At the start of a new season, one thing that hooks fans of any sport is the narrative about which team might be the one to step up and challenge an existing dynasty. In the NBA, the last few years have been all about which club – if any – will rise to challenge the dominance of Golden State. In the season’s first month, some early challengers have stepped to the fore, and a few of them are in action tonight. Here’s how the swarm picked Wednesday night’s games:

Last year the Toronto Raptors looked like a team poised to be that challenger to the Warriors’ throne. Things fell apart for them in the playoffs, however, leading to a coaching change and a renewed resolve. The Raptors are all the way out on the West Coast this evening to play a surprisingly competitive Kings squad. Though Sacramento is off to a far better start than many expected, the swarm believes that Toronto will have things under control tonight.

As this replay shows, the swarm may not be fully believing that the Kings are as good as their 6-4 record might indicate. We see a rapid consensus, and then a straight diagonal from the middle (no J-shaped puck movement here – it goes straight to the top left) to a high confidence prediction of a Raptors win. The swarm later backed up that conviction by choosing Toronto as their pick of the week.

Every week, Unanimous AI publishes predictions made by its Swarm AI platform. Want to have those picks delivered to your inbox? 

Want to learn more about our Swarm AI platform? Check out our TED talk…