NBA Summer Forecast 2025-26: Predictions for East and West conference standings - ESPN

The 2025-26 NBA season is slowly approaching and we're still a long way from any serious postseason conversations. However, in a league known for its superstar shake-ups, surprise runs and playoff plunders, it's clear that anything can happen from October to April.

Injuries will be a huge factor in the Eastern Conference, as recent front-running contenders such as the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers might slip in the standings due to the impact of their missing leaders.

In a competitive Western Conference, standings don't seem as set in stone. Last season, the seeding for the playoffs wasn't settled until the last day of the regular season. And this season, after some major moves, most notably Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets, expect to see another tense standings race.

Take a look at how our NBA experts predicted the win-loss records for all 30 teams in the league.

Note: Our 2025-26 NBA Summer Forecast continues Thursday with the predictions for conference and finals champions. On Tuesday, we revealed our picks for which players will win the league's biggest awards, including MVP, DPOY and more.

Jump to:
Eastern Conference | Western Conference

The contenders

1. Cleveland Cavaliers: 59-23
2. New York Knicks: 54-28
3. Orlando Magic: 50-32
4. Atlanta Hawks: 47-35
5. Detroit Pistons: 47-35

The Cavaliers are returning 93% of the minutes from last season's 64-win team, made two defensive offseason moves (adding Lonzo Ball and Larry Nance Jr.) and saw two major conference rivals lose stars (Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton) to season-ending injuries.

Yet going into the season, the Cavs and All-Stars Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Darius Garland are only slight favorites at ESPN BET to win the East over the Knicks.