Western Conference rankings 1-15 entering 2026-27 season
Ricky O’Donnell, SBNation

From SAS (1) thru SAC (15)

Final Offseason Grades for Each NBA Team Ahead of Training Camp
Grant Hughes, Bleacher Report

Ranking the NBA’s Best Young Cores
Zach Buckley, Bleacher Report

5 teams that will exceed expectations in 2026-27
John Hollinger, The Athletic

Atlantic Division: Offseason recap and a look ahead to the 2026-27 season
Shaun Powell, NBA.com

NBA power rankings as training camps open
Lorenzo Reyes, USA Today

From OKC (1) thru MIL (30)

How the league is reshaping itself
Ethan Sands, cleveland.com

NBA Rank 2026 audit: What we got right -- and wrong -- in our top 100
Dean Oliver, ESPN

25 Team-specific NBA stories and a WNBA Playoff Preview follow for paid subscribers

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BOS: Celtics season preview
Lorenzo Reyes, USA Today

DEN: Nuggets position previews: Small/Power Forwards
Bennett Durando, Denver Post

DEN: Nuggets season preview
Lorenzo Reyes, USA Today

DET: Duncan Robinson’s private family struggle
Brendan Quinn, The Athletic

DET: How can Cade Cunningham build upon MVP candidacy?
Coty Davis, Detroit News

HOU: Healthier, deeper Rockets aiming to raise the bar for what success looks like
William Guillory, The Athletic

LAL: Lakers ‘Iron Man’ will land surprising starting 5 nod amid roster overhaul
Khobi Price, NY Post

MIN: Kuminga Must Add Two Things To His Game In Minnesota
Logan Harlow, Zone Coverage

MIN: Anthony Edwards’s Mid-Range Journey
Eric M., Film Salad

NYK: Key storylines
James Edwards III, The Athletic

OKC: A Cason Wallace Extension Outlook
Jonas Plaut, The Cap Crunch

ORL: Magic must keep Jalen Suggs in the right shooting role to maximize his offense
Philip Rossman-Reich, Orlando Magic Daily

PHI: What makes the Sixers’ Dean Wade such a valuable role player?
Gina Mizell/Chris Fedor, The Inquirer

PHI: 3 goals: Anfernee Simons
Ky Carlin, USA Today

PHI: Player preview: Will Anfernee Simons become an elite bench guard?
Adam Aaronson, Philly Voice

PHX: Suns season preview
James H Williams, USA Today

POR: Anonymous Scout: Why the Trail Blazers Are at the Top of the List to Fall Out of the NBA Playoffs
Blake Silverman, Sports Illustrated

SAC: Kings Get Worst-Case Update About Possible Domantas Sabonis Trade

Joey Haverford, heavy

TOR: How the Raptors stack up in the revamped Eastern Conference: Part Two
Joe Wolfond, Raptors Republic

TOR: Raptors Offseason Check-In
Luke Adams, Hoops Rumors

LEAGUEWIDE

Winning habits in summer pickup
David Thorpe, True Hoop

Training Camps: Top Storylines to Watch
Zach Buckley, Bleacher Report

Ranking the 10 (current) NBA title contenders
Tom Ziller

THE DRAFT

2027 NBA Draft Sleeper Forwards
Corey Tulaba, No Ceilings

Why Jordan Smith Jr. will be a 2027 NBA Draft lottery pick for Arkansas this season
Sam Vecenie, Game Theory

TEAM-SPECIFIC

BOS: Celtics Camp Battle: Ball Handling
Adam Taylor, Celtics Chronicle

CHI: Bulls season preview
Mark Giannotto, USA Today

IND: Pacers season preview
Mark Giannotto, USA Today

LAL: Can Mamu Unlock Vando?
Iztok Franko, digginbasketball

LAL: Can Quentin Grimes solidify himself as a core piece of the Lakers’ future?
Alex Regla, Silver Screen And Role

MIA: How Giannis changes Erik Spoelstra & Heat’s offensive plans
Jay Postrado, Sporting News

MIA: Five Heat training camp battles to watch
Brady Hawk, Sports Illustrated

MIA: What is Heat getting in rookie Ryan Conwell? His college coach weighs in
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald

NYK: exhibit 9: the knicks signed five men to paper that guarantees nothing. the second apron already decided how many of them stay
bang!

NYK: The Knicks Should Pass on Ochai Agbaji. Bruce Brown and John Konchar Are Better Bets.
Lee Escobedo, The KOT Show

NYK: How New York’s cutting-and-spacing motion offense turns OG Anunoby’s playing style into an All-Star-caliber weapon
Lee Escobedo, The KOT Show

POR: Blazers season preview
Lorenzo Reyes, USA Today

POR: Countdown to Blazers’ training camp: Sidy Cissoko
Joe Freeman, Oregon Live

SAC: Kings’ Biggest Storylines One Month Before 2026-27 Season Starts
Logan Struck, Sports Illustrated

SAC: Kings season preview
Marcus Smith, USA Today

TOR: How the Raptors stack up in the revamped Eastern Conference: Part One
Joe Wolfond, Raptors Republic

UTA: Jazz 2026-27 Position Group Preview: Wings
Eric Spyropoulos, Jazz.com

UTA: Darryn Peterson is about to shock the NBA
James Hansen, SBNation

UTA: Jazz season preview
Lorenzo Reyes, USA Today

WAS: Trae Young and Anthony Davis trades were right at the wrong time
Jack Simone, Wiz Of Awes

WAS: Trae Young’s Trainer On Offseason Prep, Why Leadership Rep Is ‘Unfair’
Mark Medina, RG

WAS: Wizards season preview
Kristie Ackert, USA Today

If you were among those who didn’t receive yesterday’s BI, here it is:

https://www.basketballintelligence.net/p/basketball-intelligence-for-92126

Back to Today’s BI: Leaguewide and draft-related stories follow for paid subscribers

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TEAM-SPECIFIC

BKN: Nets season preview
Lorenzo Reyes, USA Today

BOS: Brad Stevens’ recent comments hint at the real strategy behind Celtics roster
Ben Handler, Hardwood Houdini

The Celtics may not have the most star power in the league, but the roster balance and depth can go toe-to-toe with anyone

CHA: Don’t sleep on 33-year-old sharpshooter Royce O’Neale
Richie Randall, Buzz Beat

CHA: Hornets’ Offseason Check-In
Rory Maher, Hoops Rumors

DAL: Rob Fodor Brings Unique Development Approach To Dallas Mavericks
Grant Afseth, Dallas Sports Journal

DAL: Mavericks season preview
Mark Giannotto, USA Today

DEN: One question facing each member of Nuggets’ starting five
Vinny Benedetto, Denver Gazette

DET: Pistons’ Michael Blackstone details cancer fight, his ‘drive’ to help others
Hunter Patterson, The Athletic

DET: Why Cade Cunningham hiked mountains to take Pistons to the summit
Omari Sankofa II, Free Press

DET: Pistons’ Michael Blackstone has cancer, but it’s not end of his story
Omari Sankofa II, Free Press

GSW: How Steve Kerr got Frank Vogel to skip sabbatical, join Dubs coaching staff
Luca Evans, SF Chronicle

HOU: Rockets season preview
Mark Giannotto, USA Today

LAC: Clippers season preview
James H. Williams, USA Today

LAC: Clippers’ Offseason Check-In
Rory Maher, Hoops Rumors

MEM: Three Grizzlies training camp storylines
Damichael Cole, Commercial Appeal

MIA: Biggest question for each Heat starter entering 2026-27 season
Matt Hanifan, Hot Hot Hoops

MIA: Myron Gardner is a serious breakout candidate along a perimeter that needs depth and shooting
Maxwell Ogden, AUCH

MIA: Best and Worst Case Scenarios for the Heat’s Role Players
Austin Dobbins, Sports Illustrated

NYK: 3 Game Plan Adjustments That Could Help Knicks This Season
Shaz Ally, Sports Illustrated

NYK: Mikal Bridges, Movement Maestro
Shax

PHI: 3 goals: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Ky Carlin, USA Today

POR: Countdown to Blazers’ training camp: Vit Krejčí
Joe Freeman, Oregon Live

SAC: Kings |2027 Season Preview
David Lee, Hardwood Collective

SAS: How the Spurs’ lead guards can coexist
Jared Weiss, The Athletic

TOR: Ja’Kobe could be the Raptors’ biggest x-factor this season
Rebecca Schapelhouman, Raptors HQ

TOR: The Raptors Are Going To Eat You: Just Add Kawhi
Matt Moore, Hardwood Paroxysm

TOR: Raptors season preview
Lorenzo Reyes, USA Today

UTA: An inside look into Keyonte George’s contract extension
Shreyas Laddha, Salt Lake Tribune

Leaguewide and draft stories follow for paid subscribers

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Forecasting Four Factor Impact: What Actually Predicts Next Season
Cranjis McBasketball, BBall Index

Here is “part one” of this feature: https://www.bball-index.com/projecting-impact/

Q & A: Montrezl Harrell
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson

TEAM-SPECIFIC

BOS: Celtics notebook: Joe Mazzulla being ‘crazy,’ Sixers trade, feeling reborn
Souichi Terada, Mass L…

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Picking the NBA’s top-10 offenses for 2026-27
Mike Shearer, Basketball Poetry

TEAM-SPECIFIC

ATL: The Ascension of Jalen Johnson
Randiferous Jones

BOS: Maxing Out The Margins: is this Celtics’ team Brad Stevens’ magnum opus?
Trey Adell, Trey’s Corner

BOS: Payton Pritchard is set up to have a career year
Jack Anderson, Celtics Blog

CLE: Brandon Weems ear…

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Predicting the 2026–27 NBA Standings: Which Teams Will Rise, Fall and Surprise?
Silverman/Mannix/McKeone, Sports Illustrated

Atlantic Division Season Preview
Ryan Ski

PODCAST: Neil Johnson on The Downfalls of Post-Process Dogmatic Culture
Ray LeBov/Nick Agar-Johnson, No Weak Stuff

Neil Johnson, formerly of the Houston Rockets, the Washington Wizard…

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BKN: Nets offseason recap, early 2026-27 season preview
ESPN

BOS: The Celtics need Jayson Tatum to be Jayson Tatum
Jack Anderson, SBNation

DEN: DeMar DeRozan spurred NBA’s mental health conversation. His voice is only growing louder
Mirin Fader, The Athletic

DET: Trajan Langdon ‘excited’ for Pistons amid turbulent summer
Coty Davis, Detroit News

ME…

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NBA reclamation projects who could pop this season
Christopher Kline, Fansided

NBA Future Power Rankings: Three-year outlooks for each teams
ESPN

From OKC (82 pts) thru SAC (27 points)

NBA’s Las Vegas And Seattle Expansion Teams Are Set Up To Fail Early On
Bryan Toporek, Forbes

Adam Silver, in closing door on Clippers, sends message to NBA’s owner cl…

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Five College Teams That Could Take Over the 2027 NBA Draft
Izzy, No Ceilings

TEAM-SPECIFIC

BKN: Randle/Porter Nets Fits
Steve Lichtenstein

BOS: Celtics offseason recap, early 2026-27 season preview
ESPN

CHI: Taj Gibson is the perfect mentor for Jalen Smith
Luke Kurtzwell, Roundtable

DAL: An early look at Mavericks’ depth chart
Eddie Sefko, Mavs.com

DAL: …

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Predictions: Forecasting the entire Western Conference
Jeremias Engelmann, 5x5

Pablo Torre uncovered the Kawhi Leonard scandal and won a Pulitzer. He’s still searching for something more
Bruce Arthur, Toronto Star

NBA raises salary-cap projections for 2027-28, giving cap-strapped teams measure of relief
Fred Katz/John Hollinger, The Athletic

NBA’s B…

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ATL: Hawks waiving Devin Carter no surprise after key move that followed his addition
Zach Langley, Soaring Down South

ATL: Devin Carter’s biggest skill clearly wasn’t enough to convince Hawks to keep him
Michael Kobrinsky, Soaring Down South

Atlanta needs offense more than they need defense

DAL: Mavericks Offseason Check-In
Rory Maher, Hoops Rum…

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BKN: What to expect, hope for Nets’ young players entering 2026-27
Lucas Kaplan, Nets Daily

BOS: The Celtics Can’t Afford Sloppy Possessions
Adam Taylor, Celtics Chronicle

Boston ranked 23rd in opponent turnovers last season, but they were second in ball security. Mazzulla has made a trade-off, but why?

DAL: What brings the international Mavs to…

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Which Western Conference teams are closest to dethroning the Spurs and Thunder?
Guiilory/Murrey/Clar/Krawcynzki, The Athletic

The Eastern Conference race may be decided by the deepest rotation, not stars
Gary Washburn/Ethan Sands, cleveland.com

3 players who could unlock their teams with one fix
Brennan Sims, Fansided

NBA Frozen Draft Pick Tracker
Lu…

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NBA preview 2026-27: tiering all 30 teams
Zach Kram, ESPN

Pacific Division Offseason Reset
Keith Smith, Spotrac

Tiers of the West, 2026-27 edition
Tom Ziller, GMIB

Something positive about each NBA team, Pt. II
Mike Shearer, Basketball Poetry

Predicting the NBA’s Top 5 MVP Candidates In 5 Years
Mo Dakhil, Bleacher Report

Who are the NBA’s best players o…

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The NBA’s most interesting rising sophomores
Dan Devine, Yahoo Sports

NBA EC Predictions
Jeremias Engelmann, 5x5

Biggest injury returns for the 2026-27 NBA season
ESPN

Transitioning from observing a summary stat to reasoning beyond that stat to inform an actual decision
Alex Prejean

Ranking The NBA’s Best Fifth Starters
Fran Leiva, Fadeaway World

ESPN’s Ballmer Blues
Natalie Korach, Status

THE DRAFT

Five International Prospects to Watch for the 2027 NBA Draft
Rafael Barlowe, NBA Big Board

Team-specific stories follow for paid subscribers

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9 NBA teams that can win the 2027 championship
Ricky O’Donnell, SBNation

Central Division: Offseason recap and a look ahead to the 2026-27 season
Shaun Powell, NBA.com

Ranking the NBA’s Western Conference After a Wild Offseason
Max Contract, Blazer’s Edge

The Rookie Extension Standard is Shifting
Yossi Gozlan, Third Apron

TEAM-SPECIFIC

BOS: Payton Prit…

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LEAGUEWIDE

Are Your Defensive Stats Making Your Defense Worse?
Coach Mike, Lockdown Defense

The biggest threats to the Knicks and 76ers in the East
Mat Issa, Fansided

5 NBA Players Ready To Make The Leap
Mo Dakhil, Bleacher Report

EC Preseason Assessments
Ira Winderman, SunSentinel

NBA Power Rankings
Sean Deveney, heavy.com

NBA second apron trade rules, without the jargon fog
Sam Amico, Hoops Wire

TEAM-SPECIFIC

DEN: Did Nikola Jokić and Aaron Gordon Play Worse After Their Injuries?
Max Moacanin, Funnyball

LAC: The Clippers’ future just got much harder. Now they have to figure out how to win
Law Murray, The Athletic

LAC: What’s left of the Clippers?
Kelly Iko, Yahoo Sports

LAL: Lakers 2026 Summer Overview and Grade
Justus Hughes

LAL: Sandro Mamukelashvili is already forcing JJ Redick to rethink the Lakers’ rotation
Tyler Watts, Lake Show Life

LAL: Will Rob Pelinka’s love for score-first players be his downfall?
Tyler Watts, Lake Show Life

The rest of the team-specific stories as well as draft-related and Day Four Scandal stories follow for paid subscribers

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Ten guys who might make a big difference this season
David Thorpe, True Hoop

TEAM-SPECIFIC

BKN: Nets Projected Starting Lineup And Rotation For 2026-27: Can They Become A Play-In Contender?
Fran Leiva, Fadeaway World

CHI: Josh Giddey On Bulls’ Big Year, Norman Powell And Matas Buzelis
D.J. Siddiqi, RG.org

HOU: Amen Gets Paid; Can He Get a Jumper Next?

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ATL: The Hawks struck gold with Onsi Saleh
Garrett Brown, Soaring Down South

ATL: Hawks offseason recap, early 2026-27 season preview
ESPN

BKN: The Nets Should Be Better, But…
Steve Lichtenstein

BOS: The Celtics offense could use a little more chaos this season
Grant Burfiend, Celtics Blog

CHI: Bulls’ Offseason Check-In
Luke Adams, Hoops Rumors

DAL: Dirk Nowitzki Q&A: Impressions of Mavs’ new front office, roster moves and more
Mike Curtis, Morning News

DAL: Tobi Lawal can still become an impact player in Dallas without being a strong 3-point shooter
Noah Weber, The Smoking Cuban

GSW: Steve Kerr optimistic about upcoming Warriors season, but avoids projections
Monte Poole, NBC Sports

HOU: How high is Amen Thompson’s ceiling
William Guillory, The Athletic

LAC: 7 ways the Clippers can rebuild after their historic NBA punishment
Ricky O’Donnell, SBNation

MIN: Timberwolves’ roster revamp brings a lot of variables. Will they find success?
Jon Krawczynski, The Athletic

NYK: Projecting the Knicks’ Full Rotation in Second Season Under Mike Brown
Shaz Ally, Sports Illustrated

OKC: Six intriguing lineups new-look Thunder could explore in 2026-27
Justin Martinez, The Oklahoman

ORL: Magic offseason recap, early 2026-27 season preview
ESPN

ORL: Noah Penda’s growth could change the Orlando Magic’s season
Philip Rossman-Reich, Orlando Magic Daily

PHI: The Sixers’ star-studded lineup could mean big things for Tyrese Maxey’s three-point shooting
Chris Hine, The Inquirer

PHI: Q & A: Dean Wade
Ky Carlin, USA Today

PHX: Where Dillon Brooks must improve: tunnel vision & shot selection
Gerald Bourguet, SportsAz 360

SAC: Ben Simmons returning to NBA on 1-year, $3.5M deal with Kings
Marc J. Spears, ESPN

SAC: Kings Roll the Dice With Ben Simmons Signing
Ryan Stano, heavy.com

LEAGUEWIDE

Is the 2-for-1 Really Worth It?
Nate Mekonen, Packin’ The Paint

The Euro Mavs, part III: The American perspective. NBA coaches on European player development
Mette Robertson, SBNation

Southwest Division: Offseason recap and a look ahead to the 2026-27 season
Shaun Powell, NBA.com

Western Conference Power Rankings, Part 1
Kellan Olson, Arizona Sports

Western Conference Power Rankings, Part 3
Kellan Olson, Arizona Sports

2026/27 NBA Draft-And-Stash Signings
Luke Adams, Hoops Rumors

THE DRAFT

Dash Daniels NBA Scouting Report
Ersin Demir, NBA Draft Newsletter

Buried Treasure: JUCO
Owen Jury, No Ceilings

Clippers Scandal Day Two stories follow for paid subscribers

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