With the 2026-27 NBA season set to begin Oct. 20, theScore's Joseph Casciaro, Michael Chandler, Chicco Nacion, Eric Patterson, and Jonathan Soveta laid out their picks for the league's biggest prizes - and the same two teams keep popping up at the top.
Out West, the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs are the clear class of the conference in this projection. Both are carrying expected win totals above 60, while every other Western Conference team sits below 50. If those two separate from the field the way the numbers suggest, a second straight meeting in the conference finals looks like the logical destination.
That same Western dominance shows up again when the championship picks are made. Our editors have the Spurs and Thunder as the teams most likely to walk away with the Larry O'Brien Trophy, even with Oklahoma City having lost Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins over the offseason. The Thunder still have enough talent on hand to chase a second title in three years.
The East has its own fresh look, though the balance of power still leans west. The Philadelphia 76ers have climbed into the top tier after adding LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, while the New York Knicks are back with mostly the same roster that ended the franchise's 53-year title drought. Toronto could also make noise behind Kawhi Leonard, even as the Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, and Detroit Pistons draw skepticism.
There’s also a sense that the bottom of the league may be a little less chaotic than usual. New anti-tanking rules, along with what’s described as a relatively underwhelming 2027 draft class, could make the season more competitive. Even so, somebody has to wind up last, and the post-Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, and Sacramento Kings are all seen as teams in different stages of rebuilding that could land near the basement in their conferences.
For Rookie of the Year, Cam Boozer is viewed as a strong possibility because of the role he may get rather than pure hype. His ceiling may not match AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson, but Boozer could benefit from a bigger opportunity with the Grizzlies in teardown mode. His polished game and heavy usage may give him the edge over Peterson, who is expected to lead all rookies in scoring.
Coach of the Year features five candidates with revamped rosters, and Nick Nurse is the only one among them who has already won it, doing so in 2019-20 with the Raptors. His successor in Toronto, Darko Rajakovic, is also a favorite, thanks to a team that profiles as one of the league’s top defensive groups with Leonard and Scottie Barnes at the center of it.
Executive of the Year is shaping up as Mike Gansey’s award to lose after his work in Philadelphia. The Sixers president of basketball operations helped land James and Brown, and he also may have pulled off his biggest move by moving Paul George's $54-million salary and $56.6-million player option for 2027-28. Gansey also added Anfernee Simons, Dean Wade, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to deepen the roster.
The Most Valuable Player race has plenty of paths, but the strongest cases revolve around two names. Brandon Miller could become the Charlotte Hornets’ offensive centerpiece after the departures of LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, and he’d likely need a major statistical jump after averaging 20.2 points on 43.5% shooting last season.
On the other side, the Spurs are keeping De'Aaron Fox as their starting point guard despite his rough postseason, which likely pushes Dylan Harper to the bench. Fox’s new four-year, $229-million deal may be part of that equation.
Still, the most straightforward award call belongs to Defensive Player of the Year. Victor Wembanyama is coming off the first unanimous DPOY win in the award's 24-year history after leading the league in blocks (3.1), defensive win shares (5), defensive rating (101), and defensive rebounding percentage (33.9). The only thing that appears capable of stopping him from repeating is a major injury.
And when it comes to the league’s top individual talent, Wembanyama’s ascent looks like a matter of time. His offense is still developing, but last season he became the first player to average 25-plus points in fewer than 30 minutes per game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is right there in the conversation too, after putting up 31.1 points in 31.1 minutes and leading all players in points per 36 minutes at 33.7, a pace that would have topped the scoring race.
In Other News...
Wembanyamas Opening Night Struggles Have Spurs Fans Debating One Thing
Victor Wembanyamas start to the 2026-27 season has already sparked plenty of conversation in San Antonio, and his first half against the Oklahoma City Thunder only added fuel to it. Through the opening two quarters, he had eight points without making a field goal, while the Spurs were forced to chase the game as the Thunder controlled the flow and carried an 80-70 lead midway through the third quarter.
For Spurs fans, the bigger issue has been less about one rough stretch than what it says about how the offense is functioning around him. The frustration has been obvious, with concern building over both Wembanyamas performance and the teams approach when the game starts to get away from them, and this matchup is already shaping up as an early test of how quickly San Antonio can settle in around its franchise center. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Showed Fight Against OKC But One Debate Just Got Louder
The Spurs had the kind of season opener that can leave a team feeling both encouraged and annoyed. They hung around with Oklahoma City through a game that featured multiple lead changes, physical stretches and a handful of defensive plays worth circling, even if the Thunder ultimately pulled away for a 116-104 win. The return of Jalen Williams gave Oklahoma City another layer, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jared McCain helped steady the visitors when the game tightened.
For San Antonio, the bigger takeaway may be less about the final margin and more about how sharply the matchup sharpened the conversation around Victor Wembanyama. His back-and-forth on the defensive end with Chet Holmgren produced the kind of moments that fuel a rivalry debate, and the altercation involving DeAaron Fox only added to the edge. The Spurs showed they can match intensity, but they also left with one familiar question getting louder after a night when the other side handled the biggest moments better. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Sounds Off After Spurs Let Thunder Set The Tone
The Spurs opened the season with a loss to the Thunder, and Victor Wembanyama did not hide his frustration afterward. San Antonio fell 116-104 in a game that quickly tilted toward Oklahoma City, even as Wembanyama still found ways to make his presence felt with 13 rebounds and six blocks. His shot never came around, though, as he managed just 12 points on 1-of-13 shooting in a start that left plenty of room for the Spurs to clean up.
What stood out most from Wembanyamas postgame assessment was how plainly he pointed to the issues that let the Thunder set the tone. He cited defensive miscommunication and poor closeouts, the kind of lapses that can snowball early in a season when rotations are still being sorted out. For San Antonio, the loss was more than one rough night from its franchise center - it was a reminder that the details have to sharpen up fast if the Spurs want to avoid letting opponents dictate the pace from the opening tip. [Read more 🡒]