What to expect from each team entering the season
by Jack Dusek
Sports Editor
Atlanta Hawks (Last Season: 36-46, Lost in Play-In Tournament)
After yet another mediocre season, the Hawks have for the first time in years have seemed to make some moves. In a three-team trade with the Nets and Celtics, the Hawks acquired All-Star C Kristaps Porzingis, who stands at a towering 7-2 and can knock down a three point shot. Porzingis will pair well with fellow All-Star G Trae Young, who is known for his flashy dribbling and shooting. Rounding out this squad is on-the-rise F Jalen Johnson, whose season was cut short due to a shoulder injury last season, as well as 2024 first overall pick F Zaccharie Risacher, lockdown defender G Nickeil Alexander-Walker and the solid center play of Onyeka Okungwu.
Boston Celtics (Last Season: 61-21, Lost in Conference Semifinals)
The Celtics season ended in the worst way possible last year, losing to their rivals in New York and superstar F Jayson Tatum tearing his achilles in game four of that series making him injured for the entirety of the 2025-26 season. Even worse for Celtics fans, a new ownership group has come in and decided to cut costs, trading away core veterans from the championship run just two years ago, C Kristaps Porzingis and G Jrue Holiday and didn’t bring back fan-favorite C Al Horford, as he signed with Golden State. All-Star F Jaylen Brown and Guards Derrick White and Payton Pritchard remain from two seasons ago, but a lack of frontcourt depth could lead to the downfall of the Celtics, at least for this season.
Brooklyn Nets (Last Season: 32-50, Missed Playoffs)
The Nets broke a record this offseason, selecting five first round picks in the draft. However, those selections left many confused, as they selected three Guards (Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, and Ben Saraf) who all have a very similar skillset: driving to the rim, defense, and passing. In today’s NBA which is dominated by three-point shooting, the Nets seem to be taking a time machine. In other moves, they traded a solid role player in F Cam Johnson for the heavy contract of G Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 first round pick. This team will be an interesting watch this season, with a lot of mashing playstyles and young players.
Charlotte Hornets (Last Season: 21-61, Missed Playoffs)
The Hornets are going on nine straight seasons missing the playoffs, the longest active drought in the NBA. However, there are a few bright spots on this team that could finally spell an end to this drought. All-Star G LaMelo Ball has been great when on the court the past few seasons, but the biggest issue has been staying healthy for the 24-year old. Alongside him is a pair of top five picks in F Brandon Miller and G Kon Knueppel, who Charlotte hopes can blossom into co-stars alongside LaMelo. In terms of this season, the Hornets have brought in veteran Guards Collin Sexton and Spencer Dinwiddie to help a possible play-in push this year.
Chicago Bulls (Last Season: 39-43, Lost in Play-In Tournament)
The Bulls have been the definition of mediocre the past few seasons, sitting around the nine or ten seed over the past three years. Maybe the rebuild will officially start this season, but the team still feels too good to tank for a top draft pick in a loaded class this season, but not good enough to actually compete for anything. They have a few players who have impressed, such as young G Josh Giddey and now second year player F Matas Buzelis, and are still keeping some of the veterans around who could be trade assets, like C Nikola Vucevic.
Cleveland Cavaliers (Last Season: 64-18, Lost in Conference Semifinals)
The Cavs had a breakout season under new head coach Kenny Atkinson last year, winning 64 games and earning the one-seed in the eastern conference. A key part of the puzzle was the emergence of F Evan Mobley to stardom, to pair with G Donovan Mitchell. However, a sixth man of the year finalist from last season, G Ty Jerome signed with the Grizzlies in free agency, so they replaced him by trading for veteran G Lonzo Ball from the Chicago Bulls. Overall, the Cavs have a solid roster that could finally get them over the hump to the NBA Finals.
Detroit Pistons (Last Season: 44-38, Lost in 1st Round)
Detroit was the most surprising team in the league last season, tripling their win total from an abysmal 18 to 44 and a playoff berth. The Pistons hope to make another leap this year, and make a run in the postseason. With not much roster turnover from last year, the core of young players led by G Cade Cunningham, who made his first all-star appearance last season and is living up to the hype of being a first overall selection. Surrounding him are young players like F Ausar Thompson, C Jalen Duren, G Jaden Ivey and F Ron Holland II. To rein in the group of young guys, Detroit has kept a strong group of veterans including F Tobias Harris and G Caris LeVert.
Indiana Pacers (Last Season: 50-32, Lost in NBA Finals)
After shocking the world to make the NBA Finals and taking the heavily favored Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games in that series, the Pacers have established themselves as strong contenders for years to come. However, this year might not be one of them because star G Tyrese Haliburton, the leader of the group and possibly the best passer in the NBA tore his achilles in game seven, and will be out for this season. And to follow that, C Myles Turner who was the longest tenured player and an eight-year starter for the team left for Milwaukee in free agency. To try and fill the 6-11 sized hole at the center position, Indiana brought in a mostly unproven but skillful C Jay Huff, and are relying on the growth of third year player C Isaiah Jackson. Not all hope is lost though, as the Pacers still have all-star and 2019 champion F Pascal Siakam, and a group of sturdy role players around him, so in a weaker east, a playoff appearance might still be in the cards.
Miami Heat (Last Season: 37-45, Lost in 1st Round)
The Heat were struggling to find and identity over the course of the previous season, after star F Jimmy Butler demanded a trade and they honored that request, sending him to Golden State for F Andrew Wiggins, F Kyle Anderson (Now on the Jazz) and a 2025 first Round Pick, which Miami used on G Kasparas Jakuciunas. Now the team is a jumbled mess of aging veterans and young players, but the team is yet to go into a full rebuild. They still have three former all-stars in G Tyler Herro, C Bam Adebayo and F Andrew Wiggins, and a trade this offseason brought in sharpshooter G Norman Powell from the Clippers. A core of young players that includes C Kel’el Ware who showed his defensive prowess in his rookie year in 2024-25, F Jaime Jaquez Jr., who has been inconsistently good during his career, and the rookie Jakucionas.
Milwaukee Bucks (Last Season: 48-34, Lost in 1st Round)
The Bucks seem to be falling apart after superstar G Damian Lillard tore his achilles in the 1st Round of the Playoffs last year, leading to an early elimination. Now, Lillard is off to Portland where he will rehab this season and hopefully be back the following season, but that left Milwaukee without a fellow star alongside two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. Their answer: sign 29 year old C Myles Turner, who has been good over the course of his career, but nowhere near the level of Damian Lillard. A big thing to watch over the course of the season will be the happiness of Antetokounmpo, who has been discussed in possible trade talks already and another disappointing season could spell the end to his time in Milwaukee.
New York Knicks (Last Season: 51-31, Lost in Conference Finals)
The Knicks finally broke through last season, making the conference finals for the first time since 2000. However, head coach Tom Thibodeau was fired after concern over the offensive scheme, which was mostly one-dimensional based on isolation with superstar G Jalen Brunson running the show. They replaced him with former Cavs, Lakers, and Kings Coach Mike Brown, who is known as more of an offensive coach as opposed to Thibodeau. The rest of the roster remains mostly unchanged, except for the additions of G Jordan Clarkson and F Guerschon Yabusele to help out a mostly lackluster bench from the previous season.
Orlando Magic (Last Season: 41-41, Lost in 1st Round)
The Magic made a key trade in the offseason, trading four first round picks in exchange for G Desmond Bane from the Grizzlies. Bane has never been selected to an All-Star team, so many considered this an overpay, but Orlando is hoping he is the missing piece to make this offense click. Bane will add some much needed shooting to a team that was dead-last in the NBA in three-point percentage last season. The Magic already have a pair of stars in forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, and have one of the deepest benches in the NBA, so maybe Orlando can get their first playoff series victory since 2010.
Philadelphia 76ers (Last Season: 24-58, Missed Playoffs)
A cascade of injuries caused the 76ers to miss the playoffs for the first time in seven years, with C Joel Embiid, F Paul George, and Guards Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain all missing 20+ games. On the bright side, that led to Philadelphia getting the number three pick in the draft and selecting G V.J. Edgecombe out of Baylor, who looked good in Summer League. Overall, the success mostly depends on one thing: the health of former MVP Joel Embiid. He only played 58 games in the last two seasons, and the team has suffered.
Toronto Raptors (Last Season: 30-52, Missed Playoffs)
The Raptors might be one of the most confusing teams in the NBA, because they do have the talent to be a top-four seed in the east, but finished out of the play-in last year. The team is mostly filled with an archetype of drivers who have an okay jump shot, but that leads to relatively bunched-up play. Former Rookie of the Year F Scottie Barnes is the prized player in the group, and the team added an injured F Brandon Ingram at the deadline last year, and he has yet to play for the team, but could add a second scorer to Barnes and another player, G R.J. Barrett. Even with a set group of starters, there are a few lottery picks on the bench in G Gradey Dick and F Collin Murray-Boyles, who might be the reason this team can be successful in the future.
Washington Wizards (Last Season: 18-64, Missed Playoffs)
The worst record in the Eastern Conference last year belonged to the Washington Wizards, and improvement might be a few years away given the current state of the roster, which is mostly filled with players on rookie contracts. However, maybe a veteran movement with F Khris Middleton and G C.J. McCollum that the organization seems to be a step in the right direction to competing. On the other side of the age demographic, C Alex Sarr, G Bub Carrington, F Bilal Coulibaly and G Tre Johnson should all play crucial minutes for the Wizards this year, and while it will be a fun team to watch it will most likely be another poor season in Washington.