The 2025-26 NBA season is nearing, and some teams clearly upgraded during the summer. Those uprgrades bring optimism in certain markets but, for every upgrade, there is a counter-weight of a team that clearly did not improve its standing. In fact, there are at least five teams who got tangibly worse in the offseason, at least from a present-day standpoint.
In this space, we will identify those five teams and talk through why this happened. For some, the reasons are clear and/or unavoidable. For others, operating in the wilderness seems to be more of a choice. At any rate, here are five clubs that got worse.
Boston Celtics
A year ago, the Boston Celtics were the reigning NBA champions and the betting favorites to repeat. Then, Boston put together a 61-win season with elite underlying metrics, and everything appeared to be going well. However, things were quickly derailed in the postseason, with the Celtics underachieving and also suffering injury luck that would change the course of the franchise. Now, Boston is perhaps the poster child for the team projected to lose the most victories from last season. The Celtics still have talent with Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and others, but Jayson Tatum is out for the season. Beyond that, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis are not walking through that door, and the Celtics are in full reset mode.
Indiana Pacers
Much like Boston, the No. 1 reason the Pacers are on this list is a major injury. Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles during the 2025 NBA Finals, and the star guard will miss the entire 2025-26 season as a result. That absence alone would move any rational projection down for the Pacers, but Indiana also lost Myles Turner in shocking fashion this summer. Turner is now in Milwaukee and, though Jay Huff is an underrated addition in Turner's stead, there is no way to look at the Pacers roster and project anything but a decline from last season.
Memphis Grizzlies
It may seem like a lifetime ago given the team's playoff flame-out, but the Grizzlies won 48 games and made it out of the Play-In last season. Now, Memphis is projected to win around 40 games in the betting market, and the biggest reason is the loss of Desmond Bane. The Grizzlies did get a massive haul of draft compensation to send Bane to Orlando, but it certainly made the team worse in the short term. Memphis could still threaten the playoff picture if Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant stay healthy, but the team dipped in roster quality without Bane.
Brooklyn Nets
The Nets finished 12th in the not-so-impressive East last season, which makes their inclusion in this space look a bit strange. However, Brooklyn won 26 games a year ago, and their betting over-under projection for 2025-26 reflects a tangible downgrade from that. The Nets swapped Cam Johnson for Michael Porter Jr., which could be something of a neutral for Brooklyn if MPJ shows up and plays well. Still, the rest of the Nets roster is in clear flux, including the use of five (!) first round draft picks on players who do not project to be positive contributors in the NBA as rookies.
Phoenix Suns
Last season was a disaster for the Suns, signaling the end of the short-lived era of Phoenix being all-in on Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal. Durant and Beal are gone, and the Suns might be embracing reality a bit more moving forward. With that said, Phoenix is projected to win fewer games than last season, and the absence of Durant will certainly hurt for the 2025-26 season.