NBA League Pass Rankings for 2026-27, Part I

15 of the best watches in the league (just not, you know, THE best)

We’re close enough to the next season that I can taste it. Mmm, cinnamony!

It’s time for me to spend far too many words creating an utterly meaningless list that nonetheless upsets a great many people.

Doing League Pass rankings is sort of like being the Spotify DJ at a house party. I keep popular opinion in mind, but I’ll make room for my own favorites, as well. Try to subtly influence people in the “right” direction, as deemed by my unimpeachable taste in basketball viewing experiences. (“Wait, why do the Washington Wizards keep coming up in this playlist?”)

Novelty and team competency are the two most important qualities, in that order. I crave something new, be it a cool rookie or an exciting superstar addition. To a lesser degree, I consider everything from the announcing crew to the jerseys and courts to the in-arena entertainment, plus everything in between.

One thing I’ll note upfront: more teams than usual turned over part or all of their on-air broadcast talent, and that’s a sneaky-big part of the viewing experience. I tried to keep up with as much as I could, but I may have missed a change or two.

Finally, my typical disclaimer. I use bold font once per year, saved up just for this sentence: There are no unwatchable teams. That’s doubly true this season, where nobody has major incentive to lose.

So if your favorite team is low on this list, that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy watching them! It just means I enjoy watching everyone else more, which, yeah, maybe that’s not as comforting as I meant it to be.

If you’re extra freaky and want to look at previous years, here are the 2026 and 2025 editions.

And a reminder: the Basketball Poetry sale ends this weekend! For just $30, you'll unlock hundreds of articles, including my surprising skills piece, the All-Poetry team, upcoming Unlikely-But-Plausible predictions, analytical dives, trade grades, and more.

Don’t miss out! (Please!)

30) Brooklyn Nets

For the third year in a row, the Brooklyn Nets bring up the rear in our League Pass rankings.

The placement is what it is, but truly, there are plenty of reasons to tune in to this team. A top-notch production with the Eagles (Ian and Noah), Sarah Kustok, Vince Carter, and Richard Jefferson¹. The possible (probable?) level-up of Egor Demin. An exciting new rookie in Mikel Brown Jr., and an All-Star run for Michael Porter Jr. The nascent potential of young guys Nolan Traore, Day’Ron Sharpe, and/or Noah Clowney. Every time I’m out on Clowney, he sucks me right back in:

Plus, coach Jordi Fernandez is always cookin’ up something fun.

The Nets finishing last says far more about the rest of the league than it does about Brooklyn.

29) Sacramento Kings

I’m modestly interested in gunslinger rookie Darius Acuff. Certainly not as invested as the entire Kings staff, as this hilarious vid from James Ham proves:

James Ham@James_HamNBA

Darius Acuff Jr. gets all the player development coaches:

9:13 PM · Sep 29, 2026 · 1.07M Views

---

30 Replies · 95 Reposts · 2.5K Likes

I’m a believer in a Keegan Murray bounce-back season, but he doesn’t have the most aesthetically pleasing game. Malik Monk is a sneaky-great in-game dunker, but he doesn’t play much these days. Domantas Sabonis toils and toils and gets no respect (even in these here rankings). If you filtered Zach LaVine’s game through a Brita filter for just the highlights, he’d be a massive crowd-pleaser. If.

Frankly, the best reason to tune into Kings basketball is Dylan Cardwell’s wild celebrations, but when the third-string center (at least until Sabonis is traded) is the main thing to watch, well, it’s a tough sell.

28) Milwaukee Bucks

The biggest problem with the Bucks is that their best players overlap like sliced cheese in a deli package.

Tyler Herro, Ryan Rollins, Kevin Porter Jr., Brayden Burries, and Kasparas Jakucionis are all a slightly different flavor of combo guard; Myles Turner and Kel’el Ware are ostensibly stretch-fives; and Jaime Jaquez Jr., Ousmane Dieng, and even rookie Nate Ament are tweener forwards.

I think there is an interesting team in here somewhere, and new coach Taylor Jenkins is as good at solving jigsaw puzzles as anyone. But it’ll take a long time and perhaps a trade or two for Milwaukee to find the best version of themselves.

27) New Orleans Pelicans

Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen should improve upon up-and-down rookie years; both have characteristics (Fears’ handle and downhill driving, Queen’s passing) that could lead to cult-favorite status in the future.

Trey Murphy is an NBA 2K god, equally liable to cram one in your face as drain a 30-footer. Herb Jones is a lockdown perimeter defender out to prove he can be healthy and productive.

Zion Williamson is diminished, but he’s still Zion Williamson, a singular force in the paint.

Jamahl Mosley, whose name I can never spell right the first time (I’m desperate to introduce the “h” to the “o” and “s” in his last name), could well bring some respectability back to this crew on defense. And they do have one of my favorite broadcast crews in Joel Meyers and Antonio Daniels.

Your feelings on King Cake Baby might vary, but at the very least, he’s memorable, and the team’s “Skelican” jerseys might be my favorites in the entire league.

But the team has been unserious for too long. The offense has been less than the sum of its parts, and the defense doesn’t have many parts to begin with. As useful as Saddiq Bey was last season, there was just soooo much Saddiq Bey.

How long is Dejounte Murray destined for this team?

26) Phoenix Suns

I feel terribly about this ranking. The Suns were an extremely enjoyable group to watch last year, scrappier than Leroy Brown and filled with three-point bombers.

But they lost a little bit of what made them special in trading Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale for Miles Bridges. Devin Booker is always a guy I’ve respected and appreciated more than I’ve enjoyed viewing. This is a do-or-die season for Jalen Green, but if it’s just more of the same, the at-home experience will sour quickly. Dillon Brooks’ brand of villainy appeals to a specific slice of fan.

The Suns destroyed bad teams last year, going 23-4 against the bottom 10 teams. There won’t be nearly as many uncompetitive squads this season, so Phoenix could struggle.

Quick tangent: props to Mat Ishbia and the Suns for making their games available on local TV for free! That’s a strategy I’d love to see more teams adopt.

I’m deeply worried that the NBA has been losing the casual fan. It’s hard for me to remember the last time I had a real-life conversation with someone who cared about their local team but wasn’t into the nitty-gritty of Jalen Duren’s restricted free agency. I 100% acknowledge this could be personal bias based on my experiences, but I’m not the only one who feels this way. Games have become too hard to consume, split between a thousand different streaming services and cable networks.

Last year’s move back to NBC for some primetime matches was a huge step in the right direction, and the Suns continuing their free broadcast is another. The game needs sunlight to grow.

Unfortunately, those good vibes don’t boost Phoenix here. Neither do the widely-beloved, personally reviled “Valley” Brick Breaker uniforms.

25) Los Angeles Clippers

Brandon Ingram, hurt. Bradley Beal, hurt. My beloved Jordan Miller? Super-hurt.

But Darius Garland is a wizard with the basketball, and Keaton Wagler and Kobe Sanders promise fun, high-IQ play for basketball nerds. Ty Lue is one of the best coaches in the Association.

I just finished extolling the virtues of Kris Dunn. Derrick Jones Jr. will dunk on you on one end and snatch your cookies on the other. Brook Lopez is leaking oil, but second-year center Yanic Konan Niederhauser showed some really exciting high-energy flashes before he got hurt (and he’ll start the year sidelined, so that’s a little worrisome). Twice a year, Max Strus loses his goddamn mind in a funny way.

Also, I’m at least a little curious to see if this year’s group takes all the offseason horribleness and re-packages it into bulletin board material. Will they be like last year’s Suns and bring a ****-you attitude to the court?

If you’re a hardcore League Pass vet, the Clippers will be sneaky-fun even with their injuries. For normal people who mostly watch the stars and national TV games, they will be excruciating.

24) Golden State Warriors

It’s sacrilegious to put Steph Curry near the bottom of a League Pass ranking. I dare not step outside even on sunny days for fear of retributive lightning.

Curry is worth the price of admission alone. He will have moments when you forget about all your problems, when you’re just glad to be alive at the same time as the GS(hooter)OAT.

But this team is so banged up. Jimmy Butler will be out for months recovering from a torn-up knee. Moses Moody, same deal. Kristaps Porzingis is, I guess, permanently day-to-day with his POTS (or whatever? I’m still unclear), and he’s out indefinitely at the start of the season.

There is depth here in Gui Santos, De’Anthony Melton, Brandin Podziemski (primed for a small breakout), Al Horford, and intriguing rookie Yaxel Lendeborg. Bump them up a dozen spots when they’re fully healthy. But when so much top talent is on the shelf and out of reach, it’s hard to muster much enthusiasm. These days, I can only watch Draymond Green’s antics and turnovers so often.

Bonus negative points for losing Pat “I’M THAT MOTHERF*****!” Spencer.

23) Chicago Bulls

Caleb Wilson will have games where he looks like The Future, but he’ll have plenty more where he looks like the raw 20-year-old that he is. Josh Giddey’s passing is top-tier, and Norm Powell provides some north-south oomph and deadeye shooting. Nic Claxton isn’t my cup of chamomile, but he at least provides something resembling a defensive backbone for a team that sorely needs it. Tre Jones’ roaring transition drives and never-quit defense provide some nice bench punch.

Matas Buzelis could be the next League Pass star. He’s got bounce, he’s got range, and he’s increasingly got a killer mentality. Watch his predatory patience here:

I’m keeping a close eye on him.

RIP to Stacey King, an announcing legend. Robbie Hummel and company have big shoes to fill. Benny the Bull is a top-five mascot, dumping popcorn on people and playing Operation and nailing backward half-court shots in a way Chef Curry could only dream of.

The Bulls play fast as hell, and it’s a more fun brand of basketball than their inevitably disappointing record shows. But sadly, the league pass rankings are even more competitive than the standings.

22) Orlando Magic

The Magic have a chance to be really good this season, and if they are, that almost certainly means they’ll be more aesthetically pleasing, too. But new coach Sean Sweeney needs to figure out how to wring some spacing out of a rotation that had only two players shoot above 35% from deep last year (Desmond Bane and Tristan da Silva).

This team overflows with talent and the corresponding pressure that comes with it. If Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero can’t make it work, Anthony Black is waiting in the wings for a bigger role. A huge trade isn’t out of the question.

The broadcast team is wonderfully comforting, a hot toddy on a cold night. Stuff the Dragon was named Mascot of the Year. He brings his fastball every game.

But there’s too much grime, too much kludginess, mucking up the gears. I’m optimistic it can work out, but I need to see it first.

21) Houston Rockets

If you like offensive rebounding, boy, do I have the team for you! Unfortunately, offensive rebounding doesn’t have the mass market appeal of, say, making shots the first time.

As I said on RealGM Radio yesterday, Amen Thompson is my preseason pick to return to form and nab my oh-so-prestigious Perimeter Defensive Player of the Year award. I hope he and Tari Eason can go back to their “Terror Twins” ways.

Some people count sheep to fall asleep; I count Kevin Durant elbow jumpers. Alperen Sengun has winnowed out the wildest passes from his repertoire, which is good for the team but bad for my viewing needs. Say what you want about Marcus Smart, he always keeps things interesting.

I find myself in the mentally incongruous position of simultaneously thinking the Fred-VanVleet-as-savior storyline is wildly overblown and that the Rockets will be really good.

The best news? My darling “Dunkstronaut” court should return in some form or fashion.

20) Cleveland Cavaliers

Every year, I’m a little too high on the Cleveland Cavaliers. While I’m excited about the addition of Peyton Watson, I suspect he’ll be a difference-maker in the playoffs more so than the regular season.

Donovan Mitchell is one of my favorite individual watches in the league, all spin moves and flyover gathers. I’m not sure when I last saw someone overload gravity on two defenders:

James Harden’s passing is sublime, absolute art. Jaylon Tyson and Sam Merrill bring some fun strengths off the bench. Evan Mobley isn’t the most exciting player, but he still has upward potential.

This is probably too low. But I don’t know; even with Watson, it all feels a little same-y to me. More than any team, the Cavs need to fast-forward to the postseason.

19) Dallas Mavericks

Kyrie Irving’s return helps balance one of the league's most pear-shaped rosters, a group where Cooper Flagg is more likely to play point guard than power forward (his natural position). But Uncle Drew can only do so much to tip the scales.

The Mavs have plenty of fun watches: and-one maestro Santi Aldama, Naji “The Knife” Marshall, PJ Washington, corner-three superstar Max Christie. Rookie Morez Johnson (can we call him Mo yet? Michigan people, is that acceptable?) has the kind of bulldozing paint game that can electrify an arena, and I haven’t given up on Zaccharie Risacher as a real player.

But this team is basically Irving, Daniel Gafford, and a million forwards. There isn’t enough role differentiation for me to believe it’ll all fit snugly. And why can’t Dallas find one decent set of uniforms?

18) Memphis Grizzlies

I’ve somehow found myself bringing up the Grizzlies this season on RealGM Radio way, way more than I should. I don’t know when it happened, but I contracted a bad case of the Beale Street blues².

Still, this is hedging my bets. If I know I’m getting 60 games of Zach Edey, this will be too low. If he misses substantial time, though, this will likely be too high.

There are a lot of “buts” with this team (stop giggling). The team has a lot of depth, but not much high-end talent. Rookie Cam Boozer is the odds-on favorite to win Rookie of the Year, but he’s not a slam dunk. Advanced analytics love Ty Jerome like my toddler loves cake, but he’s unproven as a starter — as is Memphis’ entire backcourt.

I really like Brevin Knight and Pete Pranica on the call, and the Grizzlies have had some underrated jerseys and courts over the years.

17) Toronto Raptors

While I’m very high on this group’s potential to be a top-10 team on both ends of the floor, I’m not quite as sure they’ll be must-see TV.

Scottie Barnes’ passing is gorgeous, and the team will defend like all hell (congrats to Jamal Shead on his new $24 million contract!). I’m glad they’re bringing back the dunking dino jerseys.

But there are only so many Kawhi Leonard jab steps I can watch before I get tired. And if/when he gets hurt, this offense could become messy really fast.

16) Charlotte Hornets

I’m nervous.

Brandon Miller’s shoulder is supposedly good to go, but Kon Knueppel’s hamstring is on the fritz (as is Grant Williams’). I’m sick of hamstrings ruining everything! And as optimistic as I am about the Naz Reid addition, the loss of LaMelo Ball hangs over this franchise. They’ll miss his magic.

Last year’s Hornets finished as a top-five League Pass team. Even if they’re feisty, this year’s group won’t be quite as electric.

But Moussa Diabate scratches and claws for every rebound, Knueppel and Miller’s growth will be worth watching, and Coby White will be on a mission to remove the “underrated” label from his rep once and for all. People don’t appreciate how good he is at getting to the hoop. White has a staccato pace all his own:

Sion James, Royce O’Neale, Grayson Allen, and rookie Hannes Steinbach should create some very fun bench units.

Plus, the Hornets have the best all-around art in the game, and announcer Eric Collins could make competitive grass-growing feel like a thrill ride. I’m open to moving them up if the season goes well.

That’s it for today! If your team wasn’t listed here, great news, that means they’ll be showing up in Part II next week. See you then.

1. I’m still a little unclear on how they’ll divvy up duties this season, but they’re all enjoyable in their own right.

2. Proofreading this passage, that didn’t really make sense. But you get my gist.