Written by

Jonas Aranda

26–38 minutes

(can be skimmed)

2025-26 NBA Team Tiers & Rankings

The new NBA season is upon us. Every team is in the midst of training camp and preparing for the 82-game grind, with the hopes of exceeding expectations. Rosters are set. Some teams got better, some got worse, others are generally the same. This list will rank each team’s combined regular season and postseason outlooks to try predicting where every team will end up on the hierarchy by the end of the NBA season. Which teams can really contend? Who’s rising and who’s falling? Who can surprise or disappoint? Let’s discuss.

Disclaimer: These predictions were made before the start of the NBA season.

Tier 1: Top-Tier Contenders

This first tier consists of two teams who have the best and most realistic chances at winning it all this season. Two of the best rosters in the league whom also complement their superstar players with veteran and championship experience. Elite units along with above average units on the other side, which should help them also earn high seeds and be resilient come playoff time. Quite frankly, it’s most likely that one of these two teams will win the NBA Championship in 2026 if either of them stay healthy.

1.) Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets did a lot in the offseason to set themselves up for title contention this season. Denver added Cam Johnson from the Brooklyn Nets in a trade that sent Michael Porter Jr. and a future 1st-round pick to Brooklyn. Johnson has shot 39+% from 3 on 6+ attempts per game over the last 3 seasons and is a better, smarter defender than MPJ. There is a rebounding downgrade going from Michael Porter Jr. to Cam Johnson, but Johnson’s ability to put the ball on the floor, drive closeouts, and create shots for himself will put more pressure on defenses than there already was. Pivoting from MPJ to Cam Johnson should give Denver the reliable 5th starter that they simply did not have in last season’s playoffs, and Johnson is arguably a better fit with Nikola Jokic than Porter, whom the 3x MVP has won a championship with before.

Denver also made some moves in order to add more depth to their roster via free agency and trade. Tim Hardaway provides some 3-point shooting and scoring pop off the bench, Jonas Valanciunas brings some much-needed size off the bench and gives Denver the ability to run a lot of the same offensive concepts when Jokic is off the floor, and Bruce Brown delivers defensive versatility and some extra ball handling. Denver’s offensive personnel, veteran experience, high-IQ defense, and surprisingly quality coaching combined with the best player in the world makes them arguably the best team in the league.

2.) Oklahoma City Thunder

There’s not a lot to say about OKC that hasn’t been said already. An extremely dominant regular season and an impressive championship run (especially for a young team) was spearheaded by a historic defense and an MVP season from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Not much has changed from a roster perspective, but it is fair to expect Oklahoma City’s young players to improve and be much more poised come playoff time this upcoming season. Theoretically, a full season of a healthy Chet Holmgren should make this team even better as well. The streaky shooting from role players, being too reliant on SGA and Jalen Williams at times, and struggles vs zone defense are all valid criticisms and concerns, but OKC will likely be the 1 seed out west and have a good shot to become the first repeat champions since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018.

Tier 2: There’s A Path

Tier 2 is full of teams who aren’t in the tier with Denver or OKC, but may be able to find their way to the trophy if some factors swing their way. Health issues for other contenders, favorable matchups/relatively easy bracket, nailing a mid-season trade, or maybe even nuclear runs from superstars. They’re not currently looked at as top-tier contenders, but there is a path for them to become one.

3.) Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland has had some disappointing postseasons in the last couple years, but they could have a relatively easy path to the NBA Finals if they stay healthy in the Eastern Conference. This year is Cleveland’s best chance at holding the trophy at the end of the season. The offense is elite when Darius Garland is on the floor, heralding a 122.7 offensive rating in 75 games. Garland’s ability to penetrate defenses and consistently put them in rotation by getting downhill with his speed and then making the correct pass makes Cleveland extremely difficult to guard, and makes Garland the x-factor for this team.

The big concern for Cleveland outside of health is the defensive backcourt of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell. While that is a real red flag, Cleveland has enough good defenders around those two players to survive out east. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen make a great defensive frontcourt, they have a few wings and forwards capable of giving them good defensive minutes, and Lonzo Ball can take on primary point-of-attack assignments when he plays in his restricted minutes. Cleveland would probably lower in this tier if they played out west, but the playoff outlook that a weak East gives them bumped them up.

4.) Minnesota Timberwolves

While the T-Wolves have their flaws, most of them due to the limited nature of most of their top players, their physical imposition and defense combined with a superstar who also happens to be a playoff riser makes them formidable in most matchups. The defense should be top 5 in the league once again, and another jump from Anthony Edwards is in the cards. The concern for Minnesota is their offensive flaws. There’s not a point guard that you feel comfortable with handling the ball regularly, the starting frontcourt doesn’t have a single reliable 3-point shooter, Rudy Gobert is often an offensive liability in high-leverage games and moments, and they lost a key 2-way player in Nickeil Alexander Walker. With that being said, Minnesota can go into a playoff series, wear most teams down physically, and have Anthony Edwards deliver clutch moment after clutch moment. This team is always dangerous.

5.) Houston Rockets

The Rockets were probably the most interesting team in the NBA before the season-ending ACL injury to Fred VanVleet, and they still might be. Houston’s athletic profile combined with Ime Udoka preaching defense and playing harder than your opponent gave the team a high floor and an opportunity to win most games. The continued development of Alperen Sengun also gave the team more of an offensive identity than it had in the past despite still not being a sufficient halfcourt offense. A big part of that was not having a reliable perimeter scorer that could take Houston home in tight games, but now they’ve added Kevin Durant, one of the greatest scorers in NBA history. If Houston can add a primary ball handler to replace Fred VanVleet before the trade deadline, they can enter that 1st tier with Denver and OKC.

6.) New York Knicks

Similarly to the Cavaliers, a big reason the Knicks are this high is because they play in a weak east. From a roster perspective, there’s not much new to this team, but the big change was moving on from HC Tom Thibodeaux and hiring new Knicks HC Mike Brown just a few months after getting fired in Sacramento. It was a bold move by New York, but Mike Brown squeezing more out of the offense and creating a much more resilient unit that is not as reliant on Jalen Brunson can give them the edge they need over their Eastern Conference opponents to get the franchise to their first NBA Finals since 1999.

The big weakness for the Knicks that keeps them from a higher entry on this list is the defensive concerns. The Jalen Brunson/KAT duo in particular feels like an obstacle that you simply cannot overcome, mainly because KAT’s defensive IQ makes him even more susceptible to poor defensive play to go along with his physical limitations. Maybe Mike Brown can figure out a new look or get through to KAT and turn on the lightbulb? With all of that being said, the Knicks definitely have the upside to get through their conference, and anything can happen once you get into a 7-game series.

7.) Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers might be the toughest team to rank in the entire league simply because of the amount of variance the roster holds. LeBron James continues to age and now has sciatica, Marcus Smart hasn’t been able to stay healthy, DeAndre Ayton infamously has had issues with simply being a professional, and all 3 of these players are expected to be starters and rotation players at some point this season. However, if LeBron James returns and stays healthy as Luka Doncic’s right-hand, DeAndre Ayton embraces his role (play-finisher, rim protector, rebounder) in order to secure the next big contract he is looking for, and Marcus Smart can stay relatively healthy and still be a plus defender, the Lakers could feel like they’re just a trade or two away from becoming real contenders.

We’ve all seen the work Luka Doncic put in this summer, and it looks like he can be returning to the player who has pulled off some miraculous moments in the regular season and the playoffs. The Lakers’ blend of ball-handling talent (Luka, Austin Reaves, LeBron on occasion) and play-finishing talent (Rui Hachimura, DeAndre Ayton, Jake LaRavia, LeBron much more often this season) should make for one of the league’s best offenses. If the Lakers don’t hold onto all of their assets in order to try making a borderline pipe dream of a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade come true, a trade (or multiple trades) for starting level 2-way talent at the 3 and one of the guard spots can give this team the upside to defeat teams at the top of the west in some playoff series.

Tier 3: Dangerous Conference Finals Ceilings

While all of these teams are very good, there is an inherent flaw with all of them that you can’t really see changing or becoming fixed as the season goes on. These inherent flaws that were kept them away from being mentioned in the tiers above this one, but they shouldn’t just be slept on or ignored. Each of these 6 teams have the capabilities of ending the season as high seeds and even knocking out some of the teams in the tiers above them in a playoff series, if given the opportunity.

8.) Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers have one of the best rosters top to bottom in the NBA. Multiple good players at every position to fill different roles in each position. This extremely deep roster has a real chance to end the regular season as a top 3 team in the west, with their depth equipping them with the ability to give players the necessary rest and avoid an abundance of injuries that teams this old tend to come across.

So, why aren’t the Clippers in the next tier? The reason for that is the star duo leading this team (Kawhi Leonard and James Harden) feels too weak to lead a team to a Finals appearance in 2025. Harden notoriously has had playoff struggles for a long time, and Leonard’s ability to flip the switch and play like one of the best players in the world looked like it left him during their first round matchup vs the Denver Nuggets this past postseason, with Leonard only having one otherworldly game and completely folding in a Game 7. The last time Leonard looked like he could truly take over a playoff series was in 2023 vs the Phoenix Suns, but he couldn’t even make it to Game 3 before getting shut down due to injury. It’s difficult to believe that a 36-year old James Harden and Kawhi Leonard at an old 34 would be able to make this suddenly trend in the other direction, and that’s why they’re atop this particular tier.

9.) Golden State Warriors

The Warriors had a fantastic run following the Jimmy Butler trade, touting a 23-8 record to end the regular season and winning a 1st-round series vs the 2 seed Houston Rockets in 7 games. Steph Curry’s excellence on offense and Draymond Green’s excellence on defense combined with Jimmy Butler’s 2-way skill set and fit between both players made for a trio that could upset a lot of teams. An injury to Steph Curry in the 2nd round vs the Timberwolves in which he looked comfortable for the brief time he played in said series ended the Warriors’ season. The Warriors also signed Al Horford, a veteran who is a perfect fit for Golden State on both sides of the ball with his ability to switch, play drop and play the same read-and-react 5-out basketball he played his last few years in Boston. Golden State also brought back Gary Payton II, De’Anthony Melton, and Jonathan Kuminga.

However, the Warriors’ age within their core rotation is a huge concern heading into the season. 6 players who would likely be in their playoff rotation will be 33-years old or older when the playoffs begin (Curry 38, Green 36, Butler 36, Horford 39, Hield 33, GP2 33). There isn’t a lot of reliable youth that can take a lot of the load off of these players and minimize the risk of injury. De’Anthony Melton will be 27, but is often injured. Brandin Podziemski can help, but has struggled with some of the inconsistency that young players deal with. Jonathan Kuminga is talented, but the disconnect in playing time and role between him and HC Steve Kerr has widely been reported on, and part of it has even played out in public. It’s difficult to see how this team makes it to the postseason without being hobbled, but if their key players are healthy (Curry, Green, Butler, and Horford in specific), they can make some noise.

10.) Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic is a team with a wide range of outcomes. They can make the Eastern Conference Finals and give someone a tough series, or they can flame out in the 1st-round of the playoffs and end up questioning their roster. The addition of Desmond Bane should really help them out on offense, specifically their 3-point shooting and backcourt scoring issues, which they have struggled with for years. The defense is already elite, finishing 2nd and 3rd in team defensive rating in 2025 and 2024, so there’s a floor that should get them to the playoffs and keep them in most games.

For Orlando to truly reach their ceiling, big leaps need to be made by Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. For Banchero, a lot of his issues come from his shot diet, which leads to the inefficiency in his scoring. Some of those problems come from the poor spacing Orlando has had for most of his career and not having a playmaker who can get him some easy ones, so the addition of Desmond Bane should help him. For Wagner, the 3-point shooting has been dreadful and needs to improve. Over the last two seasons, Wagner has shot less than 29% from 3 on more than 5 attempts per game. His versatility is great, but the 3-point shooting improving would open a lot more for him and his teammates. Banchero needs to go from a borderline top-30 player in the NBA to a top 15-ish guy, and Wagner needs to figure out his 3-point shooting as soon as possible.

11.) Dallas Mavericks

Strictly from a talent standpoint, Dallas’ roster is one of the best in the NBA. Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, and Daniel Gafford is easily the best rotation of bigs in the league. Max Christie, Klay Thompson, and Naji Marshall all bring different, valuable skill sets to the 2 and 3 spots. Cooper Flagg and PJ Washington bring defense and play-finishing ability to the forward spots. D’Angelo Russell is borderline unplayable in the postseason, but he’s good enough to keep this offense’s wheels turning during the regular season while Kyrie Irving works to return to action. The defense should also be one of the best in the league, with a terrifying frontcourt as the catalyst.

The injury history of these players and the mystery of Anthony Davis’ offensive game as a power forward in 2025 are what hold many, including myself, back from making bold predictions about the Mavericks. Most importantly, though, how Kyrie Irving will look when he comes back is simply an unknown. Irving will be 33 going on 34-years old by the projected return from his injury. Even if Irving can still get back to being the player we know and love, who knows how long it will take him to get back in that rhythm and if he’ll be ready to carry the heavy offensive load he’d need to in order for the Mavs to become real contenders.

12.) Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks may be one of the most fun teams to watch this season. Trae Young needs defense and play-finishing around him in order to maximize his skill set, and the Hawks added some of that in the offseason. Kristaps Porzingis has his obvious health problems, and they’ll probably never go away, but the Hawks didn’t give up anything significant for a 7’3 rim protector who can shoot 3’s, score easily in pick & roll, and beat switches easily. If Porzingis can get back to the form he was in during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, this trade will be a steal for Atlanta, and he’s a great fit with Trae Young. The addition of another 2-way guard like Nickeil Alexander-Walker who can hit 3’s at a good clip on decent volume while providing quality point-of-attack defense is a great move as well. Although his defensive limitations can’t be ignored in any capacity, Trae Young is still a great offensive engine and took a similar team to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. Can he do it again?

13.) Detroit Pistons

What Detroit accomplished in 2025 was remarkable. They went from quite literally being a historic embarrassment in 2024 to becoming a top 6 seed in the Eastern Conference and winning a couple playoff games vs a team who made the Eastern Conference Finals. Now, it’s time to see if they can sustain and build upon this success.

Cade Cunningham continuing to marginally improve is a good start. Turnovers are natural for players who handle the ball as much as Cunningham does, but there are some turnovers that are completely avoidable and can be cut out of his game completely. The 3-point shooting from Cunningham also improving slightly would be massive for this team, especially since Detroit lost the shooting of Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley. The return of Jaden Ivey and the addition of Caris LeVert may also take a little bit off of Cade’s plate, but there’s also a chance that Ivey takes time to find his role and get back to where he was before the injury.

There are some swing factors for Detroit this season. Most notably, Jalen Duren becoming a more consistent rim protector would do wonders for this Detroit defense, and it needs to happen for Detroit to truly hit their ceiling, which would involve an even better defense than last season. The 3-point shooting is a worry, but if Duncan Robinson, Ivey, LeVert, Tobias Harris, Cunningham can make up for the losses of Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley in the aggregate and still be a mediocre overall 3-point shooting team, they should be okay. Detroit should be a good defensive team with an average offense, like last year, but there’s a world where a lot of their young players continue to improve marginally and it makes this team a better one overall.

Tier 4: Risers & Fallers

The name of this tier really speaks for itself. Two franchises that have regressed and are no longer in the position to either contend or set themselves up for contention like they once had the opportunity to, and another two franchises who are building identities with promising talents on their rosters. Two franchises who may continue to fade, and another two who feel like they will continue to blossom and may even sneak their way into the playoffs.

14.) San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs are one of the most exciting teams heading into the 2026 NBA season. The young core of Victor Wembanyama, Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, and Carter Bryant can be one that wins a championship in the future. This year though? San Antonio being a play-in team who can sneak into the playoffs would be considered a success, especially if they can play their way into a top 8 seed.

The offensive fit of Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox is great in theory, but getting thr most out of it is dependent on Fox reverting back to an aggressive downhill player who doesn’t just settle for jump shots. Harper should be able to have some nice moments in 2-man game with Wemby as well, but there’s going to likely be a lot of the ups and downs that comes with a young player, especially a guard. Defensively, the Spurs will likely be elevated to at least a league average defense if Wemby can play a lot of games, and maybe they’ll be even better than that if Wembanyama can put together the Defensive Player of the Year campaign we expect him to. Ultimately, the bulk of this roster isn’t talented or mature enough to breed confidence in them becoming a top 6 seed in such a tough conference, but they should be extremely fun to watch and will be competitive as long as the top of their roster stays healthy.

15.) Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks post-2021 NBA Championship can honestly be seen as a tragedy. An injury to Khris Middleton ruins a potential repeat in 2022. Giannis Antetokounmpo misses a lot of the playoffs in 2023 and 2024. The Damian Lillard trade resulted in 2 seasons of underachievement, indirectly helped one of your conference rivals win a championship the same season you made the trade, and now the greatest player in the franchise’s history seems noncommittal to the future, maybe even this season.

Entering the 2026 season, there’s no reason to believe that Giannis’ feelings will change for the better. The Greek Freak is the only player you feel comfortable with in their role on a really good team. Myles Turner is a quality starting center, but not necessarily a number 2. The rest of the roster is full of role players who are adequate, below average, or worse. With the lack of assets that Milwaukee is working with, there’s not much hope for them to make significant upgrades to the roster. Maybe Giannis’ greatness can drag this team somewhere unexpected, but this team feels like they have nowhere to go as it currently stands. Giannis Antetokounmpo will keep this team competitive.

16.) Memphis Grizzlies

Memphis’ roster actually is pretty solid and has good depth, but the starpower is lacking. Jaren Jackson Jr. is a really good player who limits your team’s ceiling significantly if he is your best player, losing Desmond Bane will hurt a lot in the short-term, and this feels like a true “prove it” year for Ja Morant. Ty Jerome, KCP, and Cedric Coward are all really nice backcourt and wing depth pieces, but the depth of this roster has been fine for a while now. Jaren Jackson Jr. and the Ja Morant of the last couple years is one of the weakest duos in the west, and that’s the real issue with this team at the moment. If Morant returns to the form he was in a few years ago or someone even better, then this team can make some serious regular season noise and begin to make contending moves again. If not, Memphis should take a serious look at a rebuild. This will likely be a gap year for Memphis.

17.) Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers are a really interesting team this year. Similar to the Rockets of a couple years ago, you can start to see the identity they’re building. The group of Toumani Camara, Donovan Clingan, Deni Avdija, and Jrue Holiday leading can make for one of the best defensive lineups in the league. Portland’s guards are still a work in progress, but if they can improve offensively, this team becomes even more sneaky. This is a team whose progress should be monitored as the year goes on.

Tier 5: Low Ceilings, Different Timelines

The 6 teams in this tier find themselves in a weird spot: Not good enough to really amount to anything significant, but probably won’t be bad enough to justify or commit to a tank. Injured stars, below average rosters, low ceilings everywhere, simply devoid of hope for this season. Some of these teams can be scrappy due to some of the talent at the top of the roster, coaching, or both, but there’s not too many things that will get you out of your seat here. There are some interesting dynamics on these teams, both short and long-term, but nothing that will have league-altering ramifications this season.

18.) Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers feel like they’re stuck in a rut. They haven’t committed to a full rebuild (difficult to do with the contracts on the books), but they feel so far away from legitimately contending. The franchise has decided to run it back at least one more time with hopes that key players can stay relatively healthy, get into the playoffs, and make a run. The problem with that is the fact that Philadelphia is already dealing with injuries to a couple of the same players who dealt with them last season, and relying on Joel Embiid to make it to the playoffs and not be limping if/when he gets there no longer feels like the reward outweighs the risk. Philly is depending on players like Embiid and Paul George, players who have been trending downward, to make significant bounce backs.

However, if it does work out, Philly has a pretty decent roster. A healthy Embiid and Tyrese Maxey has proven to win games in the regular season and get close to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance. Rookie VJ Edgecombe is an amazing athlete who should bring that along with defense to pair with Quentin Grimes’ shooting and defense. Paul George coming off of recovery in a more condensed role may be better than he was last year, which was a disaster. Kelly Oubre has shown he can have success as a role player on this team in the past and Andre Drummond can be passable as a backup center. We’ll see how Jared McCain’s shooting looks like after the thumb injury. Overall, this team can win a playoff series, but there’s so many variables and no constant that will lift this team’s floor enough to survive the fragility of this roster.

19.) Toronto Raptors

The Raptors are one of the most interesting teams in the Eastern Conference. It’s been a while since they were a serious team with an identity, but this season may be when they find one. On defense, it will be about leveraging their size and length, which can make for a decent unit, especially with Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl, and rookie Collin Murray-Boyles in the frontcourt surrounded by a bunch of capable players who compete. Offense is where this team can make the improvement to become a play-in team who ends up making the playoffs. Brandon Ingram and Immanuel Quickley can take some of the scoring load off of Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett, while Barnes utilizes his rim pressure and playmaking abilities with better spacing. Keep your eye on Toronto.

20.) Boston Celtics

Boston took a huge hit in talent this season. Between shedding salary and the injury to Jayson Tatum, the Celtics have sort of been left stranded this season. The expectations for Boston aren’t very high, and they shouldn’t be. With that being said, this Celtics team still has enough talent and the requisite coaching to be a play-in team in the Eastern Conference. Maybe Tatum comes back, but it would probably make more sense to hold him out in a year where Boston isn’t going anywhere.

Boston’s offense with Anfernee Simons is actually interesting this season, specifically the idea of a skill guard in Joe Mazzulla’s 5-out drive-and-kick system. The aggregate playmaking is a concern for Boston, but the talent of Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Anfernee Simons, and Sam Hauser can probably shoot their way into being a mediocre offense. The defense, particularly in the frontcourt, is worrisome. Jaylen Brown and Derrick White are the only great 2-way players on this team, then it’s some guards who are or that can turn into some solid 2-way players, and then it’s a lot of mediocre or flat-out bad frontcourt players, which will ultimately be their demise. A very top-heavy team who is devoid of talent as you continue down the roster and should focus on developing their young guards and wings.

21.) Indiana Pacers

Similarly to the Celtics, Indiana’s outlook for the season is bleak due to a catastrophic injury to their best player that took place during Game 7 of the NBA Finals. The loss of Haliburton and Myles Turner, two starters in the NBA Finals, can’t be understated. Haliburton is one of the best offensive engines in the sport, and there’s no replacing that type of player in a pinch. Pascal Siakam has shown he can lead mediocre teams in the past, but he’s best as a Robin rather than Batman. The defense will probably sustain some success from the 2nd half of last season, as the only impact defender they lost was Myles Turner, though Haliburton was solid during the postseason. The aggregate playmaking of TJ McConnell, Andrew Nembhard, and Pascal Siakam can keep this offense afloat, but it won’t be nearly as potent as last season. Indiana is a well-coached team that will stay competitive all year long as long as their top guys stay healthy, but it’s a lost season without Haliburton.

22.) Miami Heat

If Tyler Herro didn’t have to sit out a large chunk of the season, Miami would be higher. The lack of ball handling beside Herro was already an issue, but without him, it’s difficult to see how Miami’s offense won’t be a disaster when their offense was already bottom 10 in the NBA with him only missing 5 games last season. There’s a lot of play-finishing talent on this roster, and the addition of Norman Powell gives them even more raw scoring, but there isn’t anyone who can consistently create offense for their teammates from the perimeter in Miami outside of Herro.

On the other side of the ball, Erik Spoelstra and Bam Adebayo are always going to make Miami a good defense. Davion Mitchell and Andrew Wiggins can raise hell out on the perimeter for Miami. If Ke’lel Ware can make a leap on defense, it can take that unit to another level. However, Ware was pretty concerning on defense last season, so he hasn’t necessarily earned that vote of confidence. Miami is in NBA purgatory for the time being. They’ll be feisty and probably find their way into the play-in, again.

23.) Phoenix Suns

Phoenix has a chance to be a fun team this season even though they will be fighting to be in the 9/10 game, with that likely being their ceiling. Between Dillon Brooks, Ryan Dunn, Khaman Maluach, Royce O’Neale, Grayson Allen, and Jordan Goodwin, the Suns can be an average, or maybe even better, defense. Devin Booker should also keep this offense out of the gutter and will also compete on defense. Jalen Green, while he has glaring flaws, will have big scoring nights that can swing games. There’s not a lot more to say about Phoenix. This team is obviously in a transition phase after the Booker/KD/Beal disaster, but they shouldn’t be a bottom feeder as long as Devin Booker stays healthy.

Tier 6: Years Away

Some of these teams have futures to look forward to and be optimistic about, while others just need to find some direction. All of these teams will earn lottery picks this season, whether they intend to or not. If you’re a fan of any of these teams, you’re just looking for development from the young players on the roster and hoping your team can set themselves up for success in future seasons.

24.) Sacramento Kings

Recreating the 2023 Chicago Bulls with Domantas Sabonis and Russell Westbrook was certainly a choice. This roster doesn’t make any sense. Keegan Murray is already injured. There’s not too many interesting prospects on this roster outside of Devin Carter and Nique Clifford as role players. Maybe Carter and/or Keon Ellis get dealt before the trade deadline? Who knows what’s going on with this team?

25.) Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets are probably the most interesting team in this tier. The franchise’s evaluation of the LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Kon Knueppel trio can have a major effect. If LaMelo can tweak his game a bit in order keep the offense flowing more and maximize his teammates, this can be a nice year of learning for the Hornets. With this trio and another handful of draft picks, this can quickly become one of the best young cores in the NBA, or Charlotte can look to move off of some more players. Charlotte outclassing the teams in this tier wouldn’t be surprising, but we need to see it first.

26.) Chicago Bulls

Even though the Bulls managed to miss out on Cooper Flagg since they literally won one game too many for that, Matas Buzelis looks really promising for them. The Bulls have been in purgatory the majority of years for a while, but maybe Buzelis can be the reason that changes in the future. The Coby White contract situation will be one to monitor all year as well. Maybe something happens there? Outside of Buzelis and some trade candidates, there’s not much going on in Chicago, though the Josh Giddey extension and how good or bad that contract ends up being can have ramifications in the future. Will they make their annual play-in appearance?

27.) New Orleans Pelicans

The Pelicans’ offseason has been…eventful. Trading for Jordan Poole and then drafting Jeremiah Fears. Trading their first round pick, which has a real chance to be high in the lottery, for Derik Queen, who doesn’t feel like a good fit next to Zion Williamson at all. Speaking of Zion, him going into training camp was encouraging, but it’s hard to trust a player who has played less than 46% of his total career games, less than 40% of his games over the last 4 seasons, and has never strung together back-to-back seasons where he has played 40+ games to stay healthy. New Orleans has some decent talent on the roster, but a lot of the players have injury problems or don’t really complement each other that well. This team has a great chance to be one of the worst defenses in the league.

28.) Washington Wizards

While the Wizards aren’t particularly close, their asset management and draft picks over the last couple years have been encouraging when you take a look at them long-term. Tre Johnson, Alex Sarr, and Bilal Coulibaly can all theoretically complement each other in the future and continue to build something in Washington. Like most of the teams here, it’s about the future outlook and development. Washington has done it right so far. Let’s see if they can continue to build correctly.

29.) Utah Jazz

With Utah not looking interested in a Walker Kessler extension and still looking to trade Lauri Markkanen, this season should be all about trying to develop Ace Bailey and trying to get him as many reps as you can. Utah’s been in rebuild mode for a few years now, and there isn’t too much to show for it outside of Kessler, Kyle Filipowski, and maybe a guy like Isaiah Collier. Ace Bailey can be the key to accelerating the process.

30.) Brooklyn Nets

It’s going to be the Cam Thomas and MPJ show in Brooklyn while the front offices tries to figure out if any of the young players on this roster are foundational pieces or not. The aforementioned Cam Thomas and MPJ hoops don’t seem that exciting for many people outside of a niche crowd, but hopefully Brooklyn can feel good about their young players at the end of the season and as they move into the future.