The most improved club 2025/2026?

[penggemar]

Barring injuries, which club do you think has improved the most?

[pepe1991]

Raptors?

Bar is so low. 30-52 and got Ingram. And even "upper tear " teams from East is nothing more than 48-wins-max-battle-royal.

Ofc some teams will win more than 48 games.

[UcanUwill]

Magic could be up there. Blazers I have some high hopes for, tho I am nor sure about Yang Han Sen being good.

[UcanUwill]

Personally, I still not buying Hawks hype, Chris Vernon called the contenders yesterday. Kristaps is good and all, but he is hurt all the time,

[Chuck Everett]

Record-wise (improvement W-L), it should be Atlanta or Orlando and if it isn't for either of them, then the season went awry. Houston and Denver could technically be better next season and still not win 55-57+ games due to the strength of the West.

[BruttoNostra]

Raptors?

Bar is so low. 30-52 and got Ingram.

They of course might win more than 30 by simply not tanking anymore, but I doubt it would be any direct result of empty calories Ingram production.

And even "upper tear " teams from East is nothing more than 48-wins-max-battle-royal.

Ofc some teams will win more than 48 games.

It's the conference with Hornets, Nets, Wizards.
Add in the mix some teams that will start tanking after abysmal start/injured roster, and East again will be very top-heavy next year, with 3-4 teams easily over 48, probably even 53+ wins (Hawks, Magic, Cavs are easy bets for me, then at least one of Knicks or Pistons and maybe one of currently injured squads, if they are lucky in the free agency)

[pepe1991]

Raptors?

Bar is so low. 30-52 and got Ingram.

They of course might win more than 30 by simply not tanking anymore, but I doubt it would be any direct result of empty calories Ingram production.

And even "upper tear " teams from East is nothing more than 48-wins-max-battle-royal.

Ofc some teams will win more than 48 games.

It's the conference with Hornets, Nets, Wizards.
Add in the mix some teams that will start tanking after abysmal start/injured roster, and East again will be very top-heavy next year, with 3-4 teams easily over 48, probably even 53+ wins (Hawks, Magic, Cavs are easy bets for me, then at least one of Knicks or Pistons and maybe one of currently injured squads, if they are lucky in the free agency)

Oh no, i'm not fan of Ingram by any stretch of imagination, but much like it was case with Towns, player who isn't even top 15 on West, by default becomes top 10 player on East ( or somewhere around that spot ) and it elevates team, as East is simply much easier to overcome than West (and way less talented ).

I have hard time predicting Raptors win total below 45. So from gates it's +15 from last year.

Last year i thought Hornets will look bit better, got burned, now i don't have guts to pick them again.

76ers are too risky pick due obvious reasons. There hasn't been any Embiid update in a while. If he is somewhat healthy, they are easiest bet.


+15 wins on Hawks & Magic would put them at 56 & 55 wins rate. But both of them are so damn terrible against good teams ( 12-25 Magic, 12-30 Hawks vs +.500 teams, similar was year prior as well ), to me that's automatic no. In order to win 55-56 games you have to beat top of the west and be very dominant on East. I don't see neither teams being THAT good. If Celtics/Pacers are healthy, neither team would be considered "contender". Now they are "contenders" by committee, somebody has to win East. And people don't trust Cavs (for a good reasons ).

[iggymcfrack]

Voted other. Magic are easy to forget because their big move didn’t happen right now, but between Bane, a healthy Suggs, and internal improvement, especially from Paolo, they should be much better next year. I’d say they’ll probably go from a 7 seed to a 2 seed.

[Sealab2024]

Raptors?

Bar is so low. 30-52 and got Ingram.

They of course might win more than 30 by simply not tanking anymore, but I doubt it would be any direct result of empty calories Ingram production.

And even "upper tear " teams from East is nothing more than 48-wins-max-battle-royal.

Ofc some teams will win more than 48 games.

It's the conference with Hornets, Nets, Wizards.
Add in the mix some teams that will start tanking after abysmal start/injured roster, and East again will be very top-heavy next year, with 3-4 teams easily over 48, probably even 53+ wins (Hawks, Magic, Cavs are easy bets for me, then at least one of Knicks or Pistons and maybe one of currently injured squads, if they are lucky in the free agency)

Oh no, i'm not fan of Ingram by any stretch of imagination, but much like it was case with Towns, player who isn't even top 15 on West, by default becomes top 10 player on East ( or somewhere around that spot ) and it elevates team, as East is simply much easier to overcome than West (and way less talented ).

I have hard time predicting Raptors win total below 45. So from gates it's +15 from last year.

Last year i thought Hornets will look bit better, got burned, now i don't have guts to pick them again.

76ers are too risky pick due obvious reasons. There hasn't been any Embiid update in a while. If he is somewhat healthy, they are easiest bet.


+15 wins on Hawks & Magic would put them at 56 & 55 wins rate. But both of them are so damn terrible against good teams ( 12-25 Magic, 12-30 Hawks vs +.500 teams, similar was year prior as well ), to me that's automatic no. In order to win 55-56 games you have to beat top of the west and be very dominant on East. I don't see neither teams being THAT good. If Celtics/Pacers are healthy, neither team would be considered "contender". Now they are "contenders" by committee, somebody has to win East. And people don't trust Cavs (for a good reasons ).

My guess is Embiid is done. There was a point they were talking about re breaking bones in order to fix bones. In medical terms that's a quality of life going forward procedure not a "I'm gonna go back to being a freak athlete" procedure. That they were even considering it tells me his days as a high end athlete are over. My gut tells me his ceiling is Brook Lopez going forward.

[Jon1798]

Pelicans will have the biggest win differential from last year. Of course they weren’t a 20 win team last year either.

[jkvonny]

Magic, Hawks, Pelicans.

Maybe Trailblazers.

Hornets and Wiz could jump their win totals from last season, but probably not enough for most improved team.
I can't figure out Philly. May lose more or win more. Embiid needs to stay healthy.

[Ritzo]

The Spurs have just gotten prime Luke Kornet. They went from missing the playoffs last season to title favorites, instantly.

[JRoy]

If ORL is healthy they could be very good this year. Major upgrade at guard.

[DLoMor]

Why are the Nuggets in the poll? What did they do other than trading MPJ for Johnson?

[rand]

Orlando is my pick thus far.

Improvement can be expected from Wagner and Banchero.

Upgraded from KCP to Bane at SG. KCP has been solid at other stops but was trash as a Magic. Bane is a borderline All-Star and should fit right in.

Suggs returns from injury and along with the addition of Tyus Jones and developmental improvement from Anthony Black will give them enormously improved guard depth.

Magic should be a 50+ win team and finally get out of the first round. These would be big steps forward and would set them up as contenders in 2027. There's also a chance they exceed these expectations this season. ECF is not out of the question, especially with Boston down.

[jkvonny]

Why are the Nuggets in the poll? What did they do other than trading MPJ for Johnson?

True, and they won 50 games last season.
Are folks thinking they'll win 60 games next season under a new coach? I don't see it.

They're in the same division (Northwest) as OKC and Minnesota, too. Tuff division.
Portland could improve. Same for Utah.

[Deathray]

Why are the Nuggets in the poll? What did they do other than trading MPJ for Johnson?

They improved Kroenke's bank account.

[BigGargamel]

Why are the Nuggets in the poll? What did they do other than trading MPJ for Johnson?

True, and they won 50 games last season.
Are folks thinking they'll win 60 games next season under a new coach? I don't see it.

They're in the same division (Northwest) as OKC and Minnesota, too. Tuff conference.
Portland could improve. Same for Utah.

Denver won 50 games but honestly, they were not right all year. From the start of the year, they struggled to win almost every game they played. This trade, plus adding Bruce Brown, plus adding maybe an Al Horford, will improve the team. Even if they only win 3 to 5 more games, they can still be a different team.

I probably wouldn't put them in this poll, but they'll definitely be improved.

[NZB2323]

I voted other for the Chicago Bulls. With Cash Considerations, I think we’re going to win the whole thing; we’re going to win the play-in tournament. Not just 1 game, but 2! We’ll be play-in tournament champions.

[BigGargamel]

As for teams that I think could improve the most record wise, I would go with Orlando, Atlanta and Toronto. The East is so wide open right now, those three teams made moves and improved depth (counting the Brandon Ingram move here for the Raptors). Especially Orlando, no excuses for that team anymore. Addressed shooting woes with Bane and Jones. The only thing that worries me about them is their head coach. I don't think Mosely is any good.