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(Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post) | Denver Post via Getty Images
The 2026-27 NBA season is ready to destroy everything you think you know about basketball. It’s so hard to make preseason predictions in this era of the league when parity is at an all-time high and the pace-and-space nature of play puts every athlete in danger of injury. It sure feels like the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and New York Knicks are the top-3 teams coming into the season, but the NBA has taught us to expect the unexpected for this generation of hoops.
There are so many teams that truly feel like they could either boom or bust. I really liked the LaMelo Ball trade for the Minnesota Timberwolves, but wouldn’t be shocked if the floor completely falls out on the team. I’m buying the Boston Celtics’ reasons for trading Jaylen Brown, but still think it could backfire with the margins being so slim in an improved Eastern Conference. I’m talking myself into the Toronto Raptors as an NBA Finals contender with Kawhi Leonard back in town, but I don’t feel great about it.
With the new season finally here, I thought it would be fun to say one nice thing about every team. Let’s get into it.
Atlanta Hawks
Kingston Flemings will go down as a draft steal: The Hawks were wise to bring back CJ McCollum on a one-year deal while getting an awesome young understudy to one day take over for him in Flemings. I like Flemings for his ability to maximize assist-to-turnover ratio and play bigger than his size defensively. His three-ball might need some time to develop, but the Hawks made a smart pick at No. 8 overall.
Boston Celtics
The Celtics have the best front office in the NBA: Trust Brad Stevens, Mike Zarren, and Dave Lewin. It’s better to make a big move a year too early than a year too late, and Boston’s leadership continues to be on the cutting edge of team-building. They will be right in their evaluations more times than not.
Brooklyn Nets
Jordi Fernandez is an elite head coach who will get this team to overachieve: Everyone expects the Nets to be doormats this season, but it’s not going to happen if they hang on to Michael Porter Jr. all season. Fernandez has more talent to work with this year with Julius Randle and Mikel Brown Jr. arriving, Day’Ron Sharpe joining the starting lineup, and Egor Demin ready to make a year two leap. Brooklyn will be feisty.
Charlotte Hornets
Charles Lee’s system is built to win regular season games: The Hornets just know how to win the margins under Charles Lee, which is no surprise given that he came from Boston’s staff. Charlotte is going to crush the offensive glass, jack tons of threes, and get their hands in the passing lanes to their best of their abilities. I think they will miss LaMelo Ball, but this team is too well coached to completely fall apart.
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls have a sneaky-good bench: Chicago’s bench is going to keep them in games. Leonard Miller is fully on breakout watch after an excellent preseason, Tre Jones is almost as good as Josh Giddey at backup point guard, Isaac Okoro is the team’s best perimeter defender, and Jalen Smith is a legit stretch five with monstrous per-minute production if he returns to a bench role after Nic Claxton gets healthy. That’s not even mentioning Buddy Hield or a pair of recent mid-first round picks in Noa Essengue and Dailyn Swain.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Evan Mobley can still take another step forward: Don’t write off Mobley from taking another jump just because he’s 25 now. He still has some low-hanging fruit to clean up in his game, and he certainly has the natural talent to improve as a driver, outside shooter, offensive rebounder, and defensive playmaker in terms of steals and deflections. The best is still yet to come.
Dallas Mavericks
Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving are going to be awesome together: Flagg is ridiculously good for a 19-year-old, and Kyrie Irving’s creation ability and pull-up shooting is going to make his life so much easier this year. I want to see Flagg get back to being the highly impactful defender he was supposed to be coming out.
Denver Nuggets
Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon just win basketball games together: Gordon is quietly one of the most important injury risks in the league. If he stays healthy, the Nuggets are going to be very, very good.
Detroit Pistons
Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson are still getting better: Both of Cade Cunningham’s co-stars are already really good, and I think they will look even better a year from now. Duren can improve his defense, while Thompson’s offensive impact can keep getting greater even without three-point shooting improvement. Detroit’s young core is in great hands.
Golden State Warriors
Yaxel Lendeborg was a home run draft pick: I had Yaxel at No. 5 overall on my final board. The Warriors got him at No. 11. That’s great value, and Yaxel is going to be awesome from day one. Read my feature from March Madness about his wild journey to get to this point.
Houston Rockets
The Rockets still have so many breakout guys: I would pick Amen Thompson to level up this year, but it could also be Reed Sheppard or Alperen Sengun or Jabari Smith Jr. or Tari Eason. If several of these guys take a leap, Houston will be a Western Conference contender.
Indiana Pacers
Tyrese Haliburton and Ivica Zubac will make magic together: The Pacers are losing some spacing with Zubac replacing Myles Turner from the 2025 NBA Finals team, but Haliburton will figure it out. Zubac’s superior physicality will make a big difference for a Pacers team that could use it.
Los Angeles Clippers
Ty Lue will put Keaton Wagler in position to succeed: Lue is still an elite coach, and he’ll find the right ways to develop the No. 5 overall pick even in tough circumstances.
Los Angeles Lakers
Luka Doncic + JJ Redick = lots of wins: The Lakers have won 50+ games in both seasons with JJ Redick as head coach, and I expect that to continue this year. Redick will make the most out of the defense, and Luka will handle the creation burden as only he can. The Lakers should have homecourt advantage to start the West playoffs.
Memphis Grizzlies
Cameron Boozer and Zach Edey will be a phenomenal pairing: Boozer’s shooting, passing, and driving paired with Edey Hulk Smash’ing everything at the rim make the Grizzlies the easiest pick to exceed their preseason win total.
Miami Heat
I’m already terrified I was way too low on Miami: The Heat are the team I’m most worried I’m wrong about after having them No. 9 in my East predictions. Giannis should be on a mission, Erik Spoelstra is still the best coach in the league for my money, and you know some player (Pelle Larsson?) is going to have a career year. Miami will be a problem come playoff time.
Milwaukee Bucks
Ryan Rollins might be the most underrated guard in the league: He’s not a household name yet, but he will be soon.
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Wolves have the juice to upset the Thunder or Spurs in the playoffs: LaMelo and Ant’s pull-up shooting is a problem without a solution for opposing defenses … as long as they can get hot in a short series.
New Orleans Pelicans
Jeremiah Fears will create some of the NBA’s best highlights: Elite speed + elite ball handling ability is a rare combination. If Fears can improve his shot at all, he’s going to be a really great offensive guard.
New York Knicks
Their playoff run last season was no fluke: This team is loaded again even without Mitchell Robinson, and it’s going to count as an upset if any other team comes out of the East.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder’s rookies add new flair to the rotation: How did the league let Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz both fall to OKC? Sam Presti can’t keep getting away with it.
Orlando Magic
The Magic will the surprise team in the East: They have to get positive injury luck eventually, right? If it happens, new head coach Sean Sweeney can push the right buttons to get this team to the top half of the East playoff picture.
Philadelphia 76ers
The offense is going to be absolutely electric: I don’t give out gambling advice, but if I did, I would bet the over on every Sixers game to start the season. They are going to be capable of some ridiculous runs when everyone is locked in.
Phoenix Suns
The Suns will be a huge pain in the ass to deal with every night: Phoenix crushes the offensive glass and maximizes every ounce of its defensive potential. I’ll just say I like them more with Collin Gillespie in the starting lineup than Jalen Green.
Portland Trail Blazers
Scoot Henderson is finally going to breakout: It’s painfully obvious that the Blazers should bring either Damian Lillard or Ja Morant off the bench to start Scoot. I hope it happens.
Sacramento Kings
They will be better than expected because they can’t possibly be as injured as last year: There are some good players on this team, and I don’t believe they’re destined to be the worst in the league like everyone thinks.
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs are winning the championship this year: This team is too big, too fast, too strong, and too good.
Toronto Raptors
The Raptors have another Cinderella run to the NBA Finals in them: If Kawhi Leonard can last through the playoffs, I see Toronto as the Knicks’ biggest challenger in the East, and they could be uniquely positioned to slow down New York’s powerful offense.
Utah Jazz
The Jazz will have a top-10 offense: Utah was No. 22 in offense last year. That’s going to change with Darryn Peterson, Keyonte George, Ace Bailey, Lauri Markkanen, and Jaren Jackson Jr. all getting buckets.
Washington Wizards
The Wizards have the most breakout player candidates in the league: Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson, Will Riley, Alex Sarr … that’s just the start of it. If Washington’s two veteran stars can hold up their end of the bargain, the rebuild will finally be over.
