With the NBA season set to kickoff on October 27, fans are eagerly awaiting to watch their favorite players in another exciting season. From the crazy free agency to the promising draft class, fans of the NBA have a lot to be excited for this coming season. This year some teams will be looking to seriously compete for a championship, while others will be trying to tank in order to get a lottery pick in the draft. The list below will be ranking all 30 NBA teams, taking account of the conference they play in.

30. Chicago Bulls: The Chicago Bulls have gone into to full rebuild mode after trading Jimmy Butler. This year they will most likely try to tank while developing their young core of Zach Lavine and Lauri Markkanen. The Bulls will be towards the bottom of the league this season.

29. Brooklyn Nets: The Nets are in a tough place since the Celtics (now Cavs) have their first round draft pick. Due to this, the Nets have nothing to play for. Since they won’t be “tanking” this season most likely, expect them to win a few more games than last year.

28. New York Knicks: The Knicks are in a tough place right now. They have a young future superstar in Kristaps Porzingis, but they will not be able to win until they fix their management problems.

27. Phoenix Suns: The Suns have a young core of Devin Booker, Marquis Cris, Dragon Bender, Tyler Ulis, and Josh Jackson, and also borderline all-star Eric Bledsoe.

While talking about the Suns this year, Battlefield Sophomore and Phoenix Suns fan, Kyle Dodd says “I think the Phoenix Suns will actually be really surprising this year because of their talented young core.”  Although this could be true, this team is still very young and probably won’t be making much noise just yet.

26. Atlanta Hawks: Every year the Hawks are just an average team. With their only notable player being Dennis Schroder, the Hawks will be blowing up ship and trying to get a lottery pick this year.

25. Orlando Magic: The Magic have a couple of young players who could develop in the future but this year they will most likely have another disappointing season.

24. Sacramento Kings: The Kings have a lineup with a blend of veterans and promising young players like their first round pick De’Aaron Fox. This team finally seems to be rebuilding around their young core. This year, look for the Kings to win a few more games than last season.

23. Detroit Pistons: Pistons will virtually be the same team as last year minus the addition of Avery Bradley and the loss Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Expect the Pistons to perform similar to last year.

22. Dallas Mavericks: The Mavericks are really set on their Rookie draft pick Dennis Smith Jr., who is looking to be a young star in the making. Outside of that, the Mavericks have a mostly subpar team who are unfortunate enough to be in the stacked western conference.

21. Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers have been the talk of the offseason with the drafting of Lonzo Ball and making moves during the summer to pick up Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Brook Lopez. With this new line-up along with their young core of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle, and Jordan Clarkson, the Lakers may not quite be a playoff team yet, but they are a team to look out for in the coming years.

When asking NBA and Lakers fan Matthew Machado to make a bold prediction about the upcoming NBA season he says “I think Lonzo Ball will be the Rookie of the Year because he’s an athletic freak, humble, already a star, and I feel like he fits really well into the Lakers system.”    

20. Memphis Grizzlies: The Grizzlies are bringing back a very similar roster to last year, with the western conference getting even stronger, expect the Grizzlies to take a dip from last year, and be a team that could compete for a low playoff seed.

19. New Orleans Pelicans: The Pelicans will give another chance for the “Twin Towers”, the combo of DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis.

18. Philadelphia 76ers: The Philadelphia 76ers are another one of those teams that could be a surprise this season. It seems like their “trust the process” mantra has actually paid off. With a solid team in Markelle Fultz, Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, Ben Simmons, and JJ Reddick, their talent is unquestionable. The only problem however is whether this team can remain healthy throughout the course of a full NBA season.

17. Los Angeles Clippers: Although the Clippers lost their superstar Chris Paul, they still have have a very underrated lineup with Blake Griffin, Deandre Jordan, Patrick Beverley, and Miloš Teodosić. The Clippers could still be an average to above average team.

16. Charlotte Hornets: The Hornets added Dwight Howard over the summer to help Kemba Walker who was an all-star last year. This team can either be really good or really bad; it depends on the coaching and how the chemistry works out. Outside of that, this team could be surprising.

15. Miami Heat: The Heat were one of the best teams in the second half of season last year after a very slow start. They will be looking to continue their hot streak into this coming season and hopefully make the playoffs.

14. Portland Trail Blazers: The Blazers didn’t make any big moves during the season, but look for them to finish around the same as last. Like last season, they will be carried by their two stars in Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum .

13. Utah Jazz: The Jazz took a major loss by losing Gordon Hayward but they still have center Rudy Gobert, who was one of the most efficient offensive and defensive players in the league. Expect him to take a step a forward this year.

12. Denver Nuggets: The Nuggets have a good young team centered around their future superstar, Nikola Jokic. This team could be making a huge leap forward this year with their underrated roster.

11. Indianapolis Pacers: The Pacers lost their superstar this season in Paul George, but this team has the potential to still be very good. They still have a solid team that will likely looking to build around their young star in Myles Turner. This team could be very surprising this year.

10. Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks are by far going to be one of the teams to keep an eye on this season. With breakout year for a Giannis Antetokounmpo, some are already predicting he’s going to win the MVP award, assisted by Rookie of the Year Michael Brogdon, and young pieces in Thon Maker and Jabari Parker. The Bucks could be looking to make a run in the playoffs this year.  

9. Toronto Raptors: During the off-season, the Raptors managed to keep Kyle Lowry, together with DeMar DeRozan. They will be again coming into this season as one of the most explosive backcourts in the league. This will probably carry the team to the playoffs as per usual but probably out after the first round.

8. Minnesota Timberwolves: During the summer the Timberwolves made a lot of moves that could have the potential to drastically improve their team. First trading Zach Lavine and Kris Dunn to Chicago for Jimmy Butler and then picking up some nice pieces in Jeff Teague and Jamal Crawford. Along with future superstar Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins the Timberwolves are looking to make a huge leap this season.

7. Washington Wizards: The Washington Wizards virtually are bringing back the same team as last year, after a breakout season for John Wall and Bradley Beal, they are looking to come back even more improved. They have a solid starting line-up with one of the best backcourts in the league, but their weak bench could be a problem that plagues them.

6. Oklahoma City Thunder: The Thunder this year could be a question mark. Last year they were carried to the playoffs on the shoulders of Russell Westbrook and his record-breaking season.With the addition of Paul George in the offseason, the Thunder are looking to make a splash.

5. Boston Celtics: The Celtics definitely made a splash this offseason. With addition of Gordon Hayward, Kyrie Irving, and Marcus Morris and the loss of Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, and Jae Crowder, it’s hard to say just how much better the Celtics have gotten if at all.

4. San Antonio Spurs: If it seems like the Spurs are always in the mix to be contenders, it is because they are. Coach Greg Popovich is always leading them to the playoffs, and with the emergence of Kawhi Leonard one of the best two-way players in the league, the Spurs will be scary.

3. Houston Rockets: Like the Thunder, this year’s Rockets will be dark horses to be contenders, fans already saw how good they were last year with the James Harden and a Mike D’antoni system. After picking up Chris Paul in the offseason, this year’s Rockets could be surprising.

2. Cleveland Cavaliers: Although many rankings have them lower this year, a LeBron lead team is always a contender. The main threat in the east to the Cavaliers are the Celtics, and even with the Kyrie Irving trade it is still hard to say they are better.

1. Golden State Warriors: This year the Warriors are again easily the the favorites to win it all, with four all-star players in their starting lineup – Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant and a bench which they somehow managed to improve, the Warriors will be hard to beat. According to ESPN “Warriors are heavy favorites to win their third championship in four years.”