Ty's 2025-2026 NBA Season Preview: Nuggets, Cavaliers, Thunder
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Welcome to the final day of my 2025-26 NBA preseason countdown. These are my three favorites for the championship this season. These teams have what it takes to make it to the title series and I wouldn't be all that shocked if any one of them wins it all.
At 3 I have the Denver Nuggets. For all the flack I give Nikola Jokic, and I still find his defense to be quite appalling at times, he is an offensive wizard. I don't believe he has deserved every MVP award he has won, but we are living in an analytical world with sports statistics, and he is a dream when it comes to analytics. Jokic is the hub for a very productive offense, and the Nuggets go as he goes, which is usually in a winning direction. Jamal Murray is still a very important player for this team. He may not be putting up gaudy stats, but you can tell the team feels his absence when he is not on the floor. You could see them struggle during the playoffs when Murray wasn't out there. He is still a very good knock down shooter. Aaron Gordon may be even more important than Murray. He has a great two man game with Jokic, and when he isn't fully healthy, this defense suffers mightily. He is, by a wide margin, their most reliable and best defender. He may not leap like he used to, but he has developed a solid outside shot which will help to prolong his career. I was wrong about Christian Braun. When he came into the league I thought he was too skinny and would get picked on defensively. He has since bulked up, and it feels like he has been studying defense with Aaron Gordon, and he has seemed to have learned a whole lot. The Nuggets also made some additions, with only one big subtraction, and this will only help the team. They traded away Michael Porter Jr for Cam Johnson. This was a win win. MPJ can go do whatever he wants in Brooklyn, and Johnson feels like a much better fit next to Jokic and Murray. He has always been a very good shooter, and his defense and passing have gotten so much better. Bruce Brown is back and that will benefit him and the team. Heplayed his best basketball last time he was with the Nuggets. And Tim Hardaway Jr adds instant offense off the bench. He won't be asked to do anything but score, and that is perfect for him. The Nuggets pushed the Thunder almost as hard as the Pacers did and they shored up their roster this offseason. They look legit again and they should win a ton of games and make a deep, deep playoff push.
At number 2 I have the Cleveland Cavaliers. This has got to be the season they finally put it all together, right? They have everything a title contending team dreams of. Donovan Mitchell is a scoring machine and he can get his from anywhere. I saw a game last year where he couldn't miss from three and the next night he was driving straight to the rim with no fear. He's awesome. Even Mobley is a defensive beast. He was DPOY last season in fact. He is as good as it gets in the East on that end of the floor. He may need to develop an outside shot to further solidify his offense, but what he brings to the table on defense is more than enough for this team. Jarrett Allen is a nice luxury to have next to Mobley in the post. He is big and long and loves to rebound. And he should be over his playoff fears at this point. Darius Garland is a very good and capable point guard if he can stay on the court. He has all the tools you want in a floor general, he has just got to stay healthy during their playoff run. Max Strus is a nice Swiss army knife option for them. He isn't the best at any one skill, but he is decent at a lot of different things. De'Andre Hunter was a nice pickup. He is an okay enough shooter and a very good defender who can guard multiple positions. I like Larry Nance Jr as a bench player. Thomas Bryant can still contribute spot minutes. And getting Lonzo Ball was a nice touch. Anything he gives this team is a cherry on top for them. The Cavs need to prove themselves in the playoffs, and this is as good a roster as they have had since LeBron James was on their team.
And coming in at number 1, in what should be a surprise to no one, is the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. This is almost a perfect basketball team. They have been a solid unit for two years now, they play the best defense in the league, they have the reigning MVP, their offense is a machine, they have a great coach and they are still so young. A repeat is not out of the question. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was climbing ever so steadily the past couple years and then he busted out and won MVP last year. He is a great creator, a great passer, plays defense and gets to the line. SGA is one of the future faces of the league and I adore watching him play basketball. He is awesome. LU Dort has stuck it out, bent his game to fit the needs of the team and has found his version of basketball nirvana. He is the best three and D player in the NBA. Chet Holmgren showed his importance in the playoffs when he blocked everything that came his way. He was the ultimate rim protector in the Finals, and when he is making shots, he is tough to figure out. Jalen Williams announced his arrival as an all NBA player last year and I fully expect him to just get better and better playing on this team. Alex Caruso fit right into place when they traded for him last year. Isaiah Hartenstein is a great backup big. Cason Wallace got decent playing time in the playoffs as a rookie on this team. Isaiah Joe proved he is a capable and reliable three point shoot. Aaron Wiggins played clutch in spot minutes. And they are about as deep as any team can hope to be in the NBA. The Thunder are on the precipice of doing something great in the modern NBA. They literally have it all and are only going to get better, I don't think they will break the regular season wins record, but I'd love to see them try. They are fun to watch and us fans better get used to seeing them play deep, deep into the playoffs year after year for a while.
That's it. That is my 2025-26 NBA preseason countdown. Come back on Monday for my playoff and awards predictions.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.