Ranking NBA teams by tiers for 2018-19 season

The Dark Horses

Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, Oklahoma City Thunder

It’ll take some combination of injuries and unexpected internal growth for one of these teams to seriously contend for an NBA championship this year, but the Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder are probably the closest to cracking into that upper tier.

For the Jazz, it comes down to Rudy Gobert staying healthy for a full season and Donovan Mitchell taking another unexpected leap as a more efficient 3-point shooter, improved playmaker and better rebounder. If those things happen, and the Jazz carry over the same late-season synergy, this could wind up being the 3-seed in the West.

No one should overlook the Thunder, however, and the power of addition by subtraction. With Carmelo Anthony out, OKC can allocate its touches properly to Russell Westbrook and Paul George. Any contributions from bench pieces like Dennis Schroder and Nerlens Noel will be added bonuses to a team that was fairly competitive against the West’s powerhouses last year.

As for the Sixers, they’re probably closest to a Finals berth simply because they play in the East, but based on what Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons were able to do in year two and year one, respectively, would anyone be surprised if they made another absurd leap in 2018-19? Throw in Markelle Fultz returning to form, the perpetually underrated Dario Saric and J.J. Redick as a Sixth Man of the Year candidate and the only thing holding Philly back is injury concern.