Every year, ESPN polls a slew of experts to make their predictions for the upcoming NBA campaign or to give their opinions on the moves that have taken place this summer. Over the past few days, ESPN has been slowly revealing the results of its expert poll for the 2024-25 NBA season. While this doesn’t really have any impact on the season, it’s a fun way to find out where everyone’s favorite team ranks in the eyes of the experts.
This summer, the survey was I haven’t been very nice to the Indiana Pacers, and that trend continues today. In the latest round of predictions, ESPN experts voted for the team they thought would represent each conference in next year’s NBA Finals, as well as the identity of the eventual winner.
Although he just came out of an apparition in the Eastern Conference finalstheir first since 2014, the Pacers still remain underdogs heading into next season, and ESPN’s expert poll reflects exactly that.
According to ESPN’s experts, none of them expect the Pacers to reach the NBA Finals next year. Furthermore, in their point system (first-place vote = five points, second-place vote = three points, and third-place vote = one point), the Pacers received zero points in the poll.
|
Team |
Points |
|---|---|
|
Boston Celtics |
97 |
|
The Philadelphia 76ers |
39 |
|
The New York Knicks |
38 |
|
Milwaukee Bucks |
13 |
|
The Cleveland Cavaliers |
2 |
Of the five teams mentioned, the Celtics, 76ers and Knicks all have valid arguments.
The Celtics are the reigning NBA champions and remain the team to beat next year. Philadelphia had arguably the best offseason of any team this summer, adding Paul George, Eric Gordon, Andre Drummond, Caleb Martin and Jared McCain, among other solid players. And the Knicks acquired forward Mikal Bridges in a blockbuster trade to start the offseason.
The Pacers, however, have a good chance of winning more votes than the Bucks and especially the Cavaliers. While both teams are expected to make the playoffs next year, neither is clearly better than the Pacers.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the Pacers will not win a championship next year. They are still a young team and there is a lot of competition in the conference. However, it is interesting to see that no expert predicts the team to participate in the NBA Finals next year.
The Pacers are used to being neglected now. It’s only a matter of time before they earn the respect of the NBA world.
