Preseason power rankings are basketball’s annual exercise in wishful thinking. Every contender believes this is the year. Every superstar is leaner, healthier and more motivated. Every front office is convinced its summer moves solved last season’s problems. They didn’t. With opening night approaching, five teams stand above the rest: the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics. Most rankings place those teams in some variation of the top five. But they are not equals. One looks like the future. One looks like the favorite. One carries the crown. One is a science experiment. One refuses to go away. 1. San Antonio Spurs - The Spurs lost the Finals to the Knicks. That is exactly why they should be No. 1. Championship contenders are supposed to arrive after years of playoff scars. San Antonio skipped the line. Led by Wembanyama, the Spurs reached the Finals while their core remains years away from its peak. That is the frightening part. The league already knows what Oklahoma City is. It knows what New York, Boston and Philadelphia are. Nobody knows what the Spurs will become. Not even San Antonio. Victor Wembanyama is already a dominant two-way force at 22; Dylan Harper is 20 and Stephon Castle 21. All three are still years from their prime. The Spurs did not win the title. They won something more dangerous: proof they are ahead of schedule. A lot of teams are chasing a championship. San Antonio looks like it is building an era. 2. Oklahoma City Thunder - The Thunder may be the NBA’s most complete team. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander remains an MVP-caliber force, while Oklahoma City continues to overwhelm opponents with depth, versatility and precision. But championship basketball is not always about completeness. Sometimes it is about who possesses the most unstoppable player. The Thunder feel like a finished masterpiece. The Spurs still feel like a project with unlimited upside. Oklahoma City might own the regular season. The question is whether it can own June. 3. New York Knicks - For the first time in decades, the Knicks enter a season as defending champions. Jalen Brunson delivered a title, Madison Square Garden erupted and New York finally got the storybook ending it craved. Now comes the hard part. Desperation disappears after a parade. Every opponent will treat beating the Knicks like a championship game. Every slump will become front-page news. Winning a title is difficult. Defending one may be harder. 4. Philadelphia 76ers - The Sixers have assembled enough star power to break the internet. They also possess enough personalities to break a locker room. The additions of LeBron James and Jaylen Brown raise both the ceiling and the volatility. Who sacrifices touches? Who sacrifices ego? Who stays healthy? Philadelphia’s ceiling is a championship. Its floor is a documentary featuring dramatic music and anonymous sources. There is no middle ground. 5. Boston Celtics - Boston lacks the intrigue of the other contenders. There is no shiny new superstar, no blockbuster storyline and no offseason drama. Just basketball. That is precisely why dismissing the Celtics remains so dangerous. While everyone debates San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Philadelphia, Boston continues doing what Boston always does: winning games, defending and waiting for mistakes. The Knicks are champions. The Thunder are brilliant. The Sixers are combustible. The Celtics are proven. But San Antonio is the team that should keep the rest of the league awake at night. Because contenders chase championships. Dynasties arrive before they are supposed to. The Spurs are arriving now. [email protected]