Where the Sixers Stand in the Eastern Conference Hierarchy

As July slowly transitions to August, most of the dust has settled on the NBA.

The seismic shifting hasn't made the west more powerful, though. All the significant movement has pushed the balance of power toward the east. The Sixers, in case you missed it, are a massive force in the conference after a summer for the ages, undergoing significant changes headlined by the additions of LeBron James and Jaylen Brown.

The locals are excited. About those two stars playing for their team. More importantly, about their team having a chance to reach heights it hasn't sniffed since 2001.

So, where do the Sixers sit in the hierarchy of the Eastern Conference?

Tier 4: Play-In Teams

The Indiana Pacers are primed for a bounce-back with Tyrese Haliburton returning from a torn achilles. They did not get to keep their lottery pick, a hazard of acquiring new starting big man Ivica Zubac. I always err on the side of skepticism in the first year back from an achilles, be it because of just managing the player's road through the season or the unfortunate truth that ruptured achilles can often leave athletes shades of their former selves. They'll be good, but a lot of teams got better.

The Orlando Magic have a new head coach. The vibe should be better. Their lone free-agent addition was the player formerly known as Nikola Vucevic. They did not have a first-round pick. Who is going to shoot the basketball?

The Boston Celtics have, by far, the most playoff upside of any of these teams. Jayson Tatum was awesome when he returned from his torn achilles, but he couldn't get through a first-round playoff series healthy. I afford him the same questions I had for Haliburton, especially given that he will have to increase his workload with Brown swapped out for the good-but-often-unavailable Paul George. Mitchell Robinson was a great get to improve upon the weaknesses Joel Embiid exposed on Boston's interior in the playoffs last season, but he comes with his own long history of health concerns. There are a lot of 'if's here, but this is the team that has the most potential to make me look silly.

Meleek Thomas had a very impressive showcase for the Cleveland Cavaliers in Las Vegas Summer League. But he exists as the only addition Cleveland has made on a standard contract thus far. Maybe Jonathan Kuminga is their consolation prize for not getting James. Some prize. James will be 37 on opening night and looked pretty run down by the end of Cleveland's playoff run. They lost defensive ace Dean Wade to Philadelphia, too, and trend short outside of their starting five.

Tier 3: They'll be guaranteed a series

The Atlanta Hawks were one of the most consistently good teams in the league after they sent Young to Washington last season. Nickeil Alexander-Walker has emerged into an outstanding value contract on both ends of the floor, taking home the league's Most Improved Player award last season. They added Aaron Wiggins and Lu Dort. Atlanta figures to have all the tools to be a really good defense. There are just teams with more fire power.

The Detroit Pistons were convincingly the best team in the Eastern Conference in the 2025-26 regular season. They could not cobble together points in the playoffs. Detroit replaced Tobias Harris with John Collins, an excellent lob threat at the forward position and a better spacer than Harris was. They added a dose of shooting with Isaiah Joe. Detroit has rookie Ebuka Okorie on the bench to supply some point guard play in relief of Cade Cunningham. But how are they going to create offense away from Cunningham? Will there be tension with the unflattering way Jalen Duren's restricted free agency has played out?

Tier 2: They'll be legitimately good

The Miami Heat will brutalize teams with their frontcourt of Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo. They'll be bullies on offense and perhaps inpenetrable as an interior defense. The team's third best player right now is Andrew Wiggins. That is not all that encouraging. By the end of free agency, the fourth best player may be Klay Thompson or DeMar DeRozan. Also not terribly encouraging. It gets worse. The fifth best player is probably one of Davion Mitchell, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bobby Portis. They'll win a lot of regular-season games because of their top two guys, but, man, it is not inspiring outside of Adebayo and Antetokounmpo.

The Toronto Raptors could very convincingly be the third seed in the Eastern Conference, we just have no idea what's to come of Kawhi Leonard's investigation with the Los Angeles Clippers. Is he going to be suspended for a significant portion of the season? If not, this team is going to be very strong on both ends. If he is suspended, they're going to spend a lot of the season making up for lost time. This is the team that could give Philadelphia and New York some real problems in the playoffs if Leonard is allowed to play for most of the regular season and actually healthy for the postseason.

Tier 1: Duking it out for the Eastern Conference crown

The defending champion New York Knicks will get their nod. Jalen Brunson has the basketball gods on his side. Will they mend his surgically-repaired wrist back to normalcy? I'm a strong believer that Mitchell Robinson was one of the Knicks' four most important players. Trying to cover his exit with Andre Drummond, who is their only addition of free agency thus far, is something like using a piece of tape to cover a hole in your boat. New York gets its championship equity. Maybe the magic will continue. But will they have the hunger and formula to repeat?

Over the last two months, the Philadelphia 76ers, you might've heard, have undergone a makeover perhaps more dramatic than Laney Boggs' in She's All That. They have unquestionable depth at four of the five positions, incredible star power and playmaking with size. Their top five is so potent that Joel Embiid will miss games and they'll still maintain most advantages. If they don't get to the conference finals, at a minimum, it's probably because they got in their own way.

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