The most exciting part of the NBA is just around the corner, as teams gear up for the opening week of the season in October after one of, if not the busiest, off seasons of all time. It felt like every team made notable moves (sorry, Golden State) to help themselves contend, rebuild or reshape what their future will look like. Don’t look now, but this may be the year the Eastern Conference finally breaks the curse of being the inferior little brother of the West after some roster shake-ups that saw some All-Star talent make their way across the country. Let’s look at the top eight teams out East heading into the 2026-27 NBA season and see what has changed since the Knicks took home the Larry O’Brien trophy.
8 – Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks had a solid offseason, bringing in Lou Dort and Aaron Wiggins from the Thunder to help on defence and improve their outside shooting. They also got rid of former number one overall pick Zaccharie Risacher, who never really blossomed into what the team had hoped for over his tenure there. The team still has both C.J. McCollum and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, two players who enjoyed standout seasons last year, with the latter bringing home the Most Improved Player of the Year award.
This team finally escaped the dreaded playoff seeding by the end of last season, even taking the eventual champion Knicks to six games, their longest playoff series. However, Atlanta still fell in the first round and felt like the mid-tier team they have been for what feels like the past six years.
Adding Dort and Wiggins helps their overall depth, but I can’t see this team winning more than 47 games in such a tightly packed conference this year.
7 – Miami Heat
Bringing in Giannis Antetokounmpo was the biggest win of the season for the Heat, yet they still don’t feel like a team with the pieces around him to compete for a title just yet. Bam Adebayo is a great Robin to the Greek Freak, but the rest of their roster leaves a bit to be desired. The team signed Klay Thompson and Tim Hardaway Jr. to help fill some holes on the three-point shooting front, but holding on to first-time All-Star Norman Powell would have provided more value and a more dynamic scoring threat. Thompson and Hardaway are both past their primes, not really being the shooters or defenders they used to be. Nick Richards is a decent backup big man option but overall, this team can’t rank much higher than this after losing Tyler Herro and Jamei Jaquez Jr. to the Bucks.
6 – Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland lost some key pieces this offseason, including Dean Wade, Max Strus, Dennis Schröder and Keon Ellis. All four players played a key part in their success last season in making the conference finals for the first time since LeBron’s second stint. The team got swept by the Knicks, and their weaknesses showed on the defensive end numerous times, with players like Jarrett Allen and Donovan Mitchell getting hunted in some matchups. The team added Peyton Watson, a nice addition to the wing after seasons in Denver, where he proved he could score at a semi-consistent rate. Watson will fit nicely with the Cavs alongside James Harden and Mitchell, but it’s going to be interesting to see if he will ever become a reliable enough three-point shooter in today’s game.
The team also acquired Mario Hezonja (yes, you read that right) after years overseas. The Croatian fell out of the league after his game didn’t fully translate as a young player but more recently rejuvenated himself enough to get a call back from the league.
5 – Toronto Raptors
The Kawhi Leonard trade saga has seemingly come to an end; however, I won’t believe it until I see him at training camp or at Raptors media day. As it stands, the two-time Finals M.V.P. is a Raptor, and if history repeats itself, he is in for one of the best seasons of his career.
Leonard is coming off a healthy, productive year with the Clippers, silencing critics who believed his career was slowly ending. On the flip side, if he does go back to his injury-riddled ways, this season could be similar to those of the early 2020’s for Toronto, with one of the league’s worst offences.
The team around Leonard is still very steady, with Scottie Barnes and R.J. Barrett also enjoying some great seasons last year, especially Barnes, who excelled in the playoffs against Cleveland.
Overall, this team will be counting on Leonard to carry them deep into the playoffs. If he can stay healthy, Toronto’s ceiling is almost limitless.
4 – Boston Celtics
The elephant in the room is the ridiculous Jaylen Brown trade that sent him to the 76ers in return for Paul George. It was an out-of-character trade for the Celtics front office that has been fleecing other teams for over a decade, but it isn’t all bleak. The team still has Jayson Tatum, a top five player in the league at his best, and a supporting cast that has proven year after year that they have no problem stepping up when it matters most.
Paul George comes to the team with little to no expectation: just play defence and shoot threes, which is something the 36-year-old still does quite well. After all, it was George who torched the Celtics and helped his former 76ers come back from down 3-1 to beat the C’s in shocking fashion. If George can just hit his open shots, create when Tatum needs help and play sound defence, Head Coach Joe Mazzulla can make things work no problem.
The team also acquired newly crowned NBA champion Mitchell Robinson after a nice season with the Knicks, giving them a dangerous front court duo in him and recently re-signed Neemias Queta.
If all goes to plan and Derrick White can put his shooting slump behind him, don’t be shocked if Boston surprises the East this year.
3 – Detroit Pistons
Depending on how the Jalen Duren situation ends up, the Pistons are still a good basketball team. Last season, this team cruised through the regular season to finish with 60 wins. The playoffs were a different story as they fell to the Cavaliers, but as of now, this team still ranks high because of their elite defence and Cade Cunningham at the helm.
While they lost some important pieces of their culture, like Caris LeVert, Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart, they acquired some valuable assets like John Collins, Isaiah Joe, Gary Harris and Taurean Prince.
The Pistons will have no problem going through the regular season; it will all come down to the playoffs to see if they really have what it takes.
2 – Philadelphia 76ers
If you’re looking at it on paper, the 76ers have the best team in the entire NBA. Both LeBron James and Jaylen Brown are now in the City of Brotherly Love, joining Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe on a superteam that cements the “trust the process” era in Philly.
This is, without a doubt, the best team Embiid has played with in his time with the Sixers, which puts a ton of pressure on the Cameroonian to win now or forever face the wrath of NBA social media.
The team’s defence is the only issue here, with not a lot of great defenders on this team, unless a guy like Jaylen Brown comes over and takes a more prominent role on defence.
There’s not much else to say; this team is stacked and if they don’t win now, then Embiid’s career will be remembered in a much different way.
1 – New York Knicks
It’s still weird saying “the Knicks are NBA champions,” but here we are in the parity era of the NBA.
The only major difference for New York this upcoming season is the absence of Robinson, whom they replaced with veteran Andre Drummond to make up for some rebounding. While Drummond isn’t the player Robinson is, this change isn’t the end of the world for a team that is riding the hot streak of a championship.
Like any team coming off a championship, expectations for the Knicks are high, but if they do come up short, they still have the recent title to fall back on.