{"id":2082095,"date":"2026-08-07T09:30:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T06:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2082095"},"modified":"2026-08-07T09:30:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T06:30:26","slug":"2026-nba-offseason-rankings-heat-76ers-thunder-in-the-top-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2082095","title":{"rendered":"2026 NBA offseason rankings: Heat, 76ers, Thunder in the top 10"},"content":{"rendered":"
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We\u2019ve gotten to what Kid Twist called \u201cthe quill\u201d in the great film \u201cThe Sting\u201d: the best of the best. The teams that had the NBA\u2019s 10 best offseasons this spring and summer.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t mean each of the 10 will compete for a title next season. It means they all took major strides in improving their teams in significant ways, whether through the draft, trades, free agency or a combination of those. I think we can all agree, for example, that the Philadelphia 76ers look a little different and have a higher ceiling now than they did walking off their home court at Xfinity Mobile Arena on May 10 after getting poleaxed by the New York Knicks by 30 in the final game of a four-game, second-round sweep.<\/p>\n

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But the top 10 doesn\u2019t just feature contending teams; it also showcases teams that have set themselves up to make bigger moves in the next year or two by clearing their books of problematic players and\/or contracts.<\/p>\n

To reiterate: This is a ranking of every team\u2019s offseason<\/em>. It is not a power ranking, as you have come to know that term. Power rankings place every team in order, based on how they\u2019re playing in a given week of the season. This isn\u2019t that. These rankings ask, and try to answer, one question: Is the team better now than it was at the end of its season? If you want to read more about the philosophy and thought process behind what\u2019s below, you can go here<\/a>.<\/del><\/p>\n

So, three sets of rankings: Nos. 30 to 21<\/a>, Nos. 20 to 11<\/a> and Nos. 10 to 1. Here we go.<\/p>\n

Salary numbers, with a couple of exceptions, come from Spotrac<\/a>, which stays on top of this stuff as well as anyone. The website rookiescale.com<\/a> produced an exhaustive list of 2026 two-way and Exhibit 10 post-draft signings this year, from which I have borrowed copiously. Future draft pick details are from both Spotrac and RealGM. Transactions through Aug. 6.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Why Philly will be LeBron’s hardest test<\/div>\n
David Aldridge and Johnny Sweet<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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