The 2026-27 NBA season is poised to destroy everything you thought you knew about basketball. It is very difficult to make preseason predictions in this era of this league, where parity is at an all-time high and the pace and spatial nature of the game puts every athlete at risk of injury. The San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and New York Knicks feel like 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 feel like they can really make or break. I loved the LaMelo Ball trade for the Minnesota Timberwolves, but I wouldn’t be shocked if the floor fell completely on the team. I get the Boston Celtics’ reasons for trading Jaylen Brown, but I still think it could backfire with the margins being so thin in an improved Eastern Conference. I’m talking myself into the Toronto Raptors as an NBA Finals contender with Kawhi Leonard in town, but I don’t feel good about it.
With the new season finally here, I thought it would be fun to say something nice about each team. Let’s enter.
Kingston Flemings will go down as the steal of the draft: The Falcons were wise to bring back CJ McCollum on a one-year deal while also getting a terrific youngster to replace him in Flemings one day. I like Flemings for his ability to maximize his assist-to-turnover ratio and play bigger than his size on defense. His three-ball might take some time to develop, but the Falcons made a smart pick at No. 8 overall.
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 early than a year late, and Boston’s leadership continues to be at the cutting edge of team building. They will be more correct in their assessment.
Jordi Fernandez is an elite coach who will lead this team to great achievements: Everyone expects the Nets to be doormats this season, but that won’t happen if they depend on Michael Porter Jr. all season. Fernandez has more talent to work with this year with the arrivals of Julius Randle and Mikel Brown Jr., Day’Ron Sharpe joining the starting lineup and Egor Demin poised to make two leaps in one year. Brooklyn will be brave.
Charles Lee’s system is built to win regular season games: The Hornets only know how to win differentials under Charles Lee, which isn’t surprising considering he came from a Boston staff. Charlotte will crush the offensive glass, shoot tons of threes and get her hands on the passing lanes at her best. I think they will miss LaMelo Ball, but this team is too well coached to completely fall apart.
The Bulls have a good bench: Chicago’s bench looks to keep them in games. Leonard Miller is in full control after a great 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 legitimate top five with terrific per-minute output if Nick Claxton returns to the bench once he gets healthy. That’s not even mentioning a couple of mid-first-round picks in Buddy Hield or Noa Essengue and Dailyn Swain.
Evan Mobley can still take a step forward: Don’t deny Mobley another jump just because he’s 25 years old. 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 player in terms of steals and dunks. The best is yet to come.
Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving would be great together: Flagg is ridiculously good for a 19-year-old, and Kyrie Irving’s creativity and shooting ability will make his life a lot easier this year. I want to see Flagg go back to being the high-impact quarterback he was supposed to be.
Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon win basketball games together: Gordon is quietly one of the most important injury risks in the league. If he stays healthy, the Nuggets will be very, very good.
Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson are still getting better: Both of Cade Cunningham’s partners are already really good and I think they’ll look even better in a year. Duren can improve his defense, while Thompson’s offensive effect can be enhanced even without the improvement of his three-point shooting. Detroit’s young core is in great hands.
Yaxel Lendeborg was the home draft pick: Yaxel was 5th overall on my final board. The Warriors took him 11th overall. It’s a great value and Yaxel will be great from day one. To get to that point, read my March Madness article about his wild ride.
The Rockets still have plenty of jump guys: I’d pick Amen Thompson to step up this year, but it’s Reed Sheppard or Alperen Sengun or Jabari Smith Jr. or maybe Tari Eason. If a few of these guys make the jump, Houston will be a contender for the Western Conference.
Tyrese Haliburton and Ivica Zubac will make magic together: The Pacers lose some cap space with Zubac replacing Myles Turner from the 2025 NBA Finals team, but Haliburton will figure it out. Zubac’s superior physicality will make a huge difference for a Pacers team that can utilize him.
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 difficult circumstances.
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 get the most out of the defense and Luke will handle the creation burden only as much as he can. The Lakers must have home court advantage to start the Western playoffs.
Cameron Boozer and Zach Edey are going to be a phenomenal couple: Boozer’s shooting, passing and driving combine with Edey Hulk to push things to the curb, making the Grizzlies the easy pick to surpass their preseason winning streak.
I’m so scared because I’m already so low in Miami: The Heat are the team I’m most worried about, I’m wrong after finishing 9th 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 in trouble come playoff time.
Ryan Rollins might be the most underrated guard in the league: He’s not famous yet, but he will be soon.
The Wolves have the juice to upset the Thunder or Spurs in the playoffs: LaMelo and Ant’s shooting is an intractable problem for opposing defenses … as long as they can get hot in a short series.
Jeremiah Fears will create some of the NBA’s best highlights: Elite speed + elite ball handling is a rare combination. If Fears can improve his shooting at all, he will be a really great offensive guard.
Their playoff run last season was no fluke: This team is reloading even without Mitchell Robinson, and it’s going to be an upset if another team makes it out of the East.
The Thunder’s new players add new flair to the rotation: How did the league let Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz both land in OKC? Sam Presti can’t get away with it.
The magical team will surprise in the East: They should eventually get positive injury chances, right? If that happens, new head coach Sean Sweeney could push the right buttons to propel this team into the upper half of the East playoff picture.
The offense will be absolutely electric: I don’t give gambling tips, but if I did, I’d bet on every Sixers game to start the season. They will be able to do some ridiculous runs when everyone is locked up.
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 defensive potential. Let me just say that I like them with Collin Gillespie in the starting lineup more than Jalen Green.
Scoot Henderson will finally be naked: Clearly, the Blazers need to bring either Damian Lillard or Ja Morant off the bench to start Skut. I hope it will happen.
They will be better than expected because they can’t be injured like last year: There are some good players on this team and I don’t believe they will be the worst players in the league as everyone thinks.
Spurs win the championship this year: This team is too big, too fast, too strong and too good.
The Raptors have another Cinderella run to the NBA Finals: If Kawhi Leonard can last into the playoffs, I see Toronto as the Knicks’ biggest challenger in the East, and they could be in a unique position to slow down New York’s high-powered offense.
The Jazz will have a top-10 offense: Utah was 22nd in offense last year. Darryn Peterson, Keyonte George, Ace Bailey, Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. the situation will change when everyone gets a bucket.
The Wizards have the most player prospects in the league: Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson, Will Riley, Alex Sarr … this is just the beginning. If Washington’s two veteran stars can hold up their end of the bargain, the rebuild will finally be complete.