Some NBA teams have taken a major step forward this offseason via a combination of smart drafting, trades and/or free agent signings.

When picking the top five, however, we're only considering moves that the team made and not players returning from injury. For example, the Memphis Grizzlies might make the biggest jump in wins (27-55 last season) although that will be primarily due to Ja Morant and others being healthy and not because Zach Edey is going to add another 25 victories by himself (although he does look like a good fit).

Raw win totals aren't necessarily the only proof of improvement, either, as we're looking at specific team weaknesses that were addressed and how much further a franchise can expect to advance in the playoffs now.

Based on their offseason acquisitions (while factoring in losses) to this point, these are the five teams who have improved the most.

Detroit Pistons

Notable Additions: G/F Ron Hollard II, F Tobias Harris, SG Malik Beasley, SG Tim Hardaway Jr., F/C Paul Reed, HC J.B. Bickerstaff

Notable Losses: SG Quentin Grimes, C James Wiseman, HC Monty Williams

2023-24 Record: 14-68

It shouldn't be hard to improve on 14 wins from a year ago, as Detroit may be the only franchise to realistically double its victory total in 2024-25.

No one is going to confuse next year's Pistons for a playoff team, although Detroit has added a handful of rotation players this offseason that will have them looking like a competent NBA franchise for the first time in years.

The Pistons needed a vast influx of shooting, something they improved mightily with the additions of Beasley (41.3 percent, 2.8 made threes per game), Tobias Harris (35.3 percent, 1.3 per game) and Hardaway Jr. (35.3 percent, 2.7 per game). Detroit was tied for dead last in made threes per game last season (11.0) and was 26th in accuracy (34.8 percent).

Cade Cunningham is a high-level playmaker with his size and passing ability, and adding real NBA veterans around him who can knock down shots is going to vastly improve an offense that ranked just 27th overall (109.0 rating).

Holland doesn't help the team's shooting, but he was Bleacher Report draft expert Jonathan Wasserman's No. 1 ranked player in the 2024 class. He's a big, athletic wing who's still only 18 and has All-Star potential if the three-point shot ever comes around.

New head coach J.B. Bickerstaff did a good job of developing young talent with the Cleveland Cavaliers and doubled their win total from 22 in 2020-21 to 44 in 2021-22, all before the team traded for Donovan Mitchell.

Detroit added a collection of real NBA players, took another top prospect in the draft and found a better-fitting head coach. This franchise is finally on the right path and will look vastly improved this season.

New York Knicks

Notable Additions: G/F Mikal Bridges, PG Cameron Payne, F Keita Bates-Diop, F Pacôme Dadiet, PG Tyler Kolek

Notable Losses: C Isaiah Hartenstein, F Bojan Bogdanović, G/F Alec Burks

2023-24 Record: 50-32

Winning 50 games and finishing as the No. 2 seed in the East would seemingly be tough to improve on, although adding one of the best two-way wings in the NBA while re-signing OG Anunoby could have this Knicks team sniffing 60 wins this season.

New York went 26-6 in regular season and playoff games with Anunoby and the Knicks were even better when he was playing small forward (plus-25.3 net rating, per Cleaning the Glass) vs. when Anunoby was at power forward (plus-17.0). With a healthy Julius Randle back, Anunoby should see more time on the wing, giving the Knicks' starting lineup more size and length overall.

At 6'6" with a 7'1" wingspan, Mikal Bridges is a big shooting guard who made 38.5 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes last season and should get far more open looks playing alongside Jalen Brunson, Randle and others. Bridges and Anunoby are the perfect counter to the Boston Celtics' wing of Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brown, as the Knicks front office has designed this team to dethrone the reigning champs.

Outside of the center position, this roster has real depth, especially since Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo will likely be coming off the bench in favor of Randle and Bridges. Rookie Tyler Kolek is 23 and could be ready to step into a rotation role soon, as both he and Cameron Payne will help to keep Brunson's minutes at a reasonable level before the playoffs begin.

We saw glimpses of what this team could become, as the three-man unit of Brunson, Randle and Anunoby registered a net rating of plus-26.1 (100th percentile, via Cleaning the Glass) in their 582 possessions together.

Losing Isaiah Hartenstein hurts, although getting Bridges, re-signing Anunoby and adding some nice pieces around the edges will have the Knicks competing for the No. 1 spot in the East.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Notable Additions: C Isaiah Hartenstein, G Alex Caruso, PG Nikola Topić, F Dillon Jones

Notable Losses: G Josh Giddey

2023-24 Record: 57-25

Only the Boston Celtics won more games than the Oklahoma City Thunder last season, although there's still plenty of room for growth from a young team that lost in the second round of the playoffs.

The Thunder could have stood pat and relied on internal improvements from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and others and still made a leap, although adding proven veterans like Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso should have OKC in the FInals next season.

Two of the best defenders at their respective positions, both Hartenstein (plus-11.1 swing rating, 95th percentile via Cleaning the Glass) and Caruso (minus-7.0 defensive swing rating, 93rd percentile) made huge impacts on winning for their previous teams last season. Both are low usage players as well, meaning they don't need the ball in their hands to make a difference and won't impede the growth of the Thunder's young core.

OKC ranked just 28th in rebounding this past season and 13th out of 16th playoff teams, an area Hartenstein (18.5 total rebound percentage, No. 13 in the NBA) will help to improve. Caruso replaces Josh Giddey in the rotation, helping to raise the floor of this team with his elite defense and three-point shooting.

Nikola Topić may not see the floor this season while recovering from a partially torn ACL, but OKC getting him with the 12th overall pick could wind up being the steal of the draft. A possible top-5 selection if he was healthy, the 6'6" point guard can be brought along slowly on this supremely talented team, giving the Thunder a valuable backup to Gilgeous-Alexander or future trade chip.

OKC's win total may not rise that much from their 57 victories a season ago, but this is a far better team overall that should be considered one of the title favorites.

Philadelphia 76ers

Notable Additions: G/F Paul George, F Caleb Martin, C Andre Drummond, G/F Eric Gordon, PG Reggie Jackson

Notable Losses: G/F Buddy Hield, F Nic Batum, G De'Anthony Melton, F/C Paul Reed, PG Cameron Payne, F/C Mo Bamba

2023-24 Record: 47-35

The No. 1 factor for the Philadelphia 76ers success will always be the health of Joel Embiid, as the Sixers went 31-8 with him on the floor compared to just 16-27 in games the former MVP missed.

The addition of Paul George provides at least somewhat of a safety net against further Embiid injuries, assuming that the 34-year-old wing can stay healthy himself, of course.

George is the first player coming off an All-Star season to switch teams in free agency since Kawhi Leonard in 2019 and should enjoy a few good years before his four-year, $212 million max deal starts to look pretty bad. It wasn't just the addition of George (plus-13.8 swing rating, 98th percentile via Cleaning the Glass) that made the 76ers better this offseason, but rather the impressive cap work that Daryl Morey and company did to fill out the roster around their three stars.

Getting Caleb Martin on a four-year, $35 million contract is one of the biggest steals of free agency and Andre Drummond remains one of the best backup centers in the NBA who will likely start chunks of the season when Embiid misses time.

Gordon and Jackson are veteran guards who can still knock down shots and create for others and Kyle Lowry's leadership will once again be felt.

If even reasonably healthy, this is a team that could win 55 regular season games and be in the title hunt.

Some teams have star power, others have depth. This 76ers squad has done an extremely admirable job of establishing both.

San Antonio Spurs

Notable Additions: PG Chris Paul, G Stephon Castle, F Harrison Barnes

Notable Losses: PG Devonte' Graham

2023-24 Record: 22-60

Last season we learned that simply having Victor Wembanyama and a solid point guard on the floor at the same time was good enough to play winning basketball.

When Wembaynama and Tre Jones shared the court, the San Antonio Spurs had a net rating of plus-5.2 (79th percentile, via Cleaning the Glass) in 2,697 total possessions. When both players were out of the game, this rating plummeted to minus-12.6 (9th percentile).

Chris Paul is nearing the end of his career but can still run an offense and serve as a playmaking upgrade over Jones. The 39-year-old averaged 11.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.3 assists and shot 44.2 percent from three in his 18 starts with the Golden State Warriors last season and has yet to register a negative swing rating in his 19 years.

Stephon Castle was the No. 4 overall pick in the draft and gives Wembanyama another guard he can play off of in the pick-and-roll. He's got the size and skill set to make an immediate impact defensively as well.

Add in Harrison Barnes (12.2 points, 38.7 percent from three) and San Antonio's three-point attack (28th in accuracy last season) should be far improved, especially with Paul and Castle creating open looks for others.

The Spurs seem like a lock to at least tack 10 wins onto their total and possibly be in the play-in picture throughout most of the year.