Spurs Top NBA Power Rankings as Knicks Lead East

The San Antonio Spurs enter the 2026-27 NBA season at the top of CBS Sports' opening power rankings, while the New York Knicks lead the Eastern Conference outlook. Published October 20, the assessments reflect championship potential across the league as teams begin a season featuring numerous credible title contenders.

CBS Sports framed its rankings around championship viability rather than early-season results, emphasizing teams' overall prospects before regular-season performances begin to reshape the standings. The outlet described at least 14 teams as having reasons to believe they could compete for the championship, depending partly on how circumstances develop.

The rankings are an initial assessment of each team's position in the broader title race. CBS Sports indicated that subsequent editions would place greater emphasis on current form as games provide evidence of which preseason expectations hold up.

Sports Illustrated's October 20 season predictions also identified San Antonio as a leading championship candidate, with writers selecting the Spurs to win the 2027 NBA Finals against different opponents. Chris Mannix predicted a six-game series victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, while Liam McKeone projected a four-game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Victor Wembanyama featured prominently in both analysts' forecasts, with each selecting the Spurs star to win Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year. Their predictions place individual honors and San Antonio's championship prospects closely together, although McKeone cautioned that Wembanyama's development and availability could affect the team's postseason outlook.

Mannix also selected Cameron Boozer of the Memphis Grizzlies as Rookie of the Year, Sean Sweeney of the Orlando Magic as Coach of the Year, Dylan Harper of the Spurs as Sixth Man of the Year, and Kel'el Ware of the Milwaukee Bucks as Most Improved Player.

McKeone chose Caleb Wilson of the Chicago Bulls for Rookie of the Year, Nick Nurse of the 76ers for Coach of the Year, Alex Caruso of the Oklahoma City Thunder for Sixth Man of the Year, and Payton Pritchard of the Boston Celtics for Most Improved Player.

Despite the Spurs' strong preseason standing, McKeone stressed that the championship race remained open. He pointed to the importance of Wembanyama's continued progress and his ability to stay healthy throughout the season, rather than treating San Antonio as an overwhelming favorite.

The opening day's schedule offers another point of interest beyond the title predictions. Yahoo Sports reported October 20 that the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons were scheduled to open the season at 3 p.m. Eastern, an unusual afternoon start for an NBA game played in the United States.

According to Yahoo Sports, ESPN's Dave McMenamin explained in August that the league was testing the early tipoff to determine whether it could become a lasting opening-day tradition. The experiment also comes after the 2026 World Cup featured numerous afternoon games in the United States, providing a potential comparison for the NBA's audience strategy.

The Celtics-Pistons matchup leads an opening-day tripleheader, with the Philadelphia 76ers facing the New York Knicks at 7 p.m. Eastern and the Oklahoma City Thunder meeting the San Antonio Spurs at 9:30 p.m. Eastern. Yahoo Sports said the audience figures for the afternoon game could help indicate whether the league's scheduling experiment has long-term potential.