There’s been a lot of player movement this NBA offseason, and outside of LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves, most of the action has moved to the Eastern Conference
So, we figured we’d take a stab at power ranking our new East. These rankings are, of course, inarguable. They’re certainly not one man’s opinion in the dog days of summer, before anyone’s played a game, which could make it impossible to rank a conference
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But we here at Yahoo Sports are up to the task of the seemingly impossible. We can certainly project what could happen — if everyone were healthy, now that LeBron James has joined Jaylen Brown on the Philadelphia 76ers, now that Giannis Antetokounmpo has been traded to the Miami Heat, now that the entire East has been shaken in a snow globe
So, here is one way the regular season could unfold in the East, where a good team will get squeezed from the play-in, and really good teams are not guaranteed a playoff spot
15. Brooklyn Nets
Julius Randle and Micheal Porter Jr. may be elitepodcastguests, but are they the veteran leaders this team full of recent first-round draft picks needs to become competitive in the East? Randle and Porter have been secondary (or even tertiary) options on great teams, but can they be the primary playmakers for even a good team? Probably not one so young, even if Egor Dëmin and Mikel Brown Jr. — the latest hopes for this wayward franchise — have shown promise
14. Milwaukee Bucks
The good news is that Brayden Burries is a player. And Nate Ament might be one, too. The bad news is that it might be time to give the keys to their two young lottery picks already. Otherwise, the Bucks are looking at a starting lineup of Ryan Rollins, Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kyle Kuzma and Myles Turner, which is OK but far from great. And you have to be pretty good to compete in this Eastern Conference. But without Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee isn’t that
13. Chicago Bulls
I like what the new leadership of the Bulls did this summer. Bryson Graham and Co. drafted Caleb Wilson (even if he was a no-brainer at No. 4). They signed Norman Powell to a short-term contract. And they added Nicolas Claxton as essentially a castoff. All three of them can help a team win. Whether they can help this team — one that counts Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis (two more talented players) as its other two starters — is another matter entirely
12. Washington Wizards
Is it crazy to think that a team led by Trae Young and Anthony Davis in the Year 2026 — surrounded by a ton of young talent, including this draft’s No. 1 overall pick, AJ Dybantsa — could be frisky in this East? It probably is, which is why I have the Wizards on the outside looking into the playoff picture. But they are rich with recent first-round picks, while Young, Davis and Khris Middleton are the kinds of quality veterans who could steer them in the right direction
11. Atlanta Hawks
Seems low for Atlanta, especially since the Hawks added Lu Dort to a roster that gave the New York Knicks more problems than any other playoff team, but some team will get squeezed from the postseason portrait. It may as well be one that is over-reliant on a 35-year-old CJ McCollum. With Dort, Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta’s defense should be hell to play, but who in Atlanta beyond McCollum and Jalen Johnson can reliably create consistent offense?
10. Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets lost LaMelo Ball, but might the trade represent addition by subtraction? Charlotte was among the league’s hottest teams in the second half of last season, and the Hornets boast much of the same roster, including rising stars Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel. I like what Naz Reid does for their size and spacing. I like Coby White at shorter money to fill Ball’s role, running their uptempo offense. There is enough to like to consider Charlotte for a play-in bid
9. Orlando Magic
The underachieving Magic are an easy team to write off, but I can’t quit the amount of talent on this team. That starting lineup of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane, Jalen Suggs and Wendell Carter Jr. is a bear. Anthony Black, Jamal Cain and Tristan da Silva have all shown promise off the bench. Do they all make sense together? That is the task at hand for new coach Sean Sweeney. If he can’t figure it out, it’s high time to break up Banchero and Wagner.
8. Detroit Pistons
Good teams are going to fall into the play-in tournament, and I think last year’s No. 1 seed in the East is among the teams to take a major step backward. Isaiah Stewart is no small loss. Swapping Tobias Harris for John Collins is a wash at best. And they have yet to re-sign Jalen Duren, who will presumably return. He lost confidence from his All-NBA form in the playoffs, and if he’s been negotiated down on his contract, I don’t see how that increases his belief in himself
7. Miami Heat
Giannis Antetokounmpo embodies Heat Culture, and together with Bam Adebayo they should form a top-flight defense. It’s the offense I worry about. And the depth. Do they have enough shooting around Antetokounmpo and Adebayo? Enough talent? You have to have a level of trust in Pat Riley to acquire players and in Erik Spoelstra to develop them. The question was whether LeBron James had the same faith in Miami’s ceiling, and it didn’t appear he did, choosing Philadelphia instead
6. Indiana Pacers
Is it wrong to think last year’s Pacers, infused with both a healthy Tyrese Haliburton and Ivica Zubac, could be something closer to the 2025 NBA Finals edition of this roster than last year’s moribund team, which tanked its way to a top-five pick (only to lose that pick by the luck of the ping-pong draw)? I think Haliburton is that special when surrounded by proper talents, and the collection of Zubac, Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith are proper talents
5. Toronto Raptors
Assuming the league approves their trade for Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors will add an All-NBA talent to a team that nearly won a playoff series last season. In the East, where one player can tilt the balance of a conference. Consider this a vote of confidence in the development of Collin Murray-Boyles. And Scottie Barnes. Toronto can field a flock of pterodactyls on defense, and Leonard is the player it needed to solve its offensive woes. Fingers crossed on his health
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4. Cleveland Cavaliers
This presumes that James Harden re-signs with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who return just about everyone from a roster that reached the conference finals last season. They failed to land LeBron James in free agency, though, and that should tell us a little about his belief in their ceiling. The Cavs have lost Dean Wade, too, and that’s no small concession for a team that called Wade one of its better perimeter defenders. Still, the floor is high for Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
3. Boston Celtics
Jaylen Brown is gone, but the Celtics will effectively replace him with Jayson Tatum on a roster that won 56 games last season. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard are still there. Paul George is healthy to start his first season in Boston. The Celtics added Mitchell Robinson, who, when paired with Neemias Queta, will maximize possessions for an offense that has ranked top-two for four years running. Robinson also adds another layer of rim protection to a top-five defense. They’re going to win games.
2. Philadelphia 76ers
Man, this team could be great if Joel Embiid is healthy. But he’s rarely healthy. He has not played more than 39 games since the 2022-23 season, when he was the league’s MVP (before injuring his right knee in the playoffs). Still, the Sixers, who also star Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, added Jaylen Brown and LeBron James to a team that won a playoff series a few months ago. They’ve added Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Anfernee Simons, among others, too. No team has had a better offseason
1. New York Knicks
The NBA’s defending champions are worse than they were at the end of last season, when Mitchell Robinson helped them hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy, and that is the point of the second apron — to bring the best teams back to the pack. But they still have that starting lineup of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart. They still have their championship pedigree, and until someone knocks them from the top spot, they’ll hold on to it
