2026-27 NBA season: Under-the-radar concerns for title contenders
The NBA preseason is still more than seven weeks away, but it's never too early to examine underreported issues that could derail the league's top title contenders.
The New York Knicks ran through the East playoffs on their way to their first championship in 53 years, but what's their biggest hole heading into next season? Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs made the Finals ahead of schedule, but what could stop them from making a return trip in 2027? And what will the Oklahoma City Thunder need to overcome to claim the franchise's second title in three seasons?
Our ESPN insiders broke down these questions and others, revealing the biggest under-the-radar concerns for the 10 teams with the best chances of winning the 2026-27 NBA championship.
Odds provided by DraftKings
at time of publication.
Jump to a contender:
SAS| OKC | NYK|PHI| BOS
CLE | DEN| DET|MIN | TOR
San Antonio Spurs
NBA championship odds:+270
Coming off its first NBA Finals appearance since 2014, San Antonio smartly added around the edges in free agency, bringing aboard Tobias Harris with a two-year deal worth $31 million in addition to re-signing Julian Champagnie to a three-year, $45 million contract. But Harris and Champagnie play the same position, which naturally leads to questions about how coach Mitch Johnson might deploy lineups next season.
A similar situation exists in the backcourt with veteran De'Aaron Fox and rising second-year man Dylan Harper.
Harris, 33, averaged 13.3 points last season, shooting 46.9% from the field and 36.8% from 3, and produced eight postseason outings for Detroit with 20 points or more. Champagnie, meanwhile, averaged 11.1 points per game last season with two 20-point performances in the playoffs. Champagnie started 68 games in the regular season and all 23 of San Antonio's postseason contests. Harris started 63 regular-season games for the Pistons last season and 14 playoff outings.
Given that Harris is an experienced, versatile veteran, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him get the nod in the starting lineup over Champagnie.
Fox and Harper's situation is a little more settled despite speculation to the contrary. Despite his struggles in the NBA Finals, Fox is expected to start opposite Stephon Castle in the backcourt with Harper coming off the bench. After Fox's up-and-down performances during the NBA Finals, the team remains committed to the veteran, who has gained more chemistry over the summer working with Victor Wembanyama. The two didn't spend much time together last season due to Fox suffering a hamstring injury in early July.
Harper, meanwhile, is fine with his expected role as a reserve despite a brilliant postseason in which he averaged 14.1 points, 2.7 assists and a steal per game. --Michael C. Wright
Oklahoma City Thunder
NBA championship odds:+270
Their slightly eroded depth could cause concern. The Thunder won 57, 68 and 64 games the previous three seasons in part because the back end of their roster was loaded with legit rotation players. Isaiah Joe helped them on several nights with his microwave 3-point shooting and smart team defense. Aaron Wiggins had 11 games of 25 or more points, occasionally serving as a replacement primary scorer when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or others missed time. Lu Dort was the perimeter grinder for a defensive juggernaut.
This summer, to significantly reduce a sky-high tax bill, all three were traded and replaced with younger options on cheaper contracts, which at minimum will lower the Thunder's regular-season ceiling. In the playoffs, Oklahoma City will need a healthy Jalen Williams operating like the All-NBA wing from two years ago. Last season, he missed 49 regular-season games and 10 playoff games because of wrist surgery and four separate hamstring strains. NBA teams generally can't survive without their second-best player, and the Thunder didn't against the Spurs in the Western Conference finals. --Anthony Slater
New York Knicks
NBA championship odds:+900
The Knicks didn't exactly sneak up on anyone last season, but their surprising romp through the playoffs took everyone by shock because of the up-and-down nature of their regular season. That said, can they handle playing 82 playoff games? Because that's what it's like being the champions. Will the issue of Karl-Anthony Towns' contract extension be settled before training camp, or will it linger as the contenders in the East start to line up?
Losing Mitchell Robinson in free agency will rear its head on defense at some point, considering the unit's top-five status last season, but regression was expected. Bringing in fresh blood for a veteran team to get through the regular season could be objective No. 1 for Mike Brown and his staff. --Vincent Goodwill
Philadelphia 76ers
NBA championship odds:+900
The Sixers won the LeBron sweepstakes. Now they have to figure out how to get perhaps the best starting five in the league to share one ball and develop championship chemistry. Coach Nick Nurse has his work cut out for him.
While James seems to be a perfect fit because of his elite playmaking skills, every Sixer will need time to iron out the details. Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown will have to adjust to playing off ball, and Rich Paul, Klutch Sports Group CEO and James' agent, suggested that maybe Nurse will take a page out of Ty Lue's playbook and use Maxey as the screener in pick-and-rolls with James.
Joel Embiid could also be looking at fewer touches than he is used to with Brown at his side. And VJ Edgecombe will have to make the most of his touches and get out and run as much as possible in his second season.
Sacrifice and patience will be vital for the Sixers.
"Any given night, anyone can be the guy," Mike Gansey, Sixers president of basketball operations, told ESPN's Kevin Negandhi. "So I think sacrifice will be big for us. But Joel is arguably the best and most talented big I've ever been around. So he's going to be a huge piece to our success. We have LeBron and Jaylen, but Joel's going to be as important as those guys.
"LeBron's had a lot of usage his whole career, but last year [with] the Lakers with Luka [Doncic] out, he was the guy. Jaylen last year with [Jayson] Tatum out, he was the guy. VJ and Tyrese did a lot outside of when Joel plays or doesn't play. So, everyone's been used to that for their career, but I think getting them all together, in camp, in practice, they're all going to benefit from each other."
How long could it take the Sixers to mesh? It very well could take much of the season. All the while, the Sixers will have to maintain Embiid's health and James' 41-year-old body for the playoffs. There surely will be bumps on the road. The Sixers will have to stay together when adversity hits and keep an eye on the big picture.-- Ohm Youngmisuk
Boston Celtics
NBA championship odds:+1300
The Celtics need to find a way to replace Brown's 28.7 points per game. Although Brown averaged a career high in points with Tatum out for much of last regular season, he also still averaged at least 22.2 points per game over the past six seasons. Tatum is expected to be healthy and will certainly pick up the scoring load again.
But who will be the offensive threat that Brown was alongside Tatum? Paul Georgeaveraged more than 20 points per game in 2023-24 with the Clippers, but he hasn't played more than 41 games in either of the past two seasons. Payton Pritchard could be the biggest winner of the Brown trade for the Celtics. Can he continue his offensive progression and become a 20-point-per-game scorer? Derrick White also could see an uptick in scoring. And perhaps Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez and Jordan Walsh will take advantage of the void left by Brown.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla is one of the brightest minds in the game and certainly will be looking forward to the challenge of keeping the Celtics in contention in the East. But trading Brown was an unpopular decision with Celtics fans, and the noise will only get louder if Boston struggles to fill the void left behind by its former Finals MVP. --Youngmisuk
Cleveland Cavaliers
NBA championship odds:+2500
James Harden and Donovan Mitchell are two of the most durable backcourt players in the league. Harden has played 70 games in three straight seasons, and Mitchell has reached 70 in each of the past two seasons, which gives the Cavs the luxury of knowing they'll have an elite guard, or two, on the floor almost every night for most of the season.
But if the Cavs are going to run into major trouble this season in an Eastern Conference that is expected to be even better, it could be because Harden or Mitchell has to miss extended time. The Cavs' depth has already taken some hits in recent years, and Dennis Schroder, who is entering his 14th season, was their only primary backup ballhandler during the postseason. Cleveland ran into some trouble during the playoffs just trying to give Harden and Mitchell a breather on the bench, and they were each overburdened at times trying to orchestrate the offense.
The Cavs might have more pressing concerns -- the small forward position, depth, Harden's playoff woes and wondering how much of Evan Mobley's potential will be real or just tantalizing -- but their lack of backcourt depth could be a sneaky undoing if Schroder is not up to the task of sharing the workload. --Jamal Collier
Denver Nuggets
NBA championship odds:+2500
The Nuggets ranked No. 1 in offensive efficiency last season but were comparatively woeful on the defensive end. Some of the drop-off can be linked to Denver's two stars in Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, whose shared offensive brilliance will always outshine their defensive capabilities. Some of the drop-off can be blamed on how much time the Nuggets' more talented defenders were sidelined because of injuries --Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Peyton Watson combined to miss 112 games.
Improving the defense is a must in order to contend; that's obvious. What is murkier is how much contending will be needed to keep Jokic on the roster. Jokic is eligible to sign a five-year, $359.5 million contract with Denver when he reaches free agency in the summer of 2027.
"My idea and desire is to stay in Denver. I'll probably sign next year," Jokic told reporters in Serbian following a FIBA World Cup qualifying game in July.
Still, three new champions have been crowned since Jokic, a three-time league MVP, lifted the Nuggets to the first title in team history and won NBA Finals MVP for his incredible showing against the Miami Heat(30.2 points on 58.3% shooting, including 42.1% from 3, 14.0 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.4 blocks per game over five games).
Since then, Jokic has been nearly dominant in the postseason -- averaging 27.1 points on 50.2% shooting (30% from 3), 13.1 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 1.6 steals over 32 games in the past three playoffs -- but Denver hasn't advanced past the second round and didn't even play into May this spring after losing to Minnesota in the first round. The pressure to improve or else could be tough for the organization -- from the front office and coaching staff down to the players -- to navigate. --Dave McMenamin
Detroit Pistons
NBA championship odds:+2500
The Pistons' offense is going to be something to watch closely all season, especially when Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson share the floor together, as teams exploited them both during the playoffs. But flying under the radar for the Pistons will be the departure of two key, long-standing role players -- Isaiah Stewart and Tobias Harris. Stewart was a force protecting the rim for Detroit, and as the team's enforcer, he gave it an identity that matched the Bad Boys teams of old.
Harris had been Detroit's steady veteran presence the past two seasons and was consistent in both the regular season and playoffs as his younger teammates often rode waves of inconsistency. The Pistons still have their stars and core players in place, but their identity will be slightly altered without two of their most important role players. --Collier
Minnesota Timberwolves
NBA championship odds:+2500
In back-to-back years, 2024 and 2025, the Wolves' season ended in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals -- seven wins short of the first championship in franchise history. This spring they were bounced out of the second round by the Spurs and secured only six of the 16 wins that it takes to win it all.
Rather than a minor tweak or two, Minnesota president of basketball operations Tim Connelly opted for wholesale changes. Starting at the trade deadline, the Wolves sentRob Dillingham, Leonard Miller and four second-round picks to the Chicago Bulls to pick up Ayo Dosunmu. They continued with one of the most shocking acquisitions of the offseason by landing LaMelo Ball from the Charlotte Hornets in a four-team deal that meant parting with core playersJulius Randle and Naz Reid.Minnesota's makeover was dramatic.
The obvious concern is how Ball and Anthony Edwards-- the No. 3 and No. 1 picks in the 2020 draft, respectively -- mesh. Thousands and thousands of article words will be written about it, and countless podcast hours will be devoted to it. They could ignite one another. They could combust.
The less obvious concern is how patient the remaining core from those West finalist teams -- Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Rudy Gobert and coach Chris Finch -- will be with the new direction, knowing the team was dismantled in order to pivot toward it. How comfortable will the 25-year-old Edwards, who has already achieved so much in his relatively short time in the league, be if the Wolves have to take a step back before they can leap forward? Especially when he sees 22-year-old Victor Wembanyama suddenly jumping him in line for a Finals run. --McMenamin
Toronto Raptors
NBA championship odds:+2500
Obviously, the Raptors' biggest concern is whether their trade for Kawhi Leonard will be scuttled by the NBA's ongoing investigation into the LA Clippers for alleged salary cap circumvention. But even if the trade goes through as planned, Toronto must be prepared to welcome back a player who is at a different stage of his career than he was when he led the Raptors to the 2019 championship as Finals MVP.
Leonard, 35, earned All-NBA second-team honors with the Clippers last season, but it's been quite a while since he was able to take over in the playoffs. Leonard appeared in a total of 17 playoff wins during his seven-year run with the Clippers, and he hasn't advanced in the postseason since 2021. In fact, the past half-decade represents the longest stretch of Leonard's career without any high-stakes games.
After averaging 30.5 points per game and posting a 32.2 usage rate during the 2019 playoffs, Leonard's numbers dropped to 25 points per game on a 26.9 usage rate during a 2025 first-round series loss to the Nuggets -- his most recent playoff appearance. While he was still an efficient scorer, his ability to dictate the action against Denver fluctuated and he was a nonfactor in a Game 7 blowout loss. To beat the odds and win the 2027 championship, Toronto must prepare to lean more heavily on Leonard's supporting cast in the playoffs. The Raptors' ideal scenario?Scottie Barnes steps forward as the playoff backbone, enabling Leonard to score in volume without feeling the burden of carrying the team on his back. --Ben Golliver
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