Who are you rooting for in the playoffs?
Since the Warriors, sadly, are not an option.
You’ve probably heard that the 2024 NBA Playoffs are underway. And you’ve probably even heard that your beloved Golden State Warriors are not amongst the 16 teams that earned a coveted invite. That’s because the Warriors had a semi-stinker of a season, which ended with a total stinker of a Play-In Tournament loss to the Sacramento Kings.
And now they’re watching from the outside. And you’re watching with no clear team to root for.
So who are you rooting for? Here’s a quick glance at all 16 teams, with one question in mind: who should you be pulling for?
Eastern Conference
No. 1 seed: Boston Celtics
Former Warriors: None
Reason to root for them: Honestly, I’m struggling to think of a single reason why anyone would root for the Celtics. Jrue Holiday and Al Horford seem like awesome people who deserve nice things. That’s about all I can come up with.
Reason to root against them: Rooting against the Celtics is easy. I don’t really need to explain why, and I’m not sure I’d even be able to. It’s just very easy. It would also be hilarious to see them have another postseason collapse after finishing 14 games ahead of second place in the standings.
No. 2 seed: New York Knicks
Former Warriors: Donte DiVincenzo, Alec Burks, Darren Erman (assistant coach)
Reason to root for them: The Knicks are fun and exciting, and represent a title chance with an alternative style. Jalen Brunson might be deserving of First Team All-NBA in my eyes, but he’s still not a superstar in the traditional “best player on a championship team” sense, which is a lot of fun to watch. The Knicks have star talent, between Brunson, Julius Randle, and OG Anunoby, but also play like a scrappy underdog team.
Reason to root against them: The Knicks being bad not good enough is one of the defining characteristics of the last five decades of NBA basketball. Do you really want them to have nice things?
No. 3 seed: Milwaukee Bucks
Former Warriors: Ryan Rollins
Reason to root for them: Damian Lillard still wears the number O on his jersey, as an homage to his hometown of Oakland. That’s a darn good reason. And let’s face it, it’s easy to root for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Reason to root against them: Dame and Giannis winning a championship at the same time? Oh yeah, that’s a great way to take two lovable players and turn them into annoying dudes you never want to hear from again.
No. 4 seed: Cleveland Cavaliers
Former Warriors: Damian Jones, Ty Jerome, Luke Walton (assistant coach)
Reason to root for them: The Cavs are a super fun basketball team, and it would be downright hilarious for Warriors fans if their post-LeBron title total could match their with-LeBron title total this year.
Reason to root against them: The Cavs might by a fun team to watch on the court, but they’re also kind of boring and nondescript and more fun in the underdog role.
No. 5 seed: Orlando Magic
Former Warriors: None
Reason to root for them: Young up-and-coming teams are always a blast. The Magic are making noise behind a second-year player (Paolo Banchero) and a third-year player (Franz Wagner). They’re a joy.
Reason to root against them: The Warriors may be two years removed from hoisting their last trophy, but they’re still the big dog in town as the outgoing dynasty. They’re legally required to want young teams to have to pay their dues before having too much success.
No. 6 seed: Indiana Pacers
Former Warriors: None
Reason to root for them: Tyrese Haliburton is cut from the Steph Curry cloth in terms of being a superstar that you would love to root for.
Reason to root against them: Forgive me, but aren’t the Pacers just a little ... bland?
No. 7 seed: Philadelphia 76ers
Former Warriors: Kelly Oubre Jr.
Reason to root for them: Love him or hate him, Joel Embiid is undeniably awesome, and it would be amazing to see him overcome his injury issues to win a title ... especially if he went through the Celtics in the process.
Reason to root against them: Daryl Morey.
No. 8 seed: Miami Heat
Former Warriors: None
Reason to root for them: There is no funnier thing that could happen in the NBA this year than the Heat, down Jimmy Butler, beating the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
Reason to root against them: Goodness gracious I don’t wanna deal with the cockiness if they do it, though.
Western Conference
No. 1 seed: Oklahoma City Thunder
Former Warriors: None.
Reason to root for them: The Thunder are up-and-coming, but also stacked with some of the most fun players in the NBA, namely the ultra-shifty Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the wiry tree that is Chet Holmgren. They’re disrupting the old guard in the West, which would suck if the Warriors were around, but they’re not, so instead it’s awesome.
Reason to root against them: OKC breaking through and winning a title could be the start of the next NBA dynasty.
No. 2 seed: Denver Nuggets
Former Warriors: Justin Holiday, Michael Malone (head coach)
Reason to root for them: The Nuggets play beautiful basketball. They’re a smaller sports market that normally doesn’t get things. And, with respect to Curry, Nikola Jokić is the best player in the world, and deserves good things.
Reason to root against them: The Warriors remain the reigning dynasty, even if they’re out of contention. The Nuggets repeating as champions might change that.
No. 3 seed: Minnesota Timberwolves
Former Warriors: None
Reason to root for them: This is just a damn fun basketball team to watch play. And if Rudy Gobert wins a title, we might see the most motivated Draymond Green we’ve ever witnessed.
Reason to root against them: Then again, if Gobert wins a title, Green might retire and leave the country.
No. 4 seed: LA Clippers
Former Warriors: None
Reason to root for them: If you’re one of those Warriors fans who despises the Lakers as much as Giants fans hate the Dodgers, then the Clippers are easy to root for. They’ve been the little brother of the Lakers forever, and nothing would anger purple and gold fans.
Reason to root against them: The Clippers being talented enough that they should compete for a title, but somehow tripping over their shoelaces, is their entire schtick. That’s the one thing we all love about them, and it’s a key storyline in every NBA season.
No. 5 seed: Dallas Mavericks
Former Warriors: None
Reason to root for them: Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving are two of the most gifted and clutch shot-makers in the NBA. Watching them on the biggest stage would be must-see TV.
Reason to root against them: I don’t want Jason Kidd or Mark Cuban to have good things. And my goodness, Dončić and Irving winning a title would make them so incorrigible that you couldn’t open up ESPN until September.
No. 6 seed: Phoenix Suns
Former Warriors: Kevin Durant, Damion Lee
Reason to root for them: Durant is a good Warrior. Dubs fans might have some mixed emotions about him, but he’s a good Warrior.
Reason to root against them: It’s also very fair to want Curry and Co. to end their careers with more rings than KD, or just to want the NBA to see how special those Warriors teams were by watching Durant fail with his various post-Warriors superteams.
No. 7 seed: Los Angeles Lakers
Former Warriors: D’Angelo Russell
Reason to root for them: We all wish we could watch Michael Jordan in the playoffs again. You might hate the Lakers, and you might even hate LeBron James, but there’s no denying how special it is to see a player of his caliber dial it up for the highest stakes. We won’t get the pleasure of watching it too many more times.
Reason to root against them: I mean ... it’s the Lakers. You get that, right?
No. 8 seed: New Orleans Pelicans
Former Warriors: Willie Green (head coach), Jarron Collins (assistant coach), Aaron Miles (assistant coach)
Reason to root for them: The Pelicans are one of the most fun-to-watch teams alive, and their bench is full of coaches who helped build the Warriors dynasty. Plus, they eliminated the Kings, for which we are grateful.
Reason to root against them: If the Warriors couldn’t emerge from the Play-In Tournament to have playoff success, then I don’t want anyone to.