Early 2023-24 NBA Power Rankings

The 2023 NBA season kicks off on Tuesday, October 24th, and with that the Denver Nuggets will be looking to defend their title as NBA champions. With numerous teams prepared to take the leap to glory, this year’s NBA power rankings have a multitude of teams that could make or break their championship timelines. With full starting 5s and rosters for each team, and descriptions for the top half of the league (and the Toronto Raptors), here’s TSB’s ’23 NBA power rankings.

2. Boston Celtics (+500)

PG: Jrue Holiday, Dalano Banton, JD Davison
SG: Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Lamar Stevens, Jay Scrubb, DJ Steward
SF: Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, Jordan Walsh, Svi Mykhailiuk
PF: Jayson Tatum, Luke Kornet, Oshae Brissett, Taylor Funk
C: Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Neemias Queta

After acquiring Jrue Holiday from the Trail Blazers, shortly after he was sent to Portland in the Damian Lillard trade, the Boston Celtics suddenly look more threatening than the newly bolstered Bucks with Giannis and Dame.

A clear problem despite a substantially talented roster, will be big depth. Look for the Celtics to try to fill the void left by Robert Williams III as he was sent to Portland with Malcolm Brogdon and two first round picks in the Jrue Holiday deal.

Serious Contenders

There was an unbelievable amount of hype surrounding the Damian Lillard Portland departure saga, mostly coming from Miami Heat, and Toronto Raptors fans. In the end it was Milwaukee who was able to tow Lillard over the line and find him a new home.

Dame provides an interesting new dimension to the Milwaukee Bucks. While he is a top perimeter threat, and an generational three-level scorer, his half-court offensive style and production doesn’t exactly correlate seemlessly to Giannis and the Bucks run and gun, high-tempo, transitional offensive tendencies. That doesn’t mean it will be problematic, but there will almost certainly be a considerable adjustment period.

The Bucks haven’t been to the NBA finals since they won in 2021, it will be interesting to see if Lillard can help them get back over the hump.

5. Los Angeles Lakers (+1200)

PG: D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Scotty Pippen Jr.
SG: Austin Reaves, Cam Reddish, Max Christie
SF: LeBron James, Taurean Prince, Maxwell Lewis, D’Moi Hodge
PF: Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Alex Fudge, Vincent Valerio-Bodon
C: Anthony Davis, Christian Wood, Jaxson Hayes, Colin Castleton

The Los Angeles Lakers spent the offseason retooling their supporting cast and ensuring they have plenty of depth around LeBron James and Anthony Davis in order to make a significant run at the Larry O’Brien this year. The emphasis was clearly on depth, as they added Christian Wood, Gabe Vincent, Cam Reddish, Taurean Prince, Jaxson Hayes, drafted Jalen Hood-Schifino from Indiana, and signed 5 undrafted rookies.

The Lakers caught some strays after the Nuggets won the NBA finals, seemingly playing the villain role in Denver’s championship parade. Mike Malone was referred to as the ‘Lakers’ daddy’, and LeBron James and Anthony Davis didn’t seem to take the comments lightly.

The Lakers could be a serious threat to knock the Nuggets off of their high-horses. (Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon in Serbia pun intended)

Any NBA fan knows not to count out the King no matter what point of his career he is in, but adding a maturing Anthony Davis and a totally retooled supporting cast to the dynamic makes them a whole lot scarier than they were last season.

Conference Finals or Bust

This offseason the Warriors traded Jordan Poole, Patrick Baldwin Jr., Ryan Rollins, a ’30 protected first-round pick and a ’27 second-round pick to the Wizards for Chris Paul. They also resigned Draymond, maintaining their championship core.

The Warriors also added Toronto native, Cory Joseph, and Dario Saric from free agency, providing more depth. On top of these additions, they Warriors seemingly had a successful draft, selecting Brandin Podziemski from Santa Clara with the 19th pick in the 1st round, and then Indiana Hoosier Trayce Jackson-Davis in the 2nd round.

7. Miami Heat (+2000)

PG: Kyle Lowry, Josh Richardson, RJ Hampton, Alondes Williams
SG: Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Dru Smith
SF: Jimmy Butler, Jaime Jaquez, Haywood Highsmith, Jamal Cain, Justin Chapagnie
PF: Kevin Love, Caleb Martin, Nikola Jovic, Cole Swider, Drew Peterson
C: Bam Adebayo, Thomas Bryant, Orlando Robinson, Cheick Diallo

The Miami Heat were Damian Lillard’s preferred destination this offseason, but the teams couldn’t get a deal done. Unfortunately for the Heat that means they are running it back with much of the same roster that got annihilated in the NBA finals last year.

I wouldn’t consider a single addition they made impactful, in fact it was almost as if they were replacing lost pieces this offseason, and praying for a Dame deal to get done, which it did not.

At least Jimmy Butler managed to get the Heat some publicity by showing up to media day in goth, or punk, or emo, or something.

Something he’s seemed to start to enjoy doing over recent years is showing up to media day with hair he will not be sporting during the season. Comical, and unapologetically Jimmy.

8. Los Angeles Clippers (+1600)

PG: Russell Westbrook, Bones Hyland, Jason Preston, Xavier Moon
SG: Paul George, Terance Mann, Amir Coffey, BJ Boston, Brodric Thomas
SF: Kawhi Leonard, Norman Powell, KJ Martin, Jordan Miller
PF: Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, Kobe Brown
C: Ivica Zubac, Mason Plumlee, Moussa Diabate

The Clippers are an interesting group, star studded and well rounded, yet haven’t been able to make significant waves in the playoffs since assembling their lengthy core in the offseason of 2019.

The Clippers front office did essentially nothing this offseason to improve the roster, meaning there is virtually no news to share from their offseason, and they remain just barely in the conversation for teams that have a real chance of winning the the finals, and likely should sneak away from this era of Kawhi and PG with at least a conference championship.

Notably, Norman Powell has stated he should be an NBA All-Star this year, as he believes he is that caliber of player. Will be interesting to see how they navigate their rotation seeing as Kawhi, Paul George, and Russell Westbrook assume the roles of the 3 positions Norm is capable of playing. Kawhi hasn’t shown signs of necessarily progressing with his knee problems, meaning he’s likely to miss a ton of the regular season as usual, but though they likely won’t be winning the 1st seed, or even a top 4 spot, they will be threats come playoff time assuming they’re completely healthy.

Underdogs

The Sacramento Kings went out and signed JaVale McGee to bolster their big depth, aside from that they are much of the same team that had a successful season last year. They will look to take the leap to becoming a top NBA team this year, as their young superstars De’Aaron Fox, and Domantas Sabonis continue to mature and improve.

10. Memphis Grizzlies (+2500)

PG: Ja Morant (SSPD), Marcus Smart, Derrick Rose, Jacob Gilyard
SG: Desmond Bane, Luke Kennard, Ziaire Williams, Josh Christopher, Shaquille Harrison
SF: John Konchar, David Roddy, Jake LaRavia, Vince Williams, GG Jackson
PF: Jaren Jackson Jr., Santi Aldama, Kenneth Lofton Jr., Isaiah Todd
C: Steven Adams, Brandon Clarke, Xavier Tillman

The Memphis Grizzlies had a terrific season last year, you could call it their official coming out party as heavyweights in the west. Unfortunately that was all negated by Ja Morant continuously finding himself in trouble with the NBA for brandishing weapons on social media. When the hearings were all said and done Ja was left with a 25-game suspension, meaning he will miss just over 30% of the Grizzlies regular season. Once he’s back, though the new look Grizzlies after replacing Dillon Brooks and Tyus Jones with Marcus Smart, could be a real weapon of a unit come playoff time.

If the reigning defensive player of the year, Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane, and Steven Adams can hold the Grizz over until they’re superstar reincarnation of Derrick Rose comes back, they could be as scary as anyone.

11. Dallas Mavericks (+1800)

PG: Luka Doncic, Jaden Hardy, Dante Exum, Mike Miles, Jordan Walker
SG: Kyrie Irving, Seth Curry, AJ Lawson, Dexter Dennis
SF: Tim Hardaway Jr., Josh Green, O-Max Prosper, Joe Wieskamp
PF: Grant Williams, Derrick Jones, Markieff Morris, Dereck Lively
C: Dwight Powell, Maxi Kleber, Greg Brown

The Mavericks lost a lot of depth this offseason, including Christian Wood, Reggie Bullock, Justin Holiday, JaVale McGee, Frank Ntilikina and Davis Bertans. But they were able to put that extra cash to good use, resigning Kyrie Irving, Dwight Powell, and Markieff Morris, and adding Derrick Jones, Grant Williams, Seth Curry, Dante Exum, Richaun Holmes, and Joe Wieskamp.

They also notably drafted Canadian Olivier-Maxence Prosper from Marquette, with the 24th pick in the 1st round of the ’23 NBA draft.

12. New York Knicks (+5000)

PG: Jalen Brunson, Miles McBride, Duane Washington Jr, Ryan Arcidiacono
SG: RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Evan Fournier, Jaylen Martin, Charlie Brown
SF: Quentin Grimes, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart, DaQuan Jeffries, Dylan Windler
PF: Julius Randle, Isaiah Roby, Jacob Toppin
C: Mitchell Robinson, Isaiah Hartenstein, Jericho Sims, Nathan Knight

The New York Knicks didn’t do a significant amount this offseason, after coming 5th in the east last year they’re relying on their young core to develop in order to improve their hopes of ending the basketball success drought in New York.

Jalen Brunson, RJ Barrett, Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson have all made it clear they’re capable of winning basketball games in the Mecca, and they’re capable of doing it now. If RJ turns into the player he was expected to be on draft night, this Knicks team could cause the league problems for years to come.

15. New Orleans Pelicans (+4000)

PG: CJ McCollum, Jose Alvarado, Kira Lewis
SG: Herb Jones, Dyson Daniels, Jordan Hawkins
SF: Brandon Ingram, Naji Marshall, Dereon Seabron, Kaiser Gates
PF: Zion Williamson, Larry Nance Jr., EJ Liddell, Trey Murphy
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Cody Zeller

16. Toronto Raptors (+5000)

PG: Scottie Barnes, Dennis Schroeder, Malachi Flynn, Jeff Dowtin, Markquis Nowell
SG: Gary Trent Jr., Gradey Dick,, Garrett Temple, Javon Freeman-Liberty
SF: OG Anunoby, Jalen McDaniels, Otto Porter Jr., Ron Harper Jr., Kevin Obanor
PF: Pascal Siakam, Chris Boucher, Thaddeus Young, Mouhamadou Gueye
C: Jakob Poeltl, Precious Achiuwa, Christian Koloko

Scottie Barnes has reportedly sprouted to 6’11” this offseason, and has also been developing his game at Rico Hines runs with other pros, and NBA vets. Scottie was the talk of the camp for most people in attendanc, displaying Kawhi-like dominance on both ends of the floor.

The Raptors have an interesting season ahead of them as they were incapable of acquiring Damian Lillard, as their front office were not willing to dangle OG Anunoby in order to complete the deal. With multiple players having contract years, the Raptors could go in many directions at the trade deadline, depending on their regular season success or lack there of.

This season should be a telling one in the case of Masai choosing to blow it up, or not. If not then the fanbase will be even more confused than they already are, and with good reason, as nobody seems to have a clue what the front office is doing at this point, or what their overall direction is. Seems like they’re banking on maneuvering their way back into a championship contender the same way the 1996-97 Spurs did, which is just not manageable without the most incredible amount of luck.

17. Oklahoma City Thunder (+10000)

PG: Josh Giddey, Vasilije Micic, Cason Wallace, Isaiah Joe
SG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Aaron Wiggins, Tre Mann, Lindy Waters, Victor Oladipo
SF: Jalen Williams, Ousmane Dieng, Kenrich Williams, Keyontae Johnson
PF: Luguentz Dort, Aleksej Pokuševski, Jack White, Davis Bertans
C: Chet Holmgren, Jaylin Williams, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Olivier Sarr

19. Chicago Bulls (+12500)

PG: Ayo Dosunmnu, Jevon Carter, Dalen Terry, Quenton Jackson, Lonzo Ball (hurt)
SG: Zach LaVine, Coby White, Carlik Jones, Henri Drell, Max Heidegger
SF: DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, Julian Phillips, Onuralp Bitim
PF: Patrick Williams, Torrey Craig, Adama Sanogo, Justin Lewis
C: Nikola Vucevic, Andre Drummond, Terry Taylor

20. Atlanta Hawks (+7000)

PG: Trae Young, Patty Mills, Kobe Bufkin, Trent Forrest
SG: Dejounte Murray, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Wesley Matthews, Seth Lundy
SF: De’Andre Hunter, AJ Griffin, Garrison Mathews
PF: Daddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, Mouhamed Gueye, Miles Norris
C: Clint Capela, Onyeka Okongwu, Bruno Fernando

“So You’re Tellin’ Me There’s a Chance?”

Bottom Feeders

28. Portland Trail Blazers (+25000)

PG: Scoot Henderson, Malcolm Brogdon, Ashton Hagans
SG: Shaedon Sharpe, Anfernee Simons, Rayan Rupert
SF: Matisse Thybulle, Jabari Walker, Toumani Camara
PF: Jerami Grant, Kris Murray, Kevin Knox, George Conditt
C: Deandre Ayton, Robert Williams III, John Butler, Ibou Badji, Moses Brown

_{^{All betting lines via bet365.com
Photo via Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports}}