2026 Playoffs Middle Eight

And here we are with the middle eight power ranked teams of 2026. We covered teams #1-4 and #13-16 in the other article, so these are the eight teams that are duking it out in round one! [ Byes and Good Byes |  Midseason Tiers ]

TeamID - Abbrev - (2026 Record)

#5 SCRM (12-5)

ODE: 7/3/6

Our defending champs are entering the playoffs on a seven game heater, with their sights set on a repeat. Or are they? Despite seeming like one of the hottest teams in the back half of the season, GM Jordan has seemingly thrown in the towel for this season, trading away a healthy Bam Adebayo—for injured Anthony Davis—and posting a “come shop here, low prices” message on our Discord. Seems like the late season disappearance of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has given SCRM a reason to downshift into a retool instead of a repeat.

This is still, overall, a very strong team. They were second in PTS, first in FG%, and third in STL. While a lack of 3PT shooting was a weakness, SCRM was still able to pull off a great regular season record behind SGA, pre-draft additions Anthony Edwards and Austin Reaves, and the double double muscle of Jalen Duren in the middle.

In addition, the youth movement is here as well, as SCRM managed to snag Derik Queen and Collin Murray-Boyles as rookie finds—CMB was just cut actually—along with picking up Ryan Rollins off the waiver wire. Heck, even Scoot Henderson came on lately and slung some passes around. Still, the top end if limited here for SCRM with Gilgeous-Alexander and Davis out for the foreseeable future. So while SCRM isn’t looking for another championship this year, they could certainly still play spoiler for someone else. And hey, if trading away James Harden last year led to a somewhat unexpected ring last season, who’s to say SCRM can’t pull off a winning magic trick again?

#6 CHMK (11-5-1)

ODE: 11/1/13

Moving above 0.500 for the first time since 2021, CHMK was poised for a first round bye this year until they blew a couple of lineups—losing three of their last four games—and will end up having to fight their way through the gauntlet of an entire playoffs. Don’t be mistaken though, as CHMK can still be a very dangerous team as they decided to pivot to big ball in the preseason and moved to center Giannis Antetokounmpo. Unfortunately, Antetokounmpo is nowhere to be found to start the playoffs, leaving a very big hole in CHMK’s plans.  

Still, let’s evaluate how CHMK’s big ball build was working over the course of the season. CHMK’s plan was to punt FT%, 3PT, and TOS, to which they had success. They were top ranked in REB and AST, third in BLK, third in FG%, and fourth in STL. That’s not bad but I think CHMK wanted to be much better in STL there, with Dyson Daniels going from incredible to merely good in thefts. The biggest issue for CHMK was their lack of PTS, where they ranked just tenth.

While Jamal Murray submitted his first All Star campaign, Alperen Sengun, Evan Mobley, and Amen Thompson all seemed to remain static, and without them leveling up offensively, it was tough to score without Giannis around. While CHMK does sport SlamNation’s best defense, they need a smidgen of offense to pull off their big ball dreams.

Overall, this is a very strange big ball team, one which is good at all the traditional big ball stuff but also AST, which could be an intriguing counterpunch to many of their playoff matchups. We may never know if CHMK is championship worthy this year without Giannis showing up, but the experiment can be deemed a success so far, as it has moved CHMK out of mediocrity.

#7 SWMP (11-6)

ODE: 2/7/6

There’s a case to be made that SWMP was actually one of the best teams of the season. They have a top-two ranked offense and above average defense and efficiency. They also feature Nikola Jokic and Jalen Johnson, both of whom can triple double at any time. The roster also ranked first or second in 3PT, AST, and STL, which is a very odd combination. So why the uneven 3-3 record after a sterling 7-2 start?

The problem was mostly injuries, as Jalen Williams has been mostly M.I.A. all season, with Zach LaVine taking a recent trip to the IR and Paul George going on drug induced suspension. Beyond that, there’s not a whole lot of offense for this team, with a lot of role players who are simply role players: Jalen Suggs, Collin Gillespie, Toumani Camara, Donte DiVincenzo, Devin Vassell, Jaylen Wells, or Deandre Ayton anyone? With three of their top five offensive options unlikely to return for the playoffs, there’s only so much Jokic and Johnson can do.

Returning for their seventh playoff appearance in eight years is great for SWMP, but after two Finals appearances in 2019 and 2022—with no wins— it’s been mostly high end mediocrity for them. Dare we suggest it? Is it time for GM Eddie to revamp the roster and give one of SlamNation’s best assets a new core to challenge for that elusive championship?

#8 BUFF (10-7)

ODE: 3/14/2

Continuing their team of “one bad, one good,” BUFF is once again in the playoffs after a poor previous season. Going back to, well, the beginning of SlamNation, BUFF has never put together back-to-back winning seasons. While that also means they rarely are down in dumps for long, this yo-yo effect is not just curious, but perhaps part of BUFF’s charm. After all, they were just in a Finals in 2024, as a power punching fourth seed.

I guess that boom and bust mentality can result from a team that is almost entirely all offense, as BUFF is great at PTS and 3PT, but not good at anything else save semi-decent FT% and TOS. Jalen Brunson alone does not a point guflauriard make, and with Domantas Sabonis missing for much of the season, the offense has been one note.

The good news is that pre-draft acquisition Lauri Markkanen was as advertised, posting a career high in scoring. In addition, Brandon Ingram slid backwards into another All Star season. With other useful vets like CJ McCollum and Andrew Wiggins around, BUFF was able to keep the buckets coming but only Mikal Bridges played any defense and there’s a severe lack of rim protection on this team, even when healthy.

Having said all that, BUFF did win nine of their last eleven matchups to get to an eighth seed, so that can’t be dismissed after a troubling 1-5 start. While we are constantly wondering when BUFF might pivot to more youth or a more balanced roster, the combo of Brunson, Markkanen, and Sabonis are all in their prime years and we’ll hope that can be enough to give BUFF the same success next season.

#9 MELO (8-8-1)

ODE: 8/8/15

Similar to BUFF, MELO seems to be following in the footsteps of being a yo-yo team. Going back to 2021, MELO’s first year in Slam, they’ve had 11, 3, 10, 5, 12, and now 8 wins season by season. They would have missed the playoffs this year had we not expanded the field to twelve, and despite a stellar roster, MELO only feature two strengths: PTS and FG%, where they are ranked fourth in both.

MELO started the season off 4-1-1, giving them hope for a successive successful season, however they were felled by a 2-7 midseason stretch that saw them face nearly all the good teams in SlamNation. They ended up being exactly as their record suggests: right in the middle.

The core six here is very good, as Jaylen Brown is playing like a MVP, alongside Kevin Durant, Pascal Siakam, RJ Barrett, and the in and out Brandon Miller. (Fun fact: Miller has only played nearly the same amount of games as perpetually injured draft class mate Scoot Henderson.) Along with those five, last year’s Rookie of the Year, Stephon Castle leveled way up this year, giving MELO a much needed distributor and point guard. (Actually, Isaiah Collier could be keeper worthy as well, as his assists have jumped this year, but that could also be due to the Jazz going full tank.)

As for the rest of the team, well, that’s where they seem to be lacking. Not one of MELO’s 2026 draft class made much of an impact, as the likes of Keldon Johnson, Cameron Johnson, and De’Andre Hunter mostly faded into the background. Without any real depth to work with and no real strengths aside from scoring, MELO was doomed to a dead even record, even with a strong keeper core that should signal sustained success.

#10 KSKT (7-10)

ODE: 3/12/10

It’s been a slow decline for KSKT since their championship in 2023. After three straight years in the playoffs, this would’ve been KSKT’s first time out of the playoffs in awhile had we not expanded the postseason field to twelve teams. We knew Tyrese Haliburton was out for the season so KSKT was already playing uphill, but while KSKT got a career year from Michael Porter Jr., nearly everyone else on the keeper core went backwards, save MVP candidate Cade Cunningham.

That long unchanged keeper core of Haliburton, Cunningham, Zion Williamson, Kristaps Porzingis, Porter Jr., and Anfernee Simons—all of who have served at least four years with KSKT—could face some change next season, as Porzingis and potentially Simons could be replaced. For example, where does a productive All Star like Norm Powell fit on this still youngish core? Might Nic Claxton be a healthier upgrade to Porzingis? We shall see.

From this past season, it’s clear that KSKT has some work to do to regain their championship punch. While their offense was still great—ranked third overall, and they were even third in AST without Haliburton—KSKT also exhibited abundant weaknesses, especially in the rebounding department, where no player averaged more than six rebounds a game.

Overall, this is still the exact core that won a recent championship. At full strength, maybe they could do it again since the only thirty-year old on the core is Porzingis. So, we’re curious what KSKT will do this offseason. Barring a surprise deep playoff run, KSKT can chalk 2026 up to a mild disappointment while still looking well poised for the future if they still believe.

#11 SBUK (6-11)

ODE: 14/8/3

Similarly to KSKT, SBUK has been in some decline since a few years ago when they won their title in 2022. Since that championship, we have seen them go from twelve to ten, to ten, and now to six wins. SBUK also had a superstar guard out of the season in Kyrie Irving, albeit a much older one than Haliburton.

Unlike KSKT though, the rebuild for SBUK is much needed and is already on the way. SBUK management knows a roster upheaval is much needed and is looking at all possibilities. Theoretical new franchise cornerstone Franz Wagner is proving to be injured over and over, Desmond Bane has been shopped frequently, and Kyrie Irving and Joel Embiid are thirty-three and thirty-one, respectively.

There are plenty of bright spots though, as sophomore Alex Sarr has grown into a defensive menace and increasing offensive threat. Fellow sophomore Ausar Thompson has no offense but is a real life defensive monster who has room to grow. And then there’s rookies Ace Bailey and Tre Johnson, who took a while to get going but have flashed their offensive potential in a deep rookie class. Heck, another rookie, Moussa Diabate could be debatably also a keeper. The real find of the group this year was Nickeil Alexander-Walker though, who provided excellent numbers across the board and could inherit Irving’s keeper spot.

For a SBUK team that had no identity all season—they were bad in PTS, 3PT, REB, AST with no strengths anywhere except BLK—the rebuild is ongoing and continuous. They’ll get a shot in the playoffs but we’ll gear up for an interesting offseason for them.

#12 TRUO (4-11-2)

ODE: 15/15/10

Sneaking into the playoffs on the last week of the season is not nothing, but it also doesn’t say much when TRUO has been one of the weaker teams all season, especially by ODE where they were fifteenth on offense and defense. They did manage to go 2-2-1 to wind up the last month of the season though—with wins over FUNK and MEMM and a tie with SOUR—so some light applause there. The best of the worst!

Actually, they should be given more credit than that, as a team that was bottom three in five categories managed to eke out four wins. Impressive! Plus, this is one of the few years TRUO was low on Games Played, owing to plenty of injuries and a possible lack of motivation.

Of all the teams in SlamNation, TRUO is the one that needs a franchise cornerstone—or at least a potential “best player on a NBA team”—the most. Their keeper core of Julius Randle, De’Aaron Fox, Jalen Green, Kel’el Ware, Zach Edey, and Cam Thomas are pretty tough to look at. Draft acquisition Shaedon Sharpe is an offensive spark plug, and maybe there’s still a Jalen Green believer somewhere on Earth, but aside from those two, some version of that underwhelming keeper core is coming back next season. That’s not great. But throw in a top three pick in talent laden 2027 draft and things will immediately look much better.

It’s been seven straight seasons of five or under wins for TRUO, so we’d love to see some upside potential here. Here’s keeping our fingers crossed for TRUO during our new lottery!