5 realistic contenders that can put a stop to the Boston Celtics winning Banner 19

It is very seldom a championship team retains its whole core rotation. Call it rarified air, but can the Celtics withstand these contending teams?

The NBA has a ton of talent right now, and the Boston Celtics can be at risk of being caught slipping against these 5 teams / Sam Hodde/GettyImages

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Oklahoma City Thunder

A top-five talent leads the Oklahoma City Thunder in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander; not to mention rising stars in Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. They also have a top three coach in the NBA arguably in Mark Daignault and one of the best young GMs in Sam Presti.

Oh, and the Thunder still have a boatload of draft picks and other assets to package for another star.

The biggest moves of the off-season come from the Thunder adding elite defensive guard, Alex Caruso who can stay on the court in the playoffs to replace Josh Giddey. Coach Daignault has the pleasure of deciding who to start between two elite defenders in Lu Dort and Alex Caruso. It's a problem all coaches would envy. The signing of Isaiah Hartenstein gave them a starting caliber center which allows Chet to play his more natural position.

A team that was small before got bigger. Biggest weakness fixed? The retaining of two core pieces in Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe is heavily underrated too.

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