There’s still about three months left in the NBA offseason before teams report to training camp for the start of the 2025-26 season, but the championship picture is already starting to take shape.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will enter the season as the favorites to repeat, and the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets look like their two biggest challengers in the West. The East feels completely wide open with Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum both out for the season while recovering from Achilles tears. There are a number of teams who believe they can push the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks as the favorites in the conference entering the season.
There are probably still a few more notable trades coming this summer, but here’s a look at the teams who can already say they’ve improved since last season ended. This list could have included the Dallas Mavericks for adding Cooper Flagg, but losing Kyrie Irving for the season as he recovers from ACL surgery limits how much better they will actually be next season. The Knicks’ rotation got stronger with Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson joining the bench, but their head coaching switch from Tom Thibodeau to Mike Brown remains a question mark. The following teams can definitively say they got better, and we ranked by how much better they actually got.
7. Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers won 50 games last season and took the Denver Nuggets to a Game 7 in the first round of the playoffs. Los Angeles will probably have some age-related regression from stars Kawhi Leonard (34 years old) and James Harden (soon-to-be 36 years old), but the rotation got a little stronger with one smart signing to address a problem area. Brook Lopez agreed to a two-year, $18 million deal, and he can still be effective at age-37 in a backup role to Ivica Zubac. Zubac emerged as one of the best centers in the league last season, and now he has a perfect veteran backup in Lopez who can keep the Clippers’ defense humming with rim protection while also adding extra spacing as a stretch five offensively. The Clippers only needed to be a little bit better last season to advance in the playoffs, and they will be a factor in the Western Conference again as a team that feels like it has another move or two left to make.
6. Portland Trail Blazers
The Trial Blazers started to look a little feisty in the second half of last season, seeming to find an identity as a huge, defense-first team with Donovan Clingan, Toumani Camara, and Deni Avdija manning the front court. Portland’s front office seems ready to accelerate their rebuild after trading for Jrue Holiday over the offseason. Holiday started to look a little washed last season in Boston, and taking on the three years, $103 million remaining on his contract is a bold move. Holiday can still help a team win at age-35, and he gives the Blazers a lockdown perimeter defender who can help keep the offense going with his connective passing, offensive rebounding, and pinch of scoring. Portland hasn’t done much else other than cut Deandre Ayton and take Yang Hansen in the NBA draft. This is a roster that really needs Scoot Henderson or Shaedon Sharpe to take a meaningful leap, because the shot creation and shooting look like the two things holding this team back.
5. San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs are mostly going to get better because Victor Wembanyama will presumably be healthy after suffering a season-ending blood clot in his shoulder after last season’s All-Star break. Adding two rookies taken in the lottery, including No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper, and filling another key hole in free agency makes San Antonio’s outlook for next season even more enticing. The Spurs signed Luke Kornet away from the Boston Celtics on a four-year deal, and he quietly became one of the better backup centers in the league last year. Kornet is an elite rim protector and highly efficient low-volume scorer who should unlock a two-big look with Wemby. I’d expect Harper to be an impact rookie, and No. 14 overall pick Carter Bryant could play a small role as a 3-and-D wing off the bench, too. Just making the playoffs would be a nice step forward for the Spurs.
4. Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks saved both their present and their future in one offseason. They acquired Kristaps Porzingis from the Celtics for a cheap trade package, signed the best free agent to change teams by prying Nickeil Alexander-Walker from the Minnesota Timberwolves, and added some much-needed shooting by inking Luke Kennard to a one-year deal. In a wide open East, you can talk yourself into Atlanta as a serious contender to win the conference with Jalen Johnson coming back healthy and Zaccharie Risacher hopefully improving in year two. The Hawks’ best move of the offseason — stealing the New Orleans Pelicans’ unprotected first-round pick in a loaded 2026 NBA Draft — doesn’t even factor into this exercise, but could be an incredible trade chip at mid-season. I’m still being a little caution on Atlanta’s potential improvement for this season just because Porzingis’ availability is so unreliable, but there’s no doubt the Hawks get an A++ for this summer, and should be set up well to compete in the East this year and beyond.
3. Houston Rockets
The Rockets’ Kevin Durant trade was a no-brainer. Jalen Green was already handicapping Houston on both ends of the floor with his inefficient scoring and lackluster defense, and Dillion Brooks was solid, but the Rockets have enough young depth at forward to make up for his loss. The Rockets’ rotation got even stronger in free agency by adding Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela. The internal improvement Houston is expected to get from its young core shouldn’t really count for this list, but it’s also has the potential to take the Rockets to the next level. Houston already finished with the No. 2 seed in the West last year, so any improvement will have to come in the playoffs after a first-round exit. The moves the Rockets made this offseason makes them better, and if Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun, or Reed Sheppard takes a jump, this could be a strong championship contender.
2. Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets took the eventual champion Thunder to seven games in the second round of last year’s playoffs, and even one more capable rotation player could have made all the difference. New GM Ben Tenzer had even bigger ideas: he upgraded at small forward and saved on payroll with his bold Michael Porter Jr. (and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick) for Cam Johnson, then he filled out the rotation in free agency with Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Jonas Valanciunas. Johnson will give Denver a knockdown shooter with a much more diverse offensive game than MPJ, and it’s scary to think about how his scoring efficiency can level up next to Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets have five very good starters and a solid bench heading into next year. Jokic should still be the best player in the world, and he has a much better supporting cast around him. This will be a trendy championship pick for next season.
1. Orlando Magic
The Magic went .500 last season despite being one of the worst three-point shooting teams in league history relative to era while also watching their three best players miss substantial time with the same muscle injury. Orlando relied on an elite defense just to be an average team, and their task this offseason was figuring out how to improve the offense without sacrificing defense. The Desmond Bane deal accomplished both, which is why he was worth four first-round picks to Orlando. Bane is one of the best off-ball scoring guards in the game, and he’s also a good perimeter defender. He’s not the traditional point guard some have clamored for the Magic to sign, but he’ll form an excellent backcourt next to Jalen Suggs that will complement star forward Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner well. Olando also added two players I like in the draft in Jase Richardson and Noah Penda, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see both get rotation minutes as rookies. The Magic probably still need one more shooter in the rotation, but this feels like a legit Eastern Conference contender this year. That’s pretty wild for a team that was the 7th seed in a disappointing conference last season.
