A fresh NBL season brings a clean slate, renewed hope and the belief from every fanbase that this could finally be their year.

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And with names like Cole Anthony, Joe Ingles, Gordon Herbert and Brandon Knight joining the league this season, expectations have only grown.

But while all 10 teams enter the season dreaming of championship success, who can genuinely contend?

Fox Sports Australia breaks down all 10 teams and ranks them into four tiers when it comes to expectations heading into the new season, starting on Saturday night.

CHAMPIONSHIP OR BUST

ADELAIDE 36ERS

With a six-time NBL MVP, a five-time championship-winning coach and one of the best on-ball defenders in the league, it would be silly to have the 36ers in any other tier.

They were an overtime period away from being NBL champions last season and, with similar depth, key additions and a better understanding of what it takes to win in the big moments, the 36ers will be confident they can return.

Adelaide’s star-studded roster enters NBL27 with championship expectations after finishing second last season.Source: Getty Images

With Isaac Humphries, Zylan Cheatham and Nick Rakocevic forming a three-man big rotation, plus John Jenkins and Flynn Cameron able to relieve some of the pressure on Cotton, Adelaide has weapons everywhere.

Their second-place finish last season may not be considered enough this time around, because Adelaide has everything required to go one better.

MELBOURNE UNITED

When you bring more than 1100 games of NBA experience into one roster in a single offseason, the expectation is simple: championship or bust.

Cole Anthony, Joe Ingles, Luke Travers and Josh Oduro headline a stacked recruiting class for NBL27.

They also brought in former Cairns Taipans forward Sam Waardenburg, adding further strength to a local core featuring Shea Ili, Chris Goulding and Fabijan Krslovic.

But the biggest question revolves around first-year head coach Jacob Chance.

Former NBA guard Cole Anthony headlines Melbourne United’s star-studded rosterSource: Supplied

Can he successfully transition United out of the Dean Vickerman era and make this team his own?

United haven’t won a championship since NBL21 and have lost two Grand Final series since.

Will NBL27 finally end the wait?

SYDNEY KINGS

The defending champions come into NBL27 with the same hope and expectation, but a different roster.

The Kings will be without Tim Soares, Kouat Noi, Jaylin Galloway, Hunter Goodrick and Bul Kuol.

They still boast plenty of star power in Xavier Cooks, Kendric Davis, Torrey Craig and Matthew Dellavedova, while being led by Brian Goorjian.

But will the Kings have enough when several rivals have strengthened this off-season while, on paper at least, Sydney appears to have gone backwards?

One thing they may have that others don’t, is several players with a point to prove.

Kendric Davis will be a key figure for the defending champion Sydney Kings as they chase back-to-back NBL titles in NBL27.Source: Getty Images

Davis was runner-up in the MVP race again last season, adding further fuel to a fierce rivalry that carried all the way into the Grand Final series.

Cooks has also been handed another suspension and will be eager to repay his teammates, coaches and the organisation.

But will it be enough to go back-to-back, just as the Kings did across NBL22 and NBL23?

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TOP FOUR THE MINIMUM

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX

A Josh King-led team would be silly to write off, but there are enough questions around this roster to make them difficult to place in the tier above.

The Phoenix have lost John Brown, Owen Foxwell, Wes Iwundu, Malique Lewis and DJ Mitchell, while Ian Clark also won’t return.

They have however brought in Yannis Morin, D’Shawn Schwartz, Skylar Mays, Tanner Krebs and Dash Daniels to add to the core including Nathan Sobey, Jordan Hunter and Angus Glover.

Josh King has led South East Melbourne to back-to-back semi-final series and will look to take the Phoenix another step forward in NBL27.Source: Getty Images

With three major changes to their imports and the loss of Owen Foxwell, who was so dynamic at both ends, how quickly this team comes together could determine whether they are a top two or three side or one sitting outside the top four looking in.

You can’t write off King, who has taken this team to back-to-back semi-final series, losing both 2-1.

That recent history sets the benchmark.

Anything outside the top four would feel like a step backwards.

PERTH WILDCATS

The expectation every season for the Perth Wildcats is championship or bust, but maybe this season that has been tempered slightly, and that’s more about how much stronger their rivals have become.

The Wildcats will enter NBL27 with a similar roster to the one that was eliminated by the Sydney Kings last season.

Kristian Doolittle will lead the charge with Jo Lual-Acuil Jr, Dylan Windler and Elijah Pepper surrounding him.

Kristian Doolittle will be a key piece of the Perth WildcatsSource: Getty Images

Their major new addition is 34-year-old NBA veteran Brandon Knight, who joins the NBL after speculation he nearly joined the team last season.

If he can provide the leadership, playmaking and scoring this team needs, the Wildcats can threaten the league’s best.

But if he can’t, their championship hopes could disappear very quickly.

The Red Army will be desperate to see the Wildcats end their championship drought, but at a minimum, anything outside the top four would be a failure.

Kings and JackJumpers share honours | 00:58

FINALS THE PASS MARK

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS

They now have their point guard, they retained Will Magnay and will also see David Johnson and Bryce Hamilton return to the club, so is this too low or just about right?

While Hamilton is unlikely to be with the team in the early stages of the season, the JackJumpers have a core ready to compete and push for a championship.

Alongside their import duo and Magnay, the JackJumpers have Josh Bannan, Dakota Mathias and Taran Armstrong, who brings the most intrigue to this team.

Led by Scott Roth, it is incredibly hard to write off any of his teams, with his recent history showing he can lead a horse to water and make it drink.

Whether they are a top four team, or even higher, will depend on several factors.

Taran Armstrong will have an important role running the point for TasmaniaSource: Getty Images

What version of Hamilton returns following his ACL injury?

Can Armstrong be the leader they need at the point guard position?

Can Magnay stay injury-free?

And can Johnson take the next step in his development after showing glimpses of it last season?

With so many questions, it’s hard to put them much higher.

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS

Gordon Herbert joins the NBL with one of the strongest European pedigrees the league has ever seen, but will it be enough for the New Zealand Breakers?

Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Sam Mennenga headline a strong roster, with imports Charles Bediako and Josiah-Jordan James alongside new recruits Dejan Vasiljevic and Kouat Noi.

The Breakers finished seventh last season with a 13-20 record and, with James expected to miss up to a couple of months with a hamstring injury, they will be without one of their imports to start the season.

Sam Mennenga returns to his hometown Breakers after recommitting to the club despite attracting interest from around the NBL.Source: Getty Images

The four-time NBL championship-winning Breakers are desperate for success and, with a legendary coach in Herbert, one of the league’s best players in Jackson-Cartwright and a possible NBA prospect in Mennenga, the pieces are there.

After missing the finals last season, getting back there must be the pass mark.

Whether Herbert can take them even further is one of the more intriguing questions of NBL27.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS

While NBL26 was a tough season for the Illawarra Hawks, this season feels different.

The NBL25 champions enter this season with some new faces, the same depth and that leader of men at the helm in Justin Tatum.

Milton Doyle, Kelan Martin and Darius Days join the Hawks, while Tyler Harvey becoming an Australian citizen gives them even more flexibility.

Their stacked local depth has only gotten stronger, with Harvey joined by Will Hickey, Sam Froling, Todd Blanchfield and Dan Grida among the key names.

Justin Tatum will look to steer Illawarra back towards the top of the NBL after a difficult season followed the Hawks’ NBL25 championship.Source: Getty Images

The failed import experiment early last season immediately put the Hawks on the back foot, but this group feels different in all the right ways heading into NBL27.

Finals should be the pass mark, but their ceiling could be much higher.

Can the Hawks turn themselves back into a top four or championship contender?

Time will tell.

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PROVE US WRONG

BRISBANE BULLETS

A failed Stu Lash experiment, injuries galore and a disgruntled fan base make NBL27 a season where the Brisbane Bullets simply must get better.

Will Weaver will now lead the team and has brought some high-calibre players into a developing squad with some great depth.

Weaver, a former Sydney Kings head coach with NBA experience, has added Arnas Velicka, Nate Hinton and Jaylin Williams to a core featuring Tyrell Harrison, Sam McDaniel, Jacob Holt and Taine Murray.

Arnas Velicka is among the key additions to a revamped Brisbane roster looking to finally break its finals drought.Source: Getty Images

They have also added son of a gun Max Mackinnon following his incredible college season with the LSU Tigers.

Their fans are desperate for success and, since returning to the league in 2016-17, the Bullets have seen playoff action just once.

There is talent on this roster and Weaver has the experience to turn things around, but Brisbane has promised plenty before.

CAIRNS TAIPANS

Well, it’s time, right?

The Cairns Taipans have struggled to keep pace with a stacked league for several years.

Financially, it has been a challenge to attract top-end players while also building solid depth around them, but this season they have continued the trend they started last year.

They have re-signed Jack McVeigh and added Keanu Pinder, Jaylen Brown and Malique Lewis as Adam Forde looks to breathe some life and energy into Far North Queensland.

Keanu Pinder returns to Cairns as one of the major pieces of a revamped Taipans roster heading into a defining NBL27 campaign.Source: Getty Images

While there are plenty of questions around this team, the bones of a roster that can challenge in NBL27 are there.

But it is Cairns.

They have been a bottom-three team for the past three seasons and last year was supposed to be the jump, but it never happened.

With a strong Australian combination of McVeigh and Pinder, they have the foundation of a competitive roster and the flexibility to add another import later in the season.