Power Rankings
Offseason Power Rankings: Knicks lead the way in the East
Get a team-by-team look at where all 15 squads in the Eastern Conference rank after the 2026 offseason.
John Schuhmann Archive | Updated on July 27, 2026 1:18 PM
Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson and the Knicks reigned supreme in the East — and the NBA overall — last season.
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The Eastern Conference has been the lesser conference (with a losing record against the West) in 24 of the last 27 seasons, and the West has also won 17 of the 27 championships over that stretch. But the reigning champs reside in the East, which also had more teams (10) with winning records than the West (nine) last season. The West had the regular-season edge overall, but the East’s winning percentage in interconference games (220-232, .487) was its fourth-best mark over those 27 years. And given the way the offseason has gone, the East may be in position to have its best season since Michael Jordan was still with the Chicago Bulls.
A quick recap, with the offseason movement having slowed down … Jaylen Brown and LeBron James are joining forces with Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid in Philadelphia. The Celtics traded Brown, but they should have a healthy Jayson Tatum for the entire season. The Miami Heat traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Three Thunder rotation players made their way to the Hawks and Pistons, while Julius Randle also came East with nothing of significance going back to Minnesota. Kawhi Leonard is (maybe?) returning to Toronto. Tyrese Haliburton is healthy and set to return to the team that won the East 14 months ago. Trae Young and Anthony Davis will be suiting up for the Wizards, who also added No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa.
Last season’s eight playoff teams should all be good or even better. The Heat lost in the SoFi Play-In Tournament, but were 43-39 and added the conference’s best player. The Hornets retooled, but should remain competitive, and the Pacers should be back in the mix after a gap year. That gives us at least 11 teams looking to make the playoffs, with Washington still a bit of a wildcard. How they all stack up is anybody’s guess, but below is a preliminary guess as we head into August.
Note: For these offseason rankings, we’re looking at each conference separately. We’ll have Western Conference rankings next Monday. All stats refer to the 2025-26 regular season unless otherwise noted. “Last week’s rank” is based on how teams finished in the playoffs, Play-In and regular season.
Previously…
May 18: Playoff Power Rankings: How the 4 conference finalists stack up
This time last year: Offseason Power Rankings: Cavs, Knicks leading the way in East
The archive: NBA.com Power Rankings
OffRtg: Points scored per 100 possessions (League Rank)
DefRtg: Points allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank)
NetRtg: Point differential per 100 possessions (League Rank)
The league averaged 114.8 points scored per 100 possessions and 100.2 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes last season.
NBA.com’s Power Rankings, released every Monday during the season, are just one man’s opinion. If you have an issue with the rankings, or have a question or comment for John Schuhmann, contact him via Bluesky.
#1 New York Knicks
Last Week: 1
2025-26 record: 53-29
OffRtg: 118.7 (4) | DefRtg: 112.3 (7) | NetRtg: +6.4 (5)
Key addition: Andre Drummond
Key departure: Mitchell Robinson
Three numbers to know …
- They were the best fourth-quarter team in the 30 seasons for which we have play-by-play data, outscoring opponents by 11.7 points per 100 possessions in fourth quarters.
- They made 5 corner 3-pointers per game, the most for any team in the 30 seasons of shot-location data. OG Anunoby led all players in total corner 3-pointers in both the regular season (88) and the playoffs (25).
- They were 6-2 in playoff games they trailed by double digits. That was the best such playoff record for any team in the 30 years of play-by-play data, and the NBA Finals were the second best-of-seven series in that time where a team trailed by double digits in all four of its wins. (The other time was the Knicks’ first-round series against Philadelphia in 2024.)
Key question: How much of the title run was sustainable? The Knicks were the only team that scored more efficiently in the 2026 playoffs than in the regular season. The defense was also improved and, statistically, they were the best playoff team in NBA history, outscoring their opponents by 14.9 points per game over their 19 postseason games. They can’t play that well over a full season, but they could surely carry over some level of chemistry and execution to improve upon their third-place finish in the East. Only six of the last 22 champions were better statistically in the regular season following their title than they were the year they won. But maybe Anunoby is an All-Star, having made a huge leap (both literally and figuratively) in the playoffs, when he averaged 20.1 points on a true shooting percentage of 72.1%, up from 16.7 on 62% in the regular season. Robinson will be missed, especially on defense, and there’s now greater importance on Karl-Anthony Towns’ availability, defense and rebounding.
#2 Philadelphia 76ers
Last Week: 4 ↑
2025-26 record: 45-37
OffRtg: 114.3 (16) | DefRtg: 114.4 (17) | NetRtg: -0.1 (18)
Key additions: Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, Anfernee Simons, Dean Wade
Key departures: Andre Drummond, Paul George, Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre Jr.
Three numbers to know …
- The Sixers had the league’s biggest differential between their record against the 11 teams that finished below .500 (27-4) and their record against the 19 teams that finished above .500 (18-33).
- Tyrese Maxey has led the league in miles traveled per game in each of the last three seasons.
- Among 128 players who played at least 100 playoff minutes, the top two in usage rate were Joel Embiid (32.5%) and Jaylen Brown (32.5%).
Key question: Can all this talent create better shots for each other? The Sixers ranked 29th in shot quality last season, and Brown takes some tough shots himself. Among 182 players with at least 500 field goal attempts, Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Brown had the 12th, 15th and 26th lowest shot-quality scores, respectively. An upgrade in talent should lead to better looks for everybody, but the Sixers will need a little more shot discipline and a little more movement than those guys have played with in the past. James is one of the best passers in the league and may be just what they needed to keep them organized. It’s going to be fascinating to see how it works offensively, but the other end of the floor will likely be the bigger concern. Embiid’s presence has usually meant a lot defensively. Still, teams know they can take advantage of him in space, and last season he posted the worst rim-protection mark of his career, with opponents shooting 61.6% at the basket when he was there.
#3 Cleveland Cavaliers
Last Week: 2 ↓
2025-26 record: 52-30
OffRtg: 118.3 (6) | DefRtg: 114.1 (15) | NetRtg: +4.1 (9)
Key addition: Mario Hezonja
Key departure: Dean Wade
Notable free agent: James Harden
Three numbers to know …
- The Cavs outscored their opponents by just 0.4 ppg from 3-point range last season, a differential that ranked 15th and was down from plus-7.3 per game (second) in 2024-25.
- They saw the league’s biggest drop in 3-point percentage, its seventh biggest jump in opponent 3-point percentage, and its fourth biggest jump in the percentage of their opponents’ shots that came from beyond the arc.
- After James Harden’s arrival — and including the playoffs — the Cavs were a little more efficient offensively with only one of Harden and Donovan Mitchell on the floor (116.4 points scored per 100 possessions) than they were with the two on the floor together (115.8 points scored per 100). In the conference finals, the Cavs scored just 100.3 points per 100 possessions, the worst mark for any team in any series in the 2026 playoffs. Harden’s effective field goal percentage of 43.5% was his second-worst mark in the 28 playoff series in which he’s had at least 50 field goal attempts.
Key question: Will continuity matter? In the regular season, the Cavs’ most-used lineup played just 89 total minutes, the fewest for any team’s most-used lineup. They had two lineups play more than that in the playoffs, but this is still a core that could benefit from a full training camp and more time together. There might also be an intangible ingredient missing. There were some quarters or halves where we saw the best the Cavs could be on both ends of the floor, but too often, they didn’t turn up the intensity until they were in a desperate situation. Both in the regular season and the playoffs, they were much better after halftime than they were before it. But double-digit deficits aren’t as easy to overcome as the Knicks made it look in May and June, and the Cavs trailed in 12 of their 18 playoff games by at least 10 points.
#4 Toronto Raptors
Last Week: 6 ↑
2025-26 record: 46-36
OffRtg: 115.0 (15) | DefRtg: 112.1 (5) | NetRtg: +2.9 (11)
Key additions: TBD …
Key departure: Sandro Mamukelashvili
Pending trade: Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and picks for Kawhi Leonard
Three numbers to know …
- The Raptors were the league’s third-most improved team last season, 7 points per 100 possessions better than they were in 2024-25.
- They were one of the league’s four most improved teams regarding their effective field goal percentage, turnover rate, opponent free throw rate and opponent turnover rate.
- They outscored their opponents by 6.4 fast-break points per game, the biggest differential for any team in the last seven seasons. They led the league in the percentage of their 3-point attempts (85%) that were off the catch and in the percentage (63%) that were wide open.
Key question: Can a smaller frontline hold up on the glass? Amazingly, Jakob Poeltl has four years left on his contract. But Collin Murray-Boyles (191) played a lot more minutes than Poeltl (134) in the playoffs, and the Raptors’ best lineup would seemingly have Leonard, Scottie Barnes and Murray-Boyles on the frontline. That’s a strong, switchable group, but those three guys are 6-foot-6, 6-foot-8 and 6-foot-7, respectively. That means rebounding could be an issue for a team that ranked 13th in rebounding percentage in the first round, getting outscored by 28 points (45-17) on second chances over the last two games. Offensively, Leonard should be just what the Raptors need: a player who can close possessions and games so they’re not as dependent on transition opportunities. No team got a greater percentage of their points from fast breaks and only the Pacers shot less effectively in the last six seconds of the shot clock last season. Of course, the task of keeping Leonard healthy and fresh for the postseason will be tougher than it was eight years ago, and the Raptors’ depth took a hit with the departure of Mamukelashvili.
#5 Detroit Pistons
Last Week: 3 ↓
2025-26 record: 60-22
OffRtg: 117.3 (9) | DefRtg: 108.9 (2) | NetRtg: +8.4 (2)
Key additions: John Collins, Isaiah Joe
Key departures: Tobias Harris, Caris LeVert, Isaiah Stewart
Notable free agent: Jalen Duren
Three numbers to know …
- In the regular season, the Pistons had the best record (16-7) in games played between the top 10 teams in the league.
- They outscored their opponents by 14.2 points in the paint per game, the second biggest differential for any team in the 30 seasons for which points in the paint have been tracked.
- And 29.7% of their points, the league’s highest rate, came from fast breaks or second chances. They averaged 3.8 more shot opportunities per game than their opponents, the league’s best differential by a healthy margin. Their 10.4 steals per 100 possessions were the most for any team in the last 20 seasons.
Key question: Is the load any lighter for Cade Cunningham? Getting Joe for two second-round picks was a good deal for the Pistons, who now have two of the three pl