NBA champion Kendrick Perkins has made a bold prediction on the team that will score the most points in the 2024-25 season.
Perkins had a successful playing career, in which he won the title with the Boston Celtics in 2008, and he is now one of the sport’s most well-known pundits.
Previewing the upcoming NBA season, the 39-year-old named the team that he thinks will have the best offense.
And, he did not go for the reigning champion Celtics, instead choosing an organization that just signed a future Hall of Famer on a $16 million-per-year contract.
Kendrick Perkins predicts the NBA’s best offense
The Indiana Pacers scored the most points per game in the 2023-24 season (123.3), while the Celtics ranked second in that category (120.6).
Meanwhile, Jason Kidd’s Dallas Mavericks only scored the seventh-most points per game (117.9) but Perkins thinks that they will jump up to first this year.
“[The Mavs will be] top five [in points], easily. Maybe number one,” Perkins told NBA Today. “There’s no reason why this team shouldn’t lead the league in scoring.
“Matter of fact, they’re going to be the best pick-and-roll team in the NBA. When you have two athletic, dynamic rollers like they have in Daniel Gafford and Derrick Lively, it opens up so much more for everyone else.
“And then you have playmakers in Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, who are not only able to create for themselves but others.
“And the spacing, we know PJ Washington can knock down threes. Klay Thompson is one of the greatest shooters of all time, we definitely know he can knock down shots.
“The spacing is going to be there, the playmaking is going to be there, the rolling is going to be there. This is going to be not only one of the most exciting offensive teams in the league but one of the best, if not the best.”
Will Klay Thompson help the Dallas Mavericks?
Thompson signed for the Mavs in the offseason after his contract with the Golden State Warriors came to an end.
The 34-year-old won four NBA championships with the Warriors and will undoubtedly go down as one of their greatest-ever players.
But they were not willing to offer him the deal that he was looking for and so he decided to leave in free agency.
Having turned down LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, Thompson agreed to play with Doncic and Irving in Dallas for an annual $16 million instead.
There are concerns over the team’s defensive potential as the shooting guard is no longer an elite defender and neither are his two co-stars.
However, his three-point shooting will be a huge asset to the team. Indeed, his presence alone will attract opposition defenders and create more space for Doncic and Irving to thrive.
The trio are certainly going to be fun to watch and Perkins is not the only ex-player to predict them to have great success.
