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NBA Power Rankings: Every Team From Worst to First (Week 22)
In exactly one month’s time we’ll be starting the play-in tournament and officially kicking off playoff season in the NBA. Who exactly will be playing then is becoming a bit more clear, but it’s a bit of a mess figuring out who stands a shot outside of a very obvious top three. So for this week’s rankings we’ll group teams and put them into respective tiers that show just who they may be come playoff time. With that said, let’s get to this week’s rankings.
30. Charlotte Hornets
Tier: Leaders of Tank City
Both the Hornets and the Wizards have been the leaders here all season long, but Charlotte’s taking a bit more of a nose dive than Washington is as of late. Their -10.8 net rating over the last 10 games only surpasses two other teams in that span. Given the fact they’ve known they weren’t getting anywhere this season for quite some time right now, they’re totally fine being cellar dwellers and putting themselves in a position to snag the top overall pick.
29. Washington Wizards
Tier: Leaders of Tank City
No surprises here for Washington’s tier. What is more of a surprise is the fact that Washington has a 5-5 record over their last 10 games, including close victories over two playoff teams in Denver and Detroit. It’s actually moved them out of the top pick spot, meaning we may start to see some of those impactful vets get more breathers down the stretch. It may be better for the development of Alexandre Sarr and Kyshawn George anyways to let them get more impactful minutes and take the lead instead of trusting guys like Jordan Poole and Khris Middleton.
28. Utah Jazz
Tier: Leaders of Tank City
Fighting for that top overall pick, Utah’s now found itself in the top spot with Washington and Charlotte sitting right there. They haven’t won a single game in March even though guys like Lauri Markkanen have returned to the lineup, albeit on limited minutes. There’s enough talent on Utah’s roster to be competitive when healthy, but they’ve recognized almost all season that they need more depth. They’re perfectly fine leading the tank for however long they need to.
27. New Orleans Pelicans
Tier: Leaders of Tank City
Injuries forced them into this tier but they’ve fully embraced it over the past couple weeks. To make matters worse, Trey Murphy III just got lost for the season after suffering a shoulder injury. Their tattered roster only accentuates the need for them to land a top pick in this year’s draft. They are very talented when healthy and clicking, but there’s only so much trust they can have with the current roster. Let the tank lead the way and the Pelicans may find their footing next season.
26. Philadelphia 76ers
Tier: Tank City Passengers
They’re not quite leading the way for the tank like the four teams we’ve already discussed, but they’re at a point in their season where the tank is absolutely necessary if they want to keep their first round draft pick. If their first round pick lands outside the top six then it goes to the Thunder, so to make up for this year’s disaster they need to tank. Quentin Grimes is showing a ton of promise for Philadelphia, but they may not want to see a ton more out of him if they don’t want to risk losing their draft pick. It’s a fickle spot for Philly fans right now.
25. Brooklyn Nets
Tier: Tank City Passengers
We’ve mentioned in these rankings quite a few times now how important this offseason can be for Brooklyn given Cam Thomas’ contract situation. The young star will be a restricted free agent this offseason, putting a bit of pressure on Brooklyn to retain him. Recent reports suggest that Brooklyn won’t have much competition in contract talks, but the Nets need to have other plans in place in case talks fail. In a perfect world, Thomas re-signs with Brooklyn and the Nets land a high draft pick. When healthy there’s enough talent here to be competitive, but they need added depth for a bit more cohesiveness.
24. Toronto Raptors
Tier: Tank City Passengers
Toronto’s taking a bit of a unique path towards tanking and they’re not really hiding it. While Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl will generally be starting games they’re not on the court in the finishing minutes. Head coach Darko Rajakovic is letting his young players finish games so they can gain valuable minutes for their development. It’s led to some interesting moments, including a buzzer beater three pointer from Ja’Kobe Walter against the Orlando Magic. It’s a strategy that could potentially pay off next season while also leading to more losses this season. While Toronto won’t make noise this season, they’re someone to keep an eye on for the 2025-2026 campaign.
23. Chicago Bulls
Tier: Too Late For Tank City
After shipping away Zach LaVine before the trade deadline it looked like the Bulls were facing a question about whether they should tank or not. And given their roster construction it seemed like it may have been a smart idea. But they’ve found themselves at the bottom of the play-in bracket right there with Miami. They’re not exactly better than anyone in front of them and they’re not worse than anyone below them. It’s going to give them a shot in the play-in to see what exactly they’ve got against three teams that all have question marks surrounding them (Atlanta, Miami, Orlando). Depending on how that goes may change the franchise’s direction next season. But as of now, it’s too late for them to embrace the tank.
22. San Antonio Spurs
Tier: Too Late For Tank City
We’d be looking at the Spurs differently had Victor Wembanyama not had blood clot issues that ended his 2024-2025 season but they’re unfortunately where they are. It doesn’t help that De’Aaron Fox was ruled out for the rest of the season as well due to a surgery on his finger. At four games back of the Mavericks for the last play-in spot, it’s likely not advisable for them to make a run even if they felt like it. In the meantime, it’s going to be Stephon Castle’s world to finish out the season. He’s averaged 22.0 PPG in his three starts replacing Fox. The likely Rookie of the Year will get plenty of time to develop to finish the season.
21. Portland Trail Blazers
Tier: Too Late For Tank City
There’s still an outside chance that the Blazers could sneak into the play-in. Just a couple games behind Phoenix and a few behind Dallas, they’ll need to rattle off as many wins as possible to make that a reality. They may find better fortunes not chasing that spot, though, given that they haven’t beaten a team that’s currently in the playoffs, or the play-in, since their win over Sacramento on February 6th. They’re 0-10 vs playoff/play-in teams since then, pointing pretty closely to the fact that they’re just not there yet. Since tanking isn’t really an option here, they can only hope to improve draft positioning slightly if they don’t want to try and make a run.
20. Dallas Mavericks
Tier: Dallas Mavericks
They’re in a class of their own. And, in a funny way, they’ve earned it. With a -12.7 net rating, the only team in the league that’s been worse is the Charlotte Hornets. The Mavs are holding onto the final play-in spot, but is it even going to be worth it for them to try now? The fallout from the Luka Doncic trade has been well documented so you don’t need me to tell you how horrible it’s been for Mavs fans. Anthony Davis could potentially return before the season ends but it may just be better to set him aside, let the Suns take the final play-in spot and reset for next year when Mavs ownership introduces a new mechanism that erases their fanbase’s memories of this season, most notably used in the Men In Black movies.
19. Phoenix Suns
Tier: Play-in Participants
It’s right there for the taking. The Suns have drastically underachieved this season. But thanks to the debacles in Dallas it’s opened up a spot for Phoenix to slide into the 10-seed. Given the Suns’ roster construction, there’s no real excuse for them now to miss the play-in. It’s practically being handed to them. While the usual suspects are driving the Suns, they’ve reintegrated Ryan Dunn into the starting lineup, giving them a bit of a boost. Dunn has averaged 15.3 PPG since sliding back into the starting lineup and could be the final piece that gets the Suns into the play-in.
18. Miami Heat
Tier: Play-in Participants
Is it too early to start worrying about what’s happening in Miami? They’re solidly locked into the play-in bracket but it hasn’t been all that pretty for them as they’ve lost eight straight games coming into Wednesday’s action. They’ve dropped from the 7-seed down to the bottom of the play-in bracket in a mess with the Bulls. It’s being driven by a league-worst offensive rating of 105.0 over their last 10 games. They’re also only averaging 16.7 free throw attempts per game. Some of this may be because of Jimmy Butler’s departure, but the Heat are simply underachieving and need to play better if they want to escape out of the play-in bracket.
17. Orlando Magic
Tier: Play-in Participants
Thanks to Miami’s struggles, it’s looking more and more likely that the Magic will have at least two shots to win a play-in game. Currently in the 8-seed, they’ve started to correct some of the mishaps they were seeing over the past couple months. There’s still work to do, but there’s more breathing room available for them now. Paolo Banchero has also been averaging 30+ PPG over Orlando’s last 10 games. That’s only led to a 3-7 record, but he’s taking a hold as the leader of the team. Franz Wagner is averaging 21.5 PPG over the same span, giving them a nice one-two punch. If both can get it clicking in the play-in then Orlando should easily be expected to advance as long as they stay in the 7-seed or 8-seed.
16. Atlanta Hawks
Tier: Play-in Participants
Atlanta hasn’t exactly made a ton of noise as of late, but that’s completely fine given what else has been happening in the play-in bracket. Similar to Orlando, they’ve got a decent enough lead over Miami and Chicago that it seems very likely they’ll be getting two chances to snag a win and advance to the playoffs. Dyson Daniels is bringing a significant defensive edge to the Hawks, something they haven’t exactly been known for over the past few seasons. Daniels is averaging 3.0 steals per game, a number we haven’t seen since Nate McMillan in the 1993-1994 season. The Hawks have breathing room and could surprise some teams in the playoffs if they’re not taken seriously.
15. Sacramento Kings
Tier: Play-in Participants
If it weren’t for the Mavericks and their incredible slide down in the standings then Kings fans may be a little more worried about their play-in chances. After losing four of their last five games before facing the Cavaliers on Wednesday night, Sacramento got worse news as Domantas Sabonis will be forced to miss at least 10 more days due to an ankle injury. The Kings went 2-4 in his most recent absence and desperately need him on the court if they want a chance at advancing through the play-in. Their schedule over the next 10 days without him would be a grueling test with him healthy, obviously making it much tougher without him.
14. Los Angeles Clippers
Tier: Uneasy about playoffs
The Clippers look set to be in the play-in when it kicks off next month, but there’s certainly a level of uneasiness that LA fans are experiencing. Some of that may be eased by their recent hot streak, winning seven of their last eight, but the Clippers have generally been a bit unpredictable throughout the season. If they make it out of the play-in, which should be their expectation, they’re likely to face the Thunder, Nuggets or Lakers. They don’t have a win against the Thunder, are 1-3 against the Lakers and are 2-2 against the Nuggets though Denver had seemingly owned them since every season after The Bubble. Those scenarios are with the assumption that the Lakers or Nuggets grab the 2-seed away from the Rockets, but none seem to be great matchups for this unpredictable squad.
13. Milwaukee Bucks
Tier: Uneasy about playoffs
There may not be a streakier team in the NBA than the Bucks. After winning seven of eight games after the All-Star break, Milwaukee has dropped five of its last seven games. The only wins came when they scored 126 points, both against the Lakers and Pacers. The caveats to those wins, though, are LeBron wasn’t active and the Pacers were on the second leg of a back-to-back. Milwaukee has the talent, but the drive and focus need to show up. They will almost certainly be facing either the Pacers or Pistons in the first round and they would much prefer to have home court advantage in either series. With all three jumbled together in the standings, Milwaukee has to turn it on ASAP.
12. Detroit Pistons
Tier: Dark Horses
Pretty fitting that they’re a dark horse given their old logos. Detroit has far surpassed their preseason expectations and now have a chance to make some noise in the East. It’s pretty clear that everyone will expect either Boston or Cleveland to come out of the East, but Detroit can at least make it fun. They should finish no worse than the 6-seed, giving them a matchup against either the Knicks, Bucks or Pacers. All three can be prone to a first round loss. And with Detroit playing with house money, they may have nothing much to lose. The age and playoff inexperience of their roster may come back to bite them, but if they approach it freely they could make some noise.
11. Indiana Pacers
Tier: Dark Horses
Consider them under the radar as well but Indiana has plenty opportunity to be a dark horse in the East. Their best chance to advance out of the first round will be against the Pistons, who they’re 3-1 against. On the outside looking in their matchups against Milwaukee and New York don’t look favorable with a combined 2-5 record against them. But both Milwaukee and New York face some question marks currently and could be vulnerable come playoff time. Indiana’s 56.8% eFG% over the last 10 games ranks 7th in the league. They can shoot with the best of them and if teams aren’t careful they could make a run.
10. Minnesota Timberwolves
Tier: Dark Horses
Minnesota has just one loss in the month of March. Coincidentally, Julius Randle finally returned to action at the beginning of March and has helped lead them to an 8-1 record this month coming into Wednesday’s games. From the aspect of being a dark horse, Minnesota has shown it can compete well with teams at the top of the West. They hold multiple victories over Oklahoma City, Denver and the Lakers. Given that they’re most likely to face one of these three, depending on if they can avoid the play-in or not, it gives them a real shot to upset someone early on. They made it to the Western Conference Finals last season and shouldn’t be underestimated this season.
9. Golden State Warriors
Tier: Better make noise
The Warriors fall into this tier simply because they’ve been splashy since acquiring Jimmy Butler. Their last two games have been a bit topsy turvy, losing to the shorthanded Nuggets and then beating the Bucks without Steph Curry, but outside of that they’ve been very solid with Butler active. With his addition, and his drive during the playoffs, there will be big expectations for the Warriors to make some real noise. There’s a good chance they may face the young squads of Houston and Memphis, series where they may be the favorites even with a lesser record. They’ll be expected to succeed and anything less than advancing to the second round may be considered a real failure.
8. Houston Rockets
Tier: Better make noise
Come playoff time there may be fewer expectations for the Rockets to actually make noise, but to Rockets fans it may feel like a bit of a failure given how successful the season has been so far. They’ve far and away surpassed preseason expectations and, entering Wednesday’s games, are sitting in the 2-seed in the West along with the Denver Nuggets. But there’s still an element of wanting to know what’s real with this roster. The biggest detriment will be their shooting. Their season-long eFG% of 51.7% is the worst of any playoff or play-in team. They’ve made up for it with defense and free throws. But with fewer free throws likely to be awarded in the playoffs, their shooting will be put to the test. Rockets fans will need them to show up offensively to prove what they have in Houston is really real.
7. Memphis Grizzlies
Tier: Better make noise
After a worrisome 2-6 slide out of the All-Star break, Memphis has started to get thing corrected and have won five of their last seven games headed into Wednesday. Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. have been in and out of the lineup but the Grizzlies’ aspect of team ball has generally been able to push them through. And after a very successful regular season, they’ll be expected to make some noise in the playoffs now that Ja Morant has been active for a majority of the season. The biggest issue for them has been their record against likely playoff matchups for them, which has not been great. Similar to Houston, there will be a question about what’s really real in Memphis and that will need to be answered come playoff time. Memphis needs a first round victory at the very least.
6. Los Angeles Lakers
Tier: Is there enough here?
There’s no question that the Lakers have gotten better after acquiring Luka Doncic. The team is playing inspired, cohesive basketball and genuinely looks like they can make a run at the second seed in the West and potentially represent the West as well. But outside of LeBron James and Luka, especially given their injury histories, do they have enough to contend if one of them were to get hurt? We know the answer without Doncic is probably a no given how they played in the LeBron/AD days without Anthony Davis. While LeBron’s been out the Lakers have looked pretty decent with Doncic running things. But in a playoff series can it be sustainable? That’s the main question for LA.
5. Denver Nuggets
Tier: Is there enough here?
The Nuggets are a bit of a conundrum with how they’re playing. The fact can’t change that this roster has proven it can win a championship. But since the 2022-2023 season there seems to be a bit of a mental lapse with the Nuggets depending on their opponent’s skill level. For instance, they are the only team in the NBA who has multiple wins against the Thunder while also having multiple losses to the Wizards. They can rise up when they absolutely need to but the mental lapses against lesser competition don’t bode well for their chances of fully locking in for the playoffs. With Nikola Jokic on your roster you’re always going to have a shot, but the supporting cast will be tested. Teams will dare the Nuggets to beat them with shooting from Christian Braun and Russell Westbrook. The question is if they’ll be locked in when the team needs them to be.
4. New York Knicks
Tier: Is there enough here?
After making huge strides midseason and really putting themselves on the map, the Knicks have started to deal with injuries that have held them back a bit. More importantly, in terms of their playoff hopes, they’ve been very lackluster against the top seeds in the East. Cleveland and Boston hold a combined 5-0 record against the Knicks, giving many doubters leverage that the Knicks simply can’t keep up with the best in the East. The starting five has done enough to essentially lock them into the three seed, but how high can Jalen Brunson rise in the playoffs? How will Karl-Anthony Towns perform in the second round in a likely matchup against Boston? New York has weapons, but the question is if they well-rounded enough to knock out the cream of the crop in the East.
3. Boston Celtics
Tier: Title Contenders
To no surprise, Boston starts the group of three true title contenders in the NBA. For much of the season Boston has been at or near the top of the East and has been competitive against Cleveland. The only teams that they’ve struggled against this season, who they could potentially see in the playoffs are Indiana (1-2 vs Pacers) and Atlanta (1-2 vs Hawks). With the Hawks currently in the 7-seed in a likely Hawks vs Magic showdown in the play-in, there’s a good likelihood they could face the Hawks in the first round. But in a playoff scenario it’s much less likely Boston to slump to the level of their opponent. On a quest for a repeat, Boston will be looking to lock in for an eventual clash against the Cavaliers. They’re true title contenders, as expected.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
Tier: Title Contenders
Prior to their recent slide, Cleveland had been absolutely cruising. Maybe their potentially hitting a wall as the season dwindles down, but they have had a similar vibe to the Nuggets two seasons ago and the Celtics last season. There’s a fire that’s motivating them telling them it’s their year and nothing will get in their way. Of course, they’re likely going to have to get through Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals, which will be a ginormous test in itself. But they’ve controlled the Eastern Conference all season and have been more than convincing in doing so. The second of our three title contenders, they’re a real force that may not be able to be stopped this season.
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
Tier: Title Contenders
Back in our top spot after minimal slip ups compared to Cleveland’s recent slide, OKC has been a true title contender nearly all season. They’re almost certain to face maturity questions come playoff time, but they’ve succeeded with both an efficient offense and a suffocating defense. They may just be the most well-rounded team in the NBA while playing with a consistent amount of “team ball” energy. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will certainly run the team, but even outside of him there are enough threats that opposing coaches will need to figure out during a playoff series. They finish our power rankings on top and round out our three title contenders.
