NBA Power Rankings: Where every team stands after LeBron James’ move to 76ers

PHILADELPHIA — That’s right, I’m here in the city of Philadelphia, where I just told the youth that LeBron James isn’t coming here. Whoops.

Before I go to the airport, let me introduce a new endeavor: the jump-ball Power Rankings! We have a tie-up, and we need to go to center court and hand out some quick rankings. No tiers, no seasonings. One thought for 30 teams and we’re out. Drive-thru, no parking.

To say that I am shocked that LeBron James left the Los Angeles Lakers and picked Philadelphia — my hometown — is an understatement. I didn’t think I had any flabbers left to gast. LeBron is playing with Jaylen Brown, the dude who said Bronny wasn’t a pro. He’s playing with Joel Embiid, the guy who told LeBron eight years ago that the Lakers would always be Kobe and Magic’s team.

I guess Embiid was right: “Trust the process.”

Top 5 LeBron Lakers Moments

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Anyway, we’ll do the fully-cooked offseason Power Rankings in a couple of weeks. Let’s just do a quick post-Decision check and ask questions later (for the 2025-26 post-NBA Finals Power Rankings/season finale, see here):

1. New York Knicks: They’re the defending champs and should be unbothered by this news. Knicks fans will probably be happy to see LeBron in their other home arena.

2. San Antonio Spurs: Victor Wembanyama just took a pay cut that will be made up in part by NBA 2K.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder: They just swept James out of the Western Conference semis without Jalen Williams available for any of the series.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers: James Harden and LeBron being on the same team was never happening, so congrats on Harden’s impending extension to stay in Cleveland.

5. Philadelphia 76ers: This is as high as I can get for a team that would celebrate simply reaching the Eastern Conference finals with Embiid for the first time ever, but that’s better than Michael Jordan’s Wizards expectations.

6. Detroit Pistons: Jalen Duren is now the lone All-Star free agent, and I don’t think we’ll be live-blogging that one.

7. Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron is making $8 million over the next two seasons (including a player option) to play on the other side of the country instead of for his most recent former team.

8. Minnesota Timberwolves: They could have really used a power forward after trading Julius Randle and Naz Reid.

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Timberwolves’ LeBron pursuit falls short. Now they move forward with new-look roster

There’s a clear lack of experienced size next to Rudy Gobert, but the Wolves are confident they have what it takes to adjust.

9. Denver Nuggets: Peyton Watson’s restricted free agency is this year’s Jonathan Kuminga situation, except Watson doesn’t have the propaganda coming from his incumbent team and is actually coveted outside of Denver.

10. Toronto Raptors: They’re going to get Kawhi Leonard one way or another.

11. Boston Celtics: James hates the Celtics so much that he joined the team Boston blew a 3-1 lead to, with their 2024 Finals MVP already there.

12. Miami Heat: Teams ought to pack the paint against Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, but the culture should bring in some consolation prizes.

LeBron says no to Heat reunion. What’s next for Miami?

Eric Nehm

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13. Houston Rockets: Kevin Durant is turning 38 and Fred VanVleet is coming back from a torn ACL, but adding Marcus Smart and shooting coach Chip Engelland are sneaky good moves for a team that may have only one year to make something happen before another major move is required.

14. Atlanta Hawks: They have a clear idea of how they want to play on both sides of the ball, with some strong perimeter depth to go with it.

15. Indiana Pacers: This is probably as high as you can go after how bad they were last year and how much time Tyrese Haliburton might need to return to form.

16. Portland Trail Blazers: Just keep the team in the Pacific Northwest.

17. Phoenix Suns: Devin Booker changed his number after not needing to change his head coach for once.

18. Orlando Magic: Still one of the East’s most physically imposing teams, but this is probably the last chance for the Paolo Banchero/Franz Wagner tandem.

19. Charlotte Hornets: There is depth, an emphasis on culture and there are assets here, but who draws a double-team?

20. Golden State Warriors: Please tell me that Draymond Green didn’t turn down more than $27 million for this.

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The reality is, even with James in the fold, this group wasn’t going to be good enough next season to compete for a title.

21. LA Clippers: Any day now, NBA.

22. Utah Jazz: I’m intrigued by this team with a real starting lineup that will actually try to win games past the trade deadline.

23. Dallas Mavericks: All kinds of frontcourt depth to go with Cooper Flagg and a returning Kyrie Irving, but they still lack playmaking and shooting.

24. Washington Wizards: Trae Young and Anthony Davis raise the floor, and AJ Dybantsa can raise the ceiling, but getting this team on the same page will take time.

25. Brooklyn Nets: They might not be good, but there’s too much veteran talent and too much solid coaching for them to be terrible right out of camp.

26. Sacramento Kings: I’m more interested in where two future Hall of Famers who were drafted in the 2000s — former Kings starters DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook — end up than the players left in Sacramento.

27. New Orleans Pelicans: Ja Morant, among others, got traded, so the only first-round picks left from the 2019 NBA Draft still on their original teams are Zion Williamson and San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson — the first and second-to-last selections of the round.

28. Memphis Grizzlies: A team with no established veteran talent means that Cam Boozer has the inside track on Rookie of the Year.

29. Chicago Bulls: They won’t be good but they might have the league’s highest scoring games.

30. Milwaukee Bucks: Gary Trent Jr. is making significantly more than LeBron James over the next two seasons.

NBA Power Rankings: Where every team stands after LeBron James’ move to 76ers

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