NBA Preseason Power Rankings: How all 30 teams stack up for 2026-27

LeBron James and Jaylen Brown are in Philadelphia, Giannis Antetokounmpo is in Miami, and Kawhi Leonard is back in Toronto. But did any of these moves produce a team better than the defending champion Knicks? Or the two best teams in the West: San Antonio and Oklahoma City?

With the NBA season one month away, it’s time for my preseason power rankings. Let’s count down from 30 to 1 based on how I stack up everyone’s chances of winning the NBA Finals, and look at what’s changed, what’s exciting, and what’s concerning for each team.

(Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

What’s changed: Sacramento used the seventh pick on point guard Darius Acuff Jr. and took two-time national champion Alex Karaban with the 29th pick, giving its collection of veteran scorers two young guys to develop. DeMar DeRozan left for Denver, and the Kings added Ben Simmons.

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What’s exciting: Sacramento has a lot of appealing young talent: Acuff, Karaban, Nique Clifford, and Maxime Raynaud. But Acuff is the headliner as an electric scorer who can shake a defender with a crossover, toss up a floater over a big, or pull up from deep. What makes him so intriguing is how much control he has over all that creativity. At 6-foot-2, Acuff uses pace to manipulate defenses, and recognizes when to hunt his own shot and when to feed a teammate. He’s also comfortable working without the ball, which could allow him to play off Zach LaVine or operate out of handoffs with Domantas Sabonis. Even if the Kings aren’t winning many games, Acuff could become a reason to tune in.

What’s concerning: What happens if Acuff struggles as a rookie? He couldn’t buy a shot during summer league and turned the ball over far too often. Point guards, especially smaller ones, are often slow starters in their careers. So if those problems carry into the regular season, what will Kings fans have to latch on to? Acuff deserves time to figure things out, but losing is easier to stomach when you can see the future taking shape.

What’s changed: The Giannis era is over. Milwaukee sent Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to Miami for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr.,…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/nba-preseason-power-rankings-how-all-30-teams-stack-up-for-2026-27-133839879.html

Author : Kevin O'Connor

Publish date : 2026-09-21 13:38:00

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