by AAA Sports
Thursday, Oct 29, 2026We are a week and a half into the new NBA season and here are our top three contenders from each conference to win the Larry O'Brien Trophy in 2026-2027.
Eastern Conference:
Philadelphia 76ers ~
Philadelphia made some big moves in the offseason. In fact, the Sixers went out and got both Jaylen Brown and LeBron James to bolster their starting five. Now, Philadelphia has Maxey, VJ, Brown, LeBron and Embiid as their lineup. That's as scary as any team has had over the past decade on paper. We will all have to just wait and see if the 76ers can live up to the hype. But, with a solid bench as well, Philadelphia is our pick to win the conference, both in the regular season and in the postseason this season.
Our Expectation is a 59-23 record -- a one seed for Philadelphia
Cleveland Cavaliers ~
Cleveland should be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference again this week. Donovan Mitchell and James Harden return as the two guards in the back court, with a new addition of Payton Watson to bolster the defense. The front-court also has both Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen grabbing the majority of the rebounds for the team. Cleveland could definitely jump back into control of the conference with the one seed. But, we're anticipating the Cavs to finish second in the stacked East.
Our Expectation is a 57-25 record -- a two seed for Cleveland.
New York Knicks ~
There's a lot of teams that could also be on this list including teams like Boston, Detroit (last year's one seed) and Toronto with the addition of Kawhi Leonard. But, it's too difficult to have a list of top teams and not include the defending NBA Champions. The Knicks didn't lose any of their starters (Brunson, Hart, Bridges, OG, Towns) and have pretty much the same bench as well. There's no doubt that they should be a threat again this year if everyone stays healthy.
Our Expectation is a 56-26 record -- a three seed for New York.
Western Conference:
San Antonio Spurs ~
In the Western Conference, everyone has to go through San Antonio this year. Before the injuries to Oklahoma City, we would've had these two teams neck and neck as the top teams in the conference. Now, we think that the Spurs are definitely the team with the most amount of skill all-around, leading us to believe that they will win the one-seed this season. The starting lineup includes Fox, Harper, Castle, Vassell and Wemby. This team is only getting better and improving as they get more experienced.
Our Expectation is a 64-18 record -- a one seed for San Antonio.
Houston Rockets ~
Houston definitely remains in the mix in the Western Conference, especially with Fred VanVleet returning after missing all of last season. The Rockets were able to win 52 games last season without a 'real' point guard. They should be much more comfortable offensively this season with that not being the case. Houston is one of the teams that is running under the radar and could shock some people here in 2026-2027. Don't underestimate the Rockets at all.
Our Expectation is a 59-23 record -- a two seed for Houston.
Oklahoma City Thunder ~
Like we said in the San Antonio preview, we had high hopes for Oklahoma City entering the season. The year is just a few games in, and the Thunder have suffered not one, but two costly injuries. Both Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace are going to miss significant time, with both possibly looking at missing the whole campaign. Ajay Mitchell and Alex Caruso are likely to step up and play big roles alongside Shai, Chet and Hartenstein. We also see OKC making some moves with their picks and loading up again for the rest of the season. The Thunder will remain a top team.
Our Expectation is a 58-24 record -- a three seed for OKC.
