NBA Championship Power Rankings: How Kawhi Leonard Trade Impacts Raptors’ Outlook As Contender

This NBA offseason has proven to be quite eventful and on Monday, another seismic trade went through—finally.

With the league’s conclusion of the investigation into the Clippers, the Kawhi Leonard trade that was agreed upon months ago was able to be executed. Leonard will head to the Raptors to play in Toronto next season, while Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and a handful of picks (including two unprotected first-rounders and swap rights in 2027) will go to Los Angeles in return.

The Clippers, suddenly bereft of first-rounders after the NBA’s punishment, are surely glad to get those assets. But in the grand scheme of things, the Leonard trade is a big one that sends ripples through the championship landscape. It makes the East all the more competitive and sends the Raptors skyrocketing up the list to true contender status.

Just how high does the Leonard trade boost Toronto? Let’s dig into it by unveiling another edition of Sports Illustrated’s NBA championship power rankings.

For those who are new here, the teams who make up our championship power rankings list are the teams we see as having a genuine shot at winning this year’s title. Normal power rankings are a reflection of what’s happening right now—we’re looking at how what’s happening right now impacts every team’s chances to raise the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June. Thus, it’s a short list and a tough one to make.

We begin with a new concept: A brief look at all the teams who did not make our power rankings, grouped together based on the reason why they were left off.

Teams that didn’t make the cut

Steph Curry’s Warriors are facing a steep climb to earn a spot among this year’s championship contenders. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Need to make some strides: Kings, Grizzlies, Bucks, Pelicans, Hornets, Wizards, Nets, Bulls, Mavericks, Jazz, Clippers

The playoffs aren’t expected for these franchises, much less an unlikely championship run. The season will be a success if the key members of each team—from budding stars to exciting role players to the coaching staff—make visible strides towards reaching their potential. The losses and lumps that come with that will be accepted as part of the process.

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Too many question marks: Warriors, Hawks, Magic, Trail Blazers, Suns

These are good teams who should win a respectable number of games, all things equal. But they have flaws inherent to the roster that make a title push impossible to fully buy into from where we’re currently standing. That could change once the games get underway, but for now those question marks are fatal to championship hopes.

Barely left off: Celtics, Pacers, Rockets, Timberwolves

Four squads on the lower end of the championship odds spectrum. A deep playoff run wouldn’t be surprising. If everything broke right, a Finals appearance isn’t out of the question. Anything less, however, and the coming campaign is likely to end in disappointment.

Without further ado, let’s get into the championship power rankings, starting with No. 10:

10. Denver Nuggets

Nikola Jokić will be playing with a less talented team in Denver than last season. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last ranking: 8

The Nuggets have undeniably gotten worse this offseason. They played a game of musical chairs with the bench unit amid a yearslong effort by the front office to keep the team afloat when Nikola Jokić has to hit the bench, including the damaging loss of Peyton Watson. Denver’s failure to get anything in return for the young wing in trading him to the Cavaliers leaves the roster one solid rotation player short of last year’s team, which disappointed in epic fashion. It’s a blow to both depth and the defense, a tough double whammy for a Jokić-centric team.

Jokić’s presence as a perennial MVP candidate means they’ll win around 50 games and have a shot at winning a few playoff series. More than anything, better injury luck (for both the superstar center and his teammates) would raise the Nuggets’ floor. But Denver entered this offseason a leaky ship and failed to plug any holes.

9. Detroit Pistons

Last ranking: 10

After marinating on it, I’ve come around on the Pistons’ offseason moves. The defense may struggle to reach elite performance as consistently as last year but the offensive variation that this summer’s additions of John Collins, Isaiah Joe and Ebuka Okorie should result in a higher floor for Detroit. If Cade Cunningham takes another leap with better scoring talent around him, it’ll lead to a higher ceiling, too.

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A lack of an established secondary creator on offense remains a big flaw. The front office still has to navigate the Jalen Duren situation in a way that doesn’t impact team chemistry. Combine those factors with the increased difficulty of the Eastern Conference, and the Pistons’ path to the Finals (much less winning it all) is murky, even if they’re slated to be competitive against just about every opponent.

8. Los Angeles Lakers

Luka Donci — Can the Lakers’ new group of role players elevate the team to greater heights? | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last ranking: 6

The Lakers are now officially Luka Dončić’s team after LeBron James departed in free agency, and the front office used the resulting open cap space to add several role players who fit very well around the Slovenian superstar. The upside of such a roster is significant, particularly in a playoff environment. Dončić has Walker Kessler to throw lobs to, Quentin Grimes to pick up tough offensive assignments and Austin Reaves to take the reins when he needs a break. The offense could reach top-five heights and the defense is much more capable of supporting a Dončić-Reaves backcourt.

But over the 82-game regular season, it’s somewhat of a different equation. Dončić’s durability is a looming concern, as is Reaves’s after he missed a career-high 31 games last season. The bench is an enormous question mark on the defensive side of the ball—is Kevon Looney really going to finish the season as the team’s top backup center option? Like many things in L.A., this team is shiny on the surface but the concerns become apparent the more you think about it.

7. Miami Heat

Last ranking: 5

With Giannis Antetokounmpo in the fold as one half of the NBA’s most dominant paint duo with Bam Adebayo, the Heat spent the summer slowly but surely cobbling together a decent rotation of shooters to surround them. It still isn’t the platonic ideal roster that makes Miami a championship favorite, but it’s probably a bit better than anybody expected after the Giannis trade cost the team half its rotation. More importantly, the makeover should be enough to give Antetokounmpo and Adebayo (there’s gotta be a good nickname in there somewhere using those two last names) enough room to operate despite their shared preferred scoring areas.

It just isn’t quite enough to set themselves apart from the other East teams trying to take the Knicks’ crown. Antetokounmpo’s troubling injury history over the last few playoff runs makes it mighty hard to trust Miami when the games truly matter next spring. And even if he’s at full go, the Heat have zero reliable perimeter creators who can make something happen when opponents dedicate themselves to blocking off the paint. Antetokounmpo is good enough to overcome such problems most of the time but not against the cream of the crop.

6. Philadephia 76ers

Jaylen Brown will be critical to the 76ers’ goals this season. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last ranking: 4

Despite what NBA 2K might think, the 76ers will wind up a good team this season. It’ll take some time to mesh but the heights the roster can reach once everyone clicks are tantalizing. Philadelphia now boasts an offense with numerous gears between Tyrese Maxey’s blazing speed, Jaylen Brown’s bulldozing drives, LeBron James's surgical passing and Joel Embiid’s three-level shooting. The number of possible strengths are both great and varied, which can offset some of the more glaring weaknesses.

But the longer I think about it, the more it feels like the defense is going to be a big problem against good teams who are focused on hammering the Sixers’ weak points. Particularly protecting the rim. Philadelphia ranked third-worst among all playoff teams in defending shots within six feet, and anybody who watched the second-round series against the Knicks knows how simple it was to score points when forcing Embiid to defend in space. Maybe he’ll be more mobile after an offseason of rest and maybe backup Adem Bona can take a leap in that area. But if either of those possibilities fail to become reality, opponents can create easy looks with the simplest action in basketball—the pick-and-roll.

The Sixers employ a few strong individual defenders in Brown, V.J. Edgecombe and Dean Wade. But in this NBA, the unit is only as strong as the weakest link. If Philly’s weakest link defensively is at center, it’ll make for a structural problem very difficult to overcome against true contenders.

5. Cleveland Cavaliers

Last ranking: 7

The Cavaliers pivoted from the LeBron James disappointment to address their biggest weakness: perimeter defense. They got aggressive in trading for Peyton Watson and, after bringing back James Harden too, now have the most well-rounded starting five of Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell era. It checks every box for a successful modern NBA team: perimeter scoring and creation, playmaking, interior defense, and now a rangy wing to throw at the biggest threat in an opposing jersey. Mix in heavy doses of Jaylon Tyson off the bench and the Cavs suddenly have the ability to trot out multiple good defenders in nearly every lineup coach Kenny Atkinson can cook up.

The fact remains that the roster’s two most important names are one-way players. But Cleveland has never been more well-equipped to cover for Mitchell and Harden’s inadequacies defensively. If Atkinson can learn from his mistakes last playoffs, the Cavs have the versatility and the firepower to match up with every opponent.

4. Toronto Raptors

Scottie Barnes has a new superstar running mate now. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last ranking: Not ranked

In case it wasn’t immediately obvious, I love Kawhi Leonard’s fit with Toronto.

The Raptors keep the cornerstones of a roster that won 46 games on the back of a top-five defense and kept the Cavaliers to 111.9 points per game in the first round, eight points fewer than their regular season PPG. That unit now adds Leonard, a former Defensive Player of the Year, who may not be quite at his peak powers anymore but is still a brick wall on the perimeter. The combined wingspan of Scottie Barnes, Collin Murray-Boyles and Leonard is (probably) akin to that of a jumbo jet. Add in the gritty backcourt defenders Toronto always seems to employ (Jamal Shead breakout season!) and there’s a very real shot the Raps finish as a better defensive squad than last year.

But most importantly, Toronto upgraded in a big way offensively. Instead of relying on Brandon Ingram to score, they now have Leonard, coming off the best offensive season of his career with 27.9 points per night on close to 50/40/90 splits. Ingram is a reliable NBA bucket-getter but Leonard is a star in that regard and is respected as such by defenses, which will completely change how the Raptors’ offense operates for the better.

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This isn’t a foolproof title contender. Shooting remains a question, as does the center position. Leonard’s injury history doesn’t bode well for the upcoming campaign given he played 65 games last year, only the second time in nine years he’s been able to hit that mark. But his addition should result in a team that wins 50 games and finishes in the top-10 for both offensive and defensive rating. That’s not enough to put them on the shortlist of favorites, but it’s certainly enough to lead the rest of the field.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder

Last ranking: 3

Not much has changed for the Thunder since the last time we did these rankings. Losing Lu Dort stings from a depth perspective, but he threw a wrench into OKC’s offense when his three-point shot disappeared, so it isn’t devastating. Otherwise this team boasts one of the best nine-man rotations in the NBA with wild card talents like Aday Mara, Bennett Stirtz and Thomas Sorber to throw into the mix with hopes of striking gold.

They just have to pray the injury gods are kinder. The Thunder pushed the Spurs to seven games in the WCF despite getting nothing from Jalen Williams after Game 1 and nothing from Ajay Mitchell after Game 3. At full strength, it should be a war between OKC and San Antonio to claim the West.

2. San Antonio Spurs

Last ranking: 2

The Spurs are going to be the best team in the NBA during the regular season next year. Victor Wembanyama still has a lot of room for improvement, particularly as an offensive player, and will be showcasing it. His young co-stars in Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper are the same way. Tobias Harris joined in free agency to give Mitch Johnson a more reliable option at power forward, but part of his job will be helping Carter Bryant reach his potential, too.

Above all, this roster is now intimately familiar with what it takes to win at the highest level and how they can all best play together. The Spurs got but a taste of the heights they can reach as a unit last year, which should serve as the motivation necessary to focus on fine-tuning their craft and winning every game possible leading up to postseason play. They didn’t suffer quite the level of heartbreak as the ‘13 Spurs, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see a similar show of dominance in the following regular season as a message to the rest of the league that redemption is coming.

1. New York Knicks

Last ranking: 1

The Knicks remain favorites despite it all. Going from Mitchell Robinson to Andre Drummond at the backup center position is an undeniable talent downgrade, and Robinson swung some big moments throughout New York’s playoff run. But he also only averaged 20 minutes per game and Mike Brown didn’t trust him entirely to hold down the fort when Karl-Anthony Towns got into foul trouble in the Finals. It’s the sort of erosion every championship team suffers eventually and the Knicks feel well-suited to deal with it.

Otherwise, New York’s biggest strength remains the remarkable chemistry across a starting five that is perfectly complementary in every way. It proved nearly impossible to beat in the playoffs and will be seen as such until the games get underway.

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