There's no single consensus pick for the best team in the NBA preseason, but the same three names top almost every set of NBA rankings: the Oklahoma City Thunder, the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks. The Knicks are the reigning champions, having beaten the Spurs 4-1 in the 2026 Finals, and the regular season tips off on Tuesday, October 20. Here's how the top NBA preseason teams stack up, what the early standings do and don't tell you, and which rookies to watch.

Who Are the Top NBA Preseason Teams for 2026-27?

Preseason rankings disagree on who sits at No. 1, but the same three teams lead nearly all of them. Here's the outlook at a glance:

New York Knicks. The champions kept their title-winning starting five, with Jalen Brunson, the Finals MVP, still at the centre. The Knicks became the first team to win the NBA Cup and the championship in the same season. Their offseason question is the frontcourt: Mitchell Robinson has left and Andre Drummond has signed on a one-year deal.

San Antonio Spurs. San Antonio won 62 games, beat the defending-champion Thunder in a seven-game Western Conference Finals and reached the Finals behind Victor Wembanyama. Most outlets give them the league's highest ceiling, with Tobias Harris added as a veteran piece.

Oklahoma City Thunder. The 2025 champions lost that seven-game series, but the market still likes them: preseason title odds have them at +240, well ahead of the Knicks and 76ers at +1000. The caveats are health and depth, since OKC trimmed its bench to stay under the second apron.

Philadelphia 76ers. Most rankings put the Sixers fourth or fifth. A starting five built around Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and LeBron James has the talent to climb, and Embiid's availability is the swing factor everyone mentions.

NBA Preseason Standings: What the Early Records Do (and Don't) Say

At the time of writing, the preseason standings show the Brooklyn Nets 3-0, the Boston Celtics 2-0 and the Atlanta Hawks 3-1, and those records will keep changing until the preseason wraps up this week. Treat them as colour, not prediction. Coaches rest starters, rotations are experimental, and results rarely carry over. The Nets are a good reminder: they went 20-62 last season, so a perfect preseason start says very little about what comes next.

Who Are the Top NBA Rookies to Watch in Today's League?

The 2026 class is being called one of the strongest in years, and the top four picks all looked the part in Summer League.

• AJ Dybantsa (No. 1, Washington Wizards). The BYU forward scored 27 points in his Summer League debut against Utah, joining a Wizards team that added Trae Young and Anthony Davis last season.
• Darryn Peterson (No. 2, Utah Jazz). The Kansas guard went for 24 in that same game, and a panel of analysts narrowly picked him as the rookie with the fastest path to superstardom.
• Cameron Boozer (No. 3, Memphis Grizzlies). The same panel voted Boozer most likely to make an All-NBA team first and most likely to affect winning this season.
• Caleb Wilson (No. 4, Chicago Bulls). The North Carolina forward averaged 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds in college and will need to develop his three-point shot.

Dybantsa and Peterson meet for the first time in the regular season on February 27, when Washington visits Utah.

Fantasy Basketball Preseason: Where the Rookies Are Going

For fantasy drafts, Cameron Boozer is the first rookie coming off the board in the average fantasy draft, with Dybantsa at an average draft position of about 78 and Peterson near 99. Sacramento's Darius Acuff Jr. is another name to track, with a strong chance to start at point guard for the Kings. Rookie roles can change quickly in October, so it's worth waiting for the final rotations before locking in a draft strategy.

NBA Jersey Design in 2026: The Retro Reset

The league's new looks lean on history. The Minnesota Timberwolves unveiled a full rebrand in June, bringing back the pine trees and a blue-and-green palette drawn from their 1989 originals, with white Association, blue Icon and black Statement uniforms. Houston is back in red and yellow, and Indiana's gold Statement Edition pinstripes borrow from its late-1990s era. The pattern is clear: teams are mining their own archives, and fans are responding to it.

Can I Customize a Basketball Uniform? Where Can I Personalize One?

Yes, and you don't need to be an NBA franchise to do it. Teams, clubs and schools can build their own uniforms online, choosing a template, switching to their team colours and adding a logo, player names and numbers. C2C Sport has been supplying team uniforms since 1988, and its Design Your Own platform lets you do exactly that from 300+ ready-to-go templates, including a range of NBA-inspired designs. Custom orders typically run 2 to 8 weeks, so it pays to plan before your season starts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the top NBA preseason teams for 2026-27? The Thunder, Spurs and Knicks lead most preseason NBA rankings in varying order, followed by the 76ers and Celtics.

When does the 2026-27 NBA season start? The regular season begins on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, with Celtics at Pistons, 76ers at Knicks and Thunder at Spurs.

Who won the 2026 NBA championship? The New York Knicks, who beat the San Antonio Spurs 4-1 for their first title since 1973.

Do NBA preseason standings matter? Not much. Starters play limited minutes and teams experiment, so preseason records are a weak predictor of regular-season results.

Who are the top NBA rookies to watch this season? AJ Dybantsa (Wizards), Darryn Peterson (Jazz), Cameron Boozer (Grizzlies) and Caleb Wilson (Bulls) were the top four picks and lead most rookie lists.

Can I customize a basketball uniform for my team? Yes. Online design tools let you pick a template, set your colours, and add logos, names and numbers before you order.

Dress Your Own Team for the Season

If the new NBA looks have you thinking about your own club's uniforms, start with the NBA-Inspired Basketball Uniforms for design ideas. Then try the 3D Product Configurator to see how your colours, names and numbers look before you order.