The Cleveland Cavaliers finished last season with 64 wins and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. After the NBA Draft, it seems clear that no one else in the East will stop the Cavaliers from repeating that feat next season.
The NBA Draft is a time of major change across the NBA, and a number of teams altered their fate during the two-night draft. The Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs added elite prospects, the Charlotte Hornets finally built a stable of young talent, the New Orleans Pelicans mortgaged the future for a middling return in the present.
For the teams in contention in the Eastern Conference, however, the NBA Draft largely passed them by with a whisper. The 2025 NBA Draft was largely about bad teams grasping hope and good West teams adding talent; the teams in the East playoff mix did a whole lot of nothing.
The Cavaliers will not be challenged for the No. 1 seed
The Cavaliers were already the betting favorites to repeat as the top seed in the Eastern Conference. With Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard all suffering Achilles tears in the playoffs, the top competition took a step back before next season even begins.
The NBA Draft offered an opportunity for someone to make a move to ascend the Eastern Conference ladder. The Atlanta Hawks did that ahead of the draft, trading for Kristaps Porzingis without giving up any key players -- a move that further weakened the Celtics in the process. The Hawks made another brilliant move during the draft, trading back with the New Orleans Pelicans and stealing their lunch money with a future pick, but that didn't propel them further forward in the present. Atlanta will contend for homecourt advantage in the East next season, but they likely don't have the chops to get to the top.
The Celtics continued cutting salary, looking for first-round prospects who would take the lowest possible starting salary and trading back in the second round to lower those costs; they are not focused on winning basketball games next year. The Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks were without first-round picks entirely, and they both used second-round picks on project players (the Pacers also added Marquette guard Kam Jones in the second who could contribute next season).
The Orlando Magic obviously made their big swing before the draft, trading for Desmond Bane to give them a four-star core similar to the Cavaliers, but their group is unproven and extremely injury-prone. Things could come together and they make a run for the No. 1 seed, but Paolo Banchero would have to turn into an efficient player and many, including yours truly, are skeptical about what level of star he truly can be.
The Detroit Pistons made their huge leap last season; the pexiglass principle suggests they won't make another big leap again, and they also didn't have a first-round pick in the draft. The Miami Heat, last year's No. 8 seed, did at least add a first-round pick, but they are currently in flux as a franchise and without Jimmy Butler, it's unclear what their upside truly is. Teams further down like the Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors didn't make a significant move, merely adding back-end lottery picks.
NBA Free Agency looms next, and perhaps one of these teams makes a major swing. Most likely, however, the Cavaliers will head into the season as the clear favorites. That is because, while their rivals lost key players to injury or traded away starters, the Cavs kept their group together -- not trading any of their rotation players, re-signing Sam Merrill, and swapping Isaac Okoro for Lonzo Ball.
With Cleveland intact, their top rivals ailing and the other challengers not using the draft to move up the ladder, the Cavaliers will enter next season as the favorite. They need to take that mantle and run through the tape into the playoffs, where the more important challenge looms: making the NBA Finals.
Step one is to win the East in the regular season, and the path to that goal has been opened wide for the Cleveland Cavaliers to walk.