Every NBA offseason produces a few teams that look unbeatable in July. Then the season begins, somebody gets hurt and that stout depth chart starts resembling a grocery list written during an earthquake.
The more interesting teams are usually the ones receiving little attention. None of the following three should be considered a championship favorite entering the 2026-27 season. Reaching the playoffs, however, is a far more realistic goal than their records from last season suggest.
3. Utah Jazz
Utah finished 22-60 last season and then lost Walker Kessler to the Los Angeles Lakers. That does not sound like the beginning of a breakthrough. Look beyond the record and departure, though, and the Jazz have assembled one of the NBA’s most fascinating young rosters.
Darryn Peterson gives Utah a potential franchise guard after being selected second overall. He joins Ace Bailey, Keyonte George and Lauri Markkanen in a lineup that should have no trouble producing points. Jaren Jackson Jr. also gives the Jazz a proven defender who can stretch the floor.
The concern is obvious. Utah is young, the Western Conference is brutal and several important players are still learning how to win consistently. That probably keeps the Jazz away from the top six. It does not eliminate them from the play-in conversation.
Opponents expecting another easy night in Salt Lake City may leave with an unpleasant surprise.
2. Dallas Mavericks
One year after winning 50 games, Dallas crashed to a 26-56 record. Luka Doncic was already gone, Kyrie Irving missed significant time and the Mavericks never found a reliable identity.
Cooper Flagg changed the mood quickly.
The reigning Rookie of the Year now has another year of experience, while Irving’s expected return should remove some of the offensive burden from him. Dallas also added Santi Aldama and former No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher, giving new head coach Dusty May several useful pieces to work with.
Nobody should confuse this roster with the Mavericks team that reached the 2024 NBA Finals. It is younger, less predictable and still missing a proven second star who can be trusted every night.
It is also far too talented to lose 56 games again. If Irving stays available and Flagg makes the expected jump, Dallas could move from the lottery into the playoffs in one season.
1. Washington Wizards
Washington won 17 games last season. Doubling that total would typically qualify as progress. After a wild offseason, merely reaching 34 victories could feel disappointing.
The Wizards now have Trae Young, Anthony Davis and No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa. They also added Deandre Ayton to a young group featuring Alex Sarr, Tre Johnson, Bilal Coulibaly and Kyshawn George.
There are fair questions about how the pieces fit. Young needs the ball, Davis has a lengthy injury history and Dybantsa will still be a rookie regardless of his enormous ceiling. Washington could become one of the league’s strangest chemistry experiments.
It could also become one of its biggest headaches.
Young supplies the playmaking Washington lacked, Davis can repair a defense that finished last in efficiency and Dybantsa does not need to carry the franchise immediately. The Wizards finally have veterans, young talent and genuine star power on the same roster.
A championship run would be asking too much. A playoff appearance is no longer ridiculous, which is quite a sentence for a team that lost 65 games.