​The National Basketball Association’s Larry O’Brien Trophy is unveiled as part of For the Win: Objects of Sports Excellence exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History. The trophy is newly engraved with the New York Knicks as champio… | Source: Lastwordonsports.com – Daniel Benjamin, EditorHealth will decide the NBA champion this season, and that’s not a hedge — it’s the actual state of the league right now.Why Health Will Decide NBA ChampionCount the real contenders.  The East alone has six: New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers and now Toronto Raptors, who dramatically raised their ceiling by bringing Kawhi Leonard back. The West has four more in Oklahoma Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves, with the Los Angeles Lakers pushing to make it five.Having this many teams with a legitimate path to a title isn’t normal parity; it’s gridlock. When the gap between the best roster and the third- or fourth-best roster is that thin, the team that wins isn’t necessarily the one with the highest ceiling. It’s the one that keeps its best players on the floor in May and June.The East Is a Minefield of Fragile StarsPhiladelphia 76ers Joel Embiid poses for a photo during media day. Photo Credit: Bill Streicher, Imagn Images via Reuters Connect Start with Philadelphia, because no team makes this case better. Joel Embiid has missed the vast majority of games over the last three seasons, playing just 39 games in 2023-24, 19 in 2024-25, and 38 in 2025-26. Now he’s paired with a 41-year-old LeBron James, who comes with his own wear-and-tear questions at this stage of his career.Indiana’s path runs alongside Tyrese Haliburton‘s health. Haliburton tore his Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals and missed the entire 2025-26 season. But he has reportedly been cleared with no restrictions and says he’s 100 percent, which is either great news or a question nobody can fully answer until the games start counting.Miami’s calculus changed the moment Giannis Antetokounmpoarrived. He played just 36 games last season for Milwaukee, making availability an obvious concern entering his first season in Miami.The Heat have enough talent around him to contend in the East, though their ceiling is directly tied to how often Giannis can stay on the floor. If Antetokounmpo is healthy in May and June, Miami becomes a very different problem for the rest of the conference.Toronto now belongs in the same conversation after re-acquiring Leonard from the Clippers. The deal was delayed by the NBA’s salary-cap circumvention investigation and finalized in mid-September.Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard (2) talks to the media during Toronto Raptors Media Day at Hotel-X. Photo Credit: John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images via Reuters ConnectLeonard is coming off a career-high 27.9 points per game in 65 appearances last season, one of his healthiest and most productive campaigns in year