NBA 2025-26: Ranking of 14 faces newly arrived in new teams
Coach Mike Brown, Kevin Durant, Myles Turner and others are classified according to who will have greater impact on their new teams.
Although the NFL season has just begun, basketball is already here. Thursday three weeks are turned for for the Start of the NBA preseasonwith the confrontation between New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers In Abu Dhabi.
Although continuity is the key to the defending champion, the Oklahoma City Thunder, which recovers all the players who played at least 50 minutes during the playoffs last season, the teams that pursue them have made important changes this preseason, including the replacement of Tom Thibodeau by the Knicks.
The Houston Rockets caused a sensation by incorporating MVP twice from the finals, Kevin Durant, to a young nucleus that ended second in the west last season before losing in the first round. The Denver Nuggets adopted a different approach, complementing their nucleus led by Nikola Jokic with Cameron Johnson and improving their bank.
Meanwhile, lottery selections such as VJ Edgecombe, from Philadelphia 76ers, could make a difference for unlikely teams that made the leap in May. Chris Herring and Kevin Pelton de AM850 highlight the newcomers to take into account for the 2025-26 season, with coach Mike Brown joining 13 players on the list, classified according to who will be the most shocking and take a look at their importance next spring and beyond.
1. Kevin Durant, Houston Rockets
Durant, who will turn 37 at the end of this month, is the best known player and the only MVP on this list. Rockets expect it to be the key piece for a franchise that aspires to a third NBA championship. His role in Houston is undeniable. When joining the team that ended last in the league in effectiveness of field shots at decisive moments (43.8%) during the regular season, Durant is expected to be the closer and the first offensive option when things get difficult. – HERRING
2. Desmond Bane, Orlando Magic
The 27-year-old forward transfer to the East Conference in exchange for four first-round teams, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Cole Anthony, was one of the most transcendental movements of summer and showed that Magic wants to bet everything right now. Acquire Bane, a life success of 41% in triples with considerable volume, has all the meaning of the world for a club that ended last in the league in triples and percentage of triples. It will immediately help in that regard, while relieving part of the offensive pressure that weighed on Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. – HERRING
3. Cameron Johnson, Denver Nuggets
Given the remarkable similarity between Johnson’s production with the Brooklyn Nets and that of the player he replaces in Denver (Michael Porter Jr.), one of the fascinating questions for this season is whether Johnson will give up better now that he will form a team with the three times MVP Nikola Jokic. The bad season of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with the Orlando Magic has fed the idea of a Jokic effect, especially in three-point shots. The widest sample is mixed.
The newcomers to the Nuggets since the 2018-19 season that have tried at least 100 triples have triggered approximately a better percentage point in Denver (37.2% compared to 36.2% of the previous three seasons). Meanwhile, Caldwell-Pope is an atypical case among players who leave Nuggets, which have gone from 36.7% with 36.2% nuggets with their new teams. – PELTON
4. Mike brown, New York Knicks
Perhaps no coach in the league faces as much pressure to lose the title as Brown this season. A sign of this: after announcing the decision to fire his predecessor, Tom Thibodeau, the president of the Knicks, Leon Rose, declared: “Our organization is focused exclusively on winning a championship for our hobby.” New York comes from its best season in 25 years, which culminated with two All-NBA teams and an arrival at the conference finals. Brown will have to discover how to take more advantage of the titular alignment and improve the defensive problems of the club. – HERRING
5. Deandre Ayton, Los Angeles Lakers
Surely this will not be Ayton’s last opportunity to achieve the potential that earned him a maximum contract terminated by the Portland Trail Blazers on the eve of free agency. It could be your best chance. During Luka Doncic’s race in the NBA, players who have searched them have an effective field shooting percentage of 63% when they end up scoring in the play, the best of any player with the ball with at least 500 plays of this type, according to Geniusiq’s follow -up. Ayton must take advantage of those opportunities and be a defensive improvement for the head pivot Jaxson Hayes. – PELTON
6. Myles Turner, Milwaukee Bucks
It could be said that no movement of this preseason was more shocking than the one that made Turner a buck. (The transaction that allowed Turner’s acquisition for Milwaukee was also revealing, since the club chose to terminate and extend the remaining contract of the nine-time All-Star Damian Lillard, who will be lost next season after a aquile tendon break). Turner was a constant candidate for the defensive player of the year and still retains a good reputation as an defender of the hoop, in addition to his ability to open the court. All their skills will be necessary to help Giannis Antekounmpo and the Bucks overcome the first round, something they have not achieved since 2022. – HERRING
7. Kristaps porzingis, Atlanta Hawks
Last season it was difficult for Porzingis, who lost the first month of action recovering from surgery during the preseason before having difficulties sometimes, even during the playoffs, to perform to the maximum due to a mysterious virus of the upper respiratory tract that diminished the energy throughout the campaign. But between that and the need for Boston to cut his salary to avoid the second round, the Hawks managed to sign it, giving Atlanta an elite ring protector and a field spacer for Drive Young. Porzingis simply needs to stay healthy. – HERRING
8. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
The leaflet agreed as the best 2025 Draft player is in an unusual situation to be the first selection. The Mavericks arrived at the NBA finals 15 months ago and played a position in the playoffs despite transferring Luka Doncic in the middle of the season and suffering a cascade of injuries in the second half. Flagg is not Doncic and will need time to develop, but its complete game should allow you to immediately contribute to an advance towards the playoffs while becoming the next great Dallas star. – PELTON
9. Norman Powell, Miami Heat
Miami had a bad performance last season after the transfer of Jimmy Butler, with a record of 14-21 and 10 consecutive defeats in March, before tracing and ensuring a position in the postseason through the play-in. More than anything, the offensive desperately needed an impulse this preseason. That’s where Powell enters, who is playing the best basketball of his career at 30 years. It is not the greatest facilitator, but it can score with and without the ball, both inside and outside the arch. He has triggered almost 40% in triple in his career. It is expected to be a great help for Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo in attack. – HERRING
10. Jalen Green, Phoenix Suns
The former number 2 of the national team gets a new beginning – and a new position – in Phoenix after Durant’s transfer. The Suns expect Green to be the titular base with Devin Booker, according to John Gambadoro by Arizona Sports. Green showed a modest game capacity in four seasons with the rockets, with a maximum of 3.7 assists per game. In addition, Green has not yet been an effective player in the Pick-And-Roll. His blockages have allowed him to obtain only 0.95 points per opportunity in the last two seasons, occupying the 33rd position among the 40 players who have executed at least 2,500 pick-And-vololls according to Geniusiq. – PELTON
11. Ty Jerome, Memphis Grizzlies
The 28 -year -old base had a dazzling season with Cleveland, where he finished third in the vote to the sixth man of the year. However, since the CAVs faced a tax sanction of 250 million dollars to maintain their intact template, they ruled out the possibility of bringing Jerome back, which allowed him to sign a three -year contract of three years and 28 million dollars to be the substitute for Ja Morant in Memphis. It should be remembered that one of the greatest strengths of the Grizzlies during his two campaigns of 50 victories with Morant was the constant game of the substitute base Tyus Jones. This gives Jerome a kind of model to continue by joining the club, especially if Morant has to miss matches. – HERRING
12. Bradley Beal, The clippers
Beal had been mentioned incessantly as a disappointment for a Phoenix club with low performance during the last two seasons, which was understandable, since he was fulfilling the rest of his maximum contract. But the context is very different now, with a reasonable two -year contract with Los Angeles (which explains why so many clubs were interested in signing Beal with a smaller contract). I should fit perfectly as the third scorer, and the depth of the clippers should benefit greatly from having it, and the newcomers Chris Paul and Brook Lopez, in reduced roles. – Herring
13. Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs
It is worth observing the second selected this year as a rookie, not so much for its impact on the spurs season (playing behind the newly renewed of’aaron Fox, Harper’s role could be limited with the team to the maximum of its troops), but for the future. The sooner Harper looks ready to assume the base position, more difficult could be the decisions that San Antonio could face with Fox. The current rookie of the year, Stephon Castle, who also handles the ball and is a doubtful exterior shooter like Fox and Harper, further clouds the future of the spurs bottom line. – Pelton
14. VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers
Edgecombe only needed an appearance in Salt Lake’s summer league to demonstrate why the 76ers chose him thirdly. In his debut, Edgecombe scored 28 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, taking advantage of his explosiveness to highlight in painting. By joining a veteran Philadelphia team that surprised to win the lottery, Edgecombe might not have the opportunity to handle the ball both at the beginning of his rookie season. But if the Sixers have trouble staying healthy, Edgecombe represents the promise of a new era in Philadelphia. – PELTON
