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Power Rankings for NBA teams in the 2025-2026 NBA season. RotoBaller's Kevin Larson analyzes every NBA Team with Power Rankings from worst to first as of November 17, 2025.
NBA Power Rankings: Every Team From Worst to First
The NBA never fails to deliver. This week was packed with action, including the return of Steph Curry to Golden State’s lineup in which he delivered back-to-back 45+ point performances against San Antonio. Safe to say the Warriors missed his on-court presence. Meanwhile teams like the Knicks are watching their roster fall apart at the seams. A broken roster hasn’t mattered to the red hot Pistons. And don’t look now but the Raptors are quietly on fire. Who ranks where after an action-packed week? Read on and let’s find out.
30. Washington Wizards
We’ve got a new team at the bottom of the rankings. After getting blasted by our previous worst team in the league to the tune of a 23-point blowout, Washington is now 1-12 on the season. Their only win of the season came against the Mavericks back in October and they’ve now lost 11 straight. They’ve allowed 130 points or more seven times this season and were one point away on Sunday from making that eight. Kyshawn George looks to be a bright spot for the Wizards this season, but that’s about it. Last season’s 18-win team may have a run for their money with this year’s product. Washington comes up in the bottom spot for the first time this season.
29. Brooklyn Nets
It’s a race to the bottom between Brooklyn and Washington. Coming into Sunday night’s action the Nets had just one win this season against the Pacers, which sounds impressive if you tell people they’re the defending Eastern Conference champions without any context. After Sunday they can add another tally into the win column with a 23-point win over Washington. But outside of that Brooklyn’s in a world of hurt. Cam Thomas is out throughout November, leaving everything up to Michael Porter Jr. To MPJ’s credit, he’s performed well this season with an average of 23.2 PPG. But it’s the rest of the Nets that aren’t providing support. They may not be the worst this week but it’s still Tank City in Brooklyn.
28. Indiana Pacers
The Pacers are in a rut and the injuries aren’t making it any easier. Offensively they’ve really struggled, scoring fewer than 110 points in four of their last seven games. Allowing the Jazz to put up 152 points in regulation isn’t exactly a shining moment for Indiana either. With Tyrese Haliburton’s injury holding him out of the entire season it was always going to be a tough year for the Pacers, but this start has been way worse than anyone could have imagined. If things keep up it may be smart for Indiana to keep tanking and aim for a lottery pick that will help make them competitive again in 2026-2027.
27. New Orleans Pelicans
The front office in New Orleans has felt like they’ve seen enough. They fired Willie Green on Saturday and named James Borrego, former Charlotte Hornets head coach, as the interim coach. The past couple seasons haven’t exactly been the easiest for him with all the injuries, but they are clearly looking for a spark. Speaking of those injuries, Jordan Poole is still slated to miss at least another week when he gets re-evaluated for a quad injury. Zion Williamson has now missed seven straight games after being ruled out on Sunday. The Pelicans faced tough roster questions last season, but those may get tougher this year if Williamson’s injury issues continue. And based on his history you may not want to bank on him staying on the court consistently.
26. Utah Jazz
Safe to say that the excitement of the 2-1 start to the season is gone. Losing Walker Kessler for the season was something they certainly didn’t want to see as they aim to develop their roster with the big man being a key centerpiece. At least they’re seeing nice developments from Keyonte George, who’s averaging career highs across the board with 21.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 7.1 APG. He’ll be another piece to build around with Lauri Markkanen being the headliner. With him signed through 2029 it’s very unlikely Utah tries to offload him by the trade deadline in yet another rebuilding year, so they’ll aim to keep him healthy and productive for the rest of the season.
25. Dallas Mavericks
Maverick fans no longer have to worry about Nico Harrison tarnishing the roster further after he was fired on Friday morning. But it still doesn’t solve many of their current issues. Anthony Davis still isn’t ready to return to the lineup while the rest of the starters are hovering at a level that is less than middling. Cooper Flagg is at least starting to look more of the part of stellar rookie, posting a 16.3 PPG average in November to go alongside 6.9 RPG. But Dallas still finds itself down near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. That may change with time, but it may take longer to get away from the vision that Harrison had that is heavily impacting the start of their season.
24. Sacramento Kings
There’s simply too much talent on this team to not be yielding rewards. Yet Sacramento also finds itself near the bottom of the Western Conference. Rumors of potentially selling this season broke this week, and given how they’ve performed over the past calendar year it may not be the worst idea. Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine are all under contract through the 2026-2027 season (LaVine has a player option) and that should provide some additional value to teams. But they’re all also aging, which will play a factor. They’ve got time to make those decisions, but a -10.6 net rating on the season may push them to speed up the process.
23. Charlotte Hornets
LaMelo Ball finally returned to the lineup on Friday night, something Charlotte has been waiting for. But celebration of his return was squashed in overtime in Milwaukee, followed up by Oklahoma City doing what Oklahoma City does on Saturday night in the second leg of a back-to-back for Charlotte. Both losses were expected for the Hornets, but they were close to stealing Friday night’s game and that has to sting. At the very least, their rookie class has been impressive with Kon Knueppel being at the forefront of the Rookie of the Year race. When Brandon Miller returns there may be a shot at this roster competing for the play-in, but if not then it will continue to be a high-powered youth movement in Charlotte, though any type of defense will be greatly welcomed.
22. Memphis Grizzlies
The Ja Morant issues continue, though this time it’s in the form of an injury. Morant injured his calf on Saturday after missing the previous game with an ankle injury. The severity of the injury still is yet to be determined, but it only complicates questions about Morant’s future in Memphis. Add in that Memphis has lost eight of its last nine games and it sure seems like they’re going to be forced to make a move soon. They’re already holding onto a grip of first round picks from Orlando and adding onto that with a trade of Morant, paired with a choice to tank, may be a move the Grizzlies are seriously contemplating.
21. Boston Celtics
Despite having the league’s eighth best net rating at +4.7, the Celtics currently find themselves on the outside of the play-in picture in the east. That’s because they typically win big whenever they get the dub, but the losses still add up. They’re 4-4 in their last eight with their wins having margins of 3, 4, 29 and 36. There’s certainly volatility in that offense, but it’s the defense that’s been a very steady constant in Boston. They’ve only allowed 110 or more five times in 14 games this year. With an offense that’s streaky, a solid D can help out a ton. If that stays consistent then Boston will have a chance to be able to figure things out on offense as they aim to find themselves in the playoff race yet again.
20. Portland Trail Blazers
That hot streak the Blazers started out the season with looks to have dissipated a bit. They’ve now lost four of their past six after starting out 4-2. For the most part their games have been closer, regardless of the strength of opponent. But playing to the level of your opponent usually ends up biting you in the end. If they can correct that then they’ll find themselves solidly in the play-in race and not by accident like they almost did last season. Deni Avdija has been a pleasant surprise for their offense, averaging 25.8 PPG as Portland’s new offensive leader. If they can lock in more often, and Avdija stays hot shooting the rock, Portland will find themselves in a great spot.
19. Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers finally broke their six game losing streak with a double overtime win against Dallas on Friday. The win was very much needed as they were set to embark on a seven game road trip in a terrible headspace. Unfortunately the joy didn’t last long as they lost to Boston on Sunday. It’s hard to imagine that a team that looked so set to compete atop the West looks the way they do right now. Add in the injuries they’re facing with Kawhi Leonard and Bradley Beal and it only adds insult to literal injury. The Clippers didn’t have this abhorrent of a start on their wish list and if they don’t correct things soon enough they won’t be fighting for the playoffs, they’ll stay fighting for the play-in.
18. Phoenix Suns
Coming into the season it looked like Suns games were going to be incredibly high scoring with a potent offense and a porous defense. Instead, Phoenix has become a rather stout defense. That certainly wasn’t on many bingo cards. Coming into Sunday’s game against the Hawks, the Suns were on a five game win streak with a 105.7 defensive rating, good enough for third in the league in that span. A welcome surprise on offense has been Dillon Brooks, averaging 20.3 PPG in his seven games active coming into Sunday. A player with his defensive skills playing like that offensively can only be a good thing. Phoenix is on the come up and that’s a very welcome development after the breakups this offseason.
17. Orlando Magic
Magic fans braced themselves for the worst earlier this week when Paolo Banchero exited Wednesday’s game with a groin injury. Luckily his MRI results showed nothing major with his injury, but his return date isn’t disclosed yet. Even without Banchero, Orlando is playing very well. Part of that is Desmond Bane starting to turn into the version of himself that the Magic envisioned when they traded for him, putting up 22 points or more in four of his last six games. If Bane can continue to provide this level of offense once Banchero returns then Orlando can start to ascend atop the Eastern Conference standings like they pictured when they traded for Bane in the offseason.
16. Miami Heat
Miami just continues to find ways to stay competitive when it seems like they shouldn’t. With Bam Adebayo out for the past five games they’ve still figured out how to win three of them, including an incredible OT victory over Cleveland early in the week. They’ll want Adebayo back soon enough, though, as their upcoming schedule isn’t exactly the easiest stretch of games. The big man practiced Sunday, so he may be back soon, which is a great sign. The Heat continue to be competitive regardless of who’s active and who isn’t.
15. Atlanta Hawks
You would have thought that losing an all-star point guard like Trae Young would be a bad omen for a team, but apparently not the Hawks. Prior to Sunday night’s loss to the Suns they had won seven of their last nine games, all but one without Young. Jalen Johnson has performed valiantly in his absence, leading the Hawks in PPG, RPG and APG. Nickeil Alexander-Walker has been a solid offensive presence too, averaging 17.9 PPG in that span. The most points Alexander has averaged in a season is 10.6 in 2021-2022, making this a welcome surprise for the Hawks. Behind these two, the Hawks are finding success in the East.
14. Chicago Bulls
The hype that Chicago had built to start the season? Yeah, that’s gone. After Sunday’s double-OT loss to the Jazz, the Bulls have now lost five straight games and six of their last seven. To be fair to the Bulls, a lot of that has come against strong competition (Cleveland, San Antonio, Detroit, New York, Milwaukee), but it’s still a lot to lose in a row. Coby White finally made his season debut on Sunday, so they’ll have more offensive firepower going forward. But the Bulls will want to find a way to string some wins together and rebuild that confidence. That’s unlikely to happen on Monday when they face Denver on the second leg of a back-to-back, but a stretch against Washington, New Orleans, Charlotte and Indiana is right around the corner.
13. Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia has hit a bit of a rough patch after starting the season well, but it’s enough to have them as a top six seed, for now at least. Potentially a concern for Philadelphia may be the offense over the past three games as they haven’t scored more than 108 in those three games. Now two of those were against the Pistons (third best defensive rating in the league) and the other was against the Celtics, who we already pointed out are playing some really solid defense. So maybe Philadelphia will be alright, but more points from the team would be great to see. Tyrese Maxey is doing his part while Joel Embiid continues to battle issues with his knees. Philly may be able to score quite a few points against the Clippers on Monday, but the rest of the week will require a bit more offensive power.
12. Toronto Raptors
Don’t look now but the Toronto Raptors are on fire. They’re 7-1 over their last eight games, posting a +12.0 net rating in that span, fifth best in the league in that span. The only loss came on the second leg of a back-to-back on the road against Philly. They came into the season as an under-the-radar contender in a wide open Eastern Conference and they’re starting to look the part. Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley are all averaging 16.0 PPG or more in that span, giving them a very well rounded offensive rotation. On top of that, they’re posting a 108.3 defensive rating in those eight games. Strong defense paired with strong offense is always a winning combination and Toronto’s currently got the formula locked down. Don’t sleep on the Raptors when they show up on your team’s schedule.
11. Milwaukee Bucks
Bucks games have become a bit predictable in November in terms of whether they’ll win or lose. Opponent hasn’t mattered, rather they’ve alternated wins and losses every single game since October 30th. That’s not the worst thing for most teams, but I’m sure that Bucks fans would prefer they find a way to string some wins together. The best way to do that would be improving their defense as they’ve posted a 119.3 defensive rating in November. That’s simply too high to continually succeed regardless of what the offensive rating is. Milwaukee will need to lean behind Giannis Antetokounmpo, as they traditionally do, in order to get that corrected.
10. Minnesota Timberwolves
On the surface things look to be clicking for the Timberwolves. They’ve won six of their last eight games, averaging 124.8 PPG and outscoring opponents by 10.9 PPG. Absolute domination. But a closer look may cause some to question those stats as their six wins have come over Charlotte, Brooklyn, Utah (twice) and Sacramento (twice). Their two losses have come against much better competition in Denver and New York. You can’t blame who’s on their schedule, and you can certainly have some doubt about how good they may actually be, but at the very least they’re blowing out who they should blow out. The schedule doesn’t look to have a truly tough stretch until January, so the Timberwolves will have a lot of time to ensure their blowouts now become the standard then.
9. Golden State Warriors
It’s always a good thing to have Steph Curry on your side. Golden State missed his presence over a three game stretch earlier this month, and while his return against OKC wasn’t stellar his performances in two games against San Antonio were. He put up 46 and 49 in back-to-back victories over the Spurs, giving us even more than the normal Hall of Fame Steph Curry performances we’re used to. That’s now three games he’s put up 40+, meaning opponents are going to have to look out for him even more than they already do. With Golden State looking to make a major push with an aging roster, this likely won’t be the last time this season we see another vintage Curry performance.
8. Los Angeles Lakers
We now live in a world where Bronny James is a starter on the Lakers while LeBron James is playing in the G-League. Who cares about the context? We don’t need it! Besides, this won’t be a reality for too much longer. LeBron may be rejoining the Lakers’ starting rotation soon as he slated to practice with them on Monday. The Lakers have two games against the Jazz this week and that’s it. With one on Tuesday and the other on Sunday, there’s a realistic chance he makes his season debut this week. Laker fans will be very excited to welcome him back, especially with all the speculation that this could potentially be his last NBA season.
7. San Antonio Spurs
De’Aaron Fox made his season debut for the Spurs a week ago but there was probably no game he was looking forward to more than against his former team in the Sacramento Kings. On Sunday he put up 28 points and 11 assists against his former squad. That’s the good news in San Antonio. The bad news is during that game Stephon Castle injured his hip and was forced to leave early. Additionally, Victor Wembanyama was forced to miss Sunday’s game with calf tightness. There’s no word yet on the severity of either injury, but both are key contributors on a strong Spurs team. San Antonio needs all of them healthy to be able to compete with the best, especially with how the top of the Western Conference is shaping up these days.
6. New York Knicks
One thing that held the Knicks back last season was an over-reliance on the starters. Another was a lack of depth. Well guess what Knicks fans? The offseason adjustments are going to be tested now. Jalen Brunson exited Wednesday’s game against Orlando with an ankle sprain that initially had him needing a walking boot. Now OG Anunoby is going to be out at least two weeks with a hamstring injury. Depth is going to be very important for the Knicks as they navigate these injuries. In the meantime, Karl-Anthony Towns is going to be asked to be New York’s leader on offense on top of being a master of the boards. If there’s a silver lining, at least it’s happening for Knicks fans in November and not April.
5. Detroit Pistons
Curious to know who’s the top seed in the East? Then look no further. Detroit has been phenomenal to start the season, posting an 11-2 record. It hasn’t come without its challenges either. This week both Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren were forced to miss time. And in the two games they missed, both against solid competition in Chicago and Philadelphia, they won both without them. That’s a great sign that everyone else on Detroit’s roster is bought in. Duren is listed as probable for Monday’s game against Indiana while Cunningham is questionable. As soon as both are back then Detroit will continue to work on building on their breakout season last year. And with how things are shaping up, they could very well end the season as a top seed in the East.
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
There might be a few questions out there in Cleveland right now given that the Cavs are looking like the dominant force they were last season, though they’re still looking strong. A literal last second loss against Miami and a 13-point loss to Toronto might have Cleveland fans down a bit. But in the end Cleveland will still be a top contender in the East. This week will present some tests for the Cavaliers early, but the second half will be much smoother sailing. There’s more to prove in Cleveland still, but their aim right now is towards more success in May/June and less about dominance in November.
3. Houston Rockets
Is this the quietest 9-3 start in NBA history? There may be some sarcasm in there, but it feels like we’re not talking much about how good Houston’s been to start the season. Maybe part of that is the expectation after trading for Kevin Durant, but remember that this is still a team that lost its veteran point guard in Fred VanVleet before the season started. And their losses now don’t look as bad as they may have to start the season (OKC, Detroit, San Antonio). Alperen Sengun is now averaging 22.4 PPG, 10.2 RPG and 7.4 APG, making him Houston’s MVP for now. With him and Kevin Durant running the offense, while the team still plays steady defense, they’ll be a force in the West as they’re aiming to be.
2. Denver Nuggets
The Clippers employed a dangerous strategy against the Nuggets on Wednesday and it’s safe to say they paid for it. Some teams approach the Nuggets with the idea of “Make Nikola Jokic a scorer” in order to take away his passing abilities. When that happened on Wednesday the three time MVP decided it’d be a perfect time to go out there and score 55 points to get the Nuggets a 14-point victory. The Serbian superstar is going to have to keep carrying the load as Denver was hit with injuries to starters Cameron Johnson (biceps strain) and Christian Braun (ankle sprain). Braun is expected to miss at least six weeks with Johnson could return sooner. Thankfully for Denver they improved their bench depth over the offseason. That’s going to be tested over the next month or two. But with Nikola Jokic on your side, and an improved bench, nearly anything is possible.
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
If you thought that maybe there’d be a championship hangover, well, it’s not happening. At least not for now. The Thunder are 13-1 with their only loss of the season coming on the second leg of a back-to-back. They’ve got a +15.4 net rating and Jalen Williams has yet to make his season debut as he’s still recovering from an offseason wrist surgery. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is continuing to do what he traditionally does, but the Thunder are getting great contributions from Ajay Mitchell. He’s averaging 16.7 PPG this season, third highest on OKC. That kind of depth has been a strength for OKC and continues to be a strength as they hold onto our top seed in our power rankings yet again.
