Contender Rankings & Who Needs a Stylistic Change: Trae, LaMelo Ball + More | ALL NBA PODCAST
Video Overview & Insights
Adam Mares and Jason Timpf rank the top NBA championship contenders heading into the 2026-27 season, breaking down where teams like the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, and Minnesota Timberwolves stack up. They also discuss how LeBron James could reshape the title picture, which stars need to make stylistic changes—including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Trae Young, Ja Morant, LaMelo Ball, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jaylen Brown—and wrap up by highlighting the teams that will be the biggest League Pass must-watch squads this season. A must-watch for NBA fans looking for contender rankings, offseason analysis, and predictions for the 2026-27 NBA season.
Lakers are not going to be good.
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00:00 - Intro
Jason's disrespect of knicks coz they were not one of his predictions from last year is really off-putting. This episode should've been given to Legler, he is way more neutral.
02:22 2026-27 contender rankings starting with Spurs, Thunder, Knicks
19:11 How LeBron could impact the rankings
He said a team with Paul George could beat the Knicks … I’m only watching this pod when legs is on.
Jason, you lost a fan ✌️
21:15 Celtics
23:11 Heat
Jason always talks like he knows his stuff when he doesnt.
25:50 76ers
29:19 Nuggets
I’m still confused how OKC is just a shoe in, when the year they won, they went to 2 game 7s .. If you go to a game 7, in a series, that means it’s a toss up… Knicks never sniffed a game 7, they should be #1
32:00 Pistons
33:39 Lakers
They can smooth talk all they want, but by the end of the day it’s all speculation 😅 Go Knicks!
35:13 Cavs
36:00 Raptors
It's still so funny years later Jasonn will REFUSE to give Westbrook any credit of greatness 😅, i can say at least it's gettin better 😂👌🏾
Adam for knows the difference he made in Denver mainly for Jokic alone,
Imagine what's about to happen in Miami ?
They should have instantly became the fav because like Jason said they have the flexibility and will be bringing over
Westbrook
Demar
Potentially Beal or Klay
,those experience pieces alone behind a historic defense front line gives any team challenges😁🤝
37:50 Timberwolves
40:56 Who needs to make a stylistic change? Starting with SGA
9th????? 😂😂😂 Someone knows nothing about DAWGS on the hoop court!!
44:39 Trae Young
50:33 Ja Morant
1. OKC 2. SA 3. NY 4. MIN 5. PHI 6. DEN 7. HOU 8. IND 9. DET 10. LAL
53:13 LeMelo Ball
57:40 Giannis
I like how Jason stutters when he discussed the Knicks destroying the Spurs 4-1, because to be clear, losing 4-1 is not a close series. But Jason has been discrediting the Knicks all last year and all playoffs and he continued to, which is odd, because he has generally good vision. I imagine the stutter had traces of a Freudian slip. I expect the Spurs, if they make it out the West, to stutter in the face of the Reign champion NY Knicks, who have now beaten the spurs 6 of their last 8 encounters. But I digress... Fortune favors the bold, and it's unfortunate that "The reigning champions, the New York Knicks are the best team in the league" is somehow a bold statement...
59:01 Jaylen Brown
1:00:48 League Pass climbers
Way too low on the Sixers. The nuggets are worse than the Sixers.
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Jason takes are a joke at this point. Dude is a douche.
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Gotta have Jason back my two favorite shows combined
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Keep ranking the nuggets ahead of the wolves when the wolves pound that ass day in and day out. Adams cope is insane atp this has gotta be some sort of defense mechanism. Wolves really fucked up your brain chemistry over these past few years my guy
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What about the team that got to game 7 of the finals one year ago
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The Spurs have not upgraded much and yet so many people are now basically crowning them as the best champions. How does this make sense?
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Knicks got favorable matchup but every other champion hasnt!? They really hate us!
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I don't understand how the spurs didnt try for jaylen brown Harper, Castle and him would been a great defensive trio with wemby in the back
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Jason flat out hates the Wolves
More User Perspectives
Raptors and Hornets must see TV!
@JulianStrawtherTrutherNBA analysts really never learn. I thought that when the Wolves beat Denver with Conley and Shannon in the backcourt, they would have understood. The Wolves have an established culture, and they aren't going to lose to teams that aren't in the absolute elite tier. Ranking this team behind the Lakers, Denver, Cavs, Raptors, Sixers, and Pistons was incredibly disrespectful, and you’re going to be proven wrong—AGAIN—just like happens every season.
@matheusbernardes6926Waaay too early for a show like this 🤔
@rodneywooten2225Having sixers really low is 10… lol that’s good to me. where the hell were thy before brown trade ? 15 not on it all? I lll take it
@Flyersfan9420Knicks for that repeat man looking real good. The changes they made were only found in the playoffs. Only lebron choosing cavs or 76ers making it intereating. Dont matter how many good teams there are in the west
@theezdamnknicks9192Your dreaming if you think the Spurs are going to win the championship next year. every single team is gonna make adjustments every single one of them!!
@arthernandez9729I cant respect any show that has San Antonio, the losing team in the finals as no. 1. Thats literally saying no other team got better but them. San Antonio went seven games against 2 teams that had major injuries to their roster. The Spurs should be a legit 3rd team which isn't bad when you consider the strength of the league currently. NY should be no.1 because they are the champs and they will also be better next year. Thats just the evolution of the game. Indiana and Boston are complete unknowns just because of the roster changes and trades but this year is going to be a dog fight for the title regardless of where lebron goes. I feel that there will also significant trades mid season based on team trajectory. Im excited for next season and I can hardly wait for October to get here
@trekksonicsDefinitely wanna see Legs and Jason on together one day.
@WillthaprinceAdam is biased asf holy shit.
@SneakerGod22yall media cant live a day without doing rankings, power rankings and draft. 😂
@steve13191Nuggets like 18 spot for me
@JWake-hv2vfI think you guys are right and wrong… on Sixers… The got rolled by NYC, I think they change their style and run the same offense that New York runs. The Sixers have the perfect athletes to play that Style. I don’t think JB needs a career year… Sixers aren’t a team built to need him to carry the team… If after seeing the Knicks, the Sixers don’t implement that system, Nurse should be Fired. If the Sixers run that system, they’re running through Teams because they are New York Athletes on steroids
@KDASVGThere is so much talent in the league now that these teams aren’t separated by much.
@ryanweiss8468The Spurs are going to regress. They overachieved. Also, the Wolves disrespect is insane. The "if player x gets hurt" is a joke. Guess what, yhe Spurs are an injury to Wemby away from being a play-on team, and the Nuggets are a bottom five team if Jocic gets hurt, etc. I cant belive these people provide an "expert" opinion.
@2005OEFArmySan Antonio, everyone’s favorite hypothetical champion. Barely beat a severely injured OKC team in 7 then got smacked in 5 by the Knicks, but they’re all the sudden a juggernaut 😂😂
@LD21333Wow wow don’t throw Minnesota out the lebron sweepstakes they said Denver was out not the wolves💀
@ButterMilk_Milthe Spurs dominated the finals as a reason to say the Knicks aren't the #1 on these lists really needs to be retired especially when no one wants comment on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th quarter points diff
@jeangjr814Bro before you say the Knicks had favorable matchups look who okc beat to get to the finals last year and tell me if that wasn't favorable but I still respect their run
@deshaunwilson4422Number one is San Antonio but the Knicks beat them. Ok lol
@keenanshoulders6981For a video like this Tim Legler was needed.
@GodofDiscoThe hate for the Knicks is unreal
@jejaian1841That both of these goons think that LeBroncle can improve ~any~ NBA team at this point... sheer delusional foolery 🤣
@shaft900076ers WAY too high, even with Lebron
@Paladin979Adam using injuries as excuse for Denver against the Wolves? MN lost Ant and Divo half way thru and started Conley and Shannon in clinching gm 6?!
@jasongottfried9257Soo many Knicks fans are upset at the rankings 😂
@DeMortuisAutNilAutYou guys have WAYYY TO much faith in LeBron. The myth of LeBron is bigger than LeBron
@nocturnalron69Spurs will improve. I like the addition of Coach Donovan more then any other move they made. I think that'll be a difference maker. Their roster will be better. We'll see how OKC plays losing key members. West will be up for grabs between Thunder and Spurs. One team I'd be rooting for is Minnesota, it'll be fun to watch Ant and LaMelo.
Thunder UP!
So, Wemby's gonna learn how to not choke because he's "tired" ?
@larrycohen5553Unbelievable the same story about this two teams even though knicks swept everybody where is respect for champs.Knicks are number one until otherwise proven and Bronson is best NBA player and that's reality !!!!!!
@sefiksokolji1041So the Spurs go into the season with momentum but the Knicks don't? The Spurs couldn't even keep momentum WITHIN A GAME and would lose at the end. Until Wemby has ONE go-to move they're not winning a championship.
@Stratos.2The Timpf hate is crazy. Keep cookin Jason!
@djl4572