Every NBA team ranked by its 2025 championship chances to start season

The start of a new NBA season is the ultimate time for optimism. Every team is undefeated, and each organization’s season-long goals are still within reach.

The NBA is fully entrenched in its parity era. The league has had a different champion each of the last six years, something that hasn’t happened since 1975-1980. Dynasties are the norm throughout NBA history, but at this point no team has won back-to-back titles since Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry teamed together on the Golden State Warriors for championships in 2017 and 2018.

The Boston Celtics put together one of the most dominant title runs in league history last season, but their path was so easy that not everyone was convinced. Boston brought back their entire extended rotation, and should be excellent again. The road to a championship just looks a lot tougher this time: the Thunder, Knicks, Timberwolves, and 76ers each made bold moves this summer with their eyes on a ring. Don’t write off Nikola Jokic’s Nuggets yet, either.

With the 2024-2025 season about to get underway, here’s how we’d rank every team in the league by their championship chances.

30. Washington Wizards

The Wizards’ rebuild is still in its very early stages, with the team not-so-secretly trying to land a top pick in the loaded 2025 and 2026 NBA Draft classes. Washington added some solid veterans in Malcolm Brogdon and Jonas Valanciunas over the offseason, and still has Kyle Kuzma, Corey Kispert, and, uh, Jordan Poole lingering on the roster. Monitoring the development of the young talent is the only reason to watch this team. No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr is oozing with long-term potential, but still seems very raw (especially on offense). Fellow rookie Bub Carrington should be really fun as a pull-up happy guard, and last year’s lottery pick Bilal Coulibaly has some real upside as an athletic wing with a sky-high defensive ceiling. This team still stinks, and they are likely years away from changing that. Read my big Cooper Flagg profile, Wizards fans.

29. Brooklyn Nets

The Nets pushed the reset button this summer by trading Mikal Bridges to the Knicks, and reacquiring their own 2025 and 2026 first round picks. Like Washington, Brooklyn will go star hunting in the 2025 and 2026 NBA Draft classes, with Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper topping their ‘25 wish list, and A.J. Dybantsa and Cameron Boozer leading the ‘26 class. The most interesting thing about the Nets this year will be seeing who they trade, and what they get back. Veterans like Cameron Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Bojan Bogdanovic should draw outside interest. In the meantime, Cam Thomas is going to get tons of buckets, Nic Claxton should keep looking good as a young defensive big man, and, um, Ben Simmons might actually play this year. My big breakdown of potential top 2026 pick Cameron Boozer should be a comforting read for Nets fans.

Photo by Amanda Loman/Getty Images

28. Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers are now several years into their rebuild, but still don’t seem capable of winning anything. This team has one more tank season in them at the very least. Portland’s young core is led by Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson, and rookie big man Donovan Clingan. Henderson was supposed to be their franchise guy, but he was one of the worst players in the NBA last season as a rookie. There’s also a nice collection of veterans 30-and-under here, from Jerami Grant to Anfernee Simons to Deni Avdija. I guess I should mention “DominAyton,” too. There’s enough talent on the roster that you could possibly talk yourself into Portland being a little more respectable this year, but with Flagg looming in the 2025 draft, I doubt them try to push forward yet.

27. Utah Jazz

The Jazz have looked good to start the season the last couple years before selling off talent at the trade deadline and prioritizing their own draft position. Utah re-signed Lauri Markkanen to a big deal this summer rather than trading him, but the surrounding pieces are still too inexperienced to push up the standings. The young core here is super deep, but it lacks a true leading man: Keyonte George and Isaiah Collier have long-term upside in the backcourt, rookie lottery pick Cody Williams is intriguing on the wing, and Taylor Hendricks and Kyle Filipowski are nice developmental bigs. Will Hardy is an amazing head coach, but I don’t think this team is ready to win yet. Collin Sexton will probably have some big scoring games in losses, though.

26. Detroit Pistons

Is it crazy to think the Pistons could double their win total from last season? Detroit won an NBA-worst 14 games a year ago, so it’s on the table. Monty Williams was just atrocious as the head coach of this team, so JB Bickerstaff should be big improvement. The Pistons have a ton of fascinating young players, but to this point no one has been able to develop because the spacing has been so poor. New lead executive Trajan Langdon immediately prioritized adding shooters, with Simone Fontecchio, Malik Beasley, and Tim Hardaway Jr. now all on this roster for the full season. Tobias Harris was the big free agent addition, and should help mercifully end the Pistons’ era of two-big lineups. It still comes down the young guys. I think Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren can make meaningful leaps, and maybe Cade Cunningham can finally approach league-average scoring efficiency after a career true shooting percentage plus of 91 (100 is league-average) through his first three seasons. I love Ron Holland and Ausar Thompson, but there’s some overlap there. It will be interesting to see which of the young guys Langdon cuts bait on first. Read my big Ron Holland feature for a preview of your future, Detroit fans.

25. Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers are screwed. Paul George walked in free agency, and Kawhi Leonard is already out indefinitely with a knee injury before the season even begins. The Clippers don’t own their first round pick this year (the Thunder have swap rights). They don’t own any of their first-round picks until 2030. This team has no incentive to tank, but they still might be really bad. James Harden will have to shoulder a huge creation burden. Ivica Zubac is a good center, Norman Powell is a proven bucket-getter, and Terrence Mann is a consummate glue guy. I’m just not sure how many games that’s winning you in the West.

Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images

24. Chicago Bulls

The Bulls’ rebuild can’t really begin until they actually complete their teardown, but Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic are viewed as such toxic assets that no one will take them yet. Chicago lost arguably three of its top-4 players from a disappointing 39-win team a year ago: DeMar DeRozan is a King, Alex Caruso is a Thunder, and Andre Drummond is a Sixer. The most meaningful addition to the roster for this season’s purposes was Josh Giddey, who was totally unplayable in last season’s playoffs for OKC. I wouldn’t be surprised if LaVine has an awesome scoring year as an attempt to get traded off this team. Coby White keeps leveling up into one of the NBA’s better under-25 guards, and Ayo Dosunmu made real strides offensively last season. The Bulls’ defense should be terrible with Giddey, LaVine, White, and Vucevic in the starting lineup, but they should play faster and shoot way more threes without DeRozan controlling the ball. Matas Buzelis is the future here, but he’s still likely a year or two away from being able to score with legitimate NBA efficiency. The real wildcard is the return of Lonzo Ball after a 2.5 year injury absence. Chicago was playing great with Ball in the lineup a few seasons ago, and he looked impressive in limited preseason minutes. The Bulls’ offense will have to carry them, and most nights that won’t be good enough. The biggest priority for Chicago this year should be retaining the top-10 protected first round draft pick they owe to the Spurs.

23. Toronto Raptors

The Raptors are rebuilding with young veterans already in place. This is Scottie Barnes’ team now, with Immanuel Quickley, R.J. Barrett, and Gradey Dick as his sidekicks. What Toronto really needs is a high lottery pick to add another premium young talent, but they might not be bad enough to get it. Like the Bulls, Toronto just seems to be building towards another play-in tournament caliber team. Yay?

22. Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets feel like they could be one of this season’s biggest surprise teams. The path to get there would start with LaMelo Ball finally staying healthy. Ball only played 58 games combined the last two seasons, but he’s an electric jumbo playmaker and pull-up shooter when he’s available. Brandon Miller, 2023’s No. 2 overall pick, looks like a young stud who will keep ascending. Charlotte’s bigs are the question mark: can Mark Williams or Nick Richards fully breakout? Will any of the other young guys (Tre Mann, Josh Green, Tidjane Salaun) emerge into real pieces? It’s totally unforgivable that Miles Bridges is still on this roster. New head coach Charles Lee could be a Coach of the Year sleeper if Charlotte makes a big jump up the East standings.

Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

21. San Antonio Spurs

Victor Wembanyama will be the best player in the NBA eventually, and he’s poised to make a big leap up the mythical player rankings as he enters his second season. The Spurs are on Wemby’s timeline, but I was still disappointed they didn’t push harder to improve this summer. San Antonio’s only notable veteran additions were Chris Paul (who turns 40 in May) and Harrison Barnes. Stephon Castle could be an instant impact rookie, and Devin Vassell may finally emerge as someone who can push to make an All-Star team (though it’s very hard in the West). It’s possible Wembanyama single-handedly carries this team to the playoffs this season, but I don’t think the Spurs gave him enough help this summer to get there.

20. Atlanta Hawks

If you squint hard enough, the Hawks have something resembling a real plan in place. Trae Young is one of the league’s best at combining scoring and facilitating, but he needs a team of big, bad ass defenders and floor spacers around him. Jalen Johnson emerged as this team’s secondary star last year, and No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher could be a capable 3-and-D wing from the jump. Dyson Daniels — acquired in Atlanta’s Dejounte Murray trade this summer — is theoretically a nice fit next to Young as a huge defensive-minded guard …. if he can finally live up to his potential. Kobe Bufkin is another young player who could make a leap. The bigs are still a bit confusing with Clint Capela entering a contract year, and Onyeka Okongwu never quite developing like they hoped. Atlanta feels like it’s one big piece (literally: they need a center) away from being interesting if Johnson and Risacher ascend.

19. Miami Heat

This feels like the last hurrah for this iteration of Miami’s roster. Jimmy Butler is 35 years old entering a contract season. The front office has consistently swung-and-missed on acquiring another star to keep up with the Eastern Conference arms race. Tyler Herro’s development has stagnated a bit as he struggled with injuries. It’s hard to count out the Heat when Eric Spoelstra remains the best coach in the league and Bam Adebayo is still holding down the middle, but it’s hard to be too optimistic about this team with the rest of the East improving. It just feels like the Heat are running out of time and options. Miami desperately needs Jaime Jaquez and or Nikola Jovic to make a big leap, or this roster will have to pivot soon.

18. Houston Rockets

The Rockets jumped from 22 to 41 wins in their first season under head coach Ime Udoka a year ago. Houston faces the rare problem of almost having too many talented young players. Alperen Sengun is already this team’s best player at 22 years old by doing a poor man’s Jokic impression. Jalen Green was awesome for one month last year, but there should be skepticism he can maintain it. Instead, Amen Thompson and rookie No. 3 pick Reed Sheppard are the most intriguing players here. Thompson might be the league’s most athletic player as a 6’7 guard/wing, and Sheppard is tiny but fits well as a dead-eye shooter with razor sharp hands and tremendous IQ. We haven’t even gotten in Cam Whitmore, Tari Eason, or Jabari Smith Jr. yet, a trio of big wings with different skill sets who would each individually be the promising youngster on many other teams. Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks are still holding it down as veterans here, but the young guys have the chance to help the Rockets take another step.

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

17. Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers are always going to have sky-high expectations as long as LeBron James and Anthony Davis are on the roster, and once again it feels very unlikely they will live up to them. Good luck to J.J. Redick, the first-time head coach hired to satisfy the league’s biggest and most passionate fanbase. Much of this roster is the same from last year, meaning D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, and Austin Reaves will be the critical support pieces. While the Bronny James sideshow draws most of attention, the Lakers’ other rookie — former Tennessee wing Dalton Knecht — could give this team a real on-court boost with his deadeye shooting, even if I remain skeptical of his defense.

16. New Orleans Pelicans

The Pelicans’ roster feels unfinished as they enter the season, but it’s hard to question the talent level. Zion Williamson finally played a full season last year (70 games) before suffering an injury at the worst possible time in the play-in tournament. He looks leaner and more explosive thus far, and the Pelicans will go as far as he takes them. New Orleans spent all offseason trying to trade Brandon Ingram and found no takers. The big addition to the roster was Dejounte Murray, a scoring guard whose defense could look better away from Atlanta. There’s only one problem: with Jonas Valanciunas’ move to the Wizards, the Pelicans are ready to go into this season without a full-time center. Herb Jones is one of the NBA’s truly great defenders, and he’s going to draw the assignment on everyone from bigs to wings to star guards. Trey Murphy III should be back from a preseason hamstring strain relatively soon, and it’s going to push head coach Willie Green into some fascinating lineup decisions. I’d feel better about this team if they could trade Ingram for a big man, but there isn’t a deal out there. The Pelicans will be funky, which is a wonderful reason to watch them.