NBA Opening Night time is about three months away, however it’s by no means too early to begin looking forward to subsequent season.
Some groups are getting into a vital yr. The league’s panorama is consistently altering, and which means groups have shorter leashes than ever earlier than. Listed here are the three NBA groups underneath essentially the most stress subsequent season.
3. Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers would be the oldest group within the NBA subsequent season, with a median age of 31 years outdated. They’ve the possibility to deploy a lineup of Chris Paul, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Nic Batum, and Brook Lopez. The typical age of these 5? 37 years outdated. If the unction was a basketball group, LA can be its representatives.
Jokes apart, the Clippers have assembled a contender. They haven’t been shy about making win-now strikes, whereas sustaining future flexibility. They added John Collins, and Bradley Beal as effectively to offer them extra offensive firepower. The hope is to get a totally wholesome season from Leonard, who has had a wholesome summer season to this point.
If LA can’t go far within the playoffs, then this doubtless means the top of this iteration of the group. Harden has a participant possibility subsequent summer season and needs to win a championship. Leonard has two years left on his deal, and Beal additionally signed a two-year deal.
The clock is ticking on this Clippers group, as they haven’t gained a playoff collection since 2021. This group is outdated. If it doesn’t occur this yr, then it gained’t occur when guys get a yr older. With stacked free agent lessons on the horizon in 2026 and 2027, LA might blow up the junction if they will’t get off the walker subsequent season.
2. Philadelphia 76ers
Simply final summer season, the Sixers seemed harmful. A wholesome Joel Embiid returning. Signing a max All-Star in Paul George. The ascension of Tyrese Maxey. Philly seemed like a contender. Now? The town of Brotherly Love is the land of “what if”.
Embiid has performed 58 video games within the final two seasons and is coming off one other knee surgical procedure. He has no timetable for his return. George battled a litany of harm points final season and simply suffered a knee harm in a summer season exercise that required surgical procedure. The yr hasn’t even began, and Philly is already not wholesome. How for much longer are they prepared to cope with this?
The Sixers are coming off a misplaced season that featured 58 losses. They’ve two injury-prone stars taking on greater than $100 million on their cap sheet for the subsequent three seasons. That is the yr to go for it within the East. However will Philly even be wholesome sufficient to do it? If not, we might lastly see the Sixers put an finish to the Course of.
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
Three years in the past, it felt just like the Cavs had on a regular basis on the earth. Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen had been coming off their first All-Star appearances, Evan Mobley seemed like a rising star, and so they had simply acquired Donovan Mitchell to jumpstart the highway to competition.
Coming into the 2025-26 season, Cleveland remains to be simply as gifted, however the stress has by no means been increased. The Cavs have gained two playoff collection since buying Mitchell, together with flaming out in 5 video games to the Pacers this previous season.
That failure towards Indiana got here after successful 64 video games and main wire-to-wire within the Jap Convention. Cleveland is within the dreaded second apron, which suggests the clock is ticking. The East is as weak because it’s ever been. Boston is down and out for the rely with out Tatum.
So is Indiana with out Haliburton. The Cavs are one of the best group within the convention, and never making it deep subsequent yr will imply wholesale modifications like Mitchell probably requesting a commerce and transferring on from Garland and Allen. If I needed to decide the one group underneath essentially the most stress subsequent season, it will be the Cleveland Cavaliers.
