NBA SIMS LEAGUE
2027 NSL Contenders?
In most NSL seasons there is a surprise team. A team that finished the previous season squarely in the lottery, with little to no aspirations of contending in the following season. Whether it was injury, lack of talent, lack of chemistry, or whatever else could plague an NSL team, teams have less-than-stellar seasons. That does not mean they will be in the dumps for the eternity of time. Part of the beauty of the NSL is how quickly a team can flip its fortunes. In this article I will be profiling some of the teams that have made the jump in seasons past, then previewing some of the teams I believe could be in store for a similar change in stature heading into the 2027 NSL season.
2025/2026 New York Knicks
There are few, if any teams that have made the full 360 turn as smoothly and as effortlessly as the Knicks have this season. The Knicks key contributors in 2025 look like child’s play in comparison to the lineup they post today.
Some key contributors from the 2024/2025; 20-62 Knicks:
RJ Barrett
Allen (who was acquired in a mid-season trade last year from the Magic), Giddey, and McDaniels are the only holdovers. Though each of those players can fill a key role, and holds a lot of value, none are to be judged as stars. Enter Kevin Durant, Jalen Brunson, and a high-level role player in Dyson Daniels, and you have the juggernaut NY Knicks that stand today. On win total, it’s tough to replace the improvement. One of only two NSL 60 loss teams to improve on its inverse total the following season.
2025 NY Knicks; 20-62
2026 NY Knicks; 65-17
2024/2025 Season:
The 2025 season did not present itself as a year of similar levels of improvement, year over year that is. The Cavs improved from a 2024 5th place conference finish to a 2025, top of the East finish, and best record in the NSL. This could perhaps mostly be attributed to GM Shams swapping of Jalen Brunson for DeAaron Fox, and Kristaps Porzingis for Juluis Randle. Both Randle and Fox excelled in the 2025 season, some would say at levels we hadn’t seen prior or since. The other big jumper was the OKC Thunder, going from the 8 seed out west to finishing atop the conference. Stephen Curry was a major add, but he only played just over 20 games for the Thunder in the season after being traded for Trae Young. Caruso and Ayton played integral roles to the Thunder regular season dominance. Unfortunately, neither team found similar success in the playoffs, both bowing out at the conference finals or prior.
2023/2024 LA Lakers
This one hit especially close to home. The Lakers are the only team outside of the Knicks on this list to hit the 60-loss mark in the season prior, then improve on their inverse record. Their 2023 season finish was good for last place in the NSL. The Lakers had felt primed for one more run at the bottom, before exploding onto the league’s scene as a true contending team. They sought one more piece for their build, the length French center Victor Wembanyama who could finalize a dream trio of Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, and Wemby himself. The lottery gods had other plans that day…though GM Justin and the Lakers ended up getting their guy years later. In 2023 though, the Lakers were dreadful. They were Cade, and a bunch of misfit toys. They had tried to pair him with Porzingis and Randle at times during those early Cade days, but Cade’s running mate, or he himself kept going down for extended periods with injuries, and the first push to the top was thwarted. Then came the infamous summer of deals. In succession, the Lakers had locked down Kevin Durant, Andre Drummond, and Donovan Mitchell, all while keeping Cunningham in town to run the show. The team looked the goods all year but perhaps made a fatal move in exchanging Mitchell for Curry in the closing hours of trade season. They would later bow out to the Milwaukee Bucks in 6 games in the NSL finals. Though that team will not sit upon the mountain top, they will forever be immortalized in LA.
2022/2023 Season
Similar to the 2024/25 season, the 22/23 season did not provide quite the jumps some other seasons had. Apparently, the Thunder and Cavs had some flux years, because they both improved year to year, then declined, then improved again. The Cavs went from the 7th seed in 2021/22 to the 2nd seed in 2022/23. The Thunder went from the 12 seed out West, to the 6 seed in 2022/23. The Cavs were a CJ Mcollum run show in 2021/22. In 2023 they added a myriad of high-level players. In came Jimmy Butler, Jrue Holiday, Mikal Bridges, and Dejounte Murray. This was the beginning of a Cavs era of contention that you could argue stretches to today. OKC was Kemba, Ant Edwards, Juluis Randle, and Porzingis in 2021/22. OKC improved in the following season on two fronts. Addition from addition, and addition from subtraction. They took the reins from Kemba and handed them to Anthony Edwards. They took some of their shot detracting borderline stars away from the team, and replaced them with top role players like DeAndre Jordan, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Onyeka Okongwu. Like the Cavs, you could draw a line from today’s team to the OKC team of 2021. There might just be a few scribbles of late.
I could go on and on about the NSL and its ebbs and flows, and maybe this article deserves another edition going even further back. What did we learn though? The NSL can flip on its head at any given moment, so think twice about trading non protected first rounders many years in advance…or go crazy and build the next contender. As you can see, the next champion can come from literally anywhere, and often in this league, they come from the dumps. The other thing we learned, is Juluis Randle and Kristaps Porzingis have been on the same team, and/or been traded for each other about 68.75 times.
On to the future.
For our purposes, I will be including only the team who were not included in the play-in. That leaves us with 10 teams to consider as the big jumper for next season:
1) 76ers
2) Celtics
3) Pistons
4) Raptors
5) Nets
6) Nuggets
7) Kings
8) Suns
9) Wolves
10) Pels
Immediately I’ve got a few teams that I think we can eliminate. Remember, this is not to say these teams won’t improve, it is only to say I think they have a slim, or zero chance of turning their team into a true contender in one offseason. It is important to keep in mind I have been wrong many times before.
Teams who are out:
Pistons, Raptors, Kings, Suns, and I am on the fence, but I think they are out, The Wolves.
The Pistons have a good young roster, but they swung and missed on a big asset in Jaden Ivey. Ausar is great, but the Pistons lack a true star scorer, and until they acquire one, they will have a tough time contending here. They do have their pick this season, and they could trade that for a major star, but even then, this team seems a piece or two away. I also do not believe the Pistons will stray the course here, I think they will take their guy in the draft and return to possible contention 2-3 years from now. The Raptors have also compiled some young talent and can perhaps contend for a play-in spot next year, but they also lack a true star. They do have their pick this year, and Dylan has made gutsy trades before, but I think even in trading that pick for a star they are still a few pieces away from true contention. The Kings are maximized, and we saw how the season turned out from them. Sure, the health bill was rough, but when you are investing in Tyler Herro and Mitchell Robinson (who was extremely healthy this year considering trends), you’ve got to think that could be a chance. Without picks, it’s hard to see this team improving to true contention status. The Suns are in a similar boat, albeit with a bit more potential there in my opinion in terms of chance for internal growth. Malauch is a 2k beast and should only improve with NBA seasoning. Sharpe is the key here though. Is he a role-playing 6th man? Seems like the NBA Blazers were trying to figure that out late and will be a major question mark heading into next season. Will the Suns finally consider trading their guy? Lastly, the Wolves were tough. On one hand, anytime you have a top 10 player like AD you have a chance, but there’s really just not much else on the roster. Fears had some growing pains, and some brilliant flashes. He should be fine, but perhaps he will never be the score first guard that drives teams to contention in the NSL. Large obstacles to tackle in MIN, and also factoring in, is my belief AD is traded before the deadline of next season.
Here’s my list of the other 5, ranked in order of possibility of contention next season:
1) 76ers
If the injury bug ever avoids the 6ers, the league should be on watch. The question is, will that day ever come. Surely, healthy, the team is a play-in at worst, but more likely a bottom half playoff seed in the East. Jimmy Butler, Dejounte Murray, now Zion Williamson, and a ton of high-level role players, including the breakout Ajay Mitchell, is a formidable team. Ben has also shown a proclivity of looking into and making splash traded of late, and he’s not lacking in the picks department. 1-2 trades, and this team is squarely in the hunt next season in my mind.
2) Nuggets
A bit of a strange and interesting year in Denver, but a necessary step in the evolution of their team. Donovan Mitchell had been the heart and soul of the squad after coming over from LA a few years ago, but the writing was on the wall that the team would not accomplish the lofty goals set by their GM. The decision was surely made easier by the ascension of Jalen Johnson as a viable 1A option, and it doesn’t hurt that he has a stellar cast around to maximize his talents. Kyrie Irving, Domantas Sabonis, MPJ, Isaiah Collier, Queta is a very strong framework of a team. Add in 3 1st round picks this year, all projected mid-late first, and Denver’s concoction is really beginning to look like it has all the ingredients of a contender.
3) Celtics
Celtics are a tough placement on this list. On one hand, they have the head and shoulders best player in Jason Tatum, they also have another all-star in Sengun. Behind those guys, in Boston fashion, they have a ton of young and unproven depth, hence their placement at 3rd on this list. They will have a top pick to add to that cast this coming draft, and that certainly factors in. Boston could potentially be the high draft trade candidate that capitalizes and elevates to contender status from day one of the new season, but I also can’t help but wonder if it’s those 3 pieces, Rollins, and then not much else the league values. Here are the recent first round picks on roster:
Each player has flashed. Some recently (Scoot, Kuminga) and some, what seems like many moons ago(Wells, Whitmore, McCain), but it’s hard to say any of these guys would have a bevy of suitors. Boston is in the unenviable position of these guys being recent enough first round picks, but not necessarily playing like them, or worth the value of trading one for them in the current term. That type of physiological back and forth internally can be tough to navigate when making decisions to improve the team. Nonetheless, Boston has the tools…do they have the means?
4) Nets
The Nets have as strong of framework as any of these teams and perhaps are best suited to contend in the near future as each of their cornerstones is squarely in their prime. KAT, Siakam, and Lavine make up the bones of the build, and they are supplemented by high level role players like Jalen Smith, DeAnthony Melton, Adem Bona, and Gary Payton. They also have their pick from this season, and it would not shock me one bit to see that selection on the block leading up to the draft. The Nets are simply put, not in a position to wait on the blossoming of this young, and highly touted player. The least shocking part is the Nets making another offseason “potential contenders†list. This is not unfamiliar territory; the unfamiliar territory is realizing the true potential of the team.
5) Pelicans
Tough to put the Pels down here with as much talent as they have. 3 top 10 projected picks, Dylan Harper, Mathurin, Nembhard, Aldama, the polarizing Hansen Yang, and of course, Damian Lillard. The only reason the Pels are not higher on this list is I don’t think there’s anyway they trade more than 1 of these selections, if that. Surely, Lillard, Harper, 2 additional stars (the likely value they could net in trading the picks), and the rest of the cast could contend as soon as next season, assuming the pieces all fit, but I just don’t think that is in the cards in New Orleans. The more likely course of action is for them to trade Lillard and continue to build the young build I believe they are aiming for. All the means, but in my opinion, the lack of ambition will keep this team down for yet another season.
This league is beautiful and one of a kind, and if this article taught you anything, it is to never count yourself and your team out. You never know when the deal, pick, or free agent will come that will send your team over the top.