As the 2021 NBA pre-season has come to an end, we got a chance to see the rookies and veterans showcase their skills in preparation for the regular season. We saw some teams that grew in potential and some teams that declined in performance. But just because teams did not perform as well in the preseason, doesn’t mean they can’t play well in the regular season. For example, the defending NBA champions Milwaukee Bucks went 1-3 in the pre season.

The top three teams from the pre-season this year are the Golden State Warriors at 1 with a record of 5-0, the number two team the Miami Heat with a record of 5-1, and at number three the Chicago Bulls with a record of 4-0. These teams have drastically improved from last year’s NBA season. They have very high hopes for this upcoming, thrilling NBA season. 

The three teams rounding up at the bottom of the leader board were, at 28th, the Portland Trailblazers with a record of 0-4. Coming in at 29th are the Washington Wizards with a record of 0-4, and in last place the 2020 NBA champions the LA Lakers with a record of 0-6. But not to worry if your team is up here, as the past has shown that the NBA preseason records don’t really have that much of an effect on how the teams will play during the regular season.  

After the last couple of years having trouble with fan attendance, this year will be back to normal with full stadium capacity. With the fans being back, the NBA atmosphere is returning to where it was years ago. 

With many trades that went on during this offseason, we got a chance to see some newly rebuilt teams during the pre-season. One team that surprised many during this pre-season was the Chicago Bulls, which made some significant trades this off season acquiring (point guard) Lonzo Ball, (power forward) Demar Derozan, and (shooting guard) Alex Caruso. These three along with Zach Lavine lead the team to a 4-0 record during the preseason.