NBA Opening Night Power Rankings: Where are the Toronto Raptors?
By Mike Luciano
The beginning of the 2023-24 NBA season is finally upon us, as teams will try to either replicate their past glory or find some way to turn things around quickly. The Toronto Raptors find themselves firmly in the latter category, along with many of their Eastern Conference foes.
The NBA has been working hard to achieve true parity this year, as Adam Silver wants every fanbase to go into the season with the belief they can be a playoff team. With how spread out the talent is this season, the league is well on its way to achieving that.
As is always the case, despite all of the efforts to make every team as even as possible, every championship contender can be contrasted with a tanking squad that is trying to get as many impactful young players as possible.
Which teams are heading into the 2023-24 season flying high with their eyes on the game’s ultimate prize? Which ones are so mired in mediocrity they could go either way based on a few lucky breaks? Are there any who look like favorites for the No. 1 pick?
NBA Opening Night Power Rankings
No. 30-21
30. Washington Wizards
29. Charlotte Hornets
28. Detroit Pistons
27. Utah Jazz
26. Portland Trail Blazers
25. Houston Rockets
24. San Antonio Spurs
23. Orlando Magic
22. Chicago Bulls
21. Indiana Pacers
Washington is bottoming out to begin a proper rebuild, while Charlotte has been a mess on and off the court this season. The Pistons did hire Monty Williams, and Cade Cunningham is back healthy, but will that be enough to carry them to success for the first time in years?
The Jazz and Blazers could win 45 or 20 games, and neither result would be too surprising. With a mishmash of young players and veterans looking for enhanced roles elsewhere, Utah and Portland are playing with some precarious roster situations.
NBA Power Rankings: The Toronto Raptors are better than the Rockets.
Despite Houston and San Antonio setting a good foundation for the future via the Rockets’ offseason spending spree and the Spurs’ God-level luck landing them another generational big man in Victor Wembanyama, 2023-24 might be rough sledding for both parties.
While Chicago appears to be fading away due to their resistance when it came time to overturn an aging roster, young stars like Tyrese Haliburton in Indiana and reigning Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero in Orlando have an opening from which they can leapfrog the Bulls in the standings.