As the 2025 NBA postseason progressed, brutal happenings -- Achilles injuries to stars Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton -- struck, changing the Eastern Conference landscape before we even made it to a transaction-heavy offseason.
Now that the aftershocks seem to have stopped, we can finally assess the state of the East -- a conference that desperately wants to dethrone the souped-up West despite a hierarchy that looks far different than it did even three weeks ago.
With that in mind, here are the 15 teams, divided into six tiers, ranging from teams expected to contend for the NBA Finals to those whose rebuilds are still the beginning stages.
Tier 1: Anything short of the Finals is a failure
Following a 64-win season, the conference's top seed in 2024-25 figures to look much the same at the top end of its rotation heading ... sort of. All-Star guard Darius Garland will sit out significant time over the first few months as he rehabs from toe surgery, and backup guard Ty Jerome signed with Memphis this offseason. But Lonzo Ball, who was acquired in exchange for wing stopper Isaac Okoro, will help replace Jerome.
Even with Garland sitting out considerable time and roster changes around the margins that slice the team's sizable luxury-tax liability, Cleveland -- with stars Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen and role players Max Strus, Sam Merrill and De'Andre Hunter -- will be among the favorites to come out of the East in the franchise's second year under coach Kenny Atkinson.
Arguably no East club will face higher expectations than New York, which reached its first conference finals in a quarter century before promptly firing its coach while stating its singular goal is to win an NBA championship. The roster has more cohesion -- and depth with the additions of reserves Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele -- than it did last season after the Pacers exposed some holes while eliminating the Knicks in the conference finals.
But now Indiana, without Haliburton for the season and Myles Turner (signed with Milwaukee), figures to be far less of a threat. The same could be said of the Celtics, who will be without Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis (traded), Jrue Holiday (traded) and Luke Kornet (signed with Spurs). The lane for contention was already there for New York, but now, with coach Mike Brown taking over, the Knicks face true "Finals or bust" expectations.
Tier 2: Teams on the cusp after reloading
If there was a team casting the first stone following the Tatum injury -- one that seemed to ensure next season would be a wide-open one in the East -- it was the Magic who stepped forward by moving Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony and a whopping four first-round picks to the Grizzlies for star Desmond Bane. It's undoubtedly a big swing, but if ever there was a time to try to make the leap, it's now.
Orlando, with its dominant defense and lackluster perimeter shooting, looked dangerous last season when it wasn't dealing with injuries to Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs -- its top three players. Adding the sharpshooting Bane gives the club a clear top four and more spacing for opponents to defend. If they're healthy, there's no reason the Magic should finish with fewer than 50 wins next season.
In that same vein, arguably no Eastern Conference team leveled up more this offseason than the Hawks, who shored up their defense by acquiring Porzingis and versatile wing Nickeil Alexander-Walker while also picking up sharpshooter Luke Kennard. They also landed the Pelicans' unprotected first-round pick next season while trading back only 10 draft spots -- seemingly a theme this summer, given how little the Hawks surrendered to make these upgrades.
It was a heist of a summer for Atlanta, which, after finding gold last season in placing pesky wing Dyson Daniels next to Trae Young, has not only a heavily improved defensive approach but also one of the East's best top-to-bottom rotations. Just like Orlando, the Hawks are going for it in what figures to be a wide-open race in the East.
The 76ers are one of the most challenging teams to place for an obvious reason: They have the talent and the collective experience to make a run, but there's always the looming question of whether Joel Embiid & Co. will be able to stay healthy long enough to make a serious run.
After last season's disaster -- which began with title hopes after the acquisition of Paul George, but resulted in 104 combined missed games between him and Embiid during a 24-win campaign -- the question will be front and center again.
Another question: Philly certainly has depth (the Sixers might even be able to keep restricted free agent Quentin Grimes, who had a stellar finish to last season), but how will it manage having such young talent in spots while playing for the ultimate goal? It's not often you have a No. 3 pick such as rookie VJ Edgecombe playing alongside a trio of stars. Jared McCain, who was one of the best rookies last season before tearing his left meniscus in December and sitting out the rest of the season, should also be a key contributor and is only 21.
Tier 3: Longshots with pedigree, upside ... or desperation dressed as hope
Even before Tatum's injury, it was well understood that the Celtics were going to look quite different heading into the 2025-26 season because of a cap crunch brought on by the second apron. Tatum's Achilles tear simply hastened the obvious in a way. As such, Porzingis, Holiday and Kornet are gone, and free agent center Al Horford isn't a sure bet to return.
With Jaylen Brown and Derrick White in the backcourt, the Celtics should have the means to solidly compete. Boston also landed guard Anfernee Simons, who has averaged 20 points over the past four seasons, from Portland in exchange for Holiday. But the team's depth, particularly on the wing and in the frontcourt, has taken a huge hit that seemingly leaves it two full rungs beneath the East's favorites, probably incapable of making a run until Tatum is back healthy.
The Pistons, fresh off their first playoff appearance in six seasons, have a bona fide star in Cade Cunningham and a seemingly bright future ahead; particularly as they get fellow guard Jaden Ivey back in their lineup after a broken fibula ended his 2024-25 season. The Pistons went almost toe to toe with the veteran Knicks in the first postseason action with this core -- a highly encouraging sign.
To some extent, it seems as if much of the Pistons' improvement will have to be internal, from players such as Cunningham, Ivey, Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren. The offseason acquisitions -- Caris LeVert and Duncan Robinson -- feel like lateral moves to replace Dennis Schroder, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley. (Beasley, who finished second in the NBA in made 3s last season with 319, is currently under federal investigation for potential gambling violations related to NBA games.)
Wouldn't it be something if, after three consecutive first-round playoff exits with Holiday and Lillard serving as point guard, the Bucks managed to break through in the postseason with Kevin Porter Jr. acting as the team's floor general?
If it sounds off, it's because it's simply difficult to picture. The Bucks -- doing everything they can to be as competitive as possible with Giannis Antetokounmpo on the roster -- took the drastic, unprecedented step of waiving and stretching Lillard's big-money contract after he ruptured his Achilles in the playoffs. Taking that step freed up more cap space to spend on center Myles Turner, who's undoubtedly a good player. But even with Antetokounmpo as a force in the league, and the East up for grabs, it doesn't necessarily feel as if Milwaukee -- which lost Brook Lopez but brought back Bobby Portis and a number of other free agents -- is well positioned to take advantage. Though maybe the Bucks can convince someone such as free agent Chris Paul to sign for cheap.
Tier 4: Caught in the middle
Few fanbases have experienced the level of whiplash Pacers fans have gone through in the past few weeks, as they saw their team beat the odds to reach the NBA Finals and force a Game 7 against the 68-win Oklahoma City Thunder, only to watch Haliburton tear his Achilles in that title-deciding contest.
The franchise-altering injury instantly shifted the front office's mindset concerning how it wanted to handle its cap scenario. Case in point: Turner, one of the team's best players and an unrestricted free agent, was allowed to walk so the team could avoid paying the luxury tax for the first time in 20 years.
Pacers president Kevin Pritchard said Monday that Haliburton would sit out the entire upcoming season -- a reality that, when paired with Turner's departure, should all but count out Indiana from any sort of serious contention. The Pacers should be near the top of the East again once they get their star back, but with all due respect to Pascal Siakam, it's hard to imagine them being there next season without Haliburton or Turner.
Tier 5: Play-in possibilities
The Heat made their biggest acquisition of the offseason this earlier week, landing guard Norman Powell from the LA Clippers coming off the best season of his career. Aside from that, Miami also kept backup guard Davion Mitchell. Meanwhile, free agent Duncan Robinson left for the Pistons, and Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson were dealt to the Jazz as part of the three-team deal for Powell. It's still not clear that those things will be enough to vault the club into the top half of the East now or in the future. Powell is 32 years old. But coach Erik Spoelstra is still elite, which leaves the possibility Miami can make more noise than expected in a conference with few true contenders.
Chicago would love to avoid a play-in fate for a fourth consecutive season by making the playoffs outright, but it looks likely the majority of last season's group will be back heading into 2025-26. The biggest decision left for the Bulls this summer is restricted free agent Josh Giddey, and the kind of contract they want to offer given that almost no team has the cap space to offer him the money he's probably seeking. Can Chicago blossom into more than a bottom-of-the-bracket team in the East with virtually the same group? Perhaps. The Bulls were 17-10 after the All-Star break last season, and players on the young roster are eager to show they're capable of more.
Of the teams in this designation, the Raptors possess enough talent to rise a tier or two. Their best players are still young, and all sat out a decent amount of time last season. Immanuel Quickley sat out 49 games, RJ Barrett sat out 24, and Scottie Barnes 17. Perhaps more noteworthy: 27-year-old Brandon Ingram, traded from New Orleans at the trade deadline, has yet to play for the Raptors. None of this means the squad will be a perfect fit. And it certainly doesn't guarantee the team's young reserves are sufficient for a playoff run. But there's ample upside that could allow this team to be more than the sum of its parts at some point.
Tier 6: Lottery bound
The Hornets traded centers Mark Williams and Jusuf Nurkic in exchange for guard Collin Sexton and a total of three draft picks (one of whom became Liam McNeeley, at No. 29 in last month's draft) that should help with Charlotte's relative rebuild. There won't be high expectations on Charles Lee's group this season. The main goals, from LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller all the way down to the bottom of the roster, will be for improvement and consistency. These are things that help the front office decide how to move forward after years of injuries thwarted any chance of cohesion.
The Wizards traded Jordan Poole and Saddiq Bey to New Orleans in exchange for CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk and Cam Whitmore while also drafting Tre Johnson at No. 6. But this rebuilding club -- with six rotation players 21 years old or younger -- still projects to finish near the bottom of the East. The honest hope should be for signs of improvement from young players such as Bub Carrington, Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly and Johnson as they glean from teammates McCollum, Khris Middleton, Marcus Smart and Olynyk.
If there was any doubt about how the Nets were planning to approach this season, it was put to rest two weeks ago when they became the first team in NBA history to make five first-round selections in a one draft. Those picks -- three of which were for point guards -- signaled that true contention is quite a ways off. Even more so now, with the team opting to deal forward Cam Johnson, its best trade candidate, to Denver in exchange for Michael Porter Jr.
