Basketball : NBA 2009/2010 season preview

The Lakers won their 15th title

The Los Angeles Lakers secured their 15th NBA title after a 99-86 win over Orlando Magic in Game Five gave a 4-1 victory. It marks Kobe Bryant's fourth title and his first without longtime teammate Shaquille O'Neal. The win gives coach Phil Jackson his record 10th title, breaking a tie with former Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach as the winningest coach in finals history.

NBA 2009/10 key dates

The 2009/10 NBA season will begin on October 27, 2009, and will end on April 14, 2010. The Dallas Mavericks will host the 59th All-Star Game at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on February 14, 2010.

• October 1 - 27: Preseason
• October 27 : Regular season starts
• Februry 14 : All-Star game
• April 14 : Regular season ends
• April 17 : NBA Playoffs begin

NBA 2009/10 favorites

These are odds to win NBA 2009/2010 Championship published by online bookmakers before the start of the season:

The Los Angeles Lakers are the defending NBA Champions and this year's they seem poised to, at the very least, make a run at yet another title. In the off-season, Trevor Ariza left for a free-agent deal with the Rockets, and the Lakers signed Artest away from the Rockets as his replacement. On paper, Artest is a better version of Ariza, but he is also the Lakers' biggest question mark. Can Artest play his game every night and not disturb the Lakers locker room? Other concern will be young center Andrew Bynum who missed over half of last season with knee injury. Still, Kobe and company will open the season as huge favorites to represent the West in the 2010 NBA Finals.

This page is introduction to 2009/2010 NBA season. Latest news, statistics, results and predictions you can find on our main NBA page.

Last year, the Cleveland Cavaliers dropped just two of their 41 home games as they compiled the NBA's best overall record 66-16. The Cavs were unbeatable for most of last season but they had trouble matching up with Orlando's big, athletic and versatile frontcourt in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the off-season, Cleveland acquired Shaquille O'Neal, Jamario Moon, Anthony Parker, Leon Powe, and draft pick Daniel Green. It's clear that the Cavs are attempting to win a title while LeBron James is still under contract. The potential problem for this team is that they are now so deep that many players used to starting are going to have to accept roles coming off the bench.

The Boston Celtics cruised to the Atlantic Division crown, finishing 21 games ahead of the Sixers. Kevin Garnett suffered a knee injury in March and was lost for the season. Though several Celtics stepped up in his absence, they couldn't get past LeBron and the Cavs in the Eastern Conference semifinals. In the off-season Rasheed Wallace arrives in Boston, hoping to become the missing piece for a championship team for the second time in his career. The Celtics are the clear favorites to win the Atlantic Division and a top-three seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Beyond that, it's a question of how well they match up with Cleveland and Orlando.

The Orlando Magic emerged as one of the top teams in the East last season, but couldn't get past Lakers in the Finals. On the paper they are a far better team heading into the new NBA season. They replaced HedoTurkoglu with eight time all star Vince Carter. They added a starter quality power forward in Brandon Bass, and they upgraded their bench. Orlando will be the overwhelming favorite to win the Southeast again, but Boston and Cleveland also made significant additions. At this point, those three teams have to be considered co-favorites to win the East.

The NBA finals in the last five years

2009   Los Angeles Lakers - Orlando Magic   4:1
2008   Boston Celtics - Los Angeles Lakers   4:2
2007   San Antonio Spurs - Cleveland Cavaliers   4:0
2006   Miami Heat - Dallas Mavericks   4:2
2005   San Antonio Spurs - Detroit Pistons   4:3

The table shows the overall number of NBA titles since 1947 and team success in the last five seasons.

key players