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As we inch closer and closer toward the 2027 NBA season, I think it's time to make my picks for the top 10 best offensive teams in basketball next season. Starting at number 10, I've got the Cleveland Cavaliers. And obviously, Cleveland just made a pretty major move, bringing in Peyton Watson, while Max Struess is now an LA Clipper. Overall, I actually love this move for the Cavaliers. They've been looking for a legitimate wing for years. Watson can defend basically 1 through 4, he's still really young, and I think he's got a lot of upside. But this video is an offensive ranking, and on that side of the floor, I actually think this move creates more questions than it solves. Because Strews was a really clean fit offensively. James Harden and Donovan Mitchell are going to have the ball a lot. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are going to be playing with them in pick and rolls. And Strews was basically the guy who could sit in the corner and space the floor. Watson, though, is very different. He's way more of a slasher and a cutter. And after that mammoth month in January, I think he's also shown that he wants the ball a little bit and has aspirations of becoming more than just a role player. We did see stretches where the three-point shot looked more legitimate, but the question is now whether that jumper is actually a real thing and whether you can trust it when the whips are cracking in April, May, and hopefully June for Cleveland. The foundation is still really good though. Cleveland ran 18.5 pick-and-roll ball handler possessions per game last season, which ranked in the 72nd percentile for frequency, and they were also in the 72nd for efficiency at 0.9 points per possession. Now, James Harden gets a full training camp to try and build more chemistry with this group. And overall, it's the James Hardin-Evan Mobley connection that I'm probably the most intrigued about. Because Mobleys has the ability to not only roll, but also pop out to the three-point line and even put the ball on the floor. Then, Donovan Mitchell gives you the scoring punch, and he has nights where he can just put up a 20-point quarter and pretty much end a game. So, overall, I definitely think Cleveland just got better with the addition of Peyton Watson. Defensively, I absolutely love the move, but offensively, losing Strews for Watson probably doesn't change a whole lot, and if anything, they get slightly less clean, but definitely more talented. Now coming in at number nine, I've got the LA Lakers. And whenever Luka Doncic is running your offense, there's automatically a really high floor. It almost is that simple. Then you pair him with Austin Reeves, who was playing at an all-star level whenever he got a real opportunity last season. And now Reeves gets to settle in to being the clear number two option every single night. Luka and Austin had a 120.3 offensive rating together last season, and I actually think there's another level that this duo can reach now that the hierarchy is a lot cleaner. The play style for this Lakers team should be pretty obvious. This is going to be a pick and roll heavy offense. A lot of high screens for Luka and a lot for Reeves. Then you put spot up shooters all around that, along with guys cutting behind the defense. And the addition that makes me more optimistic about all of this is Walker Kessler. Kessner is comfortably the best pick and roll big that Luka has had since arriving in Los Angeles. And in his last healthy season, Walker Kestler shot 68% on two-point attempts, which was third best among qualifying big men. He is a legitimate finisher around the basket, and that matters a ton when you're playing with Luka Doncic. When Luka is operating in the two-man game, once he's able to get his on-ball defender behind him and puts him in jail, the opposing big basically is forced to guard two guys at once. If he steps up to take Luka, Doncic can throw the pass over the top to Kessler. But if he stays back, then Luka gets a very easy mid-range jump shot. That is the action that just never looked the way it was supposed to with DeAndre Ayton. Luka and Ayton were constantly struggling to get on the same page. Whereas Kesslar has the motor and the basic big man know-how just to make that connection far more simpler. And there are enough offensive pieces around these guys. Sandro Mamuchelishvili gives them another big man who can roll and actually knock down the occasional three-point shot as well. Quinton Grimes and Colin Sexton also give them some scoring off the bench. And there are wings who can cut and shoot around Luka. Now, I still do have questions about exactly which supporting pieces become the best five-man group. But Luka, Reeves, and a legitimate role threat in Kessler gives this offense such a strong foundation that I'm comfortable putting the Lakers here at number nine. Now coming in at number eight, I've got the Boston Celtics. And Boston's offensive identity is probably one of the easiest on this list to predict, because we've seen this for years. Last season, 52 and a half of Boston's field goal attempts came from downtown, the highest rate in the NBA. And they also grabbed roughly 29% of available offensive rebounds, which ranked sixth best. That right there is the Boston formula. Bomb threes, attack the offensive glass, and get yourself more possessions than your opponent. If anything, I think they might actually lean harder into that style after replacing Jalen Brown with Paul George. Obviously, George is not a better player than Brown, but as a complementary offensive piece to Jason Tatum, I actually think the fit makes more sense. George is more comfortable playing without the basketball, making quicker decisions, and firing up catch and shoot threes. Whereas Brown needed more possessions where he could slow things down and work methodically. So offensively, this becomes completely Tatum's team. He is now the clear number one option. And because Tatum is so versatile as it is, you can really put a lot of different pieces around him and the offense is still going to work. JT can go ahead and create his own shot. He can make high level reads, shoot off the catch, and make all those little connective plays that just keep the game moving. Then you've got Derek White, Peyton Pritchard, and Paul George who can space the floor around him. On top of that though, Boston might also become one of the more dangerous offensive rebounding teams now that they've added Mitchell Robinson. When healthy, he is one of the best offensive rebounders in the game, and pairing him with Nemeus Keita gives Boston two centers who can constantly create extra possessions. Now, there is a reason why I still have them at number eight, and that reason is rim pressure. That was a massive problem in their first round loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, and swapping Brown for a 36-year-old George probably doesn't make that any better. So when the three-point shot stops falling, who is consistently putting their head down, getting to the basket, forcing the defense to collapse and getting to the free throw line. To me, this team still doesn't have a lot of answers for that question. Now coming in at number seven, I've actually got the Philadelphia 76ers. And deciding between them and Boston was basically the ultimate battle of system versus talent. Boston know exactly what it is they're going to do every single night. But Philadelphia are totally different. They've got Tyrese Maxey, LeBron James, Jalen Brown, Joel Embiid, and Vijay Edgecombe in the same starting five. And at some point, there is just so much offensive talent that it's going to be incredibly difficult to get consistent stops against this team. I think the best version of the 76ers offense is going to play very fast. Not necessarily sprinting up the floor every possession, but quick with their decisions. LeBron or Maxie can start the action. And after that, I almost want a .5 second mentality. Catch it, shoot it, drive it, or move it. Every touch is going to force the defense to have to react to yet another serious scoring threat. And when this team does eventually get out in transition, they should be ridiculous. Maxi, Brown and LeBron were all top five for transition scorers last season. And then you've got Vijay Edgecombe, who's also a freak athlete. The half-court is where this is all going to get very interesting, though. Because there isn't an obvious hierarchy yet. I see LeB Ron being more of the offensive organizer. Maxi as your lead guard. And MB still getting those possessions around the foul line and in the post. LeBron can almost come in and play a souped-up Draymond Green role offensively, where he's setting screens, organising everything, and constantly trying to get everybody else the ball in their best spots. We've already seen LeBrons completely reshape his game alongside of another star. Next to Luka Doncic, he was willing to step back, play without the basketball, and set screens. So if there's one guy that I trust to figure out how to use all this talent, it would be a year 24 LeBron James. Jalen Brown, though, is the fascinating piece. He's gone from being Boston's number one guy to potentially the third or even fourth in the hierarchy on some nights. Jalen brown also likes to catch the ball, slow down for a second and then attack. And that is where I think there could be some overlap with Joel Embiid. If LeBron and Maxi already have the defense scrambling, the last thing you want is that advantage dying because the ball suddenly sticks. That is why quicker decisions are going to be so important for Jalen Brown. But the problem with that is that he led the league in lost ball turnovers a season ago. So there is a legitimate reason as to why he doesn't play at a million miles an hour. But I still believe he is going to have to sacrifice his touches and really have to change the way he goes about things offensively to fit into this team. But there's something that this Philadelphia offense is going to be able to do that I really haven't heard many people talk about. This team's ability to mismatch hunt. Imagine you're a coach going up against Philadelphia. You put your best defender on Tyrese, your next one on Jalen Brown, but then you've still got LeBron and Embiid to deal with. Even VJ Edgecombe is not someone you want your weakest defender hiding on. So pretty much every single time down the floor, there's going to be an obvious mismatch to attack. And they can stagger all of this talent too. Maxi and Embid already have a ton of chemistry. LeBaron can come in and run other bench units, and Philadelphia should basically have a high level of creation talent on the floor for a full 48 minutes. Early on in the season, definitely expect this to look a little clunky. There are a lot of guys learning a lot new roles, so it's not going to look perfect out of the gates. But I believe once the hierarchy can settle down, this could become one of the hardest playoff offenses in basketball to actually match up with. Now coming in as my 6th best offense, I've got the Oklahoma City Thunder. What makes the Thunder a little weird to have in this video is that so much of their scoring actually begins with their defense. Last season, the Thunder ranked second in the NBA for points off turnovers at 21.1 per 100 possessions. So when they force you into a couple mistakes, especially in their own building, the game can really get away from you incredibly quickly. It truly is one of their bigger offensive advantages. But make no mistake about it, Shea Gilgis-Alexander is the main reason why their offense is as good as it is. With SGA on the floor last season, Oklahoma City had a 123.5 offensive rating, which was in the 95th percentile for a lineup. Then take him out of the game, and that drops all the way down to a 112.5, now in the 30th percentile. That is an 11 point difference in offensive rating. Straight up goofy numbers. And honestly, Shea is probably 50% of the reason why the Thunder make the top 10. And in the half court, everything starts with his ability to get to the paint. If you back off to stop his drive, then he gets to that mid-range jumper. But if you're worried about the mid-range jumper, he's going to go right by you. Shea's downhill threat is really the key to the Thunder offense. But San Antonio showed us the counter. Wemba Nyama basically stripped the paint away from Shea and forced him to have to be more of a jump shooter. Shea is obviously still elite from mid- range, but the pull-up three-pointer is just not at the same level. and I believe another step forward in that department could give him the final answer that he needs. Jalen Williams hopefully getting back healthy should make a big difference too. When teams load up on Shea, J-Dub can actually take over the ball handling and almost operate as a secondary point guard for this team. We've seen him do that in massive playoff games before, and just having another guy who can create, score, and make plays at a really high level is absolutely vital to this Thunder team. Then, Jarrett McCain gets a full offseason inside the system after how good he looked following the midseason move. While there's also still room for Chad Holmgren to take another step forward offensively. Yes, I still do have some questions about Oklahoma City when the playoffs slow down and when teams keep Shea out of the paint. But over the course of the full season, When you're looking at their transition offense, SGA's ridiculous individual scoring, and the secondary creation that they will hopefully have back this season, I believe they should still be comfortably in the top 10. Now, coming in at number 5, I've got the San Antonio Spurs. And even though this team is built around their defense, that defense similar to the Thunder really gives them a massive head start offensively. We really saw that once the playoffs began. San Antonio averaged 17.9 fast break points per game in the playoffs, which was first amongst all teams. They started to play much faster, turning stops and rebounds into offense before the opposing defense could properly get set. Then in the half court, the foundation is basically three really talented downhill guards playing alongside of Victor Wemba Nyama. Stefan Kassel is the setup guy of the group. He can get downhill, finish through contact, and make those drive and kick reads out to the open shooters. Dylan Harper gives you something slightly different because he's more of a direct bucket getter than Kassl. Yeah, he can make the simple read, but a lot of the time his first instinct is just to eat up the space in front of him and go and get a bucket. Both of these guys fit naturally next to Wemba Nyama because Victor creates so much space even when he doesn't have the ball. Just WemBA Nyama rolling toward the rim creates soo much gravity because you basically have to send help. If you don't, Castle, Harper, or Fox can just throw the ball somewhere near the rim and WemBa Nyama is going to catch it and throw it down. So if the big man stays with WemBa Nyama, then the guard gets more room to attack. And if the defense sends help from the corners, now you've got Devin Vassell and or Julian Champagny wide open ready to make the shot. Then you've still got De'Aaron Fox, who I think should be in for a bounce back season next year. Yep, he was definitely underwhelming in the playoffs. But after hurting his ankle in Game six versus the timberwolves he just never looked like the same athlete if the speed can come back and he gets his legs properly underneath him then san antonio suddenly has three guards who can all create advantages in so many different ways the biggest reason that i have them this high though is internal improvement we're talking about year four wemby year three castle and year two harper after this group already just made an NBA Finals. Castle's jump shot can still improve. Harper should become better with a full NBA season now behind him. And Wemba Nyama still has plenty of room for improvement offensively. And yeah, there are questions about how exactly these three guards are actually going to fit together long term. But the ingredients are ridiculous. You've got downhill creation, shooting, multiple pick and roll ball handlers, transition offense at a very high level and maybe the most ridiculous role threat in basketball history sitting in the middle of all of it now coming in at number four i've got the minnesota timberwolves and this offense is going to look entirely different next season they've basically swapped julius randall who had the tendency to become a little bit of an offensive black hole at times for LaMelo Ball, who is quite literally the opposite. And I think LaMello is exactly what Anthony Edwards needs at this point in his career. Last season, Edwards spent 34% of his minutes on the ball, which was in the 99th percentile league wide. That really illustrates just how much offensive responsibility Minnesota were putting on his shoulders night in and night out. They wanted him to be the guy scoring 30, creating the first advantage, organizing the offense and constantly having the ball in his hands every game. Now I don't think they need to keep asking him to do that. Lamello can bring the ball up the floor, control the pace, get everybody organized and create that first advantage. Then Ant gets to attack a defense that's already started moving instead of having to manufacture everything from scratch. We all know how LaMelo can organize high-level offense. From January the 1st through to the end of the regular season, Charlotte posted a 122.4 offensive rating, which was number one in the NBA in that stretch. Now, a lot went into that, especially with their rebounding, but LaMeno was still the straw that stirred the drink. Now imagine Ant Edwards playing off of that, and the Ant-Man can come off screens, cut, attack closeouts, and still take over with the ball whenever he needs to. Because of this newfound luxury, I genuinely believe we could be in for the most efficient scoring season in the career of Anthony Edwards. I'd also expect Minnesota to play far quicker as well, because that's just naturally how Lomelo tends to play. And I think guys like Jadon McDaniels and Rudy Gobert are going to benefit off of that massively. McDaniel's is a guy who can run the floor, cut behind defenses, and knock down the open three-point shot. While Rudy finally gets another point guard who is constantly looking for him around the rim. Lamello is going to throw Rudy Gober lobs. I can pretty much guarantee you that. Now, whether Rudy is going to catch every single one of them is a completely different conversation. But the opportunities are definitely going to be there. The other big advantage is staggering Ant and LaMelo. So now, Minnesota are going to have a high-level creator running the show pretty much all game long. Again, putting less of a burden on the shoulders of Anthony Edwards. But the obvious question here is the health of LaMeno Ball. Because he's had ankle issues basically his whole career. But if he can stay on the floor, I personally love the fit with this team. And because of that, Minnesota are going to be a far better offensive team next season. Now coming in at number three, I've got the Indiana Pacers. And I don't expect this offense to look like the third best in basketball right away from opening night. Tyrese Halliburton is stepping back onto an NBA court for the first time in 18 months. And Indiana are also trying to work Avicii Zubats into one of the fastest systems in the game. I could definitely see the first couple months looking really clunky, to the point where talking heads are asking if Indiana are even the same team anymore. But the biggest reason I've got them here at number three is because of Tyrese Halliburton. Go back to Indiana's 2025 playoff run, the last time we saw this group at its best with Tyrese healthy. And in that run, with Halliburton in the game, Indiana had a 120.5 offensive rating, which was in the 88th percentile. Then when he went to the bench, that fell off a cliff down to 107.3 in the 10th percentiles. That right there is the Tyrese Halliburtton effect on this offense. When Indiana are at their best, he puts pressure on you basically the entire time he's on the floor. Halliburton grabs the ball and immediately his eyes are down the other end of the court. That allows Indiana to get into their actions a lot sooner than other teams around the league, because he is constantly pushing the ball up the floor. The Pacers are getting into their first set with roughly 17 seconds on the shot clock, and if that first set doesn't create an advantage, well, they get to run another one, and another one and sometimes even another one. That is how you end up with such a great offense. Then when Halliburton sits down and TJ McConnell comes into the game, somehow they play even faster. And so much of Halliburtons half court dominance comes in the pick and roll. In his last healthy season, he produced 1.11 points per possession as a pick and roll ball handler, sixth amongst players with at least 200 possessions. That to me is why the fit with Zubac is so interesting. With Miles Turner, defenses never really knew what was coming because Miles could roll or pop to the mid-range or even the three-point line. Turner could drag opposing centers away from the basket, which gave Halliburton all kinds of space to manipulate the defense. With Zubach, you don't have that same luxury. Everybody knows in a pick-and-roll setting, Big Zoo is going to roll. But this is important. Zubac himself is still a really solid pick and roll player. Last season, he produced 1.25 points per possession as the roll man. So this isn't about replacing Turner with some bad pick and roll guy. It's just about changing the geometry of the action. And Zubach gives Indiana something that Turner couldn't because he can actually create his own offense down low. That right there gives them another option when their normal run and gun offense gets slowed down. The challenge with Zubac though is figuring out how to use that without losing the pace that makes this Pacers team so special. What makes that even more important is how the roster is built for speed. Aaron Neesmith is the perfect example. You don't want him in a slower system, dribbling around and trying to create something from scratch against the defender. He's just simply not very good at that. But if you give him a catch and shoot three or a closeout to attack space, he becomes an absolute demon. Kelly Oubre should also get similar opportunities while Obi Toppin has already shown just how good of a fit he is alongside of but when you're looking at those three guys in particular in a slower system, I just don't think it works anywhere near as well. So yeah, I think the fit is going to take some time, but once Halliburton does get his legs back underneath him and Indiana finds out exactly how to utilize Zubac in this system, then I think this team is the most talented Pacers team we've seen in the Tyrese Halliburton era. Now coming in at number two, I've got the defending champion New York Knicks. And unlike Indiana, New York know exactly who they are. They found the formula and they won a championship with it. Everything begins and ends with Jalen Brunson. We've already seen that he is good enough to be the number one option on a championship team. Now he might not be in that Yoki Giannis SGA tier where you can basically build anything around them. But when New York desperately needed a bucket, they were able to give the ball to Brunson and he went and got them something. The best example of that was the title clinching game. 45 points on the road in San Antonio to win New York's first championship in more than 50 years. If their offense slows down and gets ugly. They always have the Brunson button to press. But what made New York almost impossible to deal with during that playoff run was the insane shooting around him. Landry Schammett made 48% from three. Yep, you heard me correctly. Karl-Anthony Towns was at 45% from three. OG Ananobi shot 49% from 3. And Mikel Bridges made 37%. When that many guys are making shots at that good of a clip around Brunson, there really isn't a clean answer. And it's Karl-Anthony Towns that's the wildcard piece. They can use him as a post hub, they can let him score inside, they let him make plays from there, or they can just put him out to the 3 point line and he's going to knock down 45% of his threes. If you defend him with your center, suddenly your rim protector is standing 25 feet from the basket. But if you put someone smaller on him, Cat is just going to take that matchup and punish you inside. We saw that time and time again in the finals versus the Spurs. Wambanyama was ultimately forced to guard Cat because no one else on the Spurs could, and that dragged him away from the rim, leaving the Spur's interior defense totally exposed. That is what makes New York such a difficult playoff offense to guard. Brunson can give you that bailout scoring. Katt can just change the geometry of the floor entirely. And when Oji, Bridges, and Landry Schammett are scorching hot from three, it's pretty much just good night. Now, I do think the loss of Mitchell Robinson is going to be a big hit. He is one of the best offensive rebounders in basketball, and Robinson was so crucial in those bench lineups. But the core formula is still intact. They have a superstar level offensive creator. They've got so many different ways that they can effectively run offense, and now they have a championship to prove it. But now, coming in as the number one offense for next season, I've still got the Denver Nuggets. They were number one last season, and I get it. Everyone's pretty low on Denver right now after that first round exit. This was the team that I stupidly picked to win the championship, and they went out looking nothing like the team I knew. But offensively, I'm not really worried. Nikoli Jokic became the first player ever to lead the league in both rebounds and assists per game in the regular season, while still giving Denver 27.7 points a game on 62% effective field goal shooting. And before the knee injury in January, I genuinely thought we were watching one of the greatest offensive players we've ever seen. But after the injury, he just didn't have the same touch on his jumper. So if a full offseason can get him anywhere near close to that early season version again, Denver immediately gets back to being the best offensive team in the game. That's also because Jamal Murray just gave us his best regular season ever, giving Denver 25.4 points a game while shooting 43% from three and making the All-NBA third team. When Nikola Jokic and Jamal Marie shared the floor last season, Denver had a staggering one 30.6 offensive rating. Like, that is straight up ridiculous. Their pick and roll combination just has way too many answers. Jokic can pop, roll, catch in the middle, or immediately find a cutter or shooter. Load up too heavy to Jokice, and now Jamal is burning you from all three levels. Like, there really isn't a good option. Then Aaron Gordon makes that combination even harder, because he understands exactly what he needs to do to succeed next to Nikola Jokic. He cuts at the perfect moment when the defense turns their head. He gives them another physical finisher and offensive rebounder at the basket, while also being able to step out and knock down the three-point shot at a really high level. So, with Gordon on the floor with Murray and Jokich, Denver had a ridiculous 133.6 offensive rating. When these three guys are healthy and all rolling together, there really isn't a better offense in the NBA. And yes, Peyton Watson, now being gone, definitely puts more pressure on the shoulders of Aaron Gordon to remain healthy. Watson was basically Denver's backup Gordon. Obviously, he's not Aaron Gordon, but he gave them another athletic, defensive kind of guy who could provide them some of the versatility whenever Aaron Gordon wasn't available. Now that safety net is entirely gone, and considering Gordon's health issues over the last couple of years, this is probably my biggest concern with Denver coming into next season now. But for every title contender next season, there's one question that could ultimately be their downfall. And if you want to see what those questions are, you can click on my East or West videos right here, and I'll see you there if you do.