Ranking the Most Overrated Teams in the NBA as Norman Powell Weighs In

Spicy buffalo wing or hot take? On a Kick stream with N3on, in a truth-or-dare format, Norman Powell picked the take. Asked to name the NBA's most overrated team, the health-conscious Bulls guard said he gets backlash for his quotes all the time, then dodged the wing with "The Lakers."

Powell knows the territory. He played through the LeBron era in Toronto and spent his Clippers years across the hall from the Lakers. He has just signed a two-year, $45 million deal in Chicago, with a team option in year two, after a first All-Star season in Miami. So, does his answer hold water? Well, the Lakers were swept 0-4 by Oklahoma City as they made an embarrassing playoff exit without Luka Doncic, while LeBron James is now gone.

Online betting sites are seemingly in agreement. The latest basketball betting odds ahead of the new season have pushed the Lakers all the way out to +2000 to win the Western Conference, well behind +135 favorites OKC and the +160 defending conference champion San Antonio Spurs.

So, with Powell's words ringing in our ears, we got to thinking: Who are the NBA's most overrated teams heading into the 2026-27 season? Here are our four picks.

Los Angeles Lakers

A 53-29 record and the fourth seed look sturdy until you remember the ending: four straight losses to Oklahoma City, with Doncic, the league's scoring leader at 33.5 points per game, sidelined by a hamstring strain. LeBron left for Philadelphia on June 30. In the opening days of free agency, Los Angeles landed Walker Kessler in a sign-and-trade costing two unprotected firsts and two swaps, re-signed Austin Reaves for four more years at $180 million, before adding Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Kevon Looney, Matisse Thybulle, and Ziaire Williams.

What does it say that a team priced at +4000 for the title in late July, with a 45.5-win total ESPN's Brian Windhorst called "an insult," is still the one getting called overrated? That's a hype complaint, not a pricing one.

Eleven new faces are learning JJ Redick's system across 15 back-to-backs, with perimeter defense and hamstrings unresolved. Best case: Doncic wins MVP, Kessler becomes the lob threat, and 50-plus wins follow. Worst case: one projection has them 46-36 and sixth in the West.

Miami Heat

Forty-three wins, tenth in the East, and an overtime play-in loss at Charlotte, the Heat's first missed playoffs since 2019, in a season when Bam Adebayo scored 83 points in a single March game against Washington. Miami's answer was a blockbuster. Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakučionis, the No. 13 pick, two further unprotected firsts, a swap, and a second went to Milwaukee for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis. Tim Hardaway Jr. and, after a Dallas buyout, Klay Thompson followed, and Andrew Wiggins got a two-year extension.

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Powell, meanwhile, walked to Chicago after averaging 21.7 points. The Antetokounmpo-Adebayo pairing is a real defensive strength, but the overrated case is easy to make: a roster hard-capped near the first apron, thin draft capital, Davion Mitchell projected as the starting point guard, and a 31-year-old Giannis who played just 36 games last season. Best case: a healthy Giannis anchors an elite defense, and Miami climbs to a top-four seed. Worst case: spacing problems and a return to the play-in with few picks left to fall back on.

Denver Nuggets

Can Denver really be considered overrated when the same core won 54 games, closed the regular season on a 12-game winning streak, and led the league in offensive rating? Nikola Jokić averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.7 assists, and Jamal Murray made his first All-Star team. Still, the season ended in a six-game first-round loss to a Minnesota team missing Anthony Edwards, which is where the doubts begin.

The summer made the roster thinner. Hardaway left for Miami; Tyus Jones, Marvin Bagley III, DeMar DeRozan, and Alpha Diallo all signed for the minimum; the Nuggets matched Spencer Jones's offer sheet and sent Peyton Watson to Cleveland in a sign-and-trade. The payroll sits above the second apron.

Jokić again put off extension talks and could reach free agency in 2027, though he said back in 2025 that his plan was to be "a Nugget forever." Best case: Jokić and Murray stay healthy, DeRozan scores off the bench, and Denver contends again. Worst case: a thin bench and Jokić rumors produce another early exit.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland is regression dressed up as continuity. The Cavs went 52-30, took the fourth seed out East, won a seven-game series over Toronto and Detroit, and reached their first conference finals since 2018, when the Knicks swept them. Since then, Donovan Mitchell has signed a four-year, $273 million extension, James Harden has re-signed for three years at roughly $97 million, and Watson has arrived on four years and $88 million.

LeBron chose Philadelphia over a Cleveland return. Wade, Schröder, Strus, Nance Jr. and Ellis are gone as ownership pared back the league's largest luxury tax bill, and Mario Hezonja joined on a minimum deal. Kenny Atkinson remains coach.

Is there a cleaner illustration of a roster getting thinner while expectations stayed put than a team the market still has tied for fourth-best East title odds? Harden turned 37 in August, and an offence ranked sixth sat beside a defense ranked 15th. Best case: Watson fills the fifth-starter gap, the defense improves, and Cleveland returns to a conference finals. Worst case: thin depth is exposed, and the Cavs slide into the play-in.