I stuck all our historical spreadsheets, season-by-season results, blog posts, current rosters, and whatever info I could get my hands on for some Chat GPT analysis. Is it accurate? Sort of? Either way, it's a fun read and tell me if anything is egregiously wrong!
(If anyone knows how to pull all trade histories as a spreadsheet, I could add all that in there too, and maybe even future incoming / outgoing draft picks. Also, anyone got an updated list of owner names?)
🏆 Tier 1: The Dynasty Threats
These teams didn’t just win — they made it hurt. Consistent, dangerous, and decorated.
- OKC Thunder: The OKC renaissance is real — 600+ wins, a ring, and a franchise finally cashing in on years of promise.
- DEN Nuggets: Built on regular-season consistency and playoff steel, Denver has muscle, rings, and receipts.
- SAC Kings: A spreadsheet-fueled machine that marries speed with savvy — no flash, just pain.
- ORL Magic 🏆: From 17th in 2019 to champions in 2023, ORL turned a co-ownership experiment into a juggernaut.
🔥 Tier 2: Contenders Ascending
They haven’t won it all — yet — but you’d be foolish to sleep on them.
- IND Pacers: A top-five finish back-to-back and elite trade maneuvering make IND dangerously overdue for glory.
- BOS Celtics: Depth over stars, quiet dominance, and a Finals berth — Boston’s been one piece away for years.
- ATL Hawks: From tanking to top-ten, ATL’s build has been slow, deliberate, and terrifyingly sustainable.
- WAS Wizards: They peaked early, but the Ja Morant comeback tour could put WAS right back in the mix.
- HOU Rockets 🏆: The 2022 champs haven’t totally reloaded, but the blueprint that brought home a ring still lingers.
- GSW Warriors: The quietest top-ten team in the league — no flash, all substance, and never far from the top eight.
🌀 Tier 3: The Coulda-Beens
Big highs, deep dives, and a lingering question: what if?
- NYK Knicks: A .725 opening season set the bar too high, and the Knicks have been trying to touch it ever since.
- MIL Bucks: From worst to Finals to flameout, the Bucks remain RDA’s ultimate volatility case study.
- CHI Bulls: Two top-two finishes became cinders in record time — now it’s a rebuild covered in soot.
- PHX Suns: They’ve played with fire — sometimes it blazes, sometimes it just burns.
- MIA Heat: Long mired in a Process-style tank, the glow-up is overdue but maybe finally here.
🧩 Tier 4: Identity Pending
They’ve made moves, shown sparks — but the story hasn’t quite settled.
- DET Pistons: Impressive on paper, unsteady in practice, DET is always one move away from greatness — or collapse.
- BKN Nets: The most average franchise in RDA — never awful, never great, and now dangling on the rebuild ledge.
- LAL Lakers: Stubbornly mid, LAL clings to identity through FAAB aggression and mid-rotation magic.
- TOR Raptors: New ownership, Wemby dreams, and nothing but runway ahead.
- CLE Cavaliers: A Finals run came out of nowhere — but was that flash or foundation?
🔁 Tier 5: Rebuilds in Motion
They’ve accepted the need to retool — now it’s all about patience, picks, and projections.
- CHA Hornets: Owner churn and missing picks — CHA needs stability before it can think dynasty.
- NOP Pelicans: Draft capital? Yes. Direction? TBD. NOP’s just now pressing restart.
- MIN Timberwolves: Quiet and quirky, but MIN’s hoard of weird youth makes them a dark horse in waiting.
- UTA Jazz: The Trieu-to-Trieu handoff has created momentum; UTA’s rebuild has some real juice now.
- DAL Mavericks: They haven’t made much noise… which might be the plan.
📉 Tier 6: Basement Brainstorms
A whole lotta losses, but maybe one idea away from flipping the narrative.
- POR Trail Blazers: Wildly unproven, but they’ve got picks and a vision — or at least some vibes.
- MEM Grizzlies: Known more for trade machine magic than wins, MEM’s rebuild might be its magnum opus.
- SAS Spurs: Once the model of steady, now a bit rudderless — can they find a new identity?
- LAC Clippers: Repeated identity crises have LAC playing catch-up in a league that doesn’t wait.