NBA Future Power Rankings Projections for the next three seasons

How does your NBA team look ahead of the 2024-25 season? How about in 2027?

NBA Future Power Rankings estimate each team’s on-court success over the next three seasons: 2024-25, 2025-26, and 2026-27.

The Thunder, who won 57 games last season and secured the West’s No. 1 seed with the NBA’s second-youngest squad, could hold the top spot for a while. Oklahoma City already has the second-best title odds at BET, trailing only the Boston Celtics.

And, unlike the defending champs, who face rising luxury tax bills and second-apron limits, the Thunder are designed to last, with a stockpile of draft picks allowing them to add cost-controlled contributors as their stars become more pricey.

Given that enviable position, and reigning Coach of the Year Mark Daigneault, it’s not surprising that Oklahoma City received our top management ranking.

The champions slipped one slot through no fault of their own, despite maintaining the top spot in the player category and moving up from fourth to second in management. But Oklahoma City’s significant improvement in the player category (from ninth to second) propelled them to the top.

Boston’s future is also complicated by a heavy salary cost ahead of the 2025-26 season, when the Celtics will become the NBA’s first $500 million club. This is Boston’s fourth consecutive appearance in the top five in these rankings, and the Celtics have finished in the top ten 13 times in the previous 15 rankings, dating back to the fall of 2015.

The Knicks jumped from 10th to third in the player category, with to the acquisitions of OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges, moving them up five spots to third overall.

The Knicks have reached their highest rating in 15 years. Continued remarkable work by coach Tom Thibodeau and president Leon Rose propelled New York from a tie for ninth in management to fourth, up from a tie for 20th two seasons ago. Between the wages added to the books and the draft capital moved out in deals,

New York consistently slipped in both money (tied for 13th) and draft (sixth) from where it was a year ago.

The 76ers improved nine spots from last season, going from concluding the James Harden trade story to signing superstar free agent Paul George in nine months. That helped Philadelphia go up from 15th to fifth in the player category,

while a full season with coach Nick Nurse and Daryl Morey’s handling of the Harden trade request and its aftermath propelled them from 17th to a tie for fourth in management. Philly’s fourth overall rating is tied for the franchise’s highest ever, which was matched during the early

This is a critical season to see how long Denver can push for a second championship with three-time MVP Nikola Jokić. The Nuggets were favored to win the Western Conference last season until they lost Game 7 at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round.

Starting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope later left for Orlando in free agency, so they’re relying heavily on recent first-round picks Christian Braun and Julian Strawther to fill KCP’s role and lengthen their championship window.

Down the road, the Nuggets still have tax worries after adding Jamal Murray to a max agreement and Aaron Gordon potentially entering unrestricted free agency next year.

After losing in the first round last year, the Timberwolves’ all-in deal for Rudy Gobert appeared to be a mistake. Minnesota needed to do more after signing pricey deals for Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Timberwolves finished one game behind the Western Conference leaders and defeated the reigning champion Denver Nuggets before falling to Dallas in five games in the conference finals. Minnesota must now handle a costly roster with limited tradeable choices and a debate over franchise ownership.