9 NBA teams that can actually win the 2027 championship, ranked

The NBA’s parity era lived to see another year in 2026 when the New York Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs for the championship. The Knicks’ triumph marked the ninth straight year the NBA has had a different champion, and it’s not just a no repeat streak. It’s true that no team has won back-to-back championships since Kevin Durant’s Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018, but it’s even more remarkable that no franchise has multiple titles over the current nine-year stretch of unique champions. Will both runs continue as the league enters the 2026-2027 season?

It’s easy to feel resigned that one of the top teams is destined to win the 2027 championship, but that simply isn’t the way it’s worked out in recent years. I only had the Knicks at No. 5 when I wrote up the list of teams that could win the championship last year, and the Spurs were nowhere to be found. There could be more surprises in store this season as salary cap casualties and the risk of injury from a physicality demanding style of play continue to hang over the league.

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I see nine teams that can actually win the championship entering this new season. Let’s rank them by their chances of winning it all.

9. Boston Celtics

I’m higher on Boston as a regular season team than a playoff team. The Celtics have an ingrained identity under Joe Mazzulla that has produced an average of 59.5 wins per season during his four years as head coach, an astounding number. Boston is widely expected to take a step back after the Jaylen Brown trade this year, but I’m not so sure. They will be getting a full year of Jayson Tatum this season, and they’re also adding Paul George and Mitchell Robinson to the roster. I think Payton Pritchard and Derrick White could be better without Brown hogging the ball, and I wouldn’t be surprised if young players like Hugo Gonzalez and Baylor Scheierman can show improvement from last year. It’s possible Boston will miss Brown during the playoffs, but they also lost in the first round last season with him as their best player. The biggest concern for the Celtics to me is if Tatum can still be a First-Team All-NBA caliber player after an Achilles tear. I also still don’t really trust the Neemias Queta and Robinson center pairing to stay healthy and effective throughout a playoff run. Ultimately, Boston is really good every year, and I don’t expect that to change. If they catch a couple lucky breaks during their playoff run, I still think this team has some title equity.

8. Houston Rockets

The Rockets’ season ended in disappointing fashion last year with a first-round playoff loss to a Lakers team that was missing Luka Doncic. I think Houston can be better this year because of the return of Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams from injury, plus internal development from their talented young core. VanVleet’s preseason ACL tear was devastating for a team that lacked reliable ball handlers behind him, and Adams’ ensuing season-ending ankle injury was almost as bad because it took away Houston’s greatest strength (offensive rebounding). VanVleet and Adams should be ready for opening night, giving the Rockets two veterans that help solidify their identity and take some pressure off the young guns. Houston’s ceiling will be determined by if Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, Jabari Smith Jr., and Tari Eason have another leap in them, and I think that’s totally possible. Sengun is good for 20 points per game every season at this point, and as he enters his age-24 campaign, I could see him as either a three-point shooter or free throw magnet. Thompson just feels too athletic to fail even if the jump shot never really improves, and it’s possible he turns into an even better mid-range scorer. Sheppard can go as far as head coach Ime Udoka will allow him to go even with some obvious holes in his game. We haven’t even mentioned Kevin Durant yet, who feels perfectly suited to be a hyper-efficient complementary volume scorer this year. The Rockets will have a very good defense and generate tons of extra possessions. I expect this to be a high floor team that also has a high ceiling if a few things go right.

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7. Los Angeles Lakers

I could make an argument for the Lakers to be as high as fourth on this list, and it’s all because of Luka Doncic. NBA championships are won with S-Tier superstars, and Doncic is very much in that group. We’ve seen him drag a team to the NBA Finals before when he has another high-level offensive creator next to him with a dominant rim protector behind him, and he again has that set up this year in Los Angeles. Austin Reaves is really good and could be primed for an All-Star campaign. I thought the Lakers gave up way too much for Walker Kessler, but there’s no doubt he fills their biggest need as a defensive paint protector. The real question for the Lakers is the forward spots. I like some of the buy-low fliers on this roster with Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams, Adou Thiero, and Chris Manon, and it’s essentially that one or two of them pop this season for this team to actually be championship caliber. The Lakers can also count on having a very good coach who will push all the right buttons in JJ Redick. The path is harrowing in the Western Conference, but the Lakers have the pieces to potentially put together a title run this year, even if it’s a bit of a long-shot.

6. Philadelphia 76ers

The Sixers were crowned offseason champs after trading for Jaylen Brown and signing LeBron James in free agency, but hanging an actual banner will be far more difficult. The Sixers have some obvious questions heading into the year. How healthy can Joel Embiid be without a quality backup center behind him? Can this be a championship-level defense? Is Brown willing to take a step back as a volume scorer and improve as a spot-up shooter? For all of the issues this team could have, the raw talent level is overwhelming if they can stay in one piece. LeBron is one of the great problem solvers in league history, and he could be the connective tissue this team needs at both ends come playoff time. The Sixers will be uniquely suited to attack mismatches in the postseason, especially if Embiid can be on the floor. Head coach Nick Nurse can run some really interesting pick-and-roll combinations, and there’s just no way to account for Brown’s bulldozing drives or Maxey’s elite speed in certain actions. I also sort of like the bench here, with Dean Wade being a perfect glue guy and Anfernee Simons being an overqualified seventh man. If Philly’s stars are willing to sacrifice, there’s a chance they’re a huge pain to deal with come playoff time.

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5. Minnesota Timberwolves

The Wolves have consistently made deep playoff runs with Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert, but their failure to fully break through in the Western Conference led to the franchise making some huge changes this summer. LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga are in, while Julius Randle and Naz Reid are out. This version of Minnesota will be faster and more creative with the ball in their hands, and that should lead to a higher offensive ceiling. The pairing of Edwards and Ball in the backcourt will be must-see TV. Edwards was overtasked as a lead decision-maker, so now he can fully slide to the two next to one of the league’s best passers in Ball. Both players are great pull-up three-point shooters, and that could level the playing field against OKC and San Antonio deep in the playoffs. There’s a lot of pressure on Gobert and Jaden McDaniels to hold together the defense. Kuminga will also need to buy into his role as a defensive stopper and rebounder and give up some of his isolation scoring dreams. The bench, led by Ayo Dosunmu, could be pretty solid, especially if Jaylen Clark and Joan Beringer break out. I like the risks Minnesota took this summer, but it could all come crashing down if Ball keeps getting injured or Gobert starts to decline with age. For now, I’m optimistic on the Wolves, and I’m buying that their new style could add some much needed variance to their playoff performance that could help them get over the hump.

4. Toronto Raptors

The Kawhi Leonard cap circumvention scandal is finally resolved, the Clippers have been crushed, and it clears the way for his return to the Raptors. Leonard was a top-5 player in the league last season with the Clippers, and he should have all the motivation he needs to continue his dominance this year assuming he eventually lands in Toronto. The Raptors badly needed someone to score in the halfcourt against set defenses in the playoffs, and Leonard remains among the best alive in that regard with his unstoppable mid-range scoring. He’ll once again have an elite co-star in Toronto in Scottie Barnes, who played like a mad man in the playoffs last season and could be in line for All-NBA honors if he does it again this year. Barnes is one of the league’s best defenders, and he keeps growing as an offensive player. The Raptors got nothing out of Immanuel Quickley in the playoffs last season, and I feel like he could be another key piece for making a run in the East. Collin Murray-Boyles should be primed for a big leap in year two, while rookie Allen Graves could also be an instant impact player. I really like what’s brewing in Toronto as long as Kawhi is there when it counts.

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3. New York Knicks

The Knicks looked like nothing special in the regular season last year, and it felt like they were on the verge of disaster when the Hawks took a 2-1 series lead over them in the first-round of the playoffs. Everything changed from that point on, with the Knicks unlocking a level of greatness reserved for only the best championship runs in league history. New York crushed everything in its path on the way to the NBA Finals, and then mounted multiple all-time comebacks to win their first championship since 1973. Almost every key piece is back for this year save for Mitchell Robinson (now in Boston), and while the East is again improved, the Knicks are setting the bar everyone else is trying to measure up to. It’s hard to come up with reasons for why New York would fall off this year. Jalen Brunson should have at least one more season at his apex predator level, Karl-Anthony Towns finally found the perfect role and a coach who trusts him, and OG Anunoby is the epitome of a star in his role. I really think the Knicks can go back-to-back if things break the right way again. Nothing about last season’s championship was a fluke. So why are the Knicks at No. 3? I just feel like the two teams ahead of them have more margin for error.

2. San Antonio Spurs

Victor Wembanyama might be the best player in the world entering this season at 22 years old, but the scary thing is how much room he still has to get better offensively. Wemby didn’t really have a mid-range game he could fall back on, and it hurt him late in the playoffs. If he shows any improvement in that area, the Spurs will be an even tougher team to defend when it matters most. I think San Antonio should have a better supporting cast around their franchise player this year. Dylan Harper could take a big leap in year two if he gets enough usage. De’Aaron Fox can’t be any worse in terms of shot-making than he was in the playoffs last year, and some positive regression to the mean there could make a big difference. Tobias Harris was an overlooked addition that could prove valuable. Stephon Castle is still improving as he enters this third season, and hopefully he can cut back on the turnovers and show a little shooting improvement. The thing left unsaid here is that Wembanyama’s defense is good enough to lift San Antonio to title contention by itself as long as the rest of the pieces can fit in around him. If he continues to make strides offensively, the Spurs should be making deep playoff runs for the foreseeable future.

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1. Oklahoma City Thunder

I thought the Thunder looked like a potential dynasty at this time last year. It may have been proven true if the team’s second and third best creators, Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell, didn’t both get hurt at the worst possible time late in the playoffs. Chet Holmgren’s disappearance against Wembanyama in the Western Conference Finals might have been an even bigger issue for OKC, considering they will probably have to go through the Spurs every year. I really thought Holmgren looked like a borderline top-15 most valuable player in the world before his crash out against Wemby, and I want to believe he can overcome the mental hurdles in that matchup. Williams is a different story, and he seems like an even better bet to bounce-back from the hamstring injury that dogged him throughout the second half of last year. Add in Mitchell’s ascension and a bigger role for Cason Wallace, and I still think the Thunder are the team to beat even if I don’t feel as confident about it as I did a year ago. It will be fascinating to see if any of young bench players can take a leap between Nikola Topic, Aday Mara, Thomas Sorber, and Bennett Stirtz. The Thunder really do need some reinforcements after losing Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins, and Lu Dort as cap casualties, but it’s a lot to ask for those aforementioned youngsters to be ready for the fire of playoff basketball. Ultimately, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s impossibly great one-on-one scoring plus an elite defense is enough to give the Thunder the top spot in these rankings. No one will be anointing OKC with a preseason championship this year, but they still have all the pieces to win a second ring.