Part two of my preseason prediction trio series is here! Today, I’ll be power ranking all 30 NBA teams based on a combination of projected regular season and postseason success, as well as roster talent/fit and past success and/or failure. Seeding predictions are also included. This year’s list was as tough as ever to make. Both conferences are so stacked. Let’s get straight to it!
1: San Antonio Spurs (1 Seed in West)
Key Players: Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell, Tobias Harris
Top Award Candidate: Victor Wembanyama (DPOY)
The Spurs took the association by storm last season, making an inconceivably rapid rise to contention and riding that wave all the way to the Finals. Now, the hype for this team and this core is out of this world, and it’s all warranted. Superlatives to encapsulate Victor Wembanyama’s transcendence don’t exist, and with him at the helm, San Antonio should be the favorites to not just take home the Larry O’Brien in 2027, but to be the NBA’s next dynasty.
2: Oklahoma City Thunder (2 Seed in West)
Key Players: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Ajay Mitchell, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso
Top Award Candidate: Ajay Mitchell (6MOY)
People were ready to crown Oklahoma City as the next dynasty after their 2025 championship, but they weren’t able to shed the forces of parity influencing the modern NBA as they lost to the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals last season. After that defeat, though, OKC will be as hungry as ever. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is firmly in his prime as the best player in the world. Jalen Williams is healthy. Chet Holmgren should hopefully be more aggressive. The team’s defensive ethos is still deeply ingrained. The Thunder aren’t the frontrunners ahead of the 2026-27 season, but maybe they don’t want to be.
3: New York Knicks (1 Seed in East)
Key Players: Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart
Top Award Candidate: OG Anunoby (DPOY)
New York’s 2026 championship run was special. Fans may never stop riding that high, but in the NBA, things move fast. If the Knicks don’t repeat or at least come close to doing so, ownership might blow up this beloved core as extension talks loom for Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart. Luckily, the ‘Bockers are primed to make magic once again. Their starting five is one of the flat-out best we’ve seen in modern basketball history, and Jalen Brunson was born to defy the odds.
4: Cleveland Cavaliers (2 Seed in East)
Key Players: Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Peyton Watson
Top Award Candidate: Peyton Watson (MIP)
Here at the Bench Mob Blog, we can’t quit on the Cavs, for better or for worse. This team has been written off many times, and they’re rarely taken seriously as contenders, yet they just made a Conference Finals run. Now, their loss to the Knicks was brutal, but New York made everyone look foolish last spring. Heading into 2026-27, their roster is still as talented and versatile as ever. Peyton Watson could just be the piece they were missing. Cleveland will win a lot of regular season games, as always, and a Finals run could absolutely happen too if James Harden doesn’t choke yet again.
5: Toronto Raptors (4 Seed in East)
Key Players: Kawhi Leonard, Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Collin Murray-Boyles, Jakob Poeltl, Ja’Kobe Walter
Top Award Candidate: Scottie Barnes (DPOY)
His journey to get here was messy, to say the least, but Kawhi is a Raptor again. Toronto’s 2019 superhero is home, and he’s ready to take the team over the hump and back into the title hunt. The Raptors had the foundation for a championship team in place—entrenched identity, good coaching, deep rotation, star power— they just needed their guy, and now they have him. Leonard, Scottie Barnes (who rocks), and friends are going to terrorize opponents all year, and they’ll pose a serious threat to anyone they face in a playoff series. Of course, Kawhi’s injury history has to be acknowledged. But, if he can play as much as he did in 2025-26, Toronto will be true contenders.
6: Boston Celtics (3 Seed in East)
Key Players: Jayson Tatum, Paul George, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Neemias Queta, Mitchell Robinson
Top Award Candidate: Jayson Tatum (MVP)
The Celtics have been a winning machine for the entirety of the decade. It hasn’t mattered which stars have been healthy, their system has stayed constant, which Joe Mazzulla deserves the utmost credit for. We’ve seen several iterations of Boston in recent years, but this may be the most fascinating one yet. This is Jayson Tatum’s chance to be the unchallenged man on this team and show the world he’s been the most important Celtic all along (the fact that that’s been doubted is crazy, but here we are). Unfortunately, this opportunity is coming in his post-Achilles-rupture season. But, history tells us Tatum and company can’t be slowed down.
7: Philadelphia 76ers (5 Seed in East)
Key Players: Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, VJ Edgecombe
Top Award Candidate: Anfernee Simons (6MOY)
NBA 2K became reality when Philly landed Jaylen Brown and LeBron James in the same offseason. The team can’t let the fanfare distract them, though, because the pressure is all the way on for them to go to the Finals. LeBron said it himself—he didn’t leave his family to lose in the first round. The talent for the 76ers is obviously immense, but chemistry and identity are necessary parts of the championship formula. Philadelphia will have to establish those things in LeBron’s fleeting window, which won’t be easy, especially with Joel Embiid’s presence being as unpredictable as it is. Side note—this is still Tyrese Maxey’s team.
8: Minnesota Timberwolves (4 Seed in West)
Key Players: Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Jonathan Kuminga, Ayo Dosunmu
Top Award Candidate: Anthony Edwards (MVP)
The duo of Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball is about to be absolute cinema. Get your popcorn ready. In all seriousness, Minnesota has shown they can hang with the Thunder and the Spurs as well as anyone else in the West. They’re excellent defensively, which will be the case until Rudy Gobert falls off, and their offense is looking as scary as ever with LaMelo in the fold. They’ll need some luck on their side to do so, but if any Western Conference team is going to dethrone OKC and San Antonio this year, it’s going to be the Wolves. In the words of the Ant Man himself, believe that.
9: Miami Heat (6 Seed in East)
Key Players: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, Pelle Larsson, Klay Thompson, Tim Hardaway Jr.
Top Award Candidate: Bam Adebayo (DPOY)
Miami’s victory in the Giannis sweepstakes immediately made them a team nobody will want to play against. This club is going to bash opponents on the interior on both ends. They’re so physically imposing. The outside shooting is a bit shaky for them, though—they’ll have to hope Klay Thompson and Tim Hardaway Jr. catch fire often. The other looming uncertainty for the Heat is the fitness of their new superstar. The Greek Freak has only played one healthy playoff series since 2022, and he’s almost 32 years old. The wear and tear is catching up to him. He won’t be able to backpack contenders forever.
10: Denver Nuggets (3 Seed in West)
Key Players: Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, DeMar DeRozan, Cam Johnson, Christian Braun
Top Award Candidate: DeMar DeRozan (6MOY)
On the heels of an embarrassing first round loss to the Timberwolves, the outlook for the usually uber-consistent Nuggets is weirdly murky. They’ve done very little to patch up their defensive weaknesses, and if it weren’t for them buying low on DeMar DeRozan, the exact same could be said about their historically deficient bench. To make matters worse, Nikola Jokic and his two-man game with Jamal Murray are officially mortal and Aaron Gordon can’t stay healthy. It’s tough to picture Denver being anything other than a regular season juggernaut, but their championship equity is the lowest it’s been in a minute.
11: Indiana Pacers (7 Seed in East)
Key Players: Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, Ivica Zubac, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith
Top Award Candidate: Kelly Oubre Jr. (6MOY)
The NBA is a “what have you done for me lately?” league, and the lack of buzz around the Pacers (and weird social media conversations about Pascal Siakam) exemplifies that. Their Haliburton-less campaign was a disaster, but there’s no reason why they can’t bounce all the way back in 2026-27. This is the same sensationally synergized roster that almost won the title in 2025, just with Ivica Zubac and Kelly Oubre Jr. instead of Myles Turner and Bennedict Mathurin. The East is better than it was when Indy made back-to-back Conference Finals runs, which will likely hurt their seeding, but once they make it to the playoffs, anything will be possible.
12: Los Angeles Lakers (5 Seed in West)
Key Players: Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler, Collin Sexton, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Quentin Grimes, Adou Thiero
Top Award Candidate: Luka Doncic (MVP)
LeBron is no longer a Laker, and the team wasted no time in Luka-fying this roster in his wake. Los Angeles dedicated their offseason to collecting role players that can complement their wunderkind (well, wunderman nowadays), and the biggest move they made was trading for Walker Kessler, who can be massively impactful in the paint if (big if) he’s healthy. Ultimately, the Lakers will be playing Luka-ball all year, and the viability of his heliocentric playstyle will be tested once and for all.
13: Houston Rockets (6 Seed in West)
Key Players: Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith Jr., Reed Sheppard
Top Award Candidate: Amen Thompson (DPOY)
Houston’s first crusade with Kevin Durant didn’t go as planned. The Slim Reaper only played one game in their first round series against the Lakers, and without him, the Rockets crashed and burned at the hands of LeBron. This year, they’re mostly running it back, but they will have Fred VanVleet back, and they’ll need the veteran point guard to shoot that thang. Defense and rebounding weren’t the problem at all for Houston in 2025-26. Offense was, and even with VanVleet in the frame, they’re lacking the firepower to keep up with OKC, San Antonio, and the other elite contenders.
14: Detroit Pistons (8 Seed in East)
Key Players: Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson, John Collins, Duncan Robinson
Top Award Candidate: Ausar Thompson (DPOY)
As impressive as Detroit’s 2025-26 regular season was, once the postseason hit, many people were vindicated for being skeptical of their merit as a contender. The Pistons will be determined to prove last year wasn’t a fluke, but that’s gonna be hard to do when they didn’t meaningfully improve at all this offseason. They’ll be counting on continued growth from Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren, Ron Holland, and others, but even that wouldn’t quell their creation woes. All told, this could be a rocky year for a Detroit club that’s grappling with high expectations for the first time in a long time.
15: Atlanta Hawks (9 Seed in East)
Key Players: Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, CJ McCollum, Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu, Kingston Flemings
Top Award Candidate: Aaron Wiggins (6MOY)
Atlanta was on fire after the 2026 trade deadline, and in the playoffs, they managed to steal two wins from the Knicks before eventually getting walloped. It was a good run, but now they’ll have to show it was real. As well-rounded as this team is, especially after OKC gifted them Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins, their top three of Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and CJ McCollum doesn’t scream “contender.” The range of possible outcomes for the Hawks is wide this year—a top four seed and a play-in exit are both in play.
16: Orlando Magic (10 Seed in East)
Key Players: Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane, Jalen Suggs, Anthony Black, Wendell Carter Jr.
Top Award Candidate: Anthony Black (6MOY)
It’s so tough to gauge the Magic. This roster, which has remained largely unchanged for a few years now, has clear positives, but it also has blatant negatives that haven’t been addressed enough by the front office. Trading for Desmond Bane was great, but he was never going to solve the team’s offensive issues all alone. Orlando has made the playoffs three years in a row, but they’ve flamed out in the first round each time, even blowing a 3-1 lead against Detroit in 2026. Maybe Jamahl Mosley was the problem, but if things don’t change under Sean Sweeney, the Magic will have to turn to who they’ve surrounded Paolo Banchero with.
17: Utah Jazz (7 Seed in West)
Key Players: Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, Darryn Peterson, Jusuf Nurkic, Ace Bailey, Isaiah Collier
Top Award Candidate: Darryn Peterson (ROTY)
The Jazz have rightfully become a popular sleeper playoff pick for 2026-27. Their core has shaped up nicely with the arrivals of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Darryn Peterson, and their offense should be really exciting. Will Hardy is the league’s best-kept coaching secret—his creativity and leadership will undoubtedly have this team firing at all cylinders. Utah is missing a top dog (until Peterson presumably assumes the mantle down the line), and their defense will probably be meh, but this is going to be a league pass spectacle, and one that wins games at that.
18: Portland Trail Blazers (8 Seed in West)
Key Players: Deni Avdija, Ja Morant, Damian Lillard, Donovan Clingan, Jrue Holiday, Toumani Camara, Scoot Henderson
Top Award Candidate: Donovan Clingan (MIP)
Portland is one of the most interesting teams in the league right now. They’re “adding” Damian Lillard, who’s 36 years old and coming off an Achilles tear, to a roster that earned the seventh seed in the West last year. On top of that, they’re also tossing the enigmatic Ja Morant into the fray. Those guys alone will make the rotation funky, but Scoot Henderson is lurking in the background, ready to throw another wrench in things. The backcourt will be the story for the Blazers throughout the season, but their fantastic frontcourt will be what drives them to another postseason berth.
19: Washington Wizards (11 Seed in East)
Key Players: Trae Young, Anthony Davis, AJ Dybantsa, Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson, Deandre Ayton
Top Award Candidate: AJ Dybantsa (ROTY)
After what felt like a decade of irrelevancy, the Wizards are finally on the come up, and that might be an understatement. By trading for Trae Young and Anthony Davis, they’ve opted to take the “two timeline” road to escape their rebuild, but unlike Golden State’s attempt at that (sorry for the stray), theirs should actually work. The East is so stacked that making an outright leap into the playoffs this year will be extremely difficult, but if AJ Dybantsa is exactly as advertised as a rookie, it’s not off the table. Realistically, though, Washington’s season will just be about giving a young core radiating with upside their first taste of competitiveness.
20: Phoenix Suns (9 Seed in West)
Key Players: Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green, Miles Bridges, Khaman Maluach, Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams
Top Award Candidate: Collin Gillespie (6MOY)
The Suns surprised some people in 2025-26. First-time coach Jordan Ott was electric behind the clipboard, quickly instilling a fiery defensive culture that drove their playoff push. With the trio of Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green, and the ever-steady Devin Booker still in place, they could certainly replicate last year’s success, but they likely don’t have the top-end talent to significantly exceed it. With Mark Williams already injured again, and Khaman Maluach being a mystery-box prospect, how things shake out for Phoenix at center could make or break their season.
21: Dallas Mavericks (10 Seed in West)
Key Players: Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving, Morez Johnson Jr., PJ Washington, Dereck Lively II, Naji Marshall, Max Christie, Santi Aldama
Top Award Candidate: Naji Marshall (6MOY)
Dallas is upholding the “everything is bigger in Texas” trope right now. Cooper Flagg is a future megastar, and he’s flanked with a formidable and deep frontcourt that Dusty May will be able to lean on in his first year as an NBA head coach. The bigs and forwards (excluding the always-injured Dereck Lively) on this team can be trusted, but what about the guards? Can Kyrie Irving return to form? Will Max Christie and Marcus Sasser make jumps, and how much can Sergio de Larrea chip in as a freshman? Backcourt play will be the X-factor for the Mavs in their second post-Luka season.
22: Golden State Warriors (11 Seed in West)
Key Players: Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Kristaps Porzingis, Jimmy Butler, Brandin Podziemski, Yaxel Lendeborg, Gui Santos
Top Award Candidate: Gui Santos (MIP)
Golden State has done a poor job of giving Steph Curry a chance to compete in the twilight of his career. This is a truly uninspiring Dubs squad, especially while Jimmy Butler and Kristaps Porzingis are sidelined. You can never completely count out a Curry-led team, but it would take an obscene amount of Steph magic for the Warriors to make the playoffs this season. Strong contributions from the recently-paid Brandin Podziemski, rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, and sneaky MIP candidate Gui Santos will be necessary as well.
23: Charlotte Hornets (12 Seed in East)
Key Players: Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Coby White, Naz Reid, Moussa Diabate
Top Award Candidate: Brandon Miller (MIP)
“Three-point maxxing” will be the theme of the 2026-27 season for the Hornets. Their flashy 2025-26 campaign was fueled by their high-octane offense, and while the absence of LaMelo Ball will diminish that identity a bit, Charlotte still has an abundance of shooters in their arsenal. A lot of weight is going to be placed on the shoulders of Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel. The LaMelo trade was a vote of confidence in their ability to lead a team, but can they meet those expectations? If not (and maybe even if they do), the Hornets will be too streaky to succeed.
24: Memphis Grizzlies (12 Seed in West)
Key Players: Cameron Boozer, Ty Jerome, Zach Edey, Cedric Coward, Jerami Grant, Isaiah Stewart
Top Award Candidate: Cameron Boozer (ROTY)
The Grizzlies have NBA nerds quite intrigued. Their roster is full of underrated role players, and many of them are young with plenty of potential. A postseason appearance isn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility for Memphis, which is wild because we’re not even a year removed from the Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant trades. Their ceiling will ride on three wildcard players, each with a different question mark to respond to. Just how good can Cam Boozer be as a rookie? Is the Ty Jerome breakout real? Can Zach Edey stay on the floor enough to dominate?
25: New Orleans Pelicans (13 Seed in West)
Key Players: Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, Dejounte Murray, Jeremiah Fears, Derik Queen
Top Award Candidate: Saddiq Bey (6MOY)
This marks year 27 (an exaggeration, of course) in a row in which New Orleans has looked much better on paper than what their actual outlook projects to be. Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy, and Dejounte Murray isn’t an amazing big three, but it’s more than adequate, and the supporting cast around them is pretty fun, especially if Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen make sophomore leaps. This was a decent basketball team in 2025-26, specifically when Murray was healthy, and that won’t change in 2026-27. But decent is all they’ll be.
26: Chicago Bulls (13 Seed in East)
Key Players: Caleb Wilson, Matas Buzelis, Josh Giddey, Norman Powell, Nic Claxton, Noa Essengue
Top Award Candidate: Matas Buzelis (MIP)
Caleb Wilson, Matas Buzelis, and the rest of this running-and-gunning Bulls team have Chicago fans as excited as they’ve been since, shoot, maybe the Derrick Rose days? It won’t equate to a playoff spot in 2027, but the foundation of a new age of not-so-mediocre hoops in the Windy City is being established. Norman Powell and Nic Claxton, Chicago’s two key offseason additions, will act as training wheels in the short term, holding things down until the tantalizing duo of Wilson and Buzelis is ready to take off and blossom on its own.
27: Los Angeles Clippers (14 Seed in West)
Key Players: Darius Garland, Brandon Ingram, Keaton Wagler, Rui Hachimura, Kobe Sanders, Yanic Konan Niederhauser
Top Award Candidate: Keaton Wagler (ROTY)
The Kawhi Leonard scandal has crippled the Clippers, and their path back to perennial playoff challenger status is unclear. Darius Garland, Brandon Ingram, Rui Hachimura, Bradley Beal, Derrick Jones Jr., and Kris Dunn will keep things from getting totally ugly in the short term, but any and all of that crew could be shipped off to contenders as soon as the trade deadline. For the long term, Los Angeles desperately needs Keaton Wagler and their other young guys to pan out or things will be bleak. Or, who knows, maybe they’ll steal Nikola Jokic in 2027 free agency.
28: Brooklyn Nets (14 Seed in East)
Key Players: Julius Randle, Michael Porter Jr., Mikel Brown Jr., Egor Demin, Day’Ron Sharpe, Nolan Traore
Top Award Candidate: Mikel Brown Jr. (ROTY)
Brooklyn is going to be scrappy this year. Jordi Fernandez knows how to get the most out of his guys, and this is a legitimately talented and versatile squad. Julius Randle, Michael Porter Jr., Day’Ron Sharpe, and the other vets will set the tone and relieve pressure from Mikel Brown Jr., Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Noah Clowney, and the other kids in the house, allowing them to develop in a structured environment. The East is too loaded for the Nets to make real noise, but they should be competitive night in and night out.
29: Sacramento Kings (15 Seed in West)
Key Players: Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, Darius Acuff Jr., Keegan Murray, Maxime Raynaud, Ben Simmons
Top Award Candidate: Darius Acuff Jr. (ROTY)
The excitement of Sacramento’s thrilling 2022-23 campaign is a forgotten feeling at this point, and the franchise is now the laughingstock of the NBA. With two All-Stars, multiple solid veterans, and some intriguing youngsters in the rotation, you’d think they wouldn’t be as bad as they are, but the Kings are just cursed. Darius Acuff, their seventh-overall pick, could be the “chosen one” that pulls them out of this dark age.
30: Milwaukee Bucks (15 Seed in East)
Key Players: Ryan Rollins, Tyler Herro, Brayden Burries, Kel’el Ware, Nate Ament, Myles Turner
Top Award Candidate: Ryan Rollins (MIP)
The Giannis era came to an unexpectedly tense and awkward end this summer. But, on the other side of the drama lies a new hope for Milwaukee faithful. Once a team virtually devoid of fun young talent, the Bucks are suddenly teeming with potential. Ryan Rollins, Brayden Burries, Kel’el Ware, Nate Ament, Kasparas Jakucionis, and more all have a chance at being core pieces in the next chapter of Bucks basketball. They won’t be very good in 2026-27, but that’s fine, because their eyes are set on a quietly bright future.
