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The Future Power Rankings are ESPN Insider's projection of the on-court success expected for each team in the 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.
Consider this a convenient way to see the direction in which your favorite team is headed.
Each of the NBA's 30 teams received an overall Future Power Rating of 0 to 100, based on how well we expect each team to perform in the next three seasons.
To determine the Future Power Rating, we rated each team in five categories.
As you can see, we determined that the most important category is a team's current roster and the future potential of those players -- that category accounts for 50 percent of each team's overall Future Power Rating.
At the same time, we looked at many other factors, such as management, ownership, coaching, a team's spending habits, its cap situation, the reputation of the city and the franchise and what kind of draft picks we expect the team to have in the future.
To rank the 30 teams, we asked ESPN Insider analysts Chad Ford, Amin Elhassan, Tom Haberstroh and Kevin Pelton to rate each team in each category.
Here are our latest rankings:
1. San Antonio Spurs
The bar graphs reflect the average points given by the voters for each category.
This is the first time in Future Power Rankings' five-year history that the Spurs have ranked No. 1. Winning a championship will do that, and despite the age of San Antonio's three long-tenured stars, the Spurs' short-term future still appears bright. San Antonio brings basically everyone back from last year's roster with exception of reserve center Aron Baynes.
Given the way coach Gregg Popovich has managed his players' minutes, there's reason to believe the Spurs can wring at least one more championship-caliber season out of aging veterans Tim Duncan (38) and Manu Ginobili (37).
Looking ahead, the question of replacing Duncan -- when he decides to head off to retirement -- looms large. San Antonio is counting on Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, 23, developing into the kind of player who can anchor a contending team.
Leonard is likely to sign a long-term extension this fall, the Spurs having already locked up point guard Tony Parker through 2017-18 this summer. San Antonio also will have to re-sign starting guard Danny Green, which will cut into the team's cap flexibility the next two summers.
Still, if there's any management we trust to manage the future, it's the Spurs, who earned a perfect score. Popovich is clearly the league's best coach -- he might be as difficult to replace as Duncan when he decides to retire -- and GM R.C. Buford earned overdue honors as the league's Executive of the Year in 2013-14. -- Kevin Pelton
(Previous rank: 4)
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
The bar graphs reflect the average points given by the voters for each category.
The Cavs jumped a whopping seven spots from No. 9 to No. 2 in this year's FPR. Adding LeBron James and Kevin Love had everything to do with it.
The Cavs jumped from No. 13 to No. 1 in our players category. Adding the best player in the NBA and another top-10 player to your roster while giving up young players who have yet to contribute anything will do that. The core of James, Love and Kyrie Irving looks like the best big three in basketball. When you add in support players such as Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao, Shawn Marion and Mike Miller -- the Cavs look like a stronger edition of last year's No. 1 team -- the Heat.
The Cavs' market value also got a big bump. The team ranked No. 21 last year and moved all the way up to 11 this year. No, global warming has yet to take hold in Cleveland. But James himself is a destination and already has shown the muscle to lure free agents. (There was no way Love or Miller would have come to Cleveland without James.)
The team will actually have significant cap room for 2016-17, but we expect most of that will be used up re-signing James and Love. Still, there's a willingness to spend and the Cavs will have some flexibility in two years. The Cavs also can swap picks with the Bulls and they own a future Grizzlies pick down the road, which brightens Cleveland's fortunes a bit as far as the draft goes.
As for management, our panel wasn't willing to give them full credit for James (that was the city of Cleveland's doing), Love (that was LeBron's doing) or dumb luck (that's the NBA draft lottery's doing). They got lucky, but hey, sometimes luck is the thing you need the most in the NBA.
Now the Cavs are as well positioned as any team in the NBA to take home an NBA title or two. -- Chad Ford
(Previous rank: 9)
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
The bar graphs reflect the average points given by the voters for each category.
The Thunder have rated in the top three of the Future Power Rankings every iteration since December 2009. That has translated into plenty of wins (only San Antonio has more over the past three seasons), but only one Finals appearance and no championships ... yet.
Oklahoma City has enough talent on hand to change that. Only the Cleveland Cavaliers scored better in terms of players. Visionary GM Sam Presti, the driving force behind the Thunder ranking third in management, continues to add young talent to the team's core of Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka and Russell Westbrook. Last season, Reggie Jackson emerged as a premier reserve, and 2013 first-round pick Steven Adams demonstrated he's Oklahoma City's future at the center position.
Internal development will be crucial because of the Thunder's unwillingness, thus far, to exceed the luxury tax, as reflected in their bottom-five ranking in money. Oklahoma City's marquee offseason acquisition was journeyman shooting guard Anthony Morrow, who replaces departed starter Thabo Sefolosha, to give the Thunder more shooting but weaker defense at the position.
Besides staying healthy after untimely injuries to Westbrook and Ibaka the past two postseasons, the key to the Thunder breaking through will be the progress of recent first-round picks such as Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones to bolster the team's bench.
There's added urgency to win now, too, with Durant's free agency looming in the summer of 2016. -- Kevin Pelton
(Previous rank: 3)
4. Houston Rockets
The bar graphs reflect the average points given by the voters for each category.
While they haven't dropped far in the Future Power Rankings, the Rockets' future doesn't look quite as bright as it did 12 months ago, when they ranked second. Houston won 54 games, tied for fifth in the NBA, but the season flamed out in a six-game loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in the opening round that reinforced questions about James Harden's defense and the Rockets' supporting cast.
Worse yet was an offseason that saw the Rockets lose starting forward Chandler Parsons to the rival Dallas Mavericks and saw them deal away Jeremy Lin to create cap space that went largely unused. Despite the presence of two All-Star talents in Harden and Dwight Howard, and the addition of Trevor Ariza, the Rockets tumbled from third to seventh in the players category.
Houston's slide was arrested by strong ratings elsewhere. The Rockets are one of three teams not to rank in the bottom 10 in any of our five categories. Houston GM Daryl Morey, who built a contending roster without going through a rebuilding process, earns high marks in management. And the Rockets' moves this offseason ensured continued cap flexibility as well as help through the draft.
Though Houston's own first-round pick went to the L.A. Lakers with Lin, the Rockets added a potential lottery pick from the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for center Omer Asik. Add in a top-10 market and the Rockets should contend for years to come. -- Kevin Pelton
(Previous rank: 2)
5. Los Angeles Clippers
The bar graphs reflect the average points given by the voters for each category.
The tumultuous Donald Sterling saga this spring and summer had a happy ending for the Clippers, who have made a massive upgrade in the owner's box from Sterling to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. That change drives a jump from 20th in management a year ago to eighth this season, which has pushed the Clippers into the top five of the Future Power Rankings.
Ballmer promised championships during the pep rally introducing him as owner, and the Clippers have the roster to deliver. In Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, they boast one of the league's best duos, and they've supported them with a strong group of role players. Only the San Antonio Spurs had a better point differential than the Clippers during the 2013-14 regular season, and the Clippers have upgraded their bench with the addition of Spencer Hawes as a free agent. As a result, the Clippers rank third in players.
Sterling's demise helped coach Doc Rivers consolidate his power as president of basketball operations. Rivers the coach must avoid the temptation to overrule Rivers the executive at the cost of the Clippers' long-term future. Already, they rank near the bottom of the league in both money and draft value (29th in each), and that doesn't factor in the 2017 first-round pick Rivers sacrificed to shed Jared Dudley's contract this summer. With little help on the way, the Clippers need this group to win and win big. -- Kevin Pelton
(Previous rank: 8)
...
The others are here in the LINK since only 20.000 caracters allowed i couldn't post all of them. Seeing the Cavs up there feels so good that makes me proud. The most funny thing is seeing the biggest markets in league down below Lakers in 28th Knicks in 25th cuz of their shitty management and players which their management brought up. That's why i'm so happy to see a good staff and a great management from Griff which we end up a LEGENDARY offseason.
Consider this a convenient way to see the direction in which your favorite team is headed.
Each of the NBA's 30 teams received an overall Future Power Rating of 0 to 100, based on how well we expect each team to perform in the next three seasons.
To determine the Future Power Rating, we rated each team in five categories.
As you can see, we determined that the most important category is a team's current roster and the future potential of those players -- that category accounts for 50 percent of each team's overall Future Power Rating.
At the same time, we looked at many other factors, such as management, ownership, coaching, a team's spending habits, its cap situation, the reputation of the city and the franchise and what kind of draft picks we expect the team to have in the future.
To rank the 30 teams, we asked ESPN Insider analysts Chad Ford, Amin Elhassan, Tom Haberstroh and Kevin Pelton to rate each team in each category.
Here are our latest rankings:
1. San Antonio Spurs
The bar graphs reflect the average points given by the voters for each category.
This is the first time in Future Power Rankings' five-year history that the Spurs have ranked No. 1. Winning a championship will do that, and despite the age of San Antonio's three long-tenured stars, the Spurs' short-term future still appears bright. San Antonio brings basically everyone back from last year's roster with exception of reserve center Aron Baynes.
Given the way coach Gregg Popovich has managed his players' minutes, there's reason to believe the Spurs can wring at least one more championship-caliber season out of aging veterans Tim Duncan (38) and Manu Ginobili (37).
Looking ahead, the question of replacing Duncan -- when he decides to head off to retirement -- looms large. San Antonio is counting on Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, 23, developing into the kind of player who can anchor a contending team.
Leonard is likely to sign a long-term extension this fall, the Spurs having already locked up point guard Tony Parker through 2017-18 this summer. San Antonio also will have to re-sign starting guard Danny Green, which will cut into the team's cap flexibility the next two summers.
Still, if there's any management we trust to manage the future, it's the Spurs, who earned a perfect score. Popovich is clearly the league's best coach -- he might be as difficult to replace as Duncan when he decides to retire -- and GM R.C. Buford earned overdue honors as the league's Executive of the Year in 2013-14. -- Kevin Pelton
(Previous rank: 4)
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
The bar graphs reflect the average points given by the voters for each category.
The Cavs jumped a whopping seven spots from No. 9 to No. 2 in this year's FPR. Adding LeBron James and Kevin Love had everything to do with it.
The Cavs jumped from No. 13 to No. 1 in our players category. Adding the best player in the NBA and another top-10 player to your roster while giving up young players who have yet to contribute anything will do that. The core of James, Love and Kyrie Irving looks like the best big three in basketball. When you add in support players such as Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao, Shawn Marion and Mike Miller -- the Cavs look like a stronger edition of last year's No. 1 team -- the Heat.
The Cavs' market value also got a big bump. The team ranked No. 21 last year and moved all the way up to 11 this year. No, global warming has yet to take hold in Cleveland. But James himself is a destination and already has shown the muscle to lure free agents. (There was no way Love or Miller would have come to Cleveland without James.)
The team will actually have significant cap room for 2016-17, but we expect most of that will be used up re-signing James and Love. Still, there's a willingness to spend and the Cavs will have some flexibility in two years. The Cavs also can swap picks with the Bulls and they own a future Grizzlies pick down the road, which brightens Cleveland's fortunes a bit as far as the draft goes.
As for management, our panel wasn't willing to give them full credit for James (that was the city of Cleveland's doing), Love (that was LeBron's doing) or dumb luck (that's the NBA draft lottery's doing). They got lucky, but hey, sometimes luck is the thing you need the most in the NBA.
Now the Cavs are as well positioned as any team in the NBA to take home an NBA title or two. -- Chad Ford
(Previous rank: 9)
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
The bar graphs reflect the average points given by the voters for each category.
The Thunder have rated in the top three of the Future Power Rankings every iteration since December 2009. That has translated into plenty of wins (only San Antonio has more over the past three seasons), but only one Finals appearance and no championships ... yet.
Oklahoma City has enough talent on hand to change that. Only the Cleveland Cavaliers scored better in terms of players. Visionary GM Sam Presti, the driving force behind the Thunder ranking third in management, continues to add young talent to the team's core of Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka and Russell Westbrook. Last season, Reggie Jackson emerged as a premier reserve, and 2013 first-round pick Steven Adams demonstrated he's Oklahoma City's future at the center position.
Internal development will be crucial because of the Thunder's unwillingness, thus far, to exceed the luxury tax, as reflected in their bottom-five ranking in money. Oklahoma City's marquee offseason acquisition was journeyman shooting guard Anthony Morrow, who replaces departed starter Thabo Sefolosha, to give the Thunder more shooting but weaker defense at the position.
Besides staying healthy after untimely injuries to Westbrook and Ibaka the past two postseasons, the key to the Thunder breaking through will be the progress of recent first-round picks such as Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones to bolster the team's bench.
There's added urgency to win now, too, with Durant's free agency looming in the summer of 2016. -- Kevin Pelton
(Previous rank: 3)
4. Houston Rockets
The bar graphs reflect the average points given by the voters for each category.
While they haven't dropped far in the Future Power Rankings, the Rockets' future doesn't look quite as bright as it did 12 months ago, when they ranked second. Houston won 54 games, tied for fifth in the NBA, but the season flamed out in a six-game loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in the opening round that reinforced questions about James Harden's defense and the Rockets' supporting cast.
Worse yet was an offseason that saw the Rockets lose starting forward Chandler Parsons to the rival Dallas Mavericks and saw them deal away Jeremy Lin to create cap space that went largely unused. Despite the presence of two All-Star talents in Harden and Dwight Howard, and the addition of Trevor Ariza, the Rockets tumbled from third to seventh in the players category.
Houston's slide was arrested by strong ratings elsewhere. The Rockets are one of three teams not to rank in the bottom 10 in any of our five categories. Houston GM Daryl Morey, who built a contending roster without going through a rebuilding process, earns high marks in management. And the Rockets' moves this offseason ensured continued cap flexibility as well as help through the draft.
Though Houston's own first-round pick went to the L.A. Lakers with Lin, the Rockets added a potential lottery pick from the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for center Omer Asik. Add in a top-10 market and the Rockets should contend for years to come. -- Kevin Pelton
(Previous rank: 2)
5. Los Angeles Clippers
The bar graphs reflect the average points given by the voters for each category.
The tumultuous Donald Sterling saga this spring and summer had a happy ending for the Clippers, who have made a massive upgrade in the owner's box from Sterling to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. That change drives a jump from 20th in management a year ago to eighth this season, which has pushed the Clippers into the top five of the Future Power Rankings.
Ballmer promised championships during the pep rally introducing him as owner, and the Clippers have the roster to deliver. In Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, they boast one of the league's best duos, and they've supported them with a strong group of role players. Only the San Antonio Spurs had a better point differential than the Clippers during the 2013-14 regular season, and the Clippers have upgraded their bench with the addition of Spencer Hawes as a free agent. As a result, the Clippers rank third in players.
Sterling's demise helped coach Doc Rivers consolidate his power as president of basketball operations. Rivers the coach must avoid the temptation to overrule Rivers the executive at the cost of the Clippers' long-term future. Already, they rank near the bottom of the league in both money and draft value (29th in each), and that doesn't factor in the 2017 first-round pick Rivers sacrificed to shed Jared Dudley's contract this summer. With little help on the way, the Clippers need this group to win and win big. -- Kevin Pelton
(Previous rank: 8)
...
The others are here in the LINK since only 20.000 caracters allowed i couldn't post all of them. Seeing the Cavs up there feels so good that makes me proud. The most funny thing is seeing the biggest markets in league down below Lakers in 28th Knicks in 25th cuz of their shitty management and players which their management brought up. That's why i'm so happy to see a good staff and a great management from Griff which we end up a LEGENDARY offseason.
