I’ve written this many times already this offseason, and I’m going to write it again: There are, at the very least, 10 teams that can walk into training camp and realistically believe they can win the 2019-20 NBA championship. More likely, that number is closer to 13, by my count. Would most of these teams need a few breaks? Sure. But they’re within range, at least on paper. It’s been a long time since the league has been this wide open. You could argue it never has.
Still, as always, a separation exists between the true contenders and everyone else. That line has blurred, but below we’re still going to try to draw it. A lot can, and perhaps will, change between now and the trade deadline, and then from there into the playoffs with injuries and other factors, but as it stands right now, here’s my list of contenders and pretenders.