Getty Image / Tim Nwachukwu
David Aldridge of The Athletic has released his list of the most improved teams in the NBA for this upcoming season. In a shock to many, the Philadelphia 76ers have been named the league’s most improved team in the NBA.
Which teams improved most this offseason?
The Cavs leap into the top 10 of @davidaldridgedc’s updated rankings.
More: https://t.co/lQVv6MmCEQ pic.twitter.com/XBpJDiM7z4
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) September 8, 2022
A Strange Offseason
As always, it was a tumultuous offseason in the NBA. Though it ended up being an offseason mostly full of rumors of blockbuster trades instead of actual blockbuster trades, it was still wildly entertaining.
The free agent class was not great, especially after Kyrie Irving decided to re-sign with the Nets and James Harden opted in for the 76ers.
The biggest move, of course, was the trade sending Jazz star Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Philadelphia makes key moves
None of the Philadelphia moves were splashy. They added Deanthony Melton, PJ Tucker, Danuel House, and Montrezl Harrell. But, those players will help the Sixers in areas they struggled a year ago. All of them add a lot of defensive toughness, and Harrell adds a good option to be a backup center to Joel Embiid.
The Sixers lost in last year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals, 4-2, to the Miami Heat.
Still, some were confused as to why the Sizers were that highly ranked. @padrenurgle was one of those people.
I’m looking at the Sixers and feel lost. Now I gotta go read your article!
— padrenurgle (@padrenurgle) September 8, 2022
Cleveland made the bigger splash
Cleveland made the biggest move of the offseason, trading for star guard Donovan Mitchell to pair with promising young players Darius Garland and Evan Mobley to form maybe the best young trio. in the league.
This move, which quickly moves the Cavaliers up the list of contenders in the Eastern Conference, had people wondering why they weren’t higher on the list of most-improved teams.
@MoneyDre123 was one of those people who didn’t understand why Cleveland wasn’t higher.
How are the Cavs not higher than the Hawks? They basically flipped Markannen for Mitchell (Sexton barely played last year and Agbaji was a pick from this draft) while re-adding Rubio. All the Hawks did was add Murray.
— Andre Daniels (@MoneyDre123) September 8, 2022
Of course, none of these rankings really matter. It’s about results on the floor. The NBA season starts next month.