Week 16 of the 2024-25 NBA season is done and dusted so we’re looking into the notable moments with three big takeaways from the chaos.
Every notification coming through this week felt like it would have big NBA news attached.
Headlines continued to pop up even as the trade deadline passed. With the Los Angeles Lakers having traded for Mark Williams, the deal was rescinded due to a number of physical issues. It leaves the Lakers without a high-quality big on the roster and makes for an awkward return for those initially sent out in the deal.
Outside of the trade market, the Brooklyn Nets bought out Ben Simmons who is now expected to join the LA Clippers.
Chet Holmgren made his long-awaited return from injury with four points, five rebounds, four blocks and two steals as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Toronto Raptors.
Chet Holmgren missed 3 months due to a fractured hip and swats Scottie Barnes (and 3 other Raptors) in his first game back: pic.twitter.com/ZxkrFyvMKq
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) February 8, 2025
Holmgren joins the Thunder who have taken on the best record in the NBA thanks to a league-high five-game winning streak. The Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets have also both won five games on the bounce and meet each other next in what is expected to be Luka Doncic’s debut in purple and gold.
In the highlight of the week, the Brooklyn Nets scored six points in six seconds to erase a four-point deficit and stun the Houston Rockets.
3 Takeaways From Week 16
Trade Deadline Breakdown
We’ve said it before and will repeat it: The NBA is the best reality show on television. Where else can you get a trade so big that the overwhelming initial response is that the reporter breaking the news has been hacked?
Shams got hacked?
— Tyrese Haliburton (@Hali) February 2, 2025
The Luka Doncic trade dropped a week ago. Time has not healed the frustrations of Dallas Mavericks fans nor answered many of the questions around why they made the move.
It’s one of the biggest trades in NBA history, and headlines what ended up as one of the most high-profile trade deadlines ever. Along with Doncic and Anthony Davis, De’Aaron Fox (Spurs), Zach LaVine (Kings) Jimmy Butler (Warriors), Brandon Ingram (Raptors) and Andrew Wiggins (Heat) are all former All-Stars wearing different uniforms to what they started the NBA season.
We’d mentioned pairing Fox with Victor Wembanyama weeks ago. It’s a move that made sense for both parties. Wembanyama is an incredible talent, and while the Spurs appeared willing to play the long game, taking on Fox now is an opportunity they couldn’t pass up. Still, it’s not enough to have them contend this season at $56 to win the Western Conference.
Adding Butler is unlikely to be enough for the Warriors to climb into contention ($41). The fit is questionable. His fitness has long been an issue with Butler playing more than 60 games only once since 2018-19.
Jimmy Butler excellent in his debut: 25 points. Drove them home to start the fourth quarter, went 11-of-13 on FTs. Second most free throw attempts ever in a Warriors debut behind only Wilt Chamberlain (15). Steph Curry scored 24 of his 34 in third. Warriors win in Chicago.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) February 9, 2025
It’s a deadline that will go down in history, but it’s unlikely to change the course of this season. Despite the movement and the potential of so many teams in the Western Conference, the first three lines of betting in the NBA Championship winner market are unchanged.
The Boston Celtics is still the team to beat at $2.88. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t make any moves and remain as the favourites in the West at $3.50.
NBA Championship Odds: Cavaliers – $7.50, Lakers – $11, Knicks – $14, Nuggets – $15, Mavericks $21, Grizzlies – $26, Bucks – $31
Celtics Smash Knicks
The New York Knicks hosted the Boston Celtics to finish the week. Unfortunately for the Knicks, the game looked a lot like how last season finished.
Jalen Brunson did everything he could to keep the Knicks in the game while scoring a team-high 36 points. When the Knicks trailed by 13, it felt as though they were down by 33 such was Boston’s dominance.
Even without Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics cruised to a 131-104 win behind Jayson Tatum’s 40 points. Payton Pritchard was “on all night like a porch light” to score 25 points off the bench, shooting 9-for-13.
While the Knicks are only 2.5 games back on the Celtics as the third seed in the Eastern Conference, their $6 to win the conference paints a better picture. They’re not among the contending teams despite Karl-Anthony Towns offering some hope earlier in the season.
Jalen Brunson said the Celtics are a measuring stick game, and that the Knicks see where they are in comparison to the defending champs.
I asked where that is: “Not where we want to be.”
— Kristian Winfield (@Krisplashed) February 9, 2025
The Knicks rank 2nd in the NBA on the offensive end, scoring 121 points per 100 possessions. As is so often the case on Towns teams, scoring the ball isn’t a problem. However, their middling defence ranks 13th, allowing 114.3 points per 100 possessions. They’ve produced good performances at times, but not often enough to be confident in a seven-game series. All the pieces are there. It’s putting them together as a collective that is proving the issue, and they’re running out of time.
The AD Experience
While the response to the trade could be considered somewhat disrespectful to Anthony Davis, he is still one of the 10-15 best players in the NBA. In a vacuum, he’s a great piece to put beside Kyrie Irving and helps to improve a Dallas Mavericks defence that ranks 15th in the league.
Davis exploded in his Mavericks debut to have 23 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three blocks by halftime. However, as much as Davis can take over a game and be part of a championship-contending team, he spends just as much time on the sideline.
Fittingly, Davis put up massive numbers and limped off the court in his first game for the franchise.
Anthony Davis went to the locker room with a non-contact injury https://t.co/uq4671SOJG
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 8, 2025
It’s the true Anthony Davis Experience.
Questioning Luka Doncic’s conditioning is one thing. Having a 31-year-old player who goes by “street clothes”, given how often he’s injured, frustrated fans. Seeing him unable to finish his first game only added to it.
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