Teams That Could Surprise NBA Fans During The 2023 Season

The NBA has been pegged as a predictable league, where only the top teams heading into the season have a chance to make noise during the playoffs. However, if the Miami Heat taught fans anything last season, it’s that a team can come together in ways that many would not expect. We’ll take a look at a few teams who might perform better than expected during the 2023 NBA season.

The Cavaliers had a stunningly successful regular season in 2022, considering that they were expected to be a lower seeded team in the East. Cleveland captured the four spot, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the New York Knicks. It was a difficult series, but young Cavaliers players like Darius Garland and Evan Mobley might emerge stronger from the adversity this year.

At some point, the plethora of high capital draft picks the Magic have made over the last few years has to translate into wins. Orlando showed marked improvement last season, led by 2022 number one overall selection Paolo Banchero. Franz Wagner may also notably improve this year, as he showed well in this summer’s FIBA tournament for Germany.

Cade Cunningham’s sophomore campaign was sadly cut short due to injury, but he still has the potential to become one of the league’s most dangerous facilitators. Combine that tantalizing prospect with a potentially exciting group of young centers in James Wiseman and Jalen Duran, and the makings for an ahead of schedule leap are present.

It’s hard to say that a team that finished second in the Western Conference a year ago will surprise basketball fans, but Memphis may be much improved. Even though Ja Morant will miss 25 games due to suspension, the Grizzlies are high on Marcus Smart. Smart figures to be a better version of Dillon Brooks without the drama, and can hold the fort down while Morant is out of the lineup.

It would have been fun to see the Thunder in the 2022 postseason, but they couldn’t advance their way out of the play-in tournament. Still, seeing the gargantuan step that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took last season makes Oklahoma City a relevant team again. They’re also hoping that Chet Holmgren can stay healthy and provide a defensive presence at the rim.

The Rockets were one of the worst teams in the NBA last year, but aren’t acting like a franchise that expects to be at the bottom of the standings for much longer. Houston is hoping to get added production from their young stars, but also added Fred VanVleet in free agency, as well as Ime Udoka to coach the team. Both individuals have made recent NBA Finals appearances.

The Spurs won 56 games during Tim Duncan’s rookie year in 1997-1998. That’s probably not a realistic expectation for San Antonio this year, but it looks like Victor Wembanyama might be as good as advertised. If he stays healthy and coach Gregg Popovich can develop the players around him, San Antonio could push for a playoff berth.

The Hawks have had a solid collection of talent on paper for a few years, but it hasn’t quite meshed together as well as Atlanta fans would’ve hoped. The organization finally decided to trade John Collins, who has been on the block for years. That might have been addition by subtraction for the Hawks, who can now singularly focus on who is in the locker room.