The 2026–27 NBA season is getting closer, which means it is time to start making some predictions. Today, I am looking at one simple question: which team will finish with the best record in each conference?
Last season, the Detroit Pistons finished atop the Eastern Conference at 60–22, while the Oklahoma City Thunder led the Western Conference at 64–18. This year, I have one team repeating and another taking over the top spot.
My predictions are the Detroit Pistons at 58–24 in the East and the San Antonio Spurs at 65–17 in the West.
Eastern Conference: Detroit Pistons — 58–24
I’m sticking with Detroit.
The Pistons shocked a lot of people last season, but eventually we have to stop treating their success like a surprise. They won 60 games and finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference. At this point, Detroit has earned the respect that comes with being one of the best regular-season teams in basketball.
It starts with Cade Cunningham, who has developed into one of the best guards in the NBA and gives Detroit the superstar-level creator every contender needs. More importantly, the Pistons have something that could become extremely valuable early in the season: continuity.
Detroit did not spend the summer tearing apart a 60-win roster and starting over. Instead, the Pistons focused on adding more scoring and shooting depth around their existing core, bringing in John Collins, Isaiah Joe, Kevin Huerter and Duncan Robinson. Collins shot over 40% from three last season, Joe gives Detroit another high-volume perimeter threat, while Huerter and Robinson provide even more shooting around Cade.
That could make this offense extremely difficult to defend. When Cade attacks the paint, opposing defenses now have to think twice about collapsing on him because Detroit can surround him with legitimate shooters. Add that spacing to the scoring and playmaking already on the roster, and the Pistons could have an even more dangerous offensive attack this season.
There is a trade-off. Losing Isaiah Stewart could hurt Detroit defensively, and the Pistons may not be quite as imposing on that end of the floor as they were last season. But Detroit appears to be betting that additional shooting and scoring can compensate for some of the defense it lost.
Then there is the rest of the Eastern Conference. The Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers have both assembled new superteams, and on paper both should be legitimate threats to Detroit. But putting a collection of stars together does not automatically mean everything works perfectly from opening night.
New players have to learn how to play together. Roles have to be established. Coaches have to determine rotations. Stars who are accustomed to having the ball need to figure out when to attack and when to defer. Expect some growing pains from Miami and Philadelphia.
Detroit does not have that same problem. The Pistons already know who they are. Their core has played together, Cade already knows how to run this offense and the players Detroit added largely complement what is already in place rather than forcing the team to completely reinvent itself.
Over an 82-game season, that continuity matters. Miami and Philadelphia may ultimately become incredibly dangerous teams, especially once the playoffs arrive, but while those new superteams spend the early portion of the season learning how all the pieces fit together, Detroit can simply keep winning basketball games.
I’m actually predicting the Pistons to win slightly fewer games than they did last season, dropping from 60 victories to 58–24 because the East has become considerably stronger. But 58 wins should still put Detroit firmly in contention for the top seed.
The Pistons have the superstar. They have the continuity. And now they have even more shooting and scoring around him.
Eastern Conference prediction: Detroit Pistons — 58–24.
Western Conference: San Antonio Spurs — 65–17
Oklahoma City finished with the best record in the West last season, but my pick to take that crown in 2026–27 is the San Antonio Spurs.
San Antonio already went 62–20 last season. This is not a prediction based purely on potential anymore. The Spurs have already shown us that they can dominate throughout an 82-game schedule, and now they’re bringing essentially the entire group back for another run.
That continuity matters. Instead of spending the offseason trying to integrate an entirely new core, San Antonio gets another year with its stars and young players learning how to play together. The chemistry is already there, the system is already familiar and now the roster gets another season of development and experience.
And, of course, everything starts with Victor Wembanyama. Wemby is already one of the most impactful players in basketball, and the scary part for the rest of the league is that he is still developing. Another offseason of growth for him alone could make San Antonio better, never mind the continued development of the young talent surrounding him.
There is also something this Spurs team has now that it did not have entering last season: experience. They know what it feels like to win more than 60 games. They know what it takes to compete at the top of the Western Conference, and they now understand the expectations that come with being one of the NBA’s elite teams.
And if there is one franchise that knows something about stacking great regular seasons together, it is San Antonio.
Since the Spurs truly took off in the late 1990s, winning at an elite level has become part of the franchise’s identity. During the Tim Duncan era, San Antonio routinely piled up 50-win seasons, competed near the top of the Western Conference and made sustained excellence look almost ordinary.
And there is still one constant connecting those generations: Gregg Popovich.
Pop may no longer be the man standing on the sideline every night, but as long as he is still in the building and involved with the organization, that Spurs culture is not going anywhere. The standards, discipline and expectations he helped establish over decades have become bigger than any one roster.
As long as Pop is in that building, whether he is coaching or not, I expect the San Antonio Spurs to win basketball games.
Now a new generation is beginning to bring that feeling back to San Antonio. This is obviously not the Duncan-era Spurs anymore, but there is something familiar about watching another young generational big man lead San Antonio while the organization builds a deep, disciplined roster around him.
Take a team that already won 62 games, bring virtually everyone back, give its young core another year to improve and add another season of experience together. That sounds like a recipe for an even better regular season.
I’m predicting a three-win improvement and a league-best 65–17 record for San Antonio.
Western Conference prediction: San Antonio Spurs — 65–17.
Final Predictions
For the Eastern Conference, I’m trusting continuity. Detroit goes 58–24 and repeats as the No. 1 seed in the East. Miami and Philadelphia may become terrifying teams as the season progresses, but Detroit’s established core and improved shooting give the Pistons an advantage over an 82-game regular season.
For the Western Conference, I’m betting on continuity, development, experience and an organization with a long history of sustained regular-season excellence. San Antonio improves to 65–17, overtakes Oklahoma City and finishes with the best record in the entire NBA.
And one thing needs to be made clear: just because I have the Detroit Pistons finishing as the No. 1 seed does not mean I am predicting them to win the Eastern Conference.
Those are two completely different predictions. This article is about who I believe will be the best teams across an 82-game regular season. The playoffs are a different game. Matchups change, rotations shorten, experience matters differently and one series can completely alter a team’s season.
We’ll save my Eastern and Western Conference playoff picks for another story.
For now, I’m locking these in:
Eastern Conference: Detroit Pistons — 58–24
Western Conference: San Antonio Spurs — 65–17
Now we wait and see how these predictions age.
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