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The irony of the 2025-26 NBA season is that it is simultaneously extremely predictable and an unpredictable mess. We can say pretty confidently who's going to be at the top. The Thunder are leaps and bounds ahead of the field on paper. Nikola Jokić never gets hurt and the Nuggets are always great with him on the floor. The Knicks and Cavaliers should stampede through an easy Eastern Conference. Fine. And yes, the Wizards, Jazz, Hornets and Nets will presumably compete in a four-way tank-off. Everything in between? That's much harder. Every Western Conference team we haven't mentioned fancies itself a playoff contender. The Eastern Conference, meanwhile, is so uninspiring that every other team plausibly could see itself in the playoffs. One conference is so good that it would be nearly impossible to forecast. The other is so weak that the same is essentially true. Yet we're still going to try. With the 2025-26 NBA season at hand, our staff at CBS Sports attempted to predict where all 30 teams are going to fall. That means the standings in each conference, in order, 1-15. In addition, we will pick who we expect to reach the conference finals, the NBA Finals, and ultimately, hoist the trophy when it's all said and done in June. So buckle up, the 2025-26 season is finally here. Big news, NBA fans. The all-new DraftKings promo code gives new users three free months of NBA League Pass and $300 in bonus bets with a winning $5 wager. Get started here. NBA League Pass lets you watch out-of-market NBA games, live and on demand. NBA League Pass users can also use multi-view features to stream multiple games at the same time, making it even easier to watch your favorite players, teams, NBA bets, or Fantasy basketball lineups. Claim your offer now: Eastern Conference standings predictions Western Conference standings predictions Conference Finals predictions 2026 NBA Finals predictions Expert explanations Botkin: I believe the Warriors would've been in the conference finals last season had Stephen Curry not gotten hurt. Curry and Jimmy Butler are an almost perfect duo, and the Al Horford addition is significant. The Thunder are the best team top to bottom, but in this day and age nobody goes back to back. I also believe the Rockets are going to be awesome enough to "upset" Denver in the second round even as the higher seed, setting up a sizzling Durant vs. Curry matchup in the conference finals. In the East, give me the Knicks. I like that the ball should be moving more under Mike Brown, they beefed up the bench, and Mitchell Robinson is going to be a huge factor on the glass and in two-big lineups with KAT. A Warriors vs. Knicks NBA Finals would be a ratings bonanza, and I think we get it. Gonzalez: If OKC has designs on being the first repeat champ since the Warriors pulled it off in 2018, it won't be easy. The Thunder are the favorites to win it all again for a reason. They have the reigning MVP and Finals MVP, a loaded roster that allows head coach Mark Daignault to mix-and-match to solve for any problems that might arise, and the acquired understanding of what it takes to win a championship. But they also have to navigate an increasingly talented and unforgiving West. Among the many obstacles in OKC's way are Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets. Even after firing their GM and head coach shortly before the playoffs, and in spite of a shaky bench that featured Russell Westbrook and a host of unreliable spare parts, the Nuggets still took the eventual champs to seven games in the second round. Denver did a good job leveling up the roster this offseason, swapping Michael Porter Jr. for Cam Thomas in the starting unit, then bolstering the bench with Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr and Jonas Valanciunas. It's maybe the deepest supporting cast Joker has ever had. That's a problem for everyone else. Herbert: In the East, the Cavs are poised for another dominant regular season. I'm picking them to get to the Finals because I think their playoff shortcomings have been more to do with injuries than a fundamental flaw. This was a tough one, though -- I could see the Magic or Knicks giving them trouble. I'm a bit lower than consensus on the Bucks because I don't love their depth, and I'm allowing myself to imagine the Sixers staying somewhat healthy because I apparently never learn. I came close to picking Denver in the West (and to win the whole thing), but I didn't get there in the end. OKC is a juggernaut, and it's such a young team that it's reasonable to expect that virtually everybody on the roster will be even better this season. If we don't get a Thunder-Nuggets rematch in the WCF, then I'd love to see the Warriors get in there. They looked legit after the Jimmy Butler trade last season, and Al Horford is an ideal addition. Kalland: I love what the Nuggets have done this offseason, and they have a better team than the one that won the title in 2023. Just getting to the WCF will be a task for both these teams, as I think both L.A. squads, Houston and Golden State will all be serious threats. For as dominant as OKC felt last year, the Thunder got pushed to seven games a couple times in their title run, and it's just really hard to repeat. I think the Knicks are the team best suited to make it out of the East. I like what they've done this offseason to add a little depth and expect the offense to be more consistent under Mike Brown. I have them beating the Bucks in the conference finals, because if the standings shake out how I see them, I think Milwaukee could beat both Orlando and Cleveland in a series almost entirely because of the presence of Giannis Antetokounmpo as the best player on the floor. Also, after the Giannis-Knicks rumors this summer, it'd be the perfect way to kick off what could be a wild 2026 offseason if Giannis went out in the ECF at MSG. In a Nuggets-Knicks Finals, I just think Denver is the better team and takes that series in six. Nikola Jokić would drag Mitchell Robinson out of the paint and poke holes in New York's defense, and I think swapping Cam Johnson for Michael Porter Jr. (along with bolstering their depth) makes the Nuggets a playoff monster. Maloney: No team has repeated as NBA champions since the Warriors went back-to-back in 2017 and 2018. The Thunder are perfectly set up to end that drought. Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the most consistent stars we've ever seen, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are terrific co-stars, they have the best defense in the league, they're young and they have plenty of depth. If the Thunder can't repeat this season, it's hard to imagine what it will take for a team to pull off that feat in this era. Quinn: The Thunder just won 68 games and the championship as the league's youngest team with Jalen Williams playing most of the postseason with a severely injured wrist. While there has never been a guaranteed champion, and you'd be more than justified in taking the field, when comparing them to other individual teams, any other pick would be irresponsible. Denver's revamped bench makes the Nuggets their biggest threat in the West, but an older, more experienced Thunder team may not make the mistakes that made last year's series competitive. The Cavaliers are certainly the East's best regular-season team, but their runs through the postseason with this group have always underwhelmed. Some of that is of course due to injury, but even when healthy, aside from a sweep over a decimated Heat team, Cleveland has never exactly impressed in the postseason. A deeper, more balanced Knicks team won't win as many regular-season games, but considering how easily New York handled Cleveland in 2023, it's reasonable to assume that they have matchup advantages that could swing a playoff series in their favor. Ward-Henninger: After what Nikola Jokić did almost single-handedly last postseason, I just can't pick against him with this new supporting cast. The West finals against OKC will be hell, but in the end I just trust Jokić to figure out a way with his new weapons. Plus, we all know how hard it is to repeat -- and how close OKC came to losing en route to their title. Out East, I just love the Knicks with Mike Brown. He should lessen the regular-season workload and open up the offense, and I just can't see the Cavs or Magic being able to eliminate them. I wanted to put the Warriors higher, but I just can't see them getting to the top of the West as they navigate load management and injuries from their aging stars -- though that first-round series against the Nuggets will be an absolute doozy. The only thing that could be considered a surprise from my East picks is having the Celtics and Pacers in the Play-In Tournament, but it's just hard for me to envision them falling out of the picture entirely given their systems and coaches. Wimbish: With Mike Brown now running things, I think the Knicks will have a nice honeymoon season and finish atop a weak Eastern Conference. While I do have the Cavaliers making it to the East finals, I think they load manage throughout the season given the number of injuries they've dealt with in the past. That leaves room for an up-and-coming team like the Orlando Magic to show that they're ready to rise to the occasion in the regular season, though that might not translate (yet) to the playoffs. Out West, the Nuggets' newfound depth will help them surpass an OKC team that will still be incredibly dominant in the regular season but might take its foot off the gas just a bit after winning it all a season ago. I've got the Lakers narrowly avoiding the play-in due to Luka Dončić's MVP-level play, and I see Victor Wembanyama getting his first playoff test against the Nuggets in the first round. The Mavericks miss the postseason, but Cooper Flagg wins Rookie of the Year, and despite all the talk about Zion Williamson being in peak physical shape, it won't be enough to get the Pelicans into the playoffs.
