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Bold Predictions for Every NBA Team's Final Weeks
The 2025-26 NBA season wraps on Sunday, April 12.
That leaves us just enough time to bake up a batch of hot takes. One for every team, in fact.
From award finishes to standings shuffling, superstar staredowns to bonkers box scores, this is how the rest of the campaign could play out if the basketball gods crank up the boldness setting.
Atlanta Hawks: Finish as 5th Seed, Jalen Johnson Makes All-NBA
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The Hawks have already turned their stretch run into an all-out sprint. They have a 14-2 record and the NBA's second-best net rating since the All-Star break (plus-12.3). So, predicting them to soar above the fifth-seeded Toronto Raptors isn't bold enough by itself.
Let's expand the growing list of Jalen Johnson's accolades, then, and he'll follow his first ever All-Star selection with his first All-NBA honor.
Between his routinely overstuffed stat sheets and Atlanta's climb up the standings, the question feels less about if he makes the cut and rather on which team he'll reside. The smart money would be on the third team, but if he triple-doubles a few more times and Atlanta makes a serious push for the No. 4 seed, maybe second team isn't out of the question.
Boston Celtics: Jayson Tatum Authors a 30-Point Breakout
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While Tatum took the express lane to return from the Achilles tear he suffered in May, he hasn't fully transformed into his pre-injury form yet. And that's totally understandable, even if it's been a bit frustrating for him to not play up to his personal standards (19.1 points on 38.8 percent shooting).
"In the moment, you try not to think about it, you just want to be Jayson Tatum and feel like yourself again," Tatum told reporters recently. "I'm not Superman, so it's obviously going to take some time."
Given the accelerated nature of this entire process, though, "some time" may not be that long at all. Considering he's already scored 20-plus points in more than half of his appearances and is only averaging a few shots less per outing than he did before the injury, it feels like a 30-point masterpiece could be coming soon.
Brooklyn Nets: Nolan Traoré Pushes for Centerpiece Status
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Among the five first-round rookies the Nets added last summer, only Egor Dёmin was selected ahead of Traoré. And since the former is sidelined for the rest of this season by plantar fasciitis, opportunity is knocking for the latter to move into center stage of this rebuilding process.
Traoré has already upped his output since snagging a full-time starting spot in late January. While you'd like to see better shooting rates and fewer turnovers, it's still hard to nitpick an NBA teenager averaging 11 points and nearly five assists.
If he can harness a bit more consistency—a process that could be underway, given that he's tallied double-digit points and four-plus assists in three straight—he could challenge Dёmin for primary-building-block status in Brooklyn.
Charlotte Hornets: Two All-Rookie Selections, Including R.O.Y.
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Anyone waiting for the Hornets to turn back into a lottery-bound pumpkin should probably find a new hobby. Charlotte has ranked among the league's very best teams since the calendar flipped to 2026, tallying more than twice as many wins as losses and posting a wholly dominant plus-10.5 net rating (first overall).
Sustaining such a high level of success for this long should resonate with award-voters. Specifically, you'd think this should help Kon Knueppel finish atop a Rookie of the Year race he's led for a while now, and you could argue it should allow shot-blocking big man Ryan Kalkbrenner to join Knueppel on the All-Rookie teams.
Knueppel ranks second among rookies in scoring at 19.1 points per game, and he has masterfully complemented that volume with a hyper-efficient 48.8/43.4/87 shooting slash. Kalkbrenner, meanwhile, leads all rookies in blocks (1.4), leads rotation rookies in field-goal percentage (74.7) and ranks second among his draft classmates (behind only his sweet-shooting teammate) in win shares (4.8).
Chicago Bulls: Josh Giddey Captures the Assists Crown
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The (finally!) rebuilding Bulls have developed a simple strategy on the offensive end: Let Giddey quarterback everything they do.
Even with the guard glut created by their deadline dealings, they've left no mystery regarding their offensive hierarchy. Giddey initiates everything, and his number is called so often that his playmaking production is nearing silly territory despite having a relative dearth of scoring options around him.
He has played nine games in March and finished all but two of them with double-digit assists. If he maintains this dime-dropping rate, he could have just enough time to leapfrog Nikola Jokić and the sidelined Cade Cunningham to take home his first assists title.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Jaylon Tyson Averages 4th-Most Minutes
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A strong Most Improved Player candidate, Tyson has impressed with almost every opportunity given this season. At this rate, it's probably time for Cleveland to lengthen his leash once again.
He has been pushed for playing time of late by Max Strus' return, but Tyson should sit atop Cleveland's wing rotation still. He's supplying just as much outside shooting while also bringing more self-creation and defense to the mix.
He is, frankly, too important on both ends to get stuck behind Strus, but let's go a step further and say he should also get more minutes than Jarrett Allen. Now, that's partly because the bouncy big man is battling knee tendinitis, and partly because Evan Mobley looks more impactful as the lone big man on the floor, but it's mostly because Tyson has been legitimately awesome.
Dallas Mavericks: Cooper Flagg Scores 35-Plus
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If you want to question the boldness of this prediction, that's fair. Flagg is an elite prospect and the obvious focal point of this Kyrie Irving-less offense, and he has served up eight 30-point performances so far (including a couple of 40-burgers).
That said, scoring has mostly been a grind for Flagg since the All-Star break. Prior to Monday's 32-point eruption, his post-All-Star averages were sitting at 18.6 points on 40.8 percent shooting (17.2 percent from three).
Still, he should have at least one or two more monstrous performances in him. He is too good, and his role is too big for this not to happen.
Denver Nuggets: Nikola Jokić Finishes No Higher Than 3rd in MVP Voting
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For most of this season, it felt like the MVP race might play out the same as the last two: As a two-player tussle between Jokić, a three-time winner, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning winner.
While Jokić has the individual numbers needed for another top-two finish, the team-success aspect of this debate might be his undoing. Because while his two biggest competitors, Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama, are jostling for the West's No. 1 seed, Jokić's Nuggets are teetering uncomfortably close to No. 6. They're also falling back of scoring leader Luka Dončić's Los Angeles Lakers.
Admittedly, that's not entirely fair to Jokić, who is improbably leading the league in both rebounds and assists, but fairness doesn't always factor into such a subjective exercise. If voters are looking to break ties on their ballots, they might focus on winning rates and decide that's enough justification to give Jokić the bronze medal, at most.
Detroit Pistons: Daniss Jenkins Paces Them in Points
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While the Pistons lost their MVP candidate when Cade Cunningham suffered a collapsed lung, they weren't left without an All-Star. Jalen Duren earned that honor for the first time this season, while dazzling as a springy, energetic rim-runner.
That said, Cunningham's absence effectively left Detroit without an obvious offensive blueprint, since he was clearly the club's best creator and scoring. And while Duren can help address the latter, he's basically powerless to do anything about the former.
Jenkins, though, has the right blend of handling, ball-moving and point-production to take on that tall task. And reorienting the offense around him—as Detroit did during Monday's win over the Los Angeles Lakers, when Jenkins scored a career-high 30—could have an added benefit, since his surfacing as a legitimate scorer and table-setter would answer the question of where the Pistons can turn for non-Cunningham creation come playoff time.
Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry Doesn't Suit Up Again This Season
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There's something admirable about Curry's refusal to quit on this season, despite the Warriors being very obviously on the road to nowhere. Even without the support needed to scare anyone in the playoffs (just advancing through the Play-In will be a grind), the star guard is "dying to get out there" while missing nearly two months now with a right knee injury, Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters.
Of course, being admirable isn't at all the same thing as being advisable. And with the Warriors effectively drawing dead from here—it sure looked like Moses Moody just joined Jimmy Butler as the second Dub to suffer a season-ending knee injury—it's hard to imagine what good could come from a late Curry return.
If he really wants to play, this could get uncomfortable for Golden State, but you'd hope everyone could get on the same page. Sitting Curry, letting him heal up and hoping for the best at the draft lottery absolutely feels like the right way to handle this.
Houston Rockets: Reed Sheppard Gets Locked into Starting Lineup
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When the Rockets opted not to find a replacement upon Fred VanVleet's ACL tear in September, that was a clear vote of confidence in their young guards being able to supply a next-man-up response. Only recently, though, have they given Sheppard a chance to really fill that void, as he has started each of their last three games.
"Obviously Reed has taken a nice step—jump—lately," Rockets coach Ime Udoka told reporters following Sheppard's first start of this stretch. "Wanted to have more spacers out there ... have different guys who can handle ... get a last look at something before the playoffs."
Houston should keep exploring this option the rest of the way. With VanVleet seemingly increasingly unlikely to return, the Rockets must focus on the players they have available and specifically look for ways to support Kevin Durant on the offensive end. Sheppard, who has totaled 50 points and 24 assists in these three games, should be given ample opportunity to scratch that itch.
Indiana Pacers: Only Double-Digit Losses Ahead
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After Pascal Siakam's 37 points pushed the Pacers past the Orlando Magic on Monday night, Indiana officially isn't the league's hardest tanker any more. But with a uniquely protected first-round pick to safeguard, don't be surprised if Indiana plunges into a losing streak that spans the remainder of this season.
Prior to Monday's win, the Pacers had lost 16 in a row. Only five of those contests were decided by single digits.
That's the level of losing Indiana needs to embrace to ensure it remains among the league's bottom three and therefore maximizes its chances of landing a top-four pick in this potentially transformational draft.
Los Angeles Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Makes All-NBA Second Team
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A healthy Leonard remains on the short list of basketball's top two-way talents. Of course, a healthy Leonard is also one of basketball's least guaranteed sightings.
That said, he is on course to clear the mandated 65-game threshold to be considered for end-of-season honors. He just doesn't have any margin for error, since he's already at 16 absences.
Our crystal ball believes (or at least hopes) he has nine more outings in him, though. And the Clippers probably need every last one, since they're the slightest slippage away from losing the No. 8 seed to the Portland Trail Blazers and the Play-In Tournament perks that come along with it (needing one win in two tries to advance).
Los Angeles Lakers: They Finish Top 10 in Post-All-Star Defensive Efficiency
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When the Lakers have everything working at full capacity, they're built to overwhelm opponents with offense. And they often need to do exactly that, since defensive protection only extends so far on a roster built around Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves and a 41-year-old LeBron James.
For L.A. to realize its greatest ambitions, though, this defense has to be better. And it has been of late, ranking 14th in efficiency since the All-Star break (compared to 23rd before it).
Shooting luck has played a part in that, but they've also shown better connection, more hustle and stingier on-ball containment. The optimism runs heavy in this prediction, but L.A. is only a few stingy showings away from entering the post-All-Star portion of the campaign's top 10.
Memphis Grizzlies: Their Point Guard Plans Revolve Around Javon Small
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The most high-profile player left on the rebuilding Grizzlies plays point guard (Ja Morant). So, too, does the most notable player they received from the Utah Jazz in the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade (Walter Clayton).
And yet, as Memphis uses this stretch run to start sketching out plans for its road back to relevance, its focus on the point guard position should revolve a second-round rookie on a two-way contract (Small).
It's always a little tricky to tell how to process stretch-run statistics compiled on a cellar-dwelling tanker, but Small's contributions seem legit. His 17 points per 36 minutes are backed up by a 46/43.8/84.1 shooting slash, while his 3.7 assists nearly triple his 1.3 turnovers.
Miami Heat: Tyler Herro Plays More with Kel'el Ware Than with Norman Powell
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Without a superstar or an abundance of net-shredders on the roster, the Heat don't feel like the kind of club that can afford to sit some of its best scorers. Yet, they're having to do just that of late, both to work around Ware's maddening inconsistency and Powell's imperfect fit with Tyler Herro.
Powell, a first-time All-Star this season, was recently demoted to the reserve unit and was less than thrilled about it. But given the many overlaps in both strengths and weaknesses between him and Herro, a staggered setup might be the only way to balance this roster.
If that's what coach Erik Spoelstra decides, though, it could leave Powell handling fewer minutes than he's used to, since the Heat clearly want to feature Herro—both to capitalize on his abilities but also perhaps to gain some more information ahead of potential extension talks this offseason. And maybe this leads to more work for Ware, too, since he's a theoretical help for any scoring guard as a paint-to-perimeter play-finisher.
Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Gets Shut Down
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The Bucks are doing their best to resist Giannis Antetokounmpo's desire to return from a left knee injury. In a star-driven league, a megastar usually gets what they want.
And that might be more true for Antetokounmpo than it is for just about anyone. Milwaukee has routinely bent over backward to reshape its roster in hopes of appeasing him. Even now, with the Bucks appearing as far from contention as ever, they've basically put his future in his own hands, saying he'll either sign an extension or be traded.
It would make sense for Milwaukee to dig in here, though. Despite not having complete control of their first-round pick (the Hawks have swap rights between it and the New Orleans Pelicans' pick), the Bucks would be better off maximizing their lottery odds and hoping they'll walk away with an early first.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Julius Randle Has a Triple-Double
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The Timberwolves had had to tilt their offensive approach with superstar Anthony Edwards sidelined by a knee injury, and it's given Randle plenty of opportunity to boost his production.
He hasn't always answered opportunity's knock, but he had 32 points in the first game Edwards missed and eight assists in the second. Randle's efficiency has tanked his last two times out, but he still totaled 30 field-goal attempts in the contest.
With this kind of workload and his ability to impact the game in multiple ways, let's boldly predict a triple-dipper for the burly forward. He's had three so far this season, but he's due for a fourth, since two happened in November and the other occurred in early February.
New Orleans Pelicans: They Win More Than Any Other Non-Play-In Participant
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The Pelicans don't have enough schedule left to close the gap keeping them out of the Play-In Tournament. But unlike their lottery-bound brethren, they'll keep the pedal floored until the curtains close.
Because they have nothing to win by losing. Their first-round pick is long gone, belonging to either the Bucks or the Hawks. They infamously (and inexplicably) traded out of this loaded lottery to add Derik Queen with the second-to-last pick of last year's lottery.
So, they're left spinning their tires in this stretch run to nowhere, probably beating bad teams, losing to good ones and ultimately having very little to gain beyond further data points about this roster.
New York Knicks: Tyler Kolek Reclaims a Rotation Role
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The Knicks have taken a few test runs with Kolek as a rotation regular this season. The fact he hasn't permanently stuck in the role probably says everything about where he stands with this squad, but with Miles McBride recovering from sports hernia surgery, New York's backup backcourt options are limited.
That's why Kolek has handled some limited run of late. And he has used this smattering of floor time to suggest he could still add something to the offense. Three games back, he delivered five assists without a single turnover in 21 minutes. His last time out, he turned four field-goal attempts into 11 points—after popping for 42 points in a G League game earlier that afternoon.
It's hard to imagine there's enough time left for Kolek to position himself for a rotation role in the playoffs, but he could (and should) make regular appearances during the remainder of the regular season.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Jalen Williams Has His First 30-Point Game of the Season
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It's been a tough, hugely injury-impacted season for Williams, but he has the chance to end it on a high note.
While the Thunder will be cautious about throwing too much his way too soon after he had missed 26 of 28 games with a right hamstring strain, they'll also want to help him round into top form ahead of what should be another deep postseason run. The more it looks like he can handle, the more Oklahoma City will give him.
And for someone who packs a scoring punch this powerful, it only takes so many minutes to net a 30-piece. He hasn't had one yet this season, but he's had 25-plus in three different games, and he only topped 26 minutes in one of them.
Orlando Magic: Paolo Banchero Is a Top-10 Post-All-Star Scorer
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With middling shooting rates and consistently in-the-red net differentials, Banchero has had to fight against the notion that he is a volume scorer.
Expect no fight is needed here. Instead, this prediction just leans into his obvious gifts for point production and calls for a top-10 post-All-Star scoring average from the 2022 draft's top pick.
He is 15th on the list right now at 25.4 points per game, but adding just a full point per outing to his average would move him all the way into a tie for ninth. He's close, and he'll get a lot closer with more efforts like Monday night, when he had 39 points (his fourth 30-point effort this month).
Philadelphia 76ers: VJ Edgecombe Wins Rookie of the Month
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Award voters had it easy during the first three months of this campaign. When it came time to submit their Rookie of the Month picks, they could just copy and paste Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel into their respective conferences.
But Flagg's stranglehold on the West's honor loosened last month, when his injury issues allowed Dylan Harper to nab the distinction. While Knueppel is healthy and hooping, maybe Edgecombe can pull the March support his way.
Knueppel's stat lines remain more efficient, but Edgecombe's volume categories are getting louder by the contest. During March, he has Knueppel bettered in basically every counting category: points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.
Phoenix Suns: Devin Booker Goes for 50
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Booker looked light on scoring help coming into this season. With the way the injury bug has roughed up this roster of late, he looks even more like a one-man band.
Between Dillon Brooks' hand fracture, Mark Williams' stress reaction in his left foot and Grayson Allen's nagging knee ailment, Phoenix is getting incredibly top-heavy on the offensive end. And Booker is doing what he can to manage it, delivering his two highest scoring games of the season this month (40 and 43 points).
But the Suns, who have dropped five of their last six, need even more, so he might have to floor the gas pedal even harder. And he's such a tremendous talent, that delivering more is actually feasible. While he hasn't scored 50-plus points since the 2023-24 season, he had three such performances during that campaign alone.
Portland Trail Blazers: Finish Eighth and Escape the Play-In
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When the West's Play-In participants and top seeds start weighing their options, many might point toward Portland as a preferred matchup. That's partly because this Blazers core doesn't have a track record of winning, and mostly due to the lack of a certified superstar like Kawhi Leonard or Stephen Curry.
Teams should be careful what they wish for, though, because these Blazers are feisty. They have a top-10 defense since the All-Star break and a balanced offensive attack led by All-Star swingman Deni Avdija.
It'd help if they could get dynamic scoring guard Shaedon Sharpe back, but even without him, they have a formula for snagging the eighth seed and using it to help them advance through the Play-In.
Sacramento Kings: Maxime Raynaud Makes All-Rookie First Team
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It's tempting to go with something snarky about how the Kings can't even get unintentional tanking right, but let's spare their fans more misery and instead spotlight how awesome Raynaud has been.
During his string of 20 consecutive starts, he's averaging 17.1 points on 60.7 percent shooting, 9.2 rebounds and 1.3 combined steals and blocks. He has topped 30 points in two of his last three games and had 22 or more in four of his last five.
Cracking the All-Rookie first team won't be easy with the quality of this freshman class, but this second-rounder just might have the stats to do it.
San Antonio Spurs: Victor Wembanyama Is MVP
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Wembanyama certainly isn't the favorite for this award, but he is giving voters plenty to ponder. He embraced the challenge of a voter-swaying closing stretch, and he's doing everything in his power to get the swaying process going. The Spurs have been unstoppable since the All-Star break (16-2 with a plus-12.6 net rating), and he's been a walking cheat code (plus-30.6 net differential).
"I think right now, there is a debate," Wembanyama said of the MVP race. "There should be, even though I think I should lead the race. I'm trying to make sure that at the end of the season, there's no debate."
Gilgeous-Alexander, Dončić and Jokić will all have says in that, but Wembanyama seems pretty obviously the Association's most impactful player at both ends. Throw in that his Spurs have a non-zero chance at swiping the No. 1 seed, and maybe this award should be considered his to lose.
Toronto Raptors: Scottie Barnes Has 3rd Triple-Double of Season
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It's tempting to make a standings-related prediction, but not even the trusty crystal ball can make sense of the Eastern Conference's cluttered middle class.
It does, however, see a triple-double in Barnes' future. He's had two of them this season, but both came back in December. (Four games apart from one another, actually.)
Toronto needs a ramp-up in production, though. Depth has been an issue all season, and it's been magnified by the Raptors' recent run of bad luck on the injury front. They'll need everything they can get from Barnes, and given the wide reach of his skill set, that should be an awful lot.
Utah Jazz: Ace Bailey Leads All Rookies in Scoring the Rest of the Way
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With the Jazz fully in the tank race, now is the perfect time to let Bailey run wild. And that's exactly how Utah has handled its toolsy but raw rookie. Prior to March, his highest usage rate in a month was the 20.5 percent he handled in February. In March, his usage has spiked to 26.7 percent.
That type of responsibility spike could be too much for a lot of players to carry, but Bailey has responded with perhaps the best stretch of his career. Because he's not only sporting his highest monthly scoring average (21.2, previous high was 14.3), he's doing so while slashing 46.3/43.3/90.9.
His light to shoot might be the greeniest in the class, and his scoring arsenal could be the deepest. Add those two together, and you could easily be looking at the rookie stretch-run scoring leader.
Washington Wizards: Bilal Coulibaly Rides His Heater to the Finish Line
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For the longest time, Coulibaly has been all long limbs, defensive disruption and transition finishing. These last few weeks, though, have hinted at a major breakthrough on the offensive end.
Namely, this typically limited shooter is suddenly shredding nets at eye-opening rates. The sample size is tiny, and the stakes are nonexistent, but his March stats are still worth savoring: 15.7 points on 44/41.2/78.8 shooting.
If this is more than a fluky flash, this could be the beginning of Washington developing a true two-way force on the wings. This might be written with crossed fingers, but we're buying the breakthrough.
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