After months of waiting, the new NBA season is finally here. In 2025-26, the elites of the league, like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and New York Knicks, are sure to be near the top of the standings again. And there are sure to be surprise teams, like the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons were in the 2024-25 season.
Ahead of the new season, we look into our magic ball to offer up some bold NBA predictions for not just the top teams, but all 30 clubs in the Association.
Related: NBA Predictions for Every Team’s Record, Playoff Brackets & Finals Winner in 25-26 Season
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The Atlanta Hawks are a young team led by one no doubt star in Trae Young. The talented guard showed growth as a leader last season and helped to elevate his inexperienced teammates. Look for the four-time All-Star to take another step forward in his career by leading the Hawks to the playoffs again, but as a serious NBA MVP candidate this season.
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As most expected, the Boston Celtics underwent a major roster overhaul in the summer. Gone are Al Horford, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis. Also, Jayson Tatum is expected to miss most of the season. Expect a big step back in 2025-26. The Celtics won’t be bad, but they will have to fight just to make the play-in tournament this season.
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The Brooklyn Nets will likely struggle again in 2025-26 despite adding veteran Michael Porter Jr. However, guard Cam Thomas has quietly been a really good scorer for BK the last few seasons. This will be a breakthrough campaign for the four-year veteran, and he will make his first appearance in the All-Star game.
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The Charlotte Hornets didn’t make any major additions in the offseason. So there is no reason to expect huge growth this season. However, they needed more shooting and got that in the draft with Duke star Kon Knueppel. Look for the shooting ace to get a lot of opportunities from Charlotte’s ball handlers and be in the discussion to win Rookie of the Year late in the season.
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The Chicago Bulls gave their fans reason for real hope late last season as Josh Giddey and Coby White showed they have real upside as a duo. With the East weaker than in previous seasons, the Bulls will take advantage and be a top-six team in 2025-26. Avoiding the play-in tournament.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers have as good a path to the NBA Finals as they have ever had, since the Pacers and Celtics will take major steps back due to injuries and departures. They are going with the same group as last season and hope they can take a big step forward. Unfortunately, it won’t happen, and they will fall in the East Finals.
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The Dallas Mavericks will not have Kyrie Irving for the first half of the season and will feature No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg in a prominent role. While that seems like it should hurt them, expect the Mavs to play above expectations this season. Anthony Davis will stay healthy, Klay Thompson will have a good season, and Jason Kidd will again prove why he is a top 10 coach by leading Dallas to a top five record in the West.
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Denver Nuggets management is hoping that getting rid of long-time coach Mike Malone late last season and replacing him with David Adelman will bring about a new and better era in Colorado. It won’t. It was a risky move to fire the coach who helped them win their first title, and despite having, arguably, the best player on the planet, they will be an NBA play-in team this season.
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The Detroit Pistons were the best story in the NBA last season as they went from being one of the league’s worst to a group that nearly won a playoff series earlier this year. A huge reason was the continued growth of young star Cade Cunningham. That will continue in 2025-26, and the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft will get some MVP votes next spring.
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The late-season addition of Jimmy Butler turned the Golden State Warriors into a sleeper title contender. However, injuries undercut a deep playoff run last season. They should be great again, but they are relying heavily on players in the back half of their 30s. That will haunt them as Butler or Stephen Curry suffers a season-ending injury at the worst time.
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The Houston Rockets took a big hit last month when it was revealed that point guard Fred VanVleet incurred a season-ending injury. It means Ime Udoka will need to be creative with his ball handlers this season, and youngster Amen Thompson could be an option. The increased opportunity will solidify that 22-year-old is one of the most versatile players in the game and one of its top on-the-rise talents.
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The Indiana Pacers have one of the best coaches in the NBA in Rick Carlisle. However, this is still going to be a tough year for Indy. Tyrese Haliburton will likely miss the whole season, and they did not replace Myles Turner with equal or close talent. You can’t lose two of your top three players and expect similar results. The Pacers won’t make the playoffs this season.
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The Los Angeles Lakers have expectations for their first full season with Luka Doncic on the roster. However, the big question will be on the health of NBA legend LeBron James. He will miss the first few weeks of the season, and with his future in LA uncertain, he may be less willing to play through injuries this year. Expect James to play in just half of LA’s games this season as he deals with the aches and pains of being a soon-to-be 41-year-old in the Association.
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The Los Angeles Clippers will again rely on some aging and/or injury-prone stars this year. Swapping out Russell Westbrook for Bradley Beal. There is a good chance they play well when they are on the floor together. However, that won’t be often. The trio of James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Beal will play together in just 35 games this season.
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Like the Nuggets, the Memphis Grizzlies shockingly fired a pretty good coach, Taylor Jenkins, with just weeks left in the season. That won’t turn out well for them. Jenkins was replaced with first-time NBA head coach Tuomas Iisalo, who went 4-5 leading the team last season. He also won’t have underrated guard Desmond Bane either after the team traded him this summer. Ja Morant will be healthy for much of the year, but they will still be fighting for a play-in spot this year.
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This is going to be another tough season for the Miami Heat. They will be free of the Jimmy Butler drama, but when they traded him last year, they did not get equal value back. While they have solid and good veteran players on the roster, they will be a team fighting to stay around .500 in 2025-26. And if they incur a major injury to either Tyler Herro or Bam Adebayo, they could quickly become a lottery team.
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The Milwaukee Bucks are a bit of a sleeper team in the East. They cut future Hall of Famer Damian Lillard and have been ousted in the first round three straight years. It has made them an afterthought. However, with the best player in the league, Giannis Antetokounmpo, a veteran coach in Doc Rivers, and a weaker-than-usual East, look for Milwaukee to compete with New York and Cleveland for the No. 1 seed all season long.
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It took some time for the Minnesota Timberwolves to develop chemistry after adding Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the roster last fall. However, don’t expect that to happen this year. Look for the Wolves to get off to a fast start in the 2025-26 NBA season and be in the running for homecourt in the playoffs at the end of the season.
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There were concerns after the New York Knicks acquired Karl-Anthony Towns about whether he would be a good fit for their roster. Well, he was a great one last season. However, they also got a bit lucky in that he played 72 games and was relatively healthy. That won’t happen this season, and the injury bug that has followed KAT for years will return, and he will be limited to 50 games this season.
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Injuries to key players obliterated the New Orleans Pelicans throughout the 2024-25 NBA season. Well, things will be better this season, and Zion Williamson will stay healthy as well. However, it won’t stop them from being a team that struggles to compete for a play-in spot after moving on from CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram in recent months, and not having Dejounte Murray for the first half of the season.
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The Warriors were the most recent dynasty in the NBA. Well, it is now the era of the Oklahoma City Thunder. They are young, super talented, and only getting better. Barring catastrophic injuries to top players, OKC will follow up its first championship win in June with a second straight title in the 2025-25 NBA season.
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The Orlando Magic are an intriguing team heading into the new season. They are one of the league’s best defensive units, and feel they addressed key issues by acquiring Desmond Bane. With the Eastern Conference wide open this year, don’t be surprised if the Magic are in the running for a top-three seed in the East as we near the 2026 NBA playoffs.
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The big concern for the Philadelphia 76ers heading into last season was if top stars Joel Embiid and Paul George could stay healthy. They did not. This season will be all about getting into the playoffs and making some serious noise. Philly will do that and be a problem in the spring, but they will finish just a few games over .500 to make sure Embiid and George are ready in the lineup for the postseason.
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The Phoenix Suns will be a new-look group this season after moving on from Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and coach Mike Budenholzer. Expectations are very low for them, but that is probably a good thing. While the West is very tough, expect Phoenix to earn a play-in spot and then actually make the playoffs this season after being on the outside looking in last year.
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Expectations are again low for the Portland Trail Blazers. Sure, Jrue Holiday should help, but he will not make a monster difference at this point in his career. Coach Chauncy Billups is in the hottest seat in the NBA heading into the new season. Look for him to be the first coach ousted during the 2025-26 NBA season.
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On paper, the Sacramento Kings have a pretty good team featuring several All-Star-level players. But is it really a good mix? There are already rumblings around the sport that this could be a nightmare year for the Kings. Sactown missed the playoffs last year, and they will do it again this season with an even more expensive roster. Don’t be surprised if they are in full sell-mode early in 2026.
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The San Antonio Spurs feel like a team ready to break through in a big way this season. Victor Wembanyama is back healthy and taller heading into 2025-26. Plus, he has a better unit around him. They will for sure make the playoffs this season, and the French phenom will show why he will be the face of the league over the next decade.
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The Utah Jazz are still deep in rebuild mode. They have a boatload of trade assets to go after big-time talent. Yet, they have lost more than they have added over the last year. We are not sure what Danny Ainge is waiting for, but unless they make a big deal, they will be the worst team in the Western Conference this season.
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The Toronto Raptors have some intriguing pieces, especially on offense. Brandon Ingram gives them a borderline All-Star to play alongside the face of the franchise, Scottie Barnes. However, their defense is a real problem. That will be the reason why they missed the playoffs for a fourth straight season.
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Washington Wizards fans have suffered for a long time. They have won just one playoff series in the last decade and have only reached the postseason three times. That won’t change this season. Sure, veterans Khris Middleton and CJ McCollum should help, but the pieces on this team are still rough. They will have the worst record in the East again in 2025-26.
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After earning his journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos served as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sucka ... More about Jason Burgos