The Hoop Obsession NBA Forecast: 30 to 1
August 21, 2026. By Bobby Gerould. Before there was an internet delivering NBA news, analysis and opinions around the clock, there were preseason magazines. As a teenager, I looked forward to that time in late August or September when the new NBA preview magazines would start appearing on the racks at the grocery store. Street and Smith's was one of the big ones, and getting my hands on the new issue was part of the anticipation of another NBA season. You studied the rosters, read the team previews and, most importantly, looked at where they predicted everybody would finish. Then you decided where they were right, where they were completely wrong, and started forming predictions of your own.
In a lot of ways, that is the spirit behind this annual Hoop Obsession feature. We have more information available to us today than teenage me could have ever imagined, but the fun is still the same: study all 30 teams, form an opinion and put them in order.
One important disclaimer: we are doing this very early. The 2026-27 NBA regular season does not begin until October 20, and these rankings are being put together in late August. Rosters are not finished. Trades will happen, players will get signed and some pretty significant free-agent situations remain unresolved. Jonathan Kuminga is still available, while restricted free agents such as Jalen Duren and Bennedict Mathurin remain in limbo. Any one of those decisions could change how we view a team before opening night.
So consider this a snapshot of how we see the league right now. We will undoubtedly be wrong about some of these teams, that is part of the fun. Starting with No. 30, we are working our way all the way to the team we believe will be the NBA's best in 2026-27.
As we preview each team we will add a new link. #30 below. #29.
#30 — Brooklyn Nets
Hoop Obsession Prediction: 21-61
Vegas Over/Under: 24.5 winsThere are some interesting young pieces in Brooklyn, but when we look at the Nets' roster as a whole, we simply do not see enough efficient NBA players to expect much improvement in the standings.
The Nets finished 20-62 last season and ranked dead last in the NBA in offensive rating. They scored just 105.9 points per game, also 30th in the league, while being outscored by exactly 10 points per game. Brooklyn was not particularly good at anything offensively, and the roster still looks like one that will struggle to manufacture quality possessions over the course of 48 minutes.
Julius Randle should help. The three-time All-Star comes over from Minnesota after averaging 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists last season. Randle can create his own offense, get to the free-throw line and facilitate enough to take some pressure off Brooklyn's young guards. Michael Porter Jr. is the other established bucket-getter on the roster. There were nights last season when Porter was essentially Brooklyn's entire source of dependable offense.
We also like the addition of Moritz Wagner. This is not a move that is going to transform the Nets, but Wagner gives Brooklyn's bench a legitimate NBA scorer and an experienced big. Last season, too many Brooklyn games felt competitive for a while before the second unit simply became overwhelmed. Wagner gives that group a better chance to tread water.
The more interesting part of the Nets' season will be the development of their young players.
We thought Egor Dëmin (photo above) looked good in Summer League. At 6-foot-8, he has unusual size for a primary ball-handler, and there were enough flashes as a rookie to keep us interested. One encouraging number from last season: Brooklyn's offensive rating was 3.2 points better with Dëmin on the floor than with him off it.
Mikel Brown Jr., the No. 6 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, becomes another major part of the development project. Brown gives Brooklyn another young creator to evaluate alongside Dëmin. Asking young guards to direct an already inefficient NBA offense can produce some ugly nights in the short term, but Brown is one of the players Nets fans should be watching closely.
We also think rookie Joshua Jefferson has a chance to work his way into the rotation. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward brings an all-around game that should translate without requiring a large number of touches. On a team with so many young players trying to establish themselves offensively, someone who can help in multiple areas without dominating the ball has value.
The addition of Keon Ellis should help the defense. Ellis is a legitimate high-level perimeter defender who already has a relationship with Jordi Fernández from their time together in Sacramento, when Fernández served as Mike Brown's lead assistant. The problem is that Ellis' offensive production has slipped well below the level we would want from a main-rotation player. He can help Brooklyn stop people, but the Nets already have too many players opponents will be comfortable helping off of.
And that gets to the biggest reason Brooklyn lands at No. 30 in our rankings.
When we project the Nets' main ten, five players fall well below the efficiency baselines we look for: Terance Mann, Noah Clowney, Nolan Traore, Keon Ellis and Danny Wolf. You can survive one or two inefficient rotation players if they provide exceptional value elsewhere. Trying to build a functional offense while giving major minutes to five of them is a different problem.
There is young talent here. Dëmin, Brown and Jefferson all have developmental value, and Randle, Porter and Wagner give Brooklyn considerably more legitimate NBA offense than a pure teardown roster normally has.
But this is still a developmental roster, and development usually comes with mistakes, inconsistency and inefficient possessions.
Vegas has Brooklyn's win total at 24.5. We are going under.
Hoop Obsession predicts 21 wins and ranks the Brooklyn Nets 30th in the NBA.
#29 Read it here.
