The NBA had a wild season last year— along with all of the major sports in the USA— we started the regular season normally and then COVID hit and everything was shut down. The league was determined to keep things marching forward and eventually they did, they found a solution to work a bubble in Orlando and finish off the “regular season” while having the entire postseason within a span of about three months.
The bubble could potentially be seen again when it comes to the postseason, but the season will be starting as if everything was normal, well, almost. The MLB did not allow fans for the most part in the season, then when the World Series hit, we saw some fans, the NFL has certain teams that allow fans depending on the state’s mandates, and we will see something similar with the NBA.
For at least the start of the season we will have a limited number of teams allowing fans, these teams include: Cavaliers (300), Jazz (1,500), Magic (4,000), and Raptors who are playing in Tampa Bay (3,800). These are just the teams we know for sure will be allowing fans in to start the season, as with everything else the further we get into the season things will change so all we can do right now is wait.
The start of the NBA season may be a little odd because it will be mostly with no fans and around Christmas time, but the one thing that is certain is that the NBA IS BACK!
Without any more talking let’s see where each team sits after an offseason chock-full of events.
Rank Los Angeles Lakers
1
2019-20 record: 52-19
Anthony Davis was brought in last season via trade and he turned out to be one of the key pieces to winning the 2020 title. They brought him in knowing he was a free agent, now he is locked up until 2025 when Davis is 31. That means the combo of Davis and LeBron will be together until at least 2023. On top of that they added some big-name free agents in Marc Gasol, Forward Montrezl Harrell (2020 Sixth Man of the Year), Guard Dennis Schröder, and Guard Wesley Matthews. They have lost names such as Dwight Howard, JaVale McGee, Rajon Rondo, Danny Green and Avery Bradley, but some of these players were dealt to bring in their bigger names. All of these moves were made in hopes of repeating as NBA champions and as things currently stand, they are favorites to win it all again.
Rank Milwaukee Bucks
2
2019-20 record: 56-17
The back-to-back MVP was an upcoming free agent after the 2020-21 season, but the Bucks decided to give him the super max and lock him down now and now he will not be a free agent until 2026. Keeping Antetokounmpo is huge for this franchise, now the next step is to surround him with players so they can go win a championship. This is what they attempted to do this offseason, adding Jrue Holiday to go along with some other free agents such as Torrey Craig, Bobby Portis, Bryn Forbes, Nik Stauskas and D.J. Augustin. Most of these players will fit as role players in this lineup, but the big addition is Holiday. Whether Holiday is the number two or number three his presence alone should make the job much easier for their current number two Khris Middleton. The Bucks have had the best record in the NBA for two straight years now, the next step is winning the championship.
Rank Los Angeles Clippers
3
2019-20 record: 49-23
The Clippers loaded up their roster last season in an attempt to challenge for the championship and for the most part they were on their way, until they had a huge playoff collapse. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were meant to lead this team filled with one of the best benches in the league and though that did not happen, they are still in a good situation. The biggest loss for them this season is no longer having Montrezl Harrell and key reserve JaMychal Green, but they attempted to fill the void as best they can. Luke Kennard and Nicolas Batum were two of their additions, but the largest one is Serge Ibaka who may not match the offensive production of Harrell but should provide defensive help that can keep Leonard and George on the wing. Marcus Morris now gets a full season in LA to show what he can do, plus they still have perennial sixth man of the year Lou Williams as well as Patrick Beverly, a great on ball defender, so LA is still right in the thick of things even with some key offseason departures.
Rank Miami Heat
4
2019-20 record: 44-29
Miami may have pushed the Lakers to six games in the finals last year, but they were overmatched from the get-go, this season they hope that will change. There may not have been too many changes the Heat made over the offseason, but they did extend all-star center Bam Adebayo to a max contract, re-signed Goran Dragic, extended Tyler Herro, re-signed Meyers Leonard and added Avery Bradley. They also added project Precious Achiuwa with the 20th pick in the draft and although he still needs to learn how to deal with the better NBA defenders, he has a boat load of potential that could turn in to something great for Miami. After going to the finals last season, the Heat have a lot to look forward too and with the young talent on this team they should be prepared for years to come.
Rank Brooklyn Nets
5
2019-20 record: 35-37
This will be the first time we get to see what the duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will truly be able to do. Durant was injured and out while Irving did what he could to keep the team in check, but now with both of them together they could be the biggest threats in the east. The two-headed monster is what is going to lead this team during the season, but they have added some additions such as Jeff Green, Landry Shamet, and Bruce Brown Jr. While those additions could easily help with depth, maybe the biggest move was on the coaching side bringing Steve Nash in. Durant and Irving both pushed for Nash to be coach, now that they have the man, they wanted let’s see what happens. The most interesting player to look out for this season in Caris LeVert who has grown so much but has dealt with a numerous injuries, if he can stay healthy and provide the same level of production then the Nets will be in a great position.
Rank Philadelphia 76ers
6
2019-20 record: 43-30
The 76ers had a very eventful offseason when it came to the management side of things, Daryl Morey is now president and Doc Rivers is in as head coach. Not only did they make some moves in the front office, but they added Danny Green and Seth Curry which should give them more flexibility at the guard positions as well as Dwight Howard to back up Embiid. They also added guard Tyrese Maxey in the draft this season so with an overhaul in the back court this season will Ben Simmons continue to play point guard. No matter what they do with him, this is when we need to see a true connection with Simmons, Harris, and Embiid. The guards added should help, but let’s see how this team does with Rivers in at coach.
Rank Denver Nuggets
7
2019-20 record: 46-27
The Nuggets had some key free agent losses this season in Jerami Grant, Mason Plumlee, and Torrey Craig, but they attempted to make up for the loss of Grant by quickly adding JaMychal Grant. Grant allows some toughness and physicality down low to help Jokic on the defensive end. They did bring back Paul Millsap while adding role players such as Isaiah Hartenstein and Facundo Campazzo. Then in the draft they added two first round draft picks in Zeke Nnaji and RJ Hampton, both of whom have a good upside. Both of them will likely start out as bench players, but one of them could make their way into the starting lineup by the middle of the season. Then we get to the two most interesting players, Michael Porter Jr. and Bol Bol. Porter showed his upside last season and now they are looking for even more then Bol has shown his growth so far to become an impact player. Finally, we have Jamal Murray who proved he is the real deal in the postseason. If the Nuggets get better defensively this season, they provide a huge threat in the West.
Rank Boston Celtics
8
2019-20 record: 48-24
The biggest loss of the offseason for the Celtics is that they no longer have Gordon Hayward and while there will be some effect felt it may not be as big of a deal as some are making it out to be. Then we have a knee injury to Kemba Walker that will keep him out until at least early January but will likely take longer. This means that Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart will need to make up for his absence. Boston also added two first round draft picks in Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard who should immediately be placed in line to help this team. Boston is a very young team with eight players who are either rookies or second years, this means there may be some growing pains for the team, but if they can form a chemistry early, they should surprise people. With the injuries and departures, they will need the young players to step up quick otherwise this could be a disappointing season in Boston.
Rank Dallas Mavericks
9
2019-20 record: 43-32
Luka Doncic is only getting better in his development and that is after last season where the Mavs had one of the most efficient offenses ever, now they need help defensively. That made it clear that defensive help was needed and one big move for that was swapping Seth Curry for Josh Richardson with Philly. Richardson is a great on-ball defender who should help their defensive efficiency and while they sacrificed some offense it is a move that should pay its dividends. They also added Josh Green in the draft who provides good offensive ability and good on-ball defense, a two-way player who should help immediately and Tyrell Terry who provides great perimeter defense. The Mavs did not do much over the offseason, but the moves they did make should help make a team around Doncic and Porzingis to become true contenders.
Rank Phoenix Suns
10
2019-20 record: 34-39
Devin Booker looked like one of the elite players in the league while in the bubble last season, if he can bring that same fire the Suns will be a scary threat. Deandre Ayton is now in his third season and should take an even greater leap this season then we look at who they added in Chris Paul and now they have a true point guard. Having Paul should make everything easier for Booker and even though Paul is not who he once was he should help the Suns immensely. They also added some role players such as Jae Crowder who should provide a spark off the bench, Langston Galloway, Damien Jones, and E’Twaun Moore. Then in the draft the Suns went with the big man out of Maryland Jalen Smith who should provide some rim protection help and pairing him up with Ayton could provide a great duo. Overall, it should be seen as a great offseason for Phoenix and this season could be great.
Rank Toronto Raptors
11
2019-20 record: 53-19
Toronto had some decisions to make once they entered the offseason and one of the first moves, they made was to extend Fred VanFleet and now he is signed until 2024. There next decisions were whether or not to keep center Marc Gasol and forward Serge Ibaka, they decided not to re-sign either. This shows that the Raptors are going with the youth movement and only time will tell how that will treat them this season. The Raptors did pick up some free agents such as center Aron Baynes, center Alex Len, and forward DeAndre’ Bembry. Their latest moves was re-signing forward OG Anunoby to a four-year extension. They also picked up guard Malachi Flynn in the draft to fill in as guard with depth, so this team has fully embraced the youth movement with only two players over 30 years old. They still have former coach of the year Nick Nurse so who knows what will happen, but at an early glance the top seed in the East will be a stretch.
Rank Utah Jazz
12
2019-20 record: 44-28
The Jazz are bringing all of their key players back this season including re-signing guard Donovan Mitchell and center Rudy Gobert. Gobert will obviously be the starting center, but they did bring in free agent Derrick Favors, someone very familiar with this system and former running mate with Gobert. Favors brings some flexibility with his re-signing because he can start next Gobert at forward, or he could come off the bench for Gobert as a good backup. He will most likely back Gobert, but Mitchell, Clarkson, Conley, Bogdanović, and Ingles should take a load of the offense while Favors and Gobert are there mainly for defensive purposes. They also brought in seven-footer Udoka Azubuike from the draft and while he still has room to grow, he has shown to be a defensive monster in college which could translate well, especially working behind Gobert.
Rank Portland Trail Blazers
13
2019-20 record: 35-39
Portland had a good thing going for them early in the season last year and then eight games into the season Jusef Nurkić got injured which put them down to one true center in Hasaan Whiteside. Now, Nurkić is back and they also brought in center Enes Kanter to back him up and probably play significant minutes until Nurkić is fully healthy. Other than bringing in Kanter the Blazers did not do much in the offseason outside of re-signing Rodney hood and bringing in players such as Derrick Jones Jr., Harry Giles, and CJ Elleby. Their most recent and maybe biggest move was trading for Robert Covington who provides a good two-way player option off the bench. They also re-signed Carmelo Anthony to provide a scoring option off the bench, so the offense should not be an issue, if they can get the defense working, they can be a threat in the west.
Rank Golden State Warriors
14
2019-20 record: 15-50
The Warriors would be much higher on this list, but now that Klay Thompson is out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon, so things once again are not great. Stephen Curry is back and healthy, so they at least have that going for them as well as a number two draft pick in center James Wiseman. This is something the Warriors have needed for a long time, a true big man to play in the middle and that is what they hoped they have found in Wiseman. Other than Wiseman really only one, maybe two eventful things happened in the offseason for them and that would be adding Kelly Oubre Jr. through trade and adding Kent Bazemore via free agency. The Warriors are in a good position to start the season with their additions and if they can get the type of production, they are hoping for out of Wiseman they will be in a good position.
Rank New Orleans Pelicans
15
2019-20 record: 30-42
It may not have been a spectacular season for the Pelicans last season, but they did show that their young talent has a ton of promise to be great in the near future. The biggest move they made in favor of the youth movement was re-signing Brandon Ingram which will keep the trio of Ball, Ingram, and Williamson together. They made some other moves this offseason adding center Steven Adams and guard Eric Bledsoe which could help bring some better efficiency heading into this season. Getting rid of Jrue Holiday may hurt a bit, but the fact they loaded up on draft picks in exchange could make this team even more dangerous down the road. Finally, in the draft they added guard Kira Lewis Jr., who should provide good depth on the bench and this is a team with some of the best young talent in the game, this is the year they want to see everything come together.
Rank Indiana Pacers
16
2019-20 record: 45-28
The Pacers have seemed to have the same kind of seasons in recent years, have a very good regular season, but fall apart in the playoffs and not advance far in the postseason. This is the season they hope things are different and early in the season things look good, but the injury bug has been what has bitten them in the past. If they can avoid this bug with key players such as Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis, and Malcolm Brogdon then the Pacers could make a run in the east. This team does not really have any player that many would consider a “star”, but they all play well together and that should translate into success this season.
Rank Memphis Grizzlies
17
2019-20 record:34-39
Memphis has the reigning rookie of the year in Ja Morant and they are looking forward to not only the development of Morant, but of all their young core. That young core involves a newly re-signed De’Anthony Melton, Justise Winslow, Dillon Brooks, and Jaren Jackson Jr. They also added wing Desmond Bane at the end of the first round of the draft, this is a very young team and may be a similar season to last year, but if they get the development that they are expecting then this team should compete for years to come.
Rank Houston Rockets
18
2019-20 record: 44-28
Houston is just a mess right now, they got rid of Russell Westbrook by shipping him out to Washington for John Wall and who knows what is going to happen with James Harden. Not only was getting rid of Westbrook part of the overhaul, but also gone are Mike D’Antoni Daryl Morey as well as forward/guard Robert Covington. This team is not quite at this point, but they are starting over and though they could still be a playoff team with Harden it is not certain what we will see. If they ship Harden off then this is a bottom of the conference team, but as of now they are a low playoff team in the west. They have also added players such as Christian Wood, DeMarcus Cousins, and Sterling Brown, but this team all depends on what they are going to get out of Harden.
Rank Atlanta Hawks
19
2019-20 record: 20-47
Atlanta had a busy offseason and while it may not have brought any star players in, there were some big names and key players they added to give Trey Young help. Some of their key moves were adding Bogdan Bogdanovic, Clint Capella, Rajon Rondo, Danilo Gallinari, and draft pick Onyeka Okongwu. Okongwu will miss at least the first couple games this season, but he provides a dangerous presence down low and that helps add to this potentially great back court. We should see some improvement from Cam Reddish and De’Andre Hunter this season and the Hawks have a young trio who could be great for years. With all of the big changes we could see one of two things with Atlanta, we could see growing pains and a struggling team, or we could see one of the better young teams in the league that should make it back to the playoffs.
Rank Orlando Magic
20
2019-20 record: 33-40
The Magic did not do too much over the offseason, but they are counting on their home-grown players including Mo Bamba, Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac, Nikola Vucevic, and draft pick Cole Anthony. Orlando also recently extended Markelle Fultz as they are banking on him to be their future point guard. This is a young team and if their talent pans out like expected this is a playoff team. The best thing going for the Magic is that this is not just a young team, this is a team that has its veteran talent and that could be the deciding factor of whether or not this is a playoff team come season’s end.
Rank Sacramento Kings
21
2019-20 record: 31-41
The Kings season did not end in the fashion they wanted it to last season, but now Marvin Bagley is back and healthy, they brought in Hasaan Whiteside and De’Aaron Fox is back and hungrier than ever. They also brought in Glenn Robinson III via free agency and added Robert Woodard and Tyrese Haliburton via the draft. They did lose some players such as Bogdanovic, Bazemore, and Giles, but they added for every position they lost. The western conference is still the toughest in the NBA, so it will not be an easy battle for them to make their way to the playoffs, but they have players that could make a playoff push. Even if the Kings don’t make the playoffs this season, they still have one of the youngest rosters in the entire league, so they should compete for years to come.
Rank Washington Wizards
22
2019-20 record:25-47
The worst part for Washington the past couple of seasons is that they were without John Wall due to injury, now they have a replacement for Wall in Russell Westbrook, who they traded for Wall. Westbrook was a similar player to Wall preinjury, but now this move gives the Wizards a spark who can get things going at any time. Westbrook was able to work well with James Harden last season and now he has a similar player in Bradley Beal. There may be some problems early on, but they should learn to work together quickly. The biggest issue with the Wizards though is that they don’t have a true big man, their best option right now is Robin Lopez. We will also have to see how rookie Deni Avdija turns out, but right now he is more of a project than anything. Washington could surprise people this season, but they need development in order to see the playoffs.
Rank San Antonio Spurs
23
2019-20 record: 32-39
Whether it’s an eventful offseason or a non-eventful for San Antonio you can be sure that it is going to be quiet, that’s the way they roll and that is how things have continued. The roster is mostly similar to last season outside of Marco Belinelli heading back to Italy, Bryn Forbes signing with Milwaukee and Devin Vassell and Tre Jones being added via the draft. LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan are back to go along with Rudy Gay, Dejounte Murray, Jakob Poeltl, Derrick White, and Lonnie Walker IV. With the strength of the western conference it will be tough to make the playoffs, especially by not adding anybody of note, but Greg Popovich could lead this team back to the playoffs.
Rank Charlotte Hornets
24
2019-20 record: 23-42
With the third pick in the NBA draft, the Hornets select LaMelo Ball. Ball showed tons of potential over in Australia, but now it is time for him to show what he was doing over there was not a fluke. Not only did they draft Ball, but they made one of the most surprising moves of the offseason by signing Gordon Hayward to a four-year $120 million contract. This move could either turn out to work really well or it will be a colossal failure. This is a team full of young players that include: P.J. Washington, Vernon Carey, Ball, Caleb Martin, Malik Monk, Miles Bridges, Jalen McDaniels, and Devonte’ Graham. This team as a whole might still be a couple of years away from a playoff run, but if they all progress like expected they are on the right track.
Rank Chicago Bulls
25
2019-20 record: 22-43
With their top pick in the draft the Bulls selected Patrick Williams and it looks to be a bit of a reach, but if it works out then there will be no issue. Outside of the draft there were no big moves that the Bulls made this offseason, they will still be counting on Zach LaVine to lead this team and that is about it. The biggest moves they made was within the front office, adding a new head coach and new general manager. The player they are most interested in the development is Coby White. If White improved how they want him to it will make it much easier to spread the floor and that will help Chicago’s offense who has struggled at creating their own shots. This is when they get to change how they play, so let’s see what happens with the new coaching.
Rank Minnesota Timberwolves
26
2019-20 record: 19-45
Now it may turn out to be a great decision, but the Timberwolves decided to go with Anthony Edwards who kind of proved he would rather be doing anything else than play professional basketball. Again, this move may turn out to be great, but it is not a great start. This move fills a need for the wolves, and it could easily be a great pairing with Karl-Anthony Towns/D’Angelo Russell. They have a very young roster with key veterans to help including the return of Ricky Rubio, but that does bring some concern. When the starters are not on the floor, they may not have enough power to match with other teams, so they may have to keep their starters out for a long time. It would not be a shock if the Timberwolves make their way to get to the postseason, but they somehow always mismanage their roster, so it is only up to time to see what happens.
Rank Oklahoma City Thunder
27
2019-20 record: 44-28
The Thunder ended up making the postseason last year, but that was with Chris Paul and Steven Adams, now they are without both of them so we could see a completely different team. They also got rid of sixth man of the year candidate Dennis Schroder, so they are now without their top three players from last season. Getting rid of Russell Westbrook before last season was supposed to be the first move in terms of the rebuild process for the Thunder and in a way it was. They ended up making the playoffs and added value for every player they got rid of, now they are young with their leading players being newly acquired veteran free agents.
Rank Detroit Pistons
28
2019-20 record: 20-46
Detroit hired a new general manager and starting his tenure Detroit decided to attack the free agent market heavily. They added numerous free agents such as Jerami Grant, Josh Jackson, Jahlil Okafor, Mason Plumlee to go along with draft picks Killian Hayes, Saben Lee, Isaiah Stewart, and Saddiq Bey. This overhaul is supposed to help work the team around Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose and it easily could, but we will have to wait and see what we get. They may have gone in heavy during free agency, but this still does not look like a team that is going to compete in the eastern conference.
Rank Cleveland Cavaliers
29
2019-20 record: 19-46
Cleveland has had a good amount of high draft picks over the last couple of seasons with the most recent being Isaac Okoro. Now, they are hoping that all of these picks will translate into success. These players will have to mesh with veterans JaVale McGee, Andre Drummond, and Kevin Love. It should not be too hard to mesh with these players and with a new head coach who knows what kind of play we will see from Cleveland this season. We should see some improvement from last season, but this is still a team that may have a couple of years before they can return to the playoffs.
Rank New York Knicks
30
2019-20 record:21-45
Is it a surprise that the Knicks are at the bottom of the list? They have tried to overhaul the entire team once again and now go with a new coach and new general manager. They decided to go with Obi Toppin in the draft this year and he will be added to the young core of Mitchell Robinson and RJ Barrett. The Knicks have the players to be able to compete in a couple of years, but it all depends on how they work with the coaching staff. Thibodeau is a huge question this season with how will he be able to handle a roster this young and inexperienced? That’s the key with this roster, they are young and inexperienced so the key is improving this season and if they do that is should be looked at as a success.