The NBA summer has wound down — except at the Paris Olympics — which makes it time for the NBC Sports NBA Power Rankings, summer edition. This is looking at where teams stand in the championship race heading into fall training camps. If you disagree, say so in the comments. (Note: That is last year’s record next to the team.)
1. Boston Celtics (Last season 64-18). The smart move for the defending champions was to run it back — and the Celtics’ front office is nothing if not smart. Boston locked down Jayson Tatum for another five years with a record contract and paid Derrick White to keep him in Celtics green. Boston is second apron expensive, but this is when ownership should pay up (that ownership also is looking to sell the team, a sale meant to finalize right about when this run likely starts to crumble). Boston moves forward with a locked-down core likely to add at least banner No. 19 over the next few years (if not No. 20 and…).
2. Oklahoma City Thunder (57-25). Take the best regular season team in the West last season, then add one of the best offseasons of any franchise, and you have a serious title contender. That title contention starts with the foundation that this is a young team that gained playoff experience and will be better for it (even if the front office just stood pat). Then Sam Presti and company added an elite defensive guard Alex Caruso (stepping into Josh Giddey‘s minutes) and physical center Isaiah Hartenstein to fill in a need in the paint. OKC enters next season as the team to beat in the West.
3. Dallas Mavericks (50-32). The Mavericks played in the NBA Finals after winning the rock/paper/scissors matchup showdown in the Western Conference — but can they do it again? They replaced Derrick Jones Jr. with Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall. Thompson will start and remains an elite shooter, entering a season where he is motivated to change the narrative around him (and a motivated player like that is dangerous). Marshall adds legitimate defense and depth. It’s a long road to get out of this stacked West and back to the NBA Finals, but Dallas has a real chance because Luka Doncic will lead one of the best offenses in the NBA. The only question: Can this roster get enough stops?
4. Minnesota Timberwolves (56-26). Minnesota’s step forward next season is going to be about Anthony Edwards (who is poised to become a household name after the Paris Olympics). The Timberwolves are running it back with only tweaks around the margins — Kyle Anderson out, Joe Ingles and draftee Rob Dillingham in — but this team will be all about the front line of Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, plus Ant taking another step forward. If he does, this team is a legit threat to win it all.
5. Denver Nuggets (57-25). Denver is fifth on this list because they have the best player in the world at his peak, but the roster around Nikola Jokic got worse this offseason. KCP is gone and Nuggets management is betting big on a youth movement with Christian Braun and Peyton Watson, plus veteran Russell Westbrook, all stepping up and filling in the gaps. As long as Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon are healthy this team is a threat, but how big a threat will depend on Michael Porter Jr. and the rest of the roster living up to the standard set by Jokic.
6. Philadelphia 76ers (47-35). No team took a bigger offseason swing than Philly, and no team had a better summer — Daryl Morey gutted the roster to bring in Paul George and put him between Joel Embiid and the now-extended Tyrese Maxey. That’s a big three that can hang with — if not beat — any top three in the league, and the 76ers did a good job rounding out the roster with Caleb Martin, Eric Gordon, Andre Drummond, and Reggie Jackson, among others. The only reason they are not higher is it will take time for their chemistry to evolve, plus injury concerns will loom over them all season with Embiid and George.
7. New York Knicks (50-32). This ranking could be too low, especially for how hard they will play every regular season game. New York had kept its powder dry for years then made its big move this summer landing Miles Bridges, a hand-in-glove fit with just extended (at an amazing discount) Jalen Brunson and the ‘Nova Knicks. This team is built to take on the Celtics with strong wing defenders and plenty of grit and physicality. Can New York beat a healthy Boston or Philadelphia? It may not look like it on paper, but it is in the mix and we know Tom Thibodeau will get the most out of this roster. New York enters the season with legit title aspirations.
8. Milwaukee Bucks (48-31). The Bucks quietly had a quality offseason, adding depth such as Delon Wright and Taurean Prince. They need that depth to soak up some minutes and get Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo to the playoffs healthy. Do that, and have Brook Lopez push back Father Time one more year — plus an entire season under Doc Rivers, no mid-season coaching change this time — and the Bucks enter the playoffs having a chance. Milwaukee won the title just three years ago and feels like a contender but one with almost no margin for error.
9. Phoenix Suns (49-33). Can Mike Budenholzer, returning to his hometown to coach, get more out of this roster than Frank Vogel could? Phoenix has bet he can, mostly because they didn’t — and because of the second apron, couldn’t — add much-needed depth to this roster. It’s Olympians Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, a hopefully healthier Bradley Beal, and then things drop off. If Budenholzer can…
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