On Sept. 30, the NBA preseason kicked off in Tokyo, Japan with the Golden State Warriors facing the Washington Wizards. The defending champions gave everyone a glimpse of what’s to come this season. 

Warriors center James Wiseman showed most of his repertoire and had 20 points, nine rebounds and a huge dunk over Wizards center Kristaps Porzingus. Guard Donte Divencinzo demonstrated his importance as a 3-and-D backup guard and the young players got most of the playing time. 

With the Warriors illustrating their potential depth once again — it’s not difficult to see how the Warriors could possibly repeat as champions. But, the NBA is full of deep playoff contenders, especially in the wild, wild Western Conference and the Eastern Conference better now than ever. It'll be difficult to see who exactly can come out of the gauntlet. 

In my opinion, here are three teams that could potentially give the Warriors a run for their money. 

1. Los Angeles Clippers

In terms of depth, the Los Angeles Clippers could potentially be one of the deepest teams in the NBA. The biggest question concerning the Clippers would be health and team chemistry. It’s hard to develop any team chemistry when players are always in and out of the lineup. 
Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard missed all of last season with a torn ACL he suffered in the 2021 NBA playoffs versus the Utah Jazz. The last time Leonard played more than 60 games was during the 2018-19 season when he won a championship with the Toronto Raptors. With Leonard and his infamous “load management,” it’ll be interesting to see how he deals with the grueling regular season. 

The Clippers are deep though — as they have recently acquired guard John Wall, forward Norman Powell and still have quality players like guard Reggie Jackson and forward Luke Kennard. Not to mention Leonard’s running-mate forward Paul George seems to have figured out his playoff issues mentally.

If the Clippers remain healthy and find their groove as a team, watch out for them to make some noise in the Western Conference. 

2. Cleveland Cavaliers

On Sept. 1, the Cleveland Cavaliers came out of nowhere and acquired guard Donovan Mitchell. Throughout the entire offseason, it seemed like Mitchell to the New York Knicks was a guarantee. But the Cavaliers were able to swindle the Jazz for Mitchell when the Knicks were unable to give a better package for the three-time All-Star. 

The Cavaliers have one of the best young talents with former No.3 overall pick center Evan Mobley, center Jarrett Allen and guard Darius Garland, who made the All-Star team last season. 

Mobley has made comparisons with NBA legend Kevin Garnett and is not running away from those comparisons, according to The Athletic. The Cavaliers seem almost perfectly balanced, with Garland and Mitchell heralding the offense and Mobley and Allen anchoring the defense. 

With Eastern Conference powerhouses like the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets having their own internal turmoils, this is setting the scene for the Cavaliers to be the perfect underdog story. 

3. Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves shocked the NBA when they pulled off a trade with the Jazz to acquire center Rudy Gobert. With a frontcourt of center Karl-Anthony Towns and Gobert, rising star forward Anthony Edwards and guard D’Angelo Russell, the Timberwolves could potentially cause the Warriors some trouble. 

Historically, the Warriors biggest weakness has always been the center position. Because the Warriors are dominated by guard play, centers in the past have been serviceable at best, but opponents could always attack the Warriors downlow. 

Now, with the “modern-day Twin Towers,” the Timberwolves could truly test Wiseman defensively. Towns is also coming off a major season — averaging 24.6 points and 9.8 rebounds and leading the Timberwolves to the NBA playoffs for the second time since 2004. 

Should the Timberwolves find their stride, it won’t be hard to see them in the playoffs and potentially running into the Warriors then. 

(Photo credit: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)