NBA Survival Guide: 7 players who will tilt the 2025 title race

Opening night is almost here. Contenders are taking stock, evaluating their rosters from top to bottom. Even the smallest changes — a new role for a key piece, the addition of a player, or the health of a veteran — could swing the pendulum between a season brimming with championship promise and a slow slide toward an inevitable early exit. For some, these factors will define the season.

Here are seven players who could alter the title odds by pushing a favorite over the top or turning an underdog into a real threat:

1. Naz Reid, Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota’s decision to trade Karl-Anthony Towns to New York isn’t just because of what Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a protected first bring in return. It’s about Naz Reid. Within the Timberwolves organization, there’s a belief that the gap between Towns and Reid is a lot smaller than some think.

“They think he’s pretty much 90 percent of what KAT did for them,” one Eastern Conference general manager said. “And they’re probably gonna be proven right.”

(J’Kel Anderson/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

Towns is better in a vacuum and more proven as a four-time All-Star, but he’s about to turn 29 and is just beginning a four-year, $220.4 million deal. Reid is 25 and will make only $13.9 million coming off a season in which he won Sixth Man of the Year. In the minutes Reid shared with Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert, he averaged 19.8 points per 36 minutes on 45 percent shooting from 3, which are nearly identical numbers to what KAT did as the starter. Even if Reid isn’t as great as Towns individually, he’s made in the same mold as a big man who can drain 3s, create plays with the ball and effectively defend in different roles.

Randle brings something dramatically different than Towns and Reid as a bruising big man who can attack off the dribble and provide elite rebounding. Plus, he’s gone through spurts playing excellent defense, with the physicality to guard the interior and the quickness to slide on the perimeter. Randle has been a zero in his postseason career. But he doesn’t suck. He’s a two-time All-NBA player and now Minnesota will…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-10-10 15:08:10

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