With the NABA season coming to a close, that means one thing, the playoffs are here. 15 Teams, there will be one winner crowned in just a few weeks. Who are the contenders this year?

NABA is a long season, and with 15 teams in the 9th-10th grade section, there are a lot of potential winners. The playoffs are a double elimination bracket which starts Wednesday February 1st. The championship is on Saturday February 15th.

There are a few teams who can contend and win the championship, and some who shouldn’t even be considered to win. Team 11, with Jackson Walsh and Sean O’Donnell, has only won 1 game this year and have little to no chance to win the championship. But there are teams like team 13 with Coach Bryan Weet and son Tyler Weet, accompanied by Logan Lyle and Colin Moore, who haven’t lost a game this year and are 9-0-2.

Teams, with Jake Burns and Brandon Goetz, and Team 8, with Noah Spak and Ben Stover, are some of the top contenders coming in 2nd and 3rd place in the power rankings. Both teams have star power and can definitely win it all. 

There are a bunch of teams in the middle of the pack that could win it all or end up losing both of their first two games. Teams like Team 4 with Ben Wilcox; Team 3 with Lucas Henderson, Derek Walker, and Lincoln Hoke; Team 6 with Conner Frank and Michael Huet; and team 12 with Chris Hoffman, Evan Maughn, and Brayden Ricci all have great players and their record doesn’t show how good they are. 

But some teams look to be major upsetters. Team 12 with EJ Walters look to make a run. And team 1 with Colman Craft and a lot of other solid pieces look to make a run in the tournament. 

A notable first round matchup is team 8 vs team 9 where 2 great teams matchup. This game can go either way. With Chris Hoffman out for team 12, their team is also lacking a star player. It will be questionable whether or not they can make a run without him.

 The season had a lot of good games, bad games, and surprise players. With some injuries and other interferences with NABA there are bound to be some crazy games. We hope to see the NABA playoffs go smoothly and to see some great games.