Way Too Early 2021-22 NBA Power Rankings: Nets ahead of defending champion Bucks; Suns above Lakers

It's never too soon to take a look at how next season is shaping up

One chapter ends and another begins. The champagne soaking the locker room rugs at the Fiserv Forum hasn't even dried yet, and it's already time to turn our focus toward the 2021-22 NBA season. Congratulations to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, but NBA fans tend not to dwell on the past, especially with the draft and free agency rapidly approaching. With those two key offseason transaction-fests yet to happen, there's obviously going to be a lot of speculation and conjecture in this set of Power Rankings -- thus the headline caveat of "way too early." The futures of All-Stars Damian Lillard and Ben Simmons could completely shift the landscape of the league, but we did the best we could with the rosters still in flux. I hear you complaining already: So if it's all speculation, why even do Power Rankings right now? Because it's fun, and even if the rosters aren't completely set, it's a good way to canvass the league and see where things might stand come October.