The early weeks of the 2026-27 NBA season have already reshuffled power rankings across both the Eastern and Western Conferences. While national headlines will always focus on the biggest names and star-studded duos, even they can get written off to an extent because of slow starts. Through the first two weeks of the new season, it feels like one duo is already being brushed aside, and two other teams aren't getting nearly the praise they should.
It's still early in the year, and most teams have played seven or eight games, so there's plenty of unknown. But based on teams' records, the attention they're getting (or not getting), and whether people view them in a way that captures their true upside, helps to identify the most underrated teams so far.
So, let's start with one of the offseason winners who's struggled out of the gate.
Miami Heat
I know, I know. How can a team have Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo yet still be considered "underrated?" Well, we've found out after the Miami Heat's 2-5 start to the season. After dropping four straight games to start the new year, the Heat defeated the Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers, potentially signaling a tide-turning shift from their slow start.
However, a 21-point loss to the Los Angeles Lakers felt like a collective eye-roll for anyone waiting to see the Heat break through. Given where the Heat were heading into the year and the hype around this team, they certainly qualify as underrated right now, but I expect that to change in the coming weeks.
Players who are used to receiving a large volume of touches offensively need time to mesh, and that learning curve is what we're seeing with Antetokounmpo and Adebayo; players like Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson have also struggled early this season. But the good news? If anyone can help this team work through the early-season funk, it's Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra.
Spoelstra will find the right offensive game plan and approach to capitalize on this group's upside, and when it happens, the term underrated won't be connected to Miami again.
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks have gone from listening to Kyrie Irving being one of the biggest names potentially on the trade market to having no real reason to move him. In fact, based on how the Mavericks have looked, there's a fair argument that not keeping Irving in the backcourt alongside Cooper Flagg would be a poor decision.
Even at 4-3, the Mavericks feel overlooked and underrated. Their two losses aren't bad (San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets), and they've also defeated the Rockets, along with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers and Heat. That's a decent group of wins with a pair of understandable losses. Dallas' lone bad loss came against the Sacramento Kings, but here's the kicker—Irving didn't play in that game.
If that's not an indication of Irving's importance and what he brings to the Mavs, I don't know what is. But putting all of that together, and given the Mavericks' schedule to start the year, being above .500 is impressive. And most importantly, this group hasn't reached its ceiling. Dallas could surprise a lot of people this season.
New Orleans Pelicans
There are two teams with sub-.500 records but a positive point differential through the first two weeks of the NBA season: the defending champion New York Knicks and the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Pelicans didn't look great out of the gate. Four straight losses, one of which was by three points to the Pacers and the other by one point to the Jazz on the road, and back-to-back losses to the Denver Nuggets. However, since that point, the Pelicans have won three straight games, two by double digits and the last one handed the Memphis Grizzlies their first loss of the season.
The upside of this Pelicans group is finally showing, with Zion Williamson doing it on both ends of the floor and Jeremiah Fears emerging as a do-it-all playmaker. The Pelicans may be 3-4, but right now, they're playing like a team that can compete with anyone in the league. Don't be surprised if the Pelicans aren't underrated for long, especially if their health continues to work in their favor.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Mavericks headline NBA's 3 most underrated teams through start of 2026-27 season
