ESPN creates All-In NBA tiers list, lists 76ers as team ready to win a championship this season
Tim Bontemps and Kevin Melton released a list on ESPN breaking down all 30 teams in the NBA and which ones are “all-in” heading into the 2022 season on winning a championship.
Here’s the full breakdown, plus a few notes from yours truly.
All-In on an NBA Championship (6 Teams)
Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns
All of these teams make sense, assuming that the Brooklyn Nets are able to keep KD and Kyrie Irving. The Los Angeles Clippers will finally be healthy after playing without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George for an extended periods of time over the last few seasons, while teams like the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns having aging superstars in Jimmy Butler and Chris Paul. Then of course, you have the Bucks and Giannis, which should go without explanation.
The Philadelphia 76ers with all of their offseason additions and a healthy James Harden and Joel Embiid are obviously all-in on an NBA Championship and on paper in the Eastern Conference, should be ranked right up there with the Bucks, Nets, and Celtics, as contenders heading into the 2022-23 season.
All-In on a Championship over the next five season (4 Teams)
Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies
Pretty interesting that the Celtics and Warriors fell into tier two on the ESPN list after both appearing in the finals last season. The Celtics core of Brown and Tatum, with the Warriors core of Curry and Thompson both make teams serious threats. The Nuggets have Jokic but the supporting cast isn’t quite there yet and the Grizzlies are simply a young squad.
All-In on Playoff Success (4 Teams)
Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trailblazers
Playoff success sure. I do like the Hawks adding Dejounte Murray and the Timberwolves had success last year in the playoffs. As for the Bulls, they were regular season heroes last season but didn’t make much noise in the playoffs. We’ll have to wait and see how Dame and the Trailblazers make out in the West this season.
All-In on Finishing .500 (3 Teams)
New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, Washington Wizards
If the Knicks don’t land Donovan Mitchell, this is pretty accurate. I don’t see much in DC either, and the Kings don’t impress me in the slightest.
All-In on Their Current Core (5 Teams)
Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder
All very young teams with solid pieces, just not playoff ready sadly.
All-In on Draft Positioning (5 Teams)
Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic, San Antonio Spurts, Utah Jazz
The Tankathon crew. No further comment at this time.
All-In on Nothing (3 Teams)
Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors
ESPN wasn’t able to gauge the Mavericks, Lakers, or Raptors. LeBron James just signed a massive extension but the supporting cast of Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook leave a big question mark. As for the Raptors, they really don’t have much star power in Toronto, but could easily make some noise in the playoffs.
Overall, the tiered breakdown is pretty solid. As long as the 76ers are in tier one then I’m perfectly fine with the rest of the list.
The 76ers official regular season schedule was released yesterday. They will play 34 games on national television this season and start the season off on NBA Opening Night in Boston. Their home opener will be two days later against the Milwaukee Bucks. The 76ers are also slated to play at Madison Square Garden on Christmas.
Needless to say, the hype around the 76ers is through the roof and it’s only mid-August.
Strange….I would have the Warriors and Boston in the top tier, and Nets, Clippers, and Heat have much to prove before being placed there……