3 NBA teams that could win their first championship in franchise history in the 2021-22 season 

The upcoming 2021-22 NBA season will provide a new window of opportunity for individual players and teams alike. From star players getting their opportunity to win another regular season MVP, to winning their first Defensive Player of the Year award or their sole NBA championship, many individuals are waiting for the start of the 75th NBA season.

Similarly, teams are hoping that this will be their season of success. The Golden State Warriors would like to get back to winning ways of the last decade once Klay Thompson returns to bolster their ranks. Likewise, the LA Lakers, with the addition of Russell Westbrook, will be hoping to go one better than the Boston Celtics as the team with the most NBA titles by the end of the season. Both franchises have 17 NBA championships to go against their respective names.

However, there are still a few teams waiting to get their first taste of NBA championship success. These teams have reached as far as the NBA Finals, but have never managed to get their hands around the coveted Larry O’Brien trophy. We take a look at three such teams for whom the 2021-22 season would provide the ideal opportunity to win their first NBA title.

---

#1 Brooklyn Nets

Milwaukee Bucks v Brooklyn Nets - Game Seven

The Brooklyn Nets are heavily favored to win the 2021-22 NBA season, according to the league’s annual GM survey, the results for which were released last week. This would give the Nets their first title in their 45-year NBA history. Remember, the Nets came into the NBA after the American Basketball Association’s (ABA) merger with the league in 1976. Since then, the Nets have won two Conference titles in back-to-back years in 2002 and 2003, but lost both Finals, to the Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs respectively.

The reason the league GMs are so optimistic about the Nets’ chances are because they have among the best talent in the NBA headlining their roster. Kevin Durant, James Harden, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge make for a terrific combination of players, with Durant currently widely regarded as the best player in the world. And even though Kyrie Irving won't be joining the Nets until he's fully available, the franchise still has sufficient firepower to win it all.

Just last season, Durant singlehandedly managed to push the Milwaukee Bucks to a seven-game series in the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals, despite Harden and Irving not being fully available for the series due to health reasons. Now with some significant additions to the roster (Aldridge, Patty Mills and Paul Millsap) in the offseason, and Harden appearing fully fit, this might be the year when the Nets finally end their NBA title drought.

#2 Phoenix Suns

Dallas Mavericks v Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns were within two games of winning their first ever NBA Finals in 2021. The Suns were up 2-0 against the Milwaukee Bucks before their opponents won four consecutive games on the trot to deny the Suns their first even NBA title.

The Suns have had a few opportunities prior to their 2021 disappointment. They reached the NBA Finals in 1976 and in 1993, but were denied by the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls on those two occasions. Their 2021 Finals run itself came after a long playoff drought of ten seasons, the longest in franchise history.

But the Suns have good reason to be optimistic about their chances this season. They were the second best team in the Western Conference in 2020-21. They have a stable core, the assumption here being that the franchise will successfully close its negotiations over Deandre Ayton’s contract eventually. Ayton and Devin Booker now have the right playoff experience behind them while Chris Paul continues to provide his veteran leadership.

The additions of Landry Shamet and JaVale McGee bolster the depth in the squad while the development of young players like Mikal Bridges and Cameron Payne should be a big benefit for the team. All factors considered, the Suns should be very much in the hunt for their first NBA title in 2021-22.

#3 Utah Jazz

Denver Nuggets v Utah Jazz - Game Four

The Utah Jazz were the NBA’s best regular season team in 2020-21. That they lost to an undermanned Los Angeles Clippers roster in the 2021 conference semis surprised quite a few people. With injuries to the Lakers, many had believed the Jazz to be the team that would represent the West in the 2021 NBA Finals. But that was not to be.

The Jazz will have another opportunity this season to make good on that missed chance to win their first NBA title. The only other opportunity they had previously was when Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls famously denied Karl Malone and John Stockton-led Jazz teams in the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals.

But one reason one can remain buoyant about the Jazz’s chances is because they have the resources to make another run at the Finals. They have a franchise player and one of the best young scorers in the league in Donovan Mitchell. They have the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Rudy Gobert. They have the Sixth Man of the Year in Jordan Clarkson. They have a fairly stable roster and have made some fairly decent offseason acquisitions by adding Rudy Gay and Hassan Whiteside. Backing them to win their first NBA title in 2022, could be the easiest thing to do.