After the highs of June, we have now reached the lows of the end of July, in the sporting world that is. At one stage we had the World Cup and NBA Finals running concurrently; what a time to be alive. With the World Cup concluding, I feel starved of sport. So what better than to look wayyyyyy ahead at the upcoming NBA season, and who I think will be lifting the trophy in 11 months from now.
It has been a busy offseason for the league, but the moves are far from over (cough cough Lebron James is still a free agent!!!), so these rankings may have to be redone come season start. Enough said, let’s get stuck into my way too early NBA contender rankings for the 2026/27 season.
Tier 1 Championship Favourites
San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks
This is far from groundbreaking stuff. You could almost say this tier forms itself. Spurs and OKC proved in the playoffs why they were widely regarded as the two best teams in the league heading into last year’s playoffs, while the Knicks, well, we know what they did.
If I had to pick one team to ride with now, I am going with San Antonio. There is almost nothing in it, but I lean the Spurs as I think, across the board, I see more development potential in them. The number one doubt everyone had for the Spurs all season was that they were too young and their lack of playoff experience would come back to bite. Ultimately, we saw this ring true against the Knicks, but not before they won the competitive Western Conference, knocking off the defending champs in the process. Four series of intense NBA playoff experience for these young guys. Priceless development.
The Victor Wembanyama-led defence gives them such a high floor alone. Paired with the sky-high potential of the likes of Dylan Harper and Steph Castle, and the elite shooting and role-players around them, I think they are worthy Championship favourites at this stage.
Then there is OKC. I honestly think if Jalen Williams and/or Ajay Mitchell were healthy last season, they would have beaten the Spurs and probably the Knicks to go back-to-back. OKC has somewhat cleaned house this offseason to save millions of dollars in luxury taxes. Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe headline the outgoings. These guys will definitely be missed, especially as depth in the regular season, but Wiggins and Joe were out of the playoff rotation anyway, and Dort was playing less than 20 minutes a night. Essentially, I think of OKC as running it back with the same squad. Shai, Chet, JDub, Caruso, McCain, Wallace, Ajay, Hartenstein. If these guys are healthy, they are going to be very, very tough to beat.
My third and final team in this tier is the New York Knicks. I mean, it would be disrespectful not to include the current champs in this top tier. The Knicks are essentially running it back with the exact same squad, but with Andre Drummond in the place of Mitchell Robinson. Obviously a downgrade, but the continuance of their starting five alone should see them right back in contention.
Tier 2 Best of the Championship contenders
I want to start by emphasising that tier 2,3 and 4 could honestly all be grouped into one big pool of possible contenders. Moreover, the gap between tier 1 and 2 is substantial, and it is defined by uncertainty. With the Spurs, Thunder, and Knicks, we know what we are getting, and we know they are going to be good. However, with the rest of these teams, there is at least some, if not a ton, of uncertainty surrounding them.
Tier 2 is for my favourite teams of this pool of uncertainty that I have the most faith in. The Celtics and Nuggets.
Almost all of the talk around the Celtics this offseason has been negative. I mean, trading an NBA Champion, Finals MVP, fresh off a season where he carried your team and finished 6th in MVP voting is certainly a choice. But we aren’t here to discuss the blockbuster trade, and if you look past this debacle, the Celtics still have a serious roster. Losing Jaylen Brown obviously hurts, but they get a hopefully fully healthy Jayson Tatum back to lead the team. Not only that, they add Paul George and Mitchell Robinson, both perfect fits into this roster. Mitchell Robinson especially addresses their biggest weakness of last season in rebounding and defending at the 5. I expect the Celtics to be challenging for the Eastern Conference.
The Nuggets are coming off a very disappointing round 1 exit and an overall underwhelming season. Many people will point towards a lack of defence as their main flaw last season, but I think it was more a lack of health and therefore a lack of continuity. Unfortunately, Denver has not done anything this offseason to address this lack of depth, so health remains a big liability. But if their starters can remain healthy and all be 100% come playoff time, they are going to be a hard team to beat.
Tier 3 Contenders if things go right
Now this tier is for the teams I see with a potential NBA Finals ceiling, but also with a first-round exit floor. Lots of uncertainty, lots of promise. The Philadelphia 76ers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
The 76ers are stacked with talent. We have already mentioned the Jaylen Brown trade, but adding him to a starting 5 that already consists of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, and Joel Embiid is frightening. Not only that, they added guard depth in Anfernee Simons and Labaron Philon Jr., as well as a perfect low-usage 3&D fit in Dean Wade. I would have preferred to see them add some big man depth, knowing Embiid’s injury history, but there is no denying that this roster is as exciting as it gets. But an abundance of talent does not always equal winning, and whether all these superstars can work effectively together remains a major doubt. Nonetheless, the ceiling is riveting.
Minnesota is another team with a headline offseason addition that could go either way. Lamelo Ball has joined the T-Wolves, but on the way out are Naz Reid and Julius Randle. Let’s first talk about the Ball addition. Anthony Edwards finally gets a true point guard to play alongside, and an extremely talented one at that. I personally think this is good for Ant; Ball should help create some better looks for him and shoulder some of that heavy offensive workload. What I don’t like is the losses of Naz Reid and Julius Randle. Both talented guys that were the epitome of Minnesota’s identity; a tough team with impressive size and length. A lack of frontcourt depth remains a problem, but the ceiling is high.
Tier 4 Reasons for hope
This tier is basically an honourable mentions section. Teams that could find themselves competing for a Championship, but LOTS would have to go right.
Despite losing Tobias Harris, I like the Pistons’ additions of Collins and Joe. They are yet to figure out this Duren situation, but as the playoffs showed last season, Duren and Ausar on the court together is a spacing disaster. Cade is a superstar, but just like we saw last season, they need to add more shooting and more shot creation to be seriously competitive.
Could Kawhi Leonard be the missing piece for the Raptors? I know there is an ongoing investigation into the trade, but let’s just assume there are no on-court consequences. The Raptors overachieved to many people’s expectations last season, and adding someone like Kawhi who fits into their identity and can be their go-to guy in the clutch could be the move they needed.
I will mention the Heat, as I feel obliged to since they added Giannis. Yes, they have a talented core in Mitchell, Wiggins, Giannis, and Bam. But do I really see this team being that good? No, not really.
The last team I will touch on is the Lakers, and honestly, if they had kept LeBron, I would be a lot higher on them. Even still, a core of Doncic, Reaves, and Kessler can definitely win a lot of basketball games. The problem is that outside of them, there is not much depth, and these guys don’t exactly have the best injury history.
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