The start of the NBA season is here, so let’s predict one breakout player from each Western Conference team ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.

Breakdown of the top 10 teams that will make the 2024-25 NBA Western Conference playoffs and play-in tournament's Nos. 7-10 spots.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are set up to be successful for a long time, but the veteran teams in the Western Conference are going to try to delay their ascent.

The Thunder are young and precocious enough to need and value the No. 1 seed, and the still-untapped upside of so many of their players makes this quite reachable. Just when we were getting to enjoy the Timberwolves’ two-big throwback approach, they changed it up. But coach Chris Finch and team president Tim Connelly know what they’re doing.

The Sporting News takes a look at the 2024-25 NBA Finals odds, then identifies value in the futures market and makes its picks for the next championship.