NBA Preseason Power Rankings

Who should be the favourite heading into the season?

This is the start of a new series of NBA articles by Will Shanahan as Touchdown Squad expands into more sports. Will is a passionate Celtics fan and all-round NBA fanatic.

Championship Contenders

• Boston Celtics

• Denver Nuggets

• New York Knicks

• Philadelphia 76ers

• Oklahoma City Thunder

• Memphis Grizzlies

• Milwaukee Bucks

• Dallas Mavericks

These teams are in a perfect position to make a deep playoff run. For a few teams on this list - namely Boston and Denver - anything short of a finals appearance will likely be considered a disappointing season. Meanwhile, there are certain teams such as the Bucks or 76ers, wherein repeated playoff misery might lead to some offseason excitement. 

Meanwhile, teams such as Dallas, OKC and Memphis, teams which aren’t necessarily expected to make the finals, but are expected to impress. In these instances, this season is about establishing good habits and familiarising less experienced players with the playoffs.

Playoff Bound

• Indiana Pacers

• Cleveland Cavaliers

• Los Angeles Clippers

• Toronto Raptors

• Golden State Warriors

• Houston Rockets

• New Orleans Pelicans

• Phoenix Suns

• San Antonio Spurs

• Minnesota Timberwolves

This collection of teams is an extremely unique bunch, each with a different skillset which guides their path to the playoffs. The focus for a few of these teams is experience for their young stars - the Jalen Green and Alperen Şengün led Houston Rockets, Haliburton’s Pacers, Scottie Barnes’ Raptors, Wembenyama’s Spurs and Edwards’ Timberwolves. 

This tier also has teams who are familiar faces in the playoffs. The Clippers, Suns, Cavaliers - teams who are often there but have struggled to make any consistent waves, often disappointing with early exits. The latter teams in this tier need to resolve these issues if they want to avoid major changes, while the former are perfect sleeper teams for a deep playoff push.

Play-in Bound

• Miami Heat

• Sacramento Kings

• Orlando Magic

• Los Angeles Lakers

Two of these teams are hanging on passionately to the past, and two of these teams can’t get to the future quickly enough. 

The Miami Heat are nearing decision time, Butler and Bam are only getting older; Herro hasn’t really delivered since the bubble, and since 2023 they lost two solid role players in Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin, only to be replaced by Terry Rozier… Jamie Jacquez Jr. could become an interesting offensive weapon but if Miami misses the playoffs or has another early exit, it could be an eventful offseason. 

Meanwhile in Los Angeles, as Lebron enters what is very possibly the last year of his career, the Lakers have no backup plan for when he leaves - is Anthony Davis really the guy you want to give the keys to? If not him, then Austin Reaves? Both are solid pieces but neither is capable of commanding a team and producing impressive results. 

The Kings and Magic are two very similar teams - if they win a few games they maybe weren’t expected to, they could find themselves in playoff seeding, but I believe play-in is the more likely position. The Kings in particular have two stars ready to take on tough teams in the playoffs, alongside the lethal Keegan Murray and the major acquisition of DeMar DeRozan, the time is now. Orlando turned heads by reaching the playoffs last year, even if they were knocked out in the first round. Paolo Banchero had a career-defining season averaging 22.6 PPG and 6.9 RPG. I'm excited to see what the Magic can accomplish if they keep their momentum from last season.

Near Misses

• Portland Trail Blazers

• Charlotte Hornets

• Atlanta Hawks

• Chicago Bulls

These are the sort of teams which don’t raise any eyebrows - they’re exactly who they are: nothing more, nothing less. The Trail Blazers are still trying to replace Dame, which is not what they need and I believe this stubbornness will be their eventual downfall. 

Charlotte could be an exciting team but even if they stay healthy I don’t think they’re ready for the play-in. The Hawks made a good decision in trading Dejounte Murray, the combination with Young was disappointing. This season, Young needs to get back to 2022 form and the coaching staff needs to give Risacher time to develop. 

Last season the Bulls were completely reliant on Demar. Now, following his departure to the Kings, someone needs to step up, and it begs one of many questions I have for Chicago: Can Lavine control a team? What is happening with Lonzo? What can Giddey do in his new role? Overall, I like the move from Chicago to trade Alex Caruso for a younger, faster, better (potentially) Alex Caruso. Giddey also got some experience in leadership with the Australian Boomers in the Olympics - hopefully, this burst of confidence can improve his role in the offense because the Bulls will need it.

There’s Always Next Year

• Detroit Pistons

• Washington Wizards

• Brooklyn Nets

• Utah Jazz

These teams I have next to no expectations for. As much as I’d love to be proven wrong, I don’t see how the Pistons or Wizards, who held the two worst records in the league last year - and didn’t really make any changes in the offseason - will experience anything other than repeated suffering.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn are in a malaise, losing their star guard in Mikal Bridges, now relying on Cam Thomas to be their superstar, with Ben Simmons, Dennis Schroder, and Cam Johnston supporting? This team may pull off some nice wins when everything is firing but don’t expect any fireworks.

Finally, the Jazz, who since losing Mitchell and Gobert has been in a state of limbo, battling between rebuild and salvage, have very little to offer apart from Lauri Markkannen. These teams have a few more years of tough basketball viewing left before they make it to the playoffs.