The road back to the postseason runs through very different neighborhoods this season. Brooklyn needs points. Chicago is handing a new coach a reshaped roster. Indiana gets its engine back. Milwaukee is beginning life after Giannis Antetokounmpo. Across both conferences, 10 teams that missed last spring have enough new health, young talent or roster turnover to make the standings less predictable.
Brooklyn’s first assignment is simple: make the scoreboard move. The Nets finished last in the league at 105.9 points per game, then answered by bringing in Julius Randle, a three-time All-Star, to give the offense an established option. Michael Porter Jr. supplies another reliable scorer, but Brooklyn’s ceiling may be tied to its young guards. After making five first-round selections in 2025, the Nets added No. 6 pick Mikel Brown Jr. this summer. His fit beside Egor Dëmin will be worth tracking from opening night.
Chicago has been out of the playoffs for four years and has changed much more than the roster during that stretch. Tiago Splitter takes over as head coach, while the front office has a fresh lead voice. The Bulls also believe No. 4 overall pick Caleb Wilson can become a central piece after an impressive Summer League showing. Wilson joins Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey in a young core now supported by Norman Powell and Nic Claxton, two additions with established NBA production.
Indiana’s 19-win season came after it had been one victory away from the championship two years earlier, and Tyrese Haliburton’s absence explains much of that swing. He ruptured his Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals and did not play last season. Haliburton has said he is “100 percent” healthy, restoring the pace-and-creation element that defines the Pacers at their best. Pascal Siakam remains in place, and Ivica Zubac gives the club a new interior anchor as Indiana tries to treat last year as the outlier rather than its new level.
Milwaukee’s reset is more sweeping. The Bucks enter a campaign without Antetokounmpo for the first time since 2012-13 after dealing the two-time MVP to Miami. Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakučionis and multiple draft assets came back in the blockbuster, opening a new timeline after Milwaukee missed the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons.
The Bucks used the No. 10 pick on big guard Brayden Burries, who made the All-Summer League first team, then selected Nate Ament at No. 13 with one of the acquired picks. Taylor Jenkins, now on the Milwaukee sideline, has the job of turning a collection of young players, incoming veterans and future assets into an immediate functional rotation.
Washington has also changed its frame quickly. Trae Young and Anthony Davis arrived in trades last winter, though injuries left Young with only five appearances for the Wizards and kept Davis off the floor entirely. Both enter this season healthy, and No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa adds another major talent next to Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George. Washington has not reached 20 wins in any of the past three seasons, but its top-end personnel now looks considerably different from the group that finished those campaigns.
New coaches, returning stars and young cornerstones in the West
New Orleans is coming off 26 wins and has placed its development project in Jamahl Mosley’s hands. Mosley arrives after steering Orlando to three consecutive playoff berths, with a roster that includes 2025 lottery selections Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen following promising rookie seasons. Bennedict Mathurin brings another young scoring option. The larger swing factor remains Zion Williamson, who averaged 21.0 points while appearing in 62 games last season, his second-highest games total as a pro. Availability from Williamson and progression from the young group will shape the Pelicans’ chance to move back into the playoff field.
Dallas hired Dusty May two months after he led Michigan to a national championship, giving the Mavericks a first-year NBA coach but not a newcomer to high-stakes games. He inherits Cooper Flagg, the reigning Rookie of the Year. Flagg became the first rookie since Michael Jordan in 1984-85 to lead his own team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.
Flagg should also have a healthier cast around him. Kyrie Irving missed all of last season after tearing his ACL and is set to share the floor with Flagg for the first time. Dereck Lively II is aiming to return after foot surgery sidelined him for nearly the entire 2025-26 season. The Mavericks’ route back depends on how quickly May can establish his system while integrating those returning pieces.
Memphis is taking a different kind of leap after parting with longtime pillars Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. over the last year. No. 3 selection Cameron Boozer is the face of the next chapter, joining Cedric Coward, a first-team All-Rookie honoree last season, and Zach Edey. Jerami Grant and Isaiah Stewart lead the veteran arrivals. The Grizzlies won 25 games last season, and Boozer’s ability to make an early impact could determine whether this group is merely rebuilding or capable of staying in the postseason conversation.
Sacramento’s 22 victories came with its core scattered across the injury report. Zach LaVine appeared in 39 games, Keegan Murray in 23, and Domantas Sabonis was held to a career-low 19. All three return healthy, and the Kings have added No. 7 pick Darius Acuff Jr. The Arkansas product led the SEC as a freshman with 23.5 points and 6.4 assists per game. Sacramento does not need to reinvent itself as much as it needs its principal players on the court, with Acuff offering a possible additional creator in the backcourt.
Utah may be the least obvious of the 10 teams, but the Jazz already had an offense that ranked ninth at 117.6 points per game. They added No. 2 overall pick Darryn Peterson, one of the draft’s premier scorers, and expect a full contribution from Jaren Jackson Jr. after he played only three games following his midseason arrival from Memphis.
Jackson, a former Defensive Player of the Year, gives Lauri Markkanen an All-Star partner in the frontcourt and addresses a major weakness for a club that finished 29th in defensive rating. Keyonte George is coming off a career-best 23.6 points per game. If Utah can maintain its scoring while getting the necessary stops, its playoff push may carry more weight than the usual preseason long-shot label.
