NBA Power Rankings: All teams 1-30 as we approach the playoffs
The start of March Madness is always exciting, not only because it signals bracket season, but because it also means the NBA playoffs are almost here.
With the Milwaukee Bucks depleted, we now know with almost absolute certainty the 20 teams that will be in the play-in/playoffs this year. However, there is a lot of flow when it comes to seeding. So, there’s still plenty to keep an eye on as we enter the final stretch of the regular season.
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I’m here to try to understand where each team ranks in the league hierarchy with four weeks to go.
The oil tankers
30. Indiana Pacers
29. Wizards of Washington
28. Brooklyn Nets
27. Sacramento Kings
26. Utah Jazz
25.Chicago Bulls
24. Memphis Grizzlies
23. Dallas Mavericks
22. Milwaukee Bucks
Listen, when it comes to the bond between reader and writer, honesty is key. To truly believe what I put down in black and white, you have to feel like I’m keeping a dollar on you. That said, you can take this part of the ranking with a grain of salt. Do you think the Utah Jazz are tougher than the Chicago Bulls? Or that the Sacramento Kings are the worst team in the NBA? All right. I won’t argue with you there. The point is that all of these teams are not about winning games and are basically a free win for whoever they’re playing, unless they’re playing each other.
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The bravest team in basketball
21. New Orleans Pelicans
Unlike the other nine teams that are out of the play-in/playoff mix, the New Orleans Pelicans do not own their first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Thus, they have no incentive to tank. The Pelicans used this opportunity to begin building a winning culture, hence their place in their special tier. Since Jan. 22, the Pelicans are 14-10 with the 10th-best offense and 14th-best net rating. They’re largely taking advantage of the Tankers, but the Pelicans also have impressive wins over the Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors. Their front office is still aimless and dysfunctional, but you have to admit that they are playing respectably lately.
A playoff berth is a win
20. Portland Trail Blazer
19. Philadelphia 76ers
18. Warriors of the Golden State
17. Charlotte Hornets
16. Suns of the Phoenix
15. Toronto Raptors
14. Los Angeles Clippers
Unfortunately, with only 16 playoff spots, four of these seven teams will go home disappointed. But for all of these groups, even getting a chance to compete in the game’s second season should be a win. Injuries have made the Portland Trail Blazers, Philadelphia 76ers, and Golden State Warriors obvious members of this group (I personally trust Stephen Curry to be healthy through the playoffs more than Joel Embiid). The Charlotte Hornets and Phoenix Suns have been two of the best stories in the league this year, but both have started to lose momentum in recent weeks (plus, the Hornets will need to win two play-in games to even make the postseason). The Toronto Raptors are the only team in this group that is not currently scheduled to play a game. However, their below-average offense (18th in offensive rating) and good-but-not-great defense (seventh) aren’t exactly a recipe for postseason success. After failing to reach the postseason in each of the last three seasons, Toronto should consider a playoff berth a step in the right direction. And even though the Los Angeles Clippers are on a meteoric rise (losers in their last three games), they still have the most firepower of any team in this group. Since their infamous 6-21 start, the Clippers have been 28-14 with the fourth-best offense and eighth-best net rating. They also have the best player of any team in this group (Kawhi Leonard, 5th in the NBA in Estimated Plus-Minus).
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Solid playoff teams with no real title equity
13. Houston Rockets
12.Miami Heat
11. Orlando Magic
10. Atlanta Hawks
This group is full of teams that should be playing in the first round, but don’t have the strength to do anything other than Perhaps win a playoff series. The Houston Rockets may have the most wins of any team in this group, but they play in the toughest conference and haven’t been the same since Steven Adams went down with a season-ending ankle injury. The Miami Heat continue to win games the Heat way (running more zones than any other team in the league!). However, they don’t have enough offense or size/physicality to be a real threat, as we saw in their recent loss to the Orlando Magic. What will surprise many people is the decision to put the Atlanta Hawks above the Orlando Magic in our power rankings, despite the latter ranking higher than the former. The Hawks are winners of eleven straight games (!!). This is the third longest streak of the year (all other teams before them have yet to be listed in these power rankings). Most of those wins are against the Tankers, but they simply put the Magic through their paces with a key home win. What makes them so dangerous is how good their starting lineup is. When CJ McCollum, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu share the floor together (456 non-garbage time possessions), the Hawks outscore teams by 31.1 points per 100 possessions. That’s the highest mark of any five-player combination that has played at least 300 possessions this season (per Cleaning the Glass).
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Puncher’s chance at the championship
9. Los Angeles Lakers
8. New York Knicks
7. Minnesota Timberwolves
6. Detroit Pistons
5.Denver Nuggets
These teams all have flaws, but they also have enough strengths to make a playoff run if everything goes wrong. I recently did an in-depth study on the history of five-a-side formations. Long story short, to win an NBA championship, you need a regular season lineup with most/all of your best players playing at least 300 possessions together and recording a +9 per 100. As of this writing, none of the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, or Minnesota Timberwolves have a lineup that fits this description. That’s why they are in the back half of this level. But they have yet to be in this group because Luka Doncic (LAL), Jalen Brunson (NYK) and Anthony Edwards (MIN) have all demonstrated the ability to take over a series on their own, and all of them have been to the conference finals the last two seasons. The Detroit Pistons have faltered of late (5-5 in their last ten), but they still have a distinct identity, home-court advantage in the first three rounds and a five-man lineup they can count on (Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Duncan Robinson, Tobias Harris and Jalen Duren are +12.8 per 100).* The Denver Nuggets can’t seem to find a groove. Just yesterday they dropped an unnecessary play to one of the Tankers (the Memphis Grizzlies). However, they have the best player on the planet (Nikola Jokic), and when you have that, you always have a chance.
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*Cunningham’s recent injury news could seriously derail the Pistons’ season. But until we know if he will miss any postseason basketball games, we’ll keep them in this tier for now.
Real championship contenders
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
3. San Antonio Spurs
2. Boston Celtics
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
Finally, the cream of the crop. Ricky O’Donnell called this season “the Thunder against the field.” That’s still the case, but as he said during his midseason edition, the field is definitely catching up. The Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t really done anything to deserve their place in this tier, but they have the second most talented and well-balanced roster of any team in the East. Furthermore, they were unable to keep their four nuclei healthy for very long. According to PBP Stats, when James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen share the floor (35 minutes), Cleveland has a net rating of +35.2. Really promising. Additionally, because they are in the weakest conference, their chances of making the NBA Finals are inherently higher than teams like Denver and Minnesota. The San Antonio Spurs have incredible metrics, especially when their prodigious big man is on the court. The only thing keeping them from being higher is the relative unknown of how their young core will perform in the playoffs (typical cop, I know). The Boston Celtics have completely reinvented themselves and are now doing a fantastic job integrating Jayson Tatum into the mix. They’re 5-1 with Tatum in the lineup, and boy, he looks a lot better than any human being ten months removed from a torn Achilles ever should. The Thunder will remain the best until proven otherwise.