The 2026-27 NBA season is here! Check out our team previews, including power rankings, best- and worst-case scenarios, and fantasy advice.
2025-26 finish
Record: 32-50 (11th in the East, did not make the playoffs)
Offseason moves
Draft: Brayden Burries (No. 10), Nate Ament (No. 13), Malique Lewis (No. 60)
Signings: Ousmane Dieng (re-signed for 3 years, $17.5 million), Gary Trent Jr. (re-signed for 4 years, $64 million)
Find Your Qualified Amazon Prime Trial
Select your category below to unlock your specific free trial and discounted membership rate:
Prime for Young Adults
Included with Prime for Young Adults:
- Fast, Free Delivery: Unlimited Same-Day, One-Day, and Two-Day Delivery on millions of items.
- Unlimited Streaming: Prime Video with award-winning Originals, movies, and live sports.
- $0 Food Delivery Fees: Free Grubhub+ membership included (save ~$120/year).
Amazon Prime (Standard)
Included with Amazon Prime:
- Fast, Free Delivery: Unlimited Same-Day, One-Day, and Two-Day shipping options.
- Instant Entertainment: Award-winning TV shows, movies, music, and photo storage.
- Full Access to Alexa+: AI assistant for entertainment, deals, and smart home tracking.
Amazon Prime Access
- Full Prime Benefits: Free shipping, Prime Video, and exclusive shopping deals.
- No Long-Term Commitment: Cancel or pause membership anytime.
Trades: Tyler Herro (from Heat), Kel’el Ware (from Heat), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (from Heat), Kasparas Jakučionis (from Heat), Caris LeVert (from Pistons)
Key departures: Giannis Antetokounmpo (traded to Heat), Bobby Portis (traded to Heat), Taurean Prince (traded to Pistons), Gary Harris (traded to Pistons)
The Bucks enter the post-Giannis era led by Tyler Herro and Taylor Jenkins. (Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images)
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS)
Preseason Power Rankings: No. 29
What’s exciting: After years of chasing a second championship around one of the greatest players ever, Milwaukee has a new coach and a bunch of promising players to build around. Watching those young guys develop should be a rewarding experience for Bucks fans. The two rookies — Burries and Ament — will draw most of the attention, as will the imports from Miami. But Bucks fans know the existing roster also already had some intriguing young guys with Ryan Rollins, Ousmane Dieng and Bogoljub Marković. Last season, Rollins averaged 22.4 points per 75 possessions on 58% true shooting in minutes without Giannis, per DataBallr. So he’s already shown he can handle more scoring responsibility. Now Milwaukee gets to find out whether he can become one of the players it builds around.
What’s concerning: The Bucks don’t own their 2027 first-round pick. It’s headed to New Orleans or Atlanta. So Milwaukee has every incentive to win. But a team leaning on Herro, Myles Turner and Kyle Kuzma as its best players has a slim chance of even sniffing the play-in. Unless one of the young guys makes a significant and unexpected leap, this could feel like an aimless year with too little talent to compete, with the losses improving somebody else’s draft position. For the first time in a long time, Bucks fans will have to count player development as a victory.
Preseason Power Rankings: How all 30 teams stack up ahead of 2026-27
Fantasy watch
Kel’el Ware is already going off. He’s another player for whom it doesn’t matter if he’s starting or coming off the bench. When he plays, he puts numbers on the board. Kyle Kuzma continues to be hot garbage, while Jaime Jaquez Jr. moving into the starting lineup is noteworthy. I didn’t expect that to happen so soon, so he gets a bump in my rankings, too. — Dan Titus
Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Basketball league for the 2026-27 NBA season
2026-27 schedule
Opening week: 10/21 at Wizards, 10/23 vs. Bulls, 10/24 at 76ers
Betting perspective
25.5 — win total
+30000 to win division
+75000 to win NBA Finals
More NBA news
Best case, worst case
Best case: Miss the playoffs, Giannis package + rookies thrive
If the Bucks end this season with Burries and Ament showcasing good things, at least two of Ware/Jaquez/Jakučionis making notable leaps, and Herro either solidifying himself as a firm All-Star talent or convincing another team to pony up real assets in their belief that he can be, I’d mark that as a win.
Bonus points if you can move off big-money vets like Turner, Kuzma (expiring!) or Trent Jr. for any sort of assets or roster-balancing.
Worst case: Miss the playoffs, no real answers on the young core
It’d be the exact opposite of the best case — finishing the year without feeling like you have a blue-chip prospect on the roster, no notable improvements from the Heat acquisitions, and not being able to sell on the veterans in a meaningful way. — Nekias Duncan