NBA Power Rankings 1.0: Celtics steady, Karl-Anthony Towns trade propels Knicks

The Boston Celtics are still NBA Champions, but a new season is here. The NBA preseason kicks off with Boston taking on the Denver Nuggets for two games in Abu Dhabi, and there are less than three weeks until the beginning of the regular season. But how are teams looking heading into the season?

Obviously, the preseason can only reveal so much. Teams aren’t playing their starters full-time minutes, and it’s a very small sample size. However, the offseason is a pretty good barometer for which teams are going all in and which are taking a step back. (Especially when guys like Jakob Poeltl openly admit their team isn’t trying to win.)

With all that in mind, here are NBA power rankings heading into the preseason.

30. Brooklyn Nets

There isn’t much going on here. After trading away Mikal Bridges, the Brooklyn Nets are left with Cam Thomas, Cam Johnson, and a bunch of random pieces.

Individually, they are all solid. Most of the guys on their team could contribute well in role-player roles. But they just don’t have the glue to keep it all together.

29. Washington Wizards

Similar to the Brooklyn Nets, but with a bit more hope. The Washington Wizards are firmly in the race for Cooper Flagg next summer, which means they aren’t going to win many games.

However, guys like Bub Carrington, Alex Sarr, and Bilal Coulibaly are enough tot put them over the Nets. At least they have some young players (and vets like Kyle Kuzma and Jonas Valanciunas) leading the way.