NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates
LAS VEGAS — Free agency is not over and some potential difference makers are still out there — hello, LeBron James — but we’ve seen enough to do our NBA Power Rankings for the summer. If I were doing this in tiers, right now the top four would be true title contenders, and four through 10 would be the second circle, “if everything goes right” tier that could be contenders, but for now let’s just rank the teams.
Last season 53-29
The defending champions have spent the summer trying to get the band back together for another run at it, and they’ve done well outside of losing Michell Robinson (replaced by Andre Drummond, a strong rebounder but not as good a defender). With all the changes with the other teams in the East, New York is still the team I trust the most, the team that will be in the mix at the end no matter what.
Advertisement
Last season 62-20
A lot of fans may roll their eyes at the Tobias Harris signing, but he is an upgrade at the four (and was the Pistons’ second-best player last season). They drafted some depth at the five (Jayden Quaintance, Tarris Reed), but those guys are more long-term projects. The key to the Spurs taking one last step next season is the development of Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper (all three are still 22 or younger).
Last season 64-18
The best thing the Thunder could do this summer to improve their title chances was to get Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell healthy, and that has happened. This offseason, OKC prioritized bringing back Isaiah Hartenstein (who is needed against Wembanyama) and drafted more size with Aday Mara (7’3″ out of Michigan). That said, the luxury tax aprons are coming for OKC, and it could not retain two helpful players, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins.
Last season 45-37
The biggest winners of the offseason, the 76ers traded out an older Paul George for Jaylen Brown at the peak of his career, forming a powerful perimeter trio with Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. They added good depth with Dean Wade and Anfernee Simons as well, plus got lucky in the draft when Labaron Philon fell to them at 22 (he has the ball on a string and showed real…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nba-power-rankings-offseason-edition-191043413.html
Author :
Publish date : 2026-07-15 19:10:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
