6 Most Underrated NBA Teams Heading Into the 2026-27 Season

Let me start out by emphatically stating: No, I am not after Sydney Sweeney’s, uh, side hustle. This is not an advertisement for the gambling industry.

Rather, I’m merely citing basketball-fan research provided by FanDuel and its four chief rivals as the foundation for this statement:

Amateur sports analysts really have no clue when it comes to risking their hard-earned cash. Or any kind of money, for that matter.

Take the NBA, for example.

Those who set odds on this year’s winningest teams have established the Thunder and the Spurs as the favorites. A consensus of the top five linemakers tells us this.

No surprise there.

But what comes next is a bit of a shocker. And then another. And another …

Based on their consensus projected win totals this season, the 76ers will win fewer games than the Celtics.

Huh?

Amen Thompson’s team will celebrate victories less often than brother Ausar’s team.

Really?

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s loss will crush the Bucks, whereas Kawhi Leonard’s addition won’t have much impact on the Raptors.

Seriously, I’m not making up this stuff. You can actually bet on it.

Again, not that I’m suggesting you do so.

Based on these public-adjusted numbers, I hereby open 2026-27 training camp by identifying six teams as the NBA’s most underrated …

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

Let me get this straight: The 76ers beat the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs last April/May, then stole their best player. And, oh yeah, they also added LEBRON JAMES.

Yet the Celtics are projected to win 50.7 games this season and the 76ers just 49.9.

OK, I get it. Joel Embiid will only play 45 games, and LeBron will pick his spots.

But Jaylen Brown carried a far weaker supporting cast to 44 wins in just 62 games last season until Jayson Tatum returned and ruined everything.

Fifty wins? That’s a lock.

TORONTO RAPTORS

Yeah, I know it kinda got buried under the big headlines of the FIBA Women’s World Cup, but has anyone noticed that the Raptors have officially acquired Leonard?

They were one of the league’s most improved clubs last year, and now they’ve added one of its best players to create, along with Scottie Barnes, a Tatum/Brown frontcourt that’s been enough to dominate the East for almost a decade.

The East has greater depth this season, but that will cause an improving Raptors team to take a step backward (45.5 projected wins after 46 last season)? That makes no sense.

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

As the West has risen to power in the NBA in the last 20 years, the East has served as its punching bag. But things are changing.

Stephen Curry is getting old. LeBron is gone. The Nuggets have gotten cheap. The Clippers can’t cheat anymore. And the Mavericks have fewer five-star teammates for Cooper Flagg than Duke.

Utah is considered a postseason possibility in the new West, for crying out loud.

The Trail Blazers are an exception to that rule. They’ve gone from 21 to 36 to 42 wins the last three seasons, reaching the playoffs last year after losing their coach on Opening Night.

They’ve since added Ja Morant to a young core that – get this – actually plays hard in the regular season. In the West, that assures another winning season, which is all it’s going to take to surpass the 41.9-win projection.

MILWAUKEE BUCKS

The Giannis-less Bucks would be a prime candidate to tank this season, if there were an incentive to do so. But there isn’t anymore.

In fact, there’s actually a lottery-infused motivation to have more wins than three fellow bottom-feeders, and last season, all it took to accomplish that feat was 26 wins.

In the Giannis afterlife, the Bucks are honest about who they are – years away but forming a foundation with some good, young players – and that means they’ll try harder than load-management teams. It won’t be enough to make the playoffs, but blowing past the projected 25.5 wins should be a breeze.

INDIANA PACERS

When last we saw Tyrese Haliburton, he was leading the Pacers to 50 wins and into the NBA Finals.

When last we saw the Pacers without their best player, they were winning 19 games.

So where are they now with Haliburton back?

The public has spoken: He’s coming off a serious injury and the team no longer has Myles Turner, so they’ll fall somewhere in between. A middle-of-the-East, 43.9-win total has been set.

It seems the public has forgotten this team still has Pascal Siakam and now has Ivica Zubac to replace Turner.

Almost a year and a half after his injury, Haliburton can be counted upon to lead these guys well north of the break-even mark.

HOUSTON ROCKETS

The Rockets are kinda like the Pacers. They won 52 games with a healthy Fred VanVleet, then won – wait, what? – 52 games without him last season.

How in the world did that happen?

Well, it happened because the Rockets already were on the rise, brought aboard Kevin Durant and watched Alperen Sengun turn into one of the league’s best big men.

You have to wonder: How many games would they have won with an actual point guard on the court last season? Maybe 60?

Well, VanVleet is back … and the projected win total – in a weaker Western Conference – is just 46.9?

That’s gotta be a mistake.

Alas, the public has spoken. I suggest you turn down the volume.