The 2026 NBA offseason has been an absolute rollercoaster so far. The opening of free agency was particularly wild—and fundamentally altered the championship landscape.
In the last 48 hours, two members of this year’s All-NBA teams changed uniforms via seismic trades. Jaylen Brown, an MVP candidate coming off a career year in which he scored 27.8 points per game, got traded to the 76ers by the Celtics for a paltry package of Paul George and several draft picks. Less than 24 hours earlier, Kawhi Leonard returned to the Raptors via a trade from the Clippers in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and a handful of picks.
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Those two trades are some of the biggest in recent NBA history and the implications for the four teams involved are enormous. The implications on the race for next year’s title? Even greater.
To understand just how much the Brown and Leonard trades have altered the shortlist of true contenders for the 2026–27 NBA championship, let’s break down how their new teams improved by acquiring their talents and where they now slot on that shortlist.
How 76ers improved by trading for Jaylen Brown
The 76ers upgraded massively by swapping Paul George for Jaylen Brown, no matter what happens with the attached draft picks.
George is a better shooter than Brown and probably a slightly better defender. But Brown is a certified No. 1 option offensively to a degree George was never going to be able to reach at his age in Philadelphia. The former Celtics star finished just ahead of Tyrese Maxey in points per game and was a total force attacking the basket while showing off a great, consistent midrange touch. There will be some figuring out to do in terms of the pecking order but the Sixers added a legitimate offensive engine on the wing in place of a tertiary role player who demands significantly less attention from opposing defenses.
Crucially for this Philadelphia team, Brown is also extremely durable as a player. He hasn’t played fewer than 60 games since 2020–21 and has never missed more than 25 games in a single season throughout his career. Conversely, George missed at least 35 games in both his seasons with the 76ers and has enjoyed exactly one fully healthy season since he was traded by the Thunder in 2019.
All in, this trade gives Philly a much higher floor and ceiling. Brown can be counted on to suit up and produce throughout the 82-game regular season, ensuring the Sixers won’t be missing too much offense if and when Joel Embiid has to sit out or if Maxey gets hurt again. His mere presence will open up the floor for those two stars (as well as VJ Edgecombe). The respect defenses must pay to Maxey will help Brown become more efficient, too. And when the playoffs start, they know he’ll show up. Brown doesn’t have a spotless playoff record but his experience dwarfs everybody else’s on the roster and he’s stepped up in big games countless times.
Brown’s fit alongside Maxey on the perimeter isn’t picture-perfect and their defense as a whole might slide if Brown doesn’t dedicate more energy to guarding his man than he did last year. But the Sixers have the personnel to trot out a top-five offense and defense without the same level of potential drop-off due to injury.
How Raptors improved by trading for Kawhi Leonard
The Raptors were one of the NBA’s nastiest defenses last season. Scottie Barnes is an unreal talent on that end and Collin Murray-Boyles proved way better guarding opponents than a rookie forward had any right to be. The bench is filled with dogs on that end such as Jamal Shead or Ja’Kobe Walter. Toronto could switch anything and everything while haunting passing lanes with a roster stocked to the brim with long-armed elite athletes. They finished the year ranked fifth in defensive rating, fourth in turnovers forced per game and fifth in field goals allowed.
The problem? The Raptors couldn’t score enough to keep up with the best teams, even with Ingram scoring over 20 points a night. They ranked 21st in points per game and 15th in offensive rating. Defense wins championships and all that but every contender needs a certified bucket-getter to beat equally-talented opponents and Ingram didn’t prove up to the task, scoring 14.8 points in four games against the Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs before an injury sidelined him for the remainder of the series.
Enter Kawhi.
Leonard is a much better player than Ingram on both ends. The 35-year-old remains a top-flight wing defender who will form a terrifying duo alongside Barnes, and he’s coming off a career-best offensive season in which he averaged 27.9 points per game, showing off legit three-level scoring abilities. He isn’t such an offensive force that he’ll lift the whole team up on that end but he’s an elite isolation scorer who forces all five defenders to watch his every move, which will create more cracks in the defense that Barnes and Co. can leverage for points. This team can already defend at a championship-caliber level and got even better on that end by acquiring Leonard. Now they have a superstar who can help them keep up on the other end, too.
LIke the Brown trade, this raised Toronto’s ceiling significantly. But it’s, of course, a huge bet on Leonard staying healthy for a second consecutive season. There’s no backstop if he gets hurt. The Raptors are out on a ledge. But the best version of this team can hang with the true championship contenders around the NBA and you couldn’t say that last year.
Are 76ers, Raptors title favorites next season?
They aren’t quite favorites, in our estimation. But they’re at the top of that next tier.
As things currently stand the Knicks, Spurs and Thunder can all rightfully be considered favorites. Those are proven rosters who have all made an NBA Finals appearance in the last two years without suffering any significant changes heading into this next season. They’ve collectively earned the right to be chalked up as frontrunners, with New York leading the pack as defending champs.
But after them? Philly and Toronto are very much in the mix. As two playoff teams who just got major talent upgrades offensively, it’s fair to slot them in alongside the Cavaliers and Heat as the biggest threats to the Knicks’ Eastern Conference crown. Beyond that, there aren’t a ton of West teams who measure up on paper as of today. The Nuggets employ one of the best players in the world but flamed out so spectacularly they might overhaul their roster before the season begins. The Timberwolves added LaMelo Ball but won’t have Donte DiVincenzo. The Rockets and Lakers have glaring holes in their rosters.
In short, the 76ers and Raptors are most definitely going to be in the mix for a title. They’ll have a chance to separate from the pack of second-tier contenders, and it won’t be easy. Cleveland is coming off a conference finals run and Miami might prove more overwhelmingly talented after trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo than Philadelphia or Toronto even after their deals. But it wouldn’t be a surprise to see either squad emerge as the top championship favorite this side of New York, OKC and San Antonio.
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