groove and finishes the season strong.

33. Unlike the Toronto Raptors, who once again lose steam down the stretch. 

34. Before that, though, they deal Goran Dragic to a contender. 

35. The Milwaukee Bucks pummel opponents in the regular season. 

36. Ian Eagle and Stan Van Gundy — reunited on TNT — get recognized as one of the best broadcast duos in all of sports.

37. The NBA’s new replay rules — the elimination of referee-initiated replay review of out-of-bounds violations during the last two minutes of the fourth period and the last two minutes of any overtime period — lead to the bungling of a crucial call.

38. And nobody cares because we’re all sick of instant replay.

39. Something you never grow tired of: Watching Nikola Jokić play.

40. You — and by "you," I mean "I" — start putting Denver Nuggets games in your calendar to make sure you never miss a Jokić pass or shuffle. 

41. During those Nuggets games, you notice Michael Porter Jr. has grown into one of the silkiest scorers in the league. 

42. And you start believing that if Jamal Murray is able to return to the floor this season at anything close to full strength, the Nuggets could be the best team in the West.

43. Which is exactly what they’ll look like that one time this season when Austin Rivers drops 40 points.

44. The Utah Jazz finish the season with the best record in the West.  

45. Though the addition of Hassan Whiteside leads to some amazing Quin Snyder clips.

46. Also, as the season goes on, we start hearing more and more about the growing influence of Dwyane Wade, who last year purchased an ownership stake.

47. This is awkward when the Jazz flame out early in the playoffs again, and Wade is forced to talk about them while on TNT.

48. A team that won’t flame out early: the Golden State Warriors.

49. Because Klay Thompson is set to return to the court this season.

50. Also because Stephen Curry and Draymond Green continue running circles around hapless opponents.

51. You’ll be surprised by how giddy you are to see those three players once again sharing a court.

52. And how the Warriors emerge as the greatest threat to the Los Angeles Lakers in the West.

53. Which will be because the Warriors are great, but also because the Phoenix Suns, coming off a Finals run, get hit with the injury bug and struggle.

54. All of which allows the Lakers to work through their growing pains and coast through the regular season.

55. They won’t finish with the West’s best record, but they’ll be in the top three.

56. And in the process, they'll figure out their rotation and defense.

57. Their offense will never look pretty, and the Russell Westbrook fit will always be awkward, but it won’t matter. 

58. Kawhi Leonard, who had his torn ACL repaired in July, doesn't play a single game this season.

59. Zion Williamson plays less than half the season. 

60. The Pelicans miss out on the playoffs and the play-in. 

61. By the end of the season, you won’t be able to name a single active starter for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

62. Dwight Howard sets a record for most offensive fouls. 

63. And with the San Antonio Spurs on the verge of missing the postseason, Gregg Popovich’s future becomes a thing. 

64. Minnesota's Anthony Edwards dunks on Embiid. And then tweets about it after the game.

65. Edwards vs. Embiid on Twitter becomes the greatest duel of the season.

66. Your 2022 MVP: Giannis Antetokounmpo.

67. Defensive Player of the Year: Anthony Davis.

68. Coach of the Year: Nate McMillan.

69. Most Improved Player: Michael Porter Jr.

70. Rookie of the Year: Jalen Green.

71. Sixth Man of the Year: Dennis Schröder.

72. Eastern Conference playoff teams, in order (post play-in): Bucks, Nets, Hawks, Celtics, Sixers, Knicks, Heat, Bulls.

73. Western Conference Playoff teams, in order (post play-in): Jazz, Lakers, Warriors, Nuggets, Mavericks, Suns, Blazers, Grizzlies.

74. The Nets beat the Lakers in the Finals. 

75. The majority of what you just read winds up being incredibly wrong.

Yaron Weitzman is an NBA writer for FOX Sports and the author of Tanking to the Top: The Philadelphia 76ers and the Most Audacious Process in the History of Professional Sports. Follow him on Twitter @YaronWeitzman.