What will the 2022-23 NBA season be remembered for? Some teams will look very similar, but the landscape of the league is never exactly the same two years in a row.
An offseason full of big trades and a handful of star players returning from injury is bound to shake up the NBA standings.
Utah’s deals that sent Rudy Gobert to Minnesota and Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland will likely drop the Jazz out of the playoff race, while the Timberwolves and Cavaliers will seek to take another step toward serious contention.
The Nets will look to reestablish themselves as title contenders. Kyrie Irving‘s vaccination status won’t hold him out of any home games this season, and Brooklyn will see how Ben Simmons fits into the lineup for the first time since trading for him in February.
And all eyes will be on LeBron James and the Lakers in another storyline-filled season in Los Angeles. James is projected to break the NBA scoring record and, alongside Russell Westbrook, will try to help the Lakers bounce back from a disappointing campaign.
Here’s a look at every team’s outlook for the upcoming season, including the most important offseason moves, big questions and which players could be facing a make-or-break 2022-23.
Note: Rankings are based on where members of our panel (ESPN’s Kendra Andrews, Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Nick Friedell, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin, Kevin Pelton and Ohm Youngmisuk) think teams belong heading into this season. Title odds and win totals for 2022-23 by Caesars Sportsbook.
Jump to a team:ATL Title odds: +6500
Bulls in NBArank
Zach LaVine (27)
DeMar DeRozan (28)
Nikola Vucevic (57)
Lonzo Ball (78)
Most impactful offseason “move”: Lonzo Ball’s knee surgery
Injuries derailed a promising first half for Chicago and are already threatening to jeopardize this season. Ball underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee at the start of training camp, his second since January, and neither he, nor the Bulls, have much clarity on when he’ll return.
Chicago was not the same team without Ball last year (27-13 before the injury; 19-23 after). The trio of Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu and veteran Goran Dragic, whom the Bulls signed in free agency, will try to fill the playmaking void.
2022-23 is a make-or-break season for …
Nikola Vucevic. The Bulls’ move to acquire Vucevic from the Magic at the 2021 trade deadline has provided the jolt the franchise had envisioned. Chicago didn’t make the play-in tournament in 2020-21 — ceding the No. 8 overall pick to Orlando, which turned into breakout candidate Franz Wagner — and although they got back to the playoffs last year, Vucevic struggled as the third option alongside DeRozan and LaVine. Vucevic shot 47.3% from the field 31.4% from 3, his lowest totals since 2017-18.
The Bulls are counting on Vucevic to have a bounce-back season in the final year of his contract.
Quote that will define their season:
“Last year, we were not surprised we made the playoffs. A lot of people were surprised. Nor should we be surprised to make the playoffs this year, but what we want to see is improvement. Once you get to the playoffs and you have healthy bodies a lot of things can happen; we have to do better than last year.” — Bulls vice president Arturas Karnisovas
Despite some large question marks entering the season, especially surrounding Ball’s health, the Bulls have their sights set not just on getting to the postseason again, but advancing in the playoffs as well. It’s a natural progression to build on from last season, but also high internal expectations for a team with more than a few unknowns — at point guard, whether Vucevic will bounce back and the growth of young players such as Patrick Williams and Dosunmu. Chicago led the East for most of last season’s first half, but injuries to Ball, Caruso and LaVine kept the Bulls from playing at full strength down the stretch and in the postseason.
— Collier
When we last saw them … the Knicks failed to build on their surprising surge to fourth place in the East two seasons ago. Last year’s 11th-place finish was headlined by a steep regression from Julius Randle following his All-NBA performance in 2020-21.
Win-loss projections
ESPN Forecast: 39-43
FiveThirtyEight: 40-42
Caesars: 38.5 wins
