15. Brooklyn Nets

It’s no secret the Nets are in a rebuild. After trading Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks for four first round picks and a future pick swap, all eyes loom towards the future. They drafted four rookies this past June in the 2025 NBA Draft, the most notable being Egor Demin of BYU and Nolan Traore from France. Along with the draft they signed Cam Thomas on a one year qualifying offer for $6 million after failing to reach a long term extension this summer. Other offseason moves of theirs included trading for Michael Porter Jr to add to their wing depth, and re-signing Ziaire Williams to an extension. On paper, the Nets simply do not have the talent or experience to compete for the playoffs, let alone high stake games. The goal for Brooklyn is to develop their rookies and build a foundation with new head coach Jordi Fernandez this season. 

14. Washington Wizards

It seems like ages ago when the John Wall-Bradley Beal era was looking like a team poised for deep playoff runs. Ever since then, the Wizards have struggled to find any sort of direction. They drafted Alex Sarr with the #2 Pick last season, who did show flashes towards the second half of last year. Like the Nets they are flooded with young and unproven talent, including players such as Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, and Cam Whitmore, whom the latter traded for this past July. Bringing in CJ McCollum will help them space the floor and provide veteran experience, along with a full season of Khris Middleton. It’s a critical year for Washington in showing signs of a positive direction. 

13. Charlotte Hornets 

The Hornets came up short big time last season after many viewed them as a dark horse candidate for surprise teams. A large part of their issues stemmed from the season-ending injury to Brandon Miller in January, which cut his highly anticipated sophomore season short. The Hornets have 2 building blocks in LaMelo Ball and Miller, but Ball’s leadership is coming into question after failing to lead the team to the playoffs in his five year career. On top of that, his durability continues to be a concern, and he’s yet to play more than 75 games in a single season. The Hornets drafted Kon Knueppel with the fourth pick in this year’s draft, who should be able to help their floor spacing issues after the team shot 33.9% from 3 last season, which ranked 28th in the league. Charlotte has enough complementary pieces around Ball and Miller in Miles Bridges, Moussa Diabate, and Collin Sexton, but not enough to make any serious noise unless Ball and Miller are ready to take big leaps. 

12. Chicago Bulls 

No one wants to be in NBA Purgatory. And yet, the Chicago Bulls have been stuck there for quite some time. The Bulls have plagued themselves with rosters of bad fits and failed experiments for nearly a decade – and yet they haven’t struggled enough to contend for being in the top five in the NBA draft lottery. One could argue their most significant draft pick of recent memory is Coby White, who was drafted seven years ago. It’ll be interesting to watch the development of second year player Matas Buzelis, but even so, the Bulls haven’t shown any signs of serious improvement to be ready for the playoffs. 

11. Indiana Pacers

To be one win away from your first NBA Finals title to now being faced with a projected lost season is tough to say the least. And yet, here we are with the Indiana Pacers. Losing Tyrese Haliburton in this past June’s finals to an Achilles injury crushed their chances of winning, and now enter this season without him. The Pacers also lost Myles Turner in free agency and have no long term answer at center. Still, even without Haliburton and Turner they should be respectable with Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, and Bennedict Mathurin leading the charge. Rick Carlisle is an excellent coach and can get the most out of his rosters, but it remains to be seen how it’ll all unfold. 

10. Miami Heat 

Speaking of getting the most out of a roster, the Miami Heat exemplify that better than anyone else. Erik Spoelstra is an elite coach, and he’s proven that with two NBA finals appearances since the Big 3 era. Despite trading Jimmy Butler mid-season last year, rather than dismantle their roster like most teams do after trading their star, they pivoted and acquired Norman Powell via trade. Powell had his best season as a pro last year with the Clippers, and he joins a solid duo of Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo. The ancillary pieces around those three are what raises question marks regarding the team, which is a mix of veterans on the downside of their careers and young role players. Jamie Jacquez Jr, Kel’el Ware and Nikola Jovic are expected to take on bigger roles this year, and their production could leap Miami back into the playoff conversation. For now, this is a decent, but not playoff caliber team. 

9. Toronto Raptors

On paper, the Raptors should be a playoff team. Their starting five is solid, led by Scottie Barnes, who is looking to make a serious leap this season. Barnes is a talented scorer, but questionable leadership and efficiency plagues him. However, with Brandon Ingram healthy and RJ Barrett returning, Toronto will have no issue scoring points. They’re a relatively young team, so many wonder if this will finally be the year the Raptors make a playoff push. 

8. Philadelphia 76ers

The 76ers are looking to rebound after an abysmal 2024-25 season in which they won 24 games. Their “Big 3” of Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey was a colossal failure in year one. Embiid played 19 games, George missed half the season, and Maxey was forced to miss time with a finger injury. One could say it was bad injury luck, but even when the three were on the floor together, the team’s net rating was -0.9 per Sports Illustrated. As a result, the team was 7-8 when the three played. Entering this year, the team will be more balanced with rookie newcomer VJ Edgcombe joining the mix. They also brought back Quentin Grimes, whose playmaking ability can pay off dividends especially with Maxey off the floor. However, the team cannot prove they can stay healthy or consistent enough to be given the benefit of the doubt anymore, especially with Paul George now 35, and Embiid turning 32 this upcoming March. 

7. Milwaukee Bucks 

Since winning the NBA championship in 2021, the Milwaukee Bucks have been on a steady decline. Giannis Antetokounmpo is still in his prime, but his future in Milwaukee continues to raise questions after the team’s failure to advance past the second round of the playoffs since their title four years ago. The Damian Lillard experiment did not come close to working out, and it left the Greek Freak as the lone wolf with a questionable supporting cast. Signing Myles Turner is an upgrade from Brook Lopez, and he can help stretch the floor and play solid defense. Kevin Porter Jr and Kyle Kuzma are both decent starters, but not good enough to be serious difference makers. Without a number two to Giannis in Milwaukee, the Bucks ceiling is a first round playoff exit. Keep a close eye on what transpires with Antetokounmpo’s future. 

6. Boston Celtics 

To say the Celtics had an underachieving 2024-25 season is an understatement. Not only did they fail to repeat as back to back champions, an achilles tear to Jayson Tatum in the second round added to their disappointing year. This offseason the Celtics dismantled their championship core and shipped out Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, which were painful yet necessary moves to avoid having to pay a hefty luxury tax – especially with new ownership in town. The losses of Al Horford and Luke Kornet don’t help the cause either. In the Celtics defense, they got under the NBA’s second apron and reshuffled their roster to be more financially flexible moving forward. With Tatum sidelined for the majority of the year, it is up to Jaylen Brown to be the man in charge for the time being. Alongside Brown features Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and newcomer Anfernee Simons as the core pieces for the upcoming year. The duo of Brown and White alone makes Boston a top eight team in the East because of their talent, experience, and championship pedigree. The Celtics won’t be nearly as good as previous years, but if Tatum can return at any point, watch out. 

5. Atlanta Hawks 

It’s been a downward trend for the Hawks since advancing to the Conference Finals in 2021. Since then, they’ve yet to win a playoff series, let alone be much above .500. Despite improving as a playmaker last year, Trae Young’s leadership is coming into question. It’ll be a make or break year for the Hawks as a whole after trading for Kristaps Porzingis this past summer. The team’s starting five is very formidable with Young leading the charge and Jalen Johnson returning from injury, and adding Porzingis to the mix gives them another scorer and shooter to their offense. And don’t forget about their elite defender in Dyson Daniels, and former #1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher in the mix. This should be the best Atlanta Hawks squad since their run in 2021, only time will tell. 

4. Detroit Pistons 

After winning an abysmal 14 games in 2023-24, the Pistons overachieved last season and made the playoffs for the first time since 2019. Detroit celebrated their first playoff win since 2008 and are up and coming. Cade Cunningham is the real deal, and his ascension into superstar status cannot be ignored. He’ll be leading the charge with youngsters Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren, and Jaden Ivey looking to improve and make leaps. They also added much needed shooting depth in Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert this offseason. The biggest question for them now is who they can add as a star to pair next to Cunningham – and missing out on Kevin Durant this summer may come back to haunt them. Until then, they’ll be in the mix for a top five spot in the East. 

3. Orlando Magic 

Orlando is looking to make serious noise this season after losing in five games to the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. Many viewed Orlando as being one of the top seeds of the East, but injuries to Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner did not help the cause, not to mention losing Jalen Suggs for the season in March. Orlando’s main issue came from a lack of consistent scoring and shooting, so the team went out and traded for Desmond Bane. He gives the Magic proven scoring and solid defense, which will take off pressure from Banchero and Wagner. The Magic are poised for a top three seed in the East for 2025-26 from their improved offense and identity of high energy defense. 

2. New York Knicks 

Any team that dethrones the defending champions deserve praise and recognition. While the Knicks season ended in a disappointing way, they are looking to build off of last year’s run. Jalen Brunson is a superstar, and his ability to score at an elite level makes him a top five player in the conference. With Brunson off the floor the Knicks struggled to generate much offense, but signing former sixth man of the year Jordan Clarkson ends that problem. Replacing Tom Thibodeau with Mike Brown as the new head coach allows the team to be more balanced on both ends of the floor. Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns is one of the best lineups in the league, and with the Celtics out of the equation – it’s now or never for the Knicks. 

1. Cleveland Cavaliers 

It’s definitely now or never for the Cavaliers. Cleveland went an impressive 64-18 and were the #1 seed, but lost in five games to the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the playoffs. Many compare them to the 2015 Atlanta Hawks – elite in the regular season but fall flat on their faces in the playoffs. And the manner in which they lost to the Pacers is shocking. Still, 64 wins is 64 wins. Donovan Mitchell is returning as the team’s best player, and Evan Mobley’s impact on both ends of the floor is reminiscent of Kevin Garnett’s. On offense, the Cavaliers will score, after leading the league in scoring at 121.9 PPG last season. Defensively is where they must improve. Max Strus is sidelined until at least December after getting surgery on his foot, so they will be missing a key playmaker to their starting five. However, if Cleveland can stay consistent and come up strong on the elite teams, it may be their best opportunity to secure a title.