Ranking The NBA’s Best Young Cores

Ranking The NBA’s Best Young Cores

We are very lucky as NBA fans today because of just how much young talent there is in the NBA right now. You look at a team like the Oklahoma City Thunder who are one of the youngest teams in the NBA and absolutely dominated the regular season and of course went on to win the NBA championship. But the Oklahoma City Thunder are not the only young team that is playing very well. You look at the young core that a team like the Houston Rockets have. They were a team that was outside of the playin picture and then within one year went all the way to the second seed in the Western Conference propelled by some of their amazing young players. And so I look at all of these young cores around the league that are already getting results and I ask who is next? So I want to look at some of the teams that maybe haven’t gotten the results quite yet, but have young cores that are looking to be that next Houston Rockets to make that jump. Who is the next team to exit their rebuild and shoot up the standings into contention? There are a ton of teams that were outside of the playoffs last year that are looking to make a big jump this coming year. There really aren’t a lot of teams that are outright tanking, which is interesting because it’s a very good 2026 draft class. But I think we’re in for a super competitive season despite the strength of that draft class where a ton of teams are going to be disappointed that they didn’t make the playoffs. And so I wanted to look at the 14 teams that didn’t make the playoffs last season and put their young cores into a tier list. Who has the brightest future? which teams still have a long way to go. And so I’ve created five tiers for the 14 teams that didn’t make the playoffs last season. And I will place each team into a tier based on how good their young core is. Now, of course, the term young is pretty subjective. So I just put the cuto off at 25 years old. So let’s start looking at these young cores starting at the bottom, starting at the saddest tier, a tier where teams are kind of starting from scratch in their rebuild. And this tier has three teams in it. the Bulls, the Suns, and sadly, of course, the Kings. And these are three teams that have kind of been stuck in the middle. The Suns, of course, went all in on trying to win a championship, and we know how that completely fell apart. The Bulls and Kings, of course, are two teams that are known for mediocrity. So, these are three teams that are really just beginning their rebuilds. I think the bright spot for all three of these teams is that they all had pretty good drafts this year in 2025. So that will help kickstart their rebuilds, but there’s still a long way to go for these three teams. So I’m going to start with the Sacramento Kings, the team of course that I know the best. The Kings are at the very first stage of their rebuild. Maybe not even into the rebuild yet because they’re still trying to offload their veteran players, but that will no doubt come in time. But until then, the Kings are kind of stuck. I think the Kings have some really nice young pieces, but they just don’t have any young player with true star upside. the young players that they do have project to be really nice complimentary role pieces who are versatile and contribute to winning at the highest level. You look at a guy like Keegan Murray who I don’t think he’s ever going to be a star, but I think he’s going to be one of those elite role players that every team wants because of his versatility as a 68 wing that can shoot threes, has an evolving offensive game, but is already a pretty elite defender. He can guard literally one through five, and he was asked to do that this past season. teams are willing to pay a pretty hefty price to get guys like Keegan on their team even if he isn’t a star because he can fit in practically any lineup. He can contribute to pretty much any team because of his size and versatility. Then you look at a guy like Keon El who has some similarities to Keegan. He has that two-way prowess. He has that ability to fit in a lot of places, not quite as much as Keegan, but he’s a 3 and D player who’s an elite defensive playmaker and who has never dipped below 40% from three on his entire career. and that is insanely valuable. In the 2025 NBA draft, they picked me Clifford and I think he’s going to be another one of those versatile role players just like Keegan and Keon. I don’t think he’s going to be a star, but with his versatility at 66, being able to defend one through three, and on offense, being able to hit the three, having a pretty polished offensive game, being able to handle the ball, that’s super valuable. So, I think all three of those guys are going to be really valuable role players on teams in the future. And then you have some other pieces that maybe could turn into rotational players in Maxim Renault as a stretch big, Isaac Jones is an Athletic Four, and Devin Carter as an absolute pest on the defensive end. But like I said, the problem with the Kings is that the Kings don’t have that real star upside. They need the blue chip prospect to really build around. And so until then, having the rotational players isn’t really going to matter. Until they get that star player, they are going to be in this bottom tier of teams. The nice thing is that things can turn around pretty quickly. If they maybe get some lottery luck next year and land a really good player to build around and be that blue chip prospect, then they already have the role players to be able to support that player. But until that happens, they are in this fifth tier. Then we go to the Chicago Bulls. And the Bulls are probably one step ahead of the Kings in their rebuild process just because, you know, they offloaded their veterans to the Kings. And with the Bulls, they have two pieces that I really love. And those two pieces are Montas Buzzel and Noah Assen. Two guys with a ton of potential. They really need both of those those guys to hit their potential because those are the best pieces that the Bulls have in my opinion. The reason I love those guys is because they are the type of again versatile players with their combination of size, length, and skill that is so valued in today’s NBA. Bzelis at 610 with a ton of potential as a scorer. Still has a long way to go but showed some really nice flashes in his rookie season. And then Noah Sen who is pretty raw as well but at 610 an athletic defender who showed scoring flashes in summer league. These two players are kind of the boom or bust type of prospects. And so if they boom then the Bulls are in a great spot and if they don’t then the Bulls are kind of starting from square one. After those two guys it gets a bit questionable. They have Josh Giddy as a restricted free agent. And I’m glad that they aren’t shelling out an insane amount of money yet to a guy like Josh Giddy because I don’t think you want to commit to Giddy as like the centerpiece of your rebuild. I don’t think you want to make a guy with the def deficiencies as a defender and as a shooter the centerpiece of your team. He’s a really solid player who is an amazing playmaker, but to me, he seems to be destined to be one of those guys that can’t quite overcome the negatives with him needing the ball and having to have the team built around him because he needs the ball to be effective. Then you have Kobe White, and he’s another guy where I’m not really sure how he fits into the future of this team long term. obviously a great scoreer, isn’t quite the the small guard score archetype that’s not valued in the NBA today because he has some size, but again, he’s another guy where it’s like I don’t think you quite build your team around a guy like Kobe White, and he’s already getting up there as a young player in age. He averaged 20 points per game last season, but he’s a player just like Giddy where his best role will probably end up not being as one of the top options of a team. So, it’s a bit of a weird position with those two guys. After that, you have some high picks that aren’t really working out in Patrick Williams and Isaac Okoro that you’re just hoping they magically take a jump, which they probably won’t. I do like that they are seemingly committing to youth by getting off of their veterans and they have a ton of young players. Bzelis and Asen are the guys for the future, but they still have a long ways to go because while they have a ton of young players, they don’t have the top end young players quite yet. So, they still need to add quite a bit to their young core. Then the last team in tier five is the Phoenix Suns. And they’re kind of in a weird spot because they bought out Beal, but they extended Deon Booker. So they’re still trying to keep Deon Booker around while also bringing up the youth. They don’t have a ton of draft capital or at least their own draft capital, which makes tanking a bit questionable. They also brought in Jaylen Green to be alongside of Devin Booker, which is a weird fit. And I’m not a big fan of Jaylen Green. Who knows? Maybe a change of scenery. He takes a step in Phoenix that he couldn’t have in Houston. I doubt it. I think what is saving the Suns a little bit is that they had a really nice 2025 NBA draft, getting Malawatch at the center position. He has a ton of potential as a two-way center, but is still very raw. They also traded for Mark Williams, which was a little weird since now they have two centers to maybe build around. That is if Mark Williams can stay healthy. I feel like if they were going to trade for Mark Williams, then you might as well have just traded that 10th overall pick, maybe to the Pelicans for their 26 unprotected pick, which apparently was on the table for them. But nonetheless, a solid young center rotation right there. And then Ryan Dunn, solid 3 and D player. Maybe Oso Igodaro can be a solid backup big for them. In this draft, they got Rashir Fleming who’s a versatile fourman, Kobe Brea, phenomenal shooter. So, it was a solid start to their rebuild by adding some young talent, but still in a weird position with where their draft capital is with having Devin Booker alongside Jaylen Green. And they still have a long way to go. And just like the Bulls and the Kings, they don’t have that top end talent that will for sure be a star in their young core. Moving on to the next tier of teams, we have tier four, which is the tier of unproven potential. And this tier has two teams, the Brooklyn Nets and the Utah Jazz. These are two teams that have pretty much completely cleared house, got all of their veterans out the door, and brought in exclusively young players, hoping that enough of them turn into NBA players in the future for it to be worth it. So, I think it’s pretty obvious why I’m naming this the unproven potential tier when you have a team like the Brooklyn Nets using five first round picks in the 2025 NBA draft and they’re just hoping that three of them hit, maybe even two of them. We don’t know if they’ll be good yet, but we will find out soon enough. Starting with the Utah Jazz, they took a swing on a guy in Ace Bailey because they’ve been bad for quite a few years now and haven’t gotten any lottery luck to get that star potential type of player. And so, I think taking a swing on a guy like Ace Bailey who does have that potential is a really nice move for them. Ace Bailey, whether he wants to be in Utah or not, he has the potential to be that guy for the Jazz. as a scoring wing with a ton of size. You know, many have questions about him in terms of his his ability to create space, but there’s no doubt that he can be a tough shot maker. The Jazz have just been really lacking the pieces with the star upside. They haven’t had a young piece that everyone looks at and goes, “That guy is the future of this team.” They really just have a ton of okay young players. And all of those young players they are looking at to take jumps this upcoming year. You look at the guard position and they have a guy like Isaiah Collier who I think is the main guy you look at at the guard position to take a big jump next year and show that he can be the future of this team at the guard position. But they also have a couple other guards like a Keonte George or a Walter Clayton Jr. who are both smaller scoring guards. I don’t think Keonte George is going to be that guard that takes that step to stardom, but they just have so many of the players like that where it’s like maybe one of them does take that next step to stardom. I think Isaiah Collier out of these three guards is probably going to be the best and has that best shot, but who knows? It could be any of the three of them or none of them. At the center position, they have Walker Kesser, who of course is just a very solid defensive big. I’m not sure if the Jazz really see him in the future of their team because he’s always in trade speculation. I think Kesler is just the type of guy who’s always going to be solid, you know, never at the very top of the league, never at the very bottom in terms of the center position. They also have Kyle Philipowski as a big that had a very solid rookie season, one summer league MVP as a stretch big. That’s a guy that they’re invested in. And then we have two of the most important players in this young core for the Jazz. And I think those two guys are Taylor Hendris and Cody Williams because these are guys with potential as two-way wings with size and length. Taylor Hendricks is a guy with a ton of potential and is really skilled for a guy at his size and strength, but for him it’s just about staying healthy. He only played 43 games in his entire career up to this point, but his size and skill still makes him so intriguing. And hopefully this next season can be the season for him where he’s able to stay healthy and really show what he can do. Cody Williams is a guy who had a really bad rookie season, let’s be honest. But in summer league, he showed some growth and he was always coming in as a pretty raw player. So, he’s another guy who could be a future wing for them with the physical tools he has. And then you have a guy like Bryce Sensaba who has shown flashes as a scorer and was really good for them last season scoring the ball down the stretch and then in summer league dominating summer league. So he could be in for a big season as a scorer getting that opportunity there. There are just so many guys in this young core that don’t seem like sure things at all and that might amount to nothing and so it’s up to next season to see if any of these guys are going to take a jump and and show that they really are a part of the future of this team. Then we move on to the Brooklyn Nets and that’s a team that just recently completely tore it down and got rid of all their veterans. They have Cam Thomas, but they don’t seem super invested in him as kind of the the small scoring guard that can’t defend. They don’t want to pay him a ton in restricted free agency. And fair enough because that’s an archetype of player that doesn’t seem to have a ton of value and because they don’t have to pay him a ton because no other team is bidding against them. But other than that, they just made five first round picks this last year. Like I said, five first round picks is crazy. And that completely fits into the unproven potential tier. When you’re looking at five first round picks coming in, it’s like where do the minutes go and and what role do each of these guys play? Because they drafted some very similar players in Jagger Juman, Nolan Trayori, and Ben Saraf. All guys with some size that can handle the ball but have questionable jump shots. Can be playmaking guards. Who plays at what position? How many minutes do these guys get? It’s going to be very weird. They’re just banking on a couple of these guys hitting Jum does look like the best because he looked solid in summer league and of course he is their highest pick and then they have guys like Drake Powell on the wing, Danny Wolf as a big as their other first round picks. So we’ll just have to wait and see what these guys look like next season. I think making all five first round picks kind of tells us that they don’t really value any of the young players that they currently have on the team super highly and that they’re looking to just completely get in a new group of guys. There are some interesting young players on this team. Zier Williams, Daron Sharp, Noah Clowny, all guys with some combination of size and length, but it’s clear that they didn’t see, you know, star potential in any of these guys. Just maybe they can have some role on this team. This team’s going to be awful next year. They’re absolutely going to be awful. There’s no two ways about it, but they’re really just hoping to see something from these 2025 picks that they just made this upcoming season. Next up, we got tier three. This is probably the weirdest tier of teams because it’s just it’s a weird collection of teams. It’s the Toronto Raptors, New Orleans Pelicans, Philadelphia 76ers, and Charlotte Hornets. These teams are kind of all over the place in different positions with some on the up, some stuck in the middle, some, you know, trying to mix youth and experience and compete right now. It’s very weird. Starting out with the Toronto Raptors, you look at a team that never really fully embraced the tank. And I feel like they’re going to pay for it. maybe underrated as one of the worst positions in the NBA right now are the Toronto Raptors. When you look at the decisions that they made around their young pieces, it feels like they’ve kind of clogged the rotation for their players that they’ve overpaid and again are probably going to be a middling team that isn’t going to allow for growth from some of their young players that really could be a part of the future. Sure, in the Eastern Conference next season, anything could happen. They can make the playoffs because of how the Eastern Conference is. They’re just in a very weird spot. Their main young guy is obviously Scotty Barnes and they’re waiting for Scotty Barnes to take that next step because it feels like he stagnated a bit, but Scotty is still an amazing player. Two wings like him that can handle the ball. Super valuable. And so I think he can take that next step in his development. I think he is an amazing player and a super bright spot on this Toronto Raptors team and in their young core. I just don’t love who they’ve kind of surrounded him with. You have RJ Barrett who seems like one of those guys who has good scoring ability and can of course put up 20 points per game any night. But can he really be a top scoring player on a very good team? I I’m not so sure about that. Now they’re kind of stuck hoping that he develops while also not giving him all of the touches to be able to develop because they brought in Brain Ingram. You know, they still have Emanuel quickly. It’s just an odd group of players where it feels like none of them can really be the top guy on a team, but all of them are going to get touches and so you’re not developing the other guys on your team and you’re also not getting a top pick probably. In this latest draft, they picked Colin Murray Boils, who I love, a defensive beast. I can’t wait to see what he’s going to turn into in the NBA. They’ve assembled kind of a young core of dogs on the defensive end who just get after it. Jamal Shed, Jonathan Moobo. I again just really wish that they had committed to these guys and their growth instead of having guys like Brandon Ingram and Yaka Purle. Grady Dick is another high draft pick, but where are his shots and touches going to come from? He’s a guy who needs to get shots and touches to be able to develop. They have an okay young core with some good pieces, but they just don’t seem fully committed to that young core, and they’re just in a weird place. The Pelicans are another team that’s in kind of a similar spot. uh where they’re kind of in the middle trying to compete while also bringing up the young guys. And it’s just weird because they have Zion Williamson as the centerpiece. And it’s as simple as if he can stay healthy then this can be one of the top young cores in the NBA. But the fact is that he hasn’t been able to stay healthy. He hasn’t proven that he can stay healthy. And so that just puts them in a weird spot. Zion is so good though that the Pelicans kind of have to risk building around him because you know what? what’s really the other option and the payoff if somehow Zion figures it out could be massive. They have good pieces around him like a Trey Murphy. Trey Murphy is a piece as a 3 and D wing who can do more than just shoot the three on offense who every team is going to value. The weird thing was though that they they traded their unprotected 2026 pick for Derek Queen and the fit between Derek Queen and Zion Williamson is pretty awkward. They also drafted Jeremiah Fears as a high upside guard for the future. So obviously they’re trying to invest in their future and drafting some high upside guys, but they also gave up next year’s unprotected pick in a stacked draft where the Western Conference is also stacked. And they have young players that they’re trying to develop. So they’re probably not going to be very high up in the standings this upcoming year. And so it really just comes down to Zion’s health. Like maybe if Zion is healthy, they can be high up in the standings. But giving up that pick was crazy to me. They have some really nice young players and they’re going to be relying on these young pieces to try to win now, which is the just the weird part. And I don’t agree with what they’re doing at all. The tal the talent that they’ve gotten may bail them out. If Zion stays healthy, Trey Murphy keeps doing what he’s doing. If Dererick Queen and Jeremiah Fears both hit, then they could be bailed out and it could all be okay. But I feel like the chances are that that won’t happen. Next up, we have the Philadelphia 76ers. And I love the top three guys, especially in this Sixers young core, maybe even four guys. You have Tyrese Maxi as an already all-star caliber guard. You have Jared McCain, who was a rookie of the year front runner last year before he got injured. You have VJ Edgecom who is one of the most exciting young players in the entire league with his athleticism. He has got a great personality. But the problem is all of them are at the guard position. And then you also have Quentyn Grimes as well as a restricted free agent who’s also at the guard position. So there’s a ton of overlap between the top guys on this team. They have a ton of talent there at the top of their young core, but it’s just there’s so much overlap. And then the depth of their young core is very questionable. Justin Edwards was a nice find for them last season and he ended up starting quite a few games. and they’re hoping that a guy like Adm Bona can, you know, be something in the NBA, but there just isn’t a ton of depth past their top four guys. And of course, they’re trying to build around Joel Embiid and they have Paula George. So, it’s a combination of, you know, youth and experience. We’ll see what they do with Quentyn Grimes and, you know, how much he’s signed for as a restricted free agent. Another guard that they have to find minutes for cuz he was, you know, starting and averaging 22 a game at the end of last season for the Sixers. So, you have to find a spot for him. But this team, you know, it’s got talent. It just doesn’t have a very well-rounded young core. It’s questionable how guys like Tyrese Maxi and Jiren McCain will fit together. And I have no idea where this team is headed. Will they try to acquire more young talent? Are they going to try to acquire experience to really win around Joel Embiid? And with a player of Joel Embiid’s caliber, just kind of like the Zion situation, it’s understandable that you want to build around him because the payoff could be so huge. But what if he doesn’t stay healthy? At least they have this young talent coming up, but it feels like they’re going to they’re going to have to make some tweaks and possibly trades, but the talent is there. And then the last team in this tier is a a team that I kind of feel bad that wasn’t in tier 2, but I just feel like they’re not quite there yet, and that’s the Charlotte Hornets. There’s just a few too many question marks for me in this Young Hornets core, but I absolutely love some of the players that they have. They again, just like the Pelicans or the Sixers, have a top guy in LaMelo Ball. I guess kind of more like the the Pelicans because he’s like a Zion Williamson where he’s part of the young core, but he can’t stay healthy. He’s an all-star caliber player. Not not on Zion’s level, but he’s an all-star caliber player and he just can’t get through those injury problems. If he can, then that elevates this core to another level. But if they can’t, it’s like, should they really commit to building around a guy like LaMelo Ball? But they do have some other players that are great. And so maybe, you know, it can be okay if LaMelo isn’t that guy and can’t get through the injury issues or whatever because they have a guy like Brandon Miller. I think Brandon Miller is a guy that everyone needs to be watching next season as a breakout candidate. He only played 27 games last year, but he averaged 21 points per game. If he cements himself as a top tier building block for this Hornets team, that takes them to the next level. Conanipple is another guy who they’re looking to build around as a wing that they of course just drafted. He won the summer league finals MVP. So they have these two really talented wings in Brandon Miller and Coniple. I think that’s going to be a great combination. Then you have a guy like Tjan Salon who’s another wing for them who was super raw and last season had his ups and downs as you would expect for a guy as raw as him, but he has the physical tools and I like how confident he is as a three-point shooter. if he develops into something, the wing rotation for the Charlotte Hornets could be amazing. The big hole for the Hornets really is at the center position. They traded Mark Williams because they probably just didn’t believe in his health enough. And they replaced him with Ryan Caulk Brener as a second round pick in this draft and they have Musa Diabate. Both of them are probably going to be best as backups. I guess Ryan Caulk Brener, there is some potential there that he could be a starter, but I feel like they’re probably going to be better as backups. So, this team has a ton of talent, but they just need a few guys maybe to figure it out to really elevate them to the next level. Whether that’s Coniple being amazing in his rookie year, Brandon Miller taking a next step, LaMelo Ball being healthy, they need a few of those things to happen. They need to figure out the center position and then this could be a top tier young team up and coming for the future. Tier two is where we move into the teams that really have some bright futures, some very, very bright futures with some of them looking to be competitive as soon as next season. And then this tier, we have the Hawks, Blazers, Wizards, and Mavericks. And so I put the Mavericks in this tier. We can start with them because the Mavericks, if they didn’t get luck lucky in the lottery, or as some would say, you know, they didn’t rig the lottery, they’d probably be down in tier five with the Suns, Kings, Bulls. But guess what? They got the top pick in this last draft. And it’s nice to know as a Kings fan that things can shift that quickly. You just get one ping-pong ball to fall your way. Then then guess what? You get a guy like Cooper Flag and he can elevate your entire future because that’s how much I value Cooper Flag. This team does not have a whole lot outside of Cooper Flag in their prospect pool. But it doesn’t matter because he’s going to be the guy for the Mavericks for a very long time as long as they don’t trade him away for an aging veteran. Outside of Cooper Flag, you have Derrick Lively. Uh, obviously a very solid young center who can block shots, catch lobs. We’ll see, you know, how he continues to develop without a guy like Luca Donuch throwing lobs to him. Max Christie, a solid, you know, 3 and D young guard. Outside of that, you have like Jaden Hardy, Brandon Williams. Not sure the Mavs are too invested in in guys like that. Same with a guy like Max Prosper. Don’t think they’re too invested in him. So, I I really think it’s just Cooper Flag, Derrick Lively, a little bit of Max Christy in there. But for me, that’s absolutely good enough because it’s just like you have Cooper Flag, you got the hardest part to get and they’re trying to be competitive this next year. So, I don’t know how that’s going to go, but Cooper Flag will no doubt help. And I think they’ll be able to to build around Cooper Flag long into the future. And so, that’s why they’re in tier 2 for me. Maybe that’s too high for an unproven guy in a very low depth young core, but I just I value Cooper Flag that highly. The Atlanta Hawks are another team that could be competitive as soon as this this upcoming year, and I think they will be. They’ve just really surrounded Trey Young with a bunch of really well-fitting pieces. So, Trey Young himself does not qualify for this young core anymore, but the fit around him is still important for the Hawks and they’ve done a very good job at finding those long athletic defenders to surround Trey with. And so for now, you’re building around Trey Young and maybe in the future that shifts, but you’ll still have all of these talented guys and they’re still going to be valuable even if they’re not surrounding a guy like Trey Young. So you have Jaylen Johnson, like he’s the main guy to look at. He’s the guy who can be a star. He’s the triple double threat at the forward position being able to score, rebound, pass. Extremely versatile with physicality and athleticism. He is the centerpiece of what they were doing last season. only played 36 games but averaged 1910 and five in those games. Outside of him, they have some really nice pieces. Of course, the forgotten number one overall pick in Zachary Reach. He has the potential to be kind of an elite 3 and D type of player who eventually can become more than just a three-point shooter and can become an elite scorer at his size and length. He’s only 20 years old, so a ton of growth ahead for Reach. Then you have Dyson Daniels at the guard position, a decoy level guard who is blossoming offensively. He went from six points per game on the Pelicans to 14 points per game on the Hawks this past year. A big jump as he got more opportunity. On Kongu has been a solid backup big his entire career who kind of has gone between starting and backing up. He’ll probably continue to do that with Porzingis coming in, but he can play alongside Porzingis and fill in as a starter as needed. And then they got Asa Newell who’s a very fun athletic player that they just drafted. I’m looking at this team to be dangerous next year in the Eastern Conference and they’re only going to continue to get better. The last two teams in this tier are the two teams that I am most excited about going forward. We can start with the Blazers and they’ve actually made a few moves that I don’t love. I didn’t love them going and getting Drew Holiday while they also have Jeremy Grant. So two guys kind of three years on their deals and then you add in Damen Lillard to that. But, you know, you contractually it’s a little bit weird, but I’m sure it’ll work out just fine because they have such a good young core of players. And also, don’t get me wrong, I I love the the storyline of Damen Lillard coming back to Portland. But the Blazers are a team that just has multiple very good young players at every single position. They’re super well-rounded. Starting with the center position, you have Donovan Klingan and Young Hansen. So, they are set at the center position for the foreseeable future. Both of those guys are going to be be at least good. Clinging a defensive beast. Hansen getting of course the Jokic comps and you know everyone’s going crazy over a couple passes in summer league which you know I love. Go off. I’m going to be a big Hansen guy just because I can always say that I saw him a year before he was even drafted. I saw him play in the California Classic for the Chinese national team. So when he turns into Joic, I can always bring that up. But they’re absolutely set with so much skill at the center position and I’m glad they parted ways with DeAndre Eaton to clear up room for those guys. Then on the wing they have Denny Abdia who is a very good all-around wing on a great value descending contract. He averaged 177 and4 last season. They have Tumani Kamara of course just a defensive beast. But how far this team goes I think is mainly going to come down to the guard position and the development of two of their guards. This team will go as far as Scoot Henderson and or Shane Sharp take them. Both are incredibly exciting young prospects. Sharp, one of my favorite players in the entire league to watch. This dude’s athleticism is off the charts. If either of these guys are really consistently knocking down their three-point shots, their out outside shots, they’re impossible to stop. Sharp averaged 18 and a half points per game on 31% from three last season. Scoot averaged almost 13 points per game on 35% from three. Scoot Henderson hasn’t quite progressed as quickly and as well as many would have hoped. So now with a guy like Anthony Simons out, we’re really looking to see which one of these guys is going to take that leap. And you know, I think Shane Sharp can take the mantle as a leading scorer on the team, but we’re really looking for development from a guy like Scoot Henderson. And then the last team in this tier, the Washington Wizards. First of all, just starting with the veterans, they swapped out Jordan Pool and Kyle Koosma as their vets for Chris Middleton and CJ McCollum. I’m not sure there’s a bigger upgrade in terms of veterans to mentor the youth than that. You know, no offense to Jordan Pool. He shouldn’t be in a position to be a vet yet. Like, he’s he’s not that experienced. All of the disrespect to Kyle Koosma. That guy is a horrible player to have around your team. Get him away. I can’t believe the Bucks made that trade. And so now you have Chris Middleton and CJ McCollum to be the mentors to bring up this very very young team. They’re not going to be good this upcoming year. And that’s okay because I believe they sent out a top eight protected pick to the Knicks. So, uh, you know, need to be bad to get that pick. And so once they get, you know, one more piece in the 2026 draft, oh my goodness, they’re going to be so scary. Starting with Alex Sar, he is a defensive player of the year potential type of player. you know, maybe not if he’s competing with like Webyama and Mobly, but all all defensive team type of potential here. He had a rough time battling with the physicality of the NBA last year and the efficiency was bad on offense, but those are things that you absolutely expect to get better, right? Those are the things as a young player that he struggles with, but he is going to improve on. He’s going to be a top player. Then you have Bub Carrington who is their guard of the future. Has the size to be a good defender, a very good mid-range shooter last season. Very solid playmaker, just a very fun all-around player to watch last season. He’s going to continue to develop. They have a bunch of great wings. Starting with Balak Koulali, who I feel like people just kind of have stopped talking about. I mean, he had a down year last season shooting the ball, but just imagine Bal Koulabali getting in the gym with Chris Middleton and learning from a guy like Chris Middleton. That’s a very exciting prospect. You know, he took a big dip in three-point percentage last season, but hopefully that can rebound and then, you know, I think he could be very good on the offensive end, and he has, of course, the length and size to be a great defender. You look at Keshan George, who’s going to be a great all-around wing. Trey Johnson is, I think, a perfect fit for this Wizards core, who they just drafted. He’s just going to go out there and score and shoot the basketball. Add another shooter to this team, a shooter that they really needed alongside some of the defenders that they have in Alexar Blabal Keshan George. That will be fun. And then you have like Will Riley, Cam Whitmore, AJ Johnson, all wings that have a shot to be something. And if they can develop any of those players to be real contributors, that’s just like a bonus for this already very scary young core that seems to fit really well together. Especially when you consider who they could add in the 2026 draft. Man, this team is going to be scary. You know, I think I have a soft spot for the teams that don’t land a very top pick or at least don’t land the very top pick in kind of the stacked draft classes and the teams that kind of just have to go about building a young core by getting the value picks, getting young players that fit super well together and then developing them. And so that’s why I like the Blazers and the Wizards so much cuz none of them landed Victor Wmanyama. But that’s the team that’s in tier one, you know? It’s it’s it’s the Victor Womenyama team. It’s the San Antonio Spurs because you look at this team. This team at the top, they didn’t build their young core by methodically fitting puzzle pieces together and getting great value. They just landed the number one pick in the at the most opportune time to get Victor Wimyama. And then they got the number two pick in a pretty good draft as well to to pair Womenyama with Dylan Harper. I mean, shout out to them for getting the rookie of the year at pick number eight in Stfon Castle. I guess they just got so lucky with, you know, Victor Womenyama and Dylan Harper. Victor Womenyama, he’s going to be the best player in the world probably fairly soon. Pair that with Dylan Harper and Stfon Castle at the guard positions. Jeremy Sohan and Carter Bryant as your bigger defenders. This team will just be unfair. I don’t know how, you know, Stfan Castle and Dylan Harper are going to fit together and what happens to Dear Fox who they just extended four years on the Max. You know, they’ll have to figure that out. But I think it’ll take some pretty awful decision-making and some pretty horrible development to prevent this team from being contending for championships in the future. They just have the top end talent and that makes them very scary. You know, I don’t know where a guy like Devin Vel really fits into the future plans of this team. Same with Kell Johnson, but it doesn’t really matter. They have WBY. Julian Champeni is another guy who’s just like going to be a solid role player for them. So, they’re probably going to be competitive as soon as next season, and it’s going to be really scary once those guys start hitting their primes. So, taking a look at this final tier list with the Spurs at the top, the Kings Suns Bulls at the bottom. My favorite teams personally, like I said, to watch for the upcoming seasons, Washington and Portland. They have so many fun players between those two teams. Let me know which young cores you’re looking out for, which ones are your favorites. I love watching the young players around this league. I probably watch the bad teams in the NBA during the regular season more than the good teams. And I’m a pretty optimistic person. So, I just imagine all of these guys hitting their top potential. And I love, you know, imagining if everything goes perfectly and if every player develops perfectly, where does everyone fit and and how scary are these teams going to be in the future? So, anyways, that is it for this episode of the role report. Let me know what you would have done differently in this tier list, who you think the best young cores are, and I will see you guys in the next one.

Welcome to The Royal Report

In this episode of The Royal Report I rank the teams with the best young cores in the NBA.

0:00 Intro
1:36 Tier 5
2:18 Sacramento Kings
4:43 Chicago Bulls
7:21 Phoenix Suns
9:02 Tier 4
9:42 Utah Jazz
12:56 Brooklyn Nets
14:49 Tier 3
15:12 Toronto Raptors
17:31 New Orleans Pelicans
19:25 Philadelphia 76ers
21:20 Charlotte Hornets
23:48 Tier 2
24:02 Dallas Mavericks
25:39 Atlanta Hawks
27:32 Portland Trail Blazers
30:05 Washington Wizards
33:20 Tier 1 – San Antonio Spurs
34:49 Outro

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