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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 December 8, 2025.
NBA Power Rankings: Every Team From Worst to First
As we edge closer to Christmas Day, the unofficial “start” of the NBA season, we’re finally starting to get the clarity we’ve been wanting in terms of the league’s hierarchy. The Pistons? They’re for real. The Celtics? Finally look like they’re for real. The Lakers? They’re going to be a threat in the West. The Clippers? They don’t want to talk right now. The Bucks? Not good enough to avoid the Giannis trade rumors any longer. It all adds up to a much clearer picture than we’ve had in weeks. So let’s go ahead and dive into this week’s rankings and see where everyone’s at.
30. Washington Wizards
The longer you watch the Wizards the uglier it gets, it seems. Washington has posted a -22.8 net rating in its last five games. You guessed it, that’s the worst in the league in that span. Even crazier, that includes a win over Milwaukee. They’ve been getting crushed in nearly every facet of the game with opponents shooting for a 60.6% eFG% in those five games. This year’s not about winning for Washington, so it’s not an unexpected development, but Wizards fans would appreciate if the on-court product at least looked a touch better for their sanity.
29. New Orleans Pelicans
Speaking of sanity, there may not be any in New Orleans now. It marks the second straight season for the Pelicans where injuries have absolutely derailed everything. Not that they were expecting big things this season, but they were hopeful to see how a new combination of Zion Williamson and Jordan Poole worked together. But Poole hasn’t played since 11/4. Williamson has played in just five of the last 18 games. Herbert Jones has been out since the 22nd. Never mind the fact that Dejounte Murray won’t be set to return until after New Year’s. New Orleans brings the party vibes when you’re there but it’s not a party any of their fans are currently enjoying.
28. Brooklyn Nets
Don’t let them get hot! The Nets have won three of their last four games, all by at least 10 points. Sure, the wins came over lesser competition but let’s not let that get in the way of a good time for Nets fans. Michael Porter Jr. has been having himself a time during this streak, putting up 30+ points in each win while shooting 51.5% from deep. Acquired in a trade with Denver, MPJ has been thriving in a larger role on offense. Brooklyn may not keep up this hot streak for long, but for the moment the basketball is fun at the Barclays Center.
27. Indiana Pacers
The Pacers have been performing a bit better as of late, winning three of their last five games. Sure, two of those wins came over the struggling Bulls and one over the Wizards, but it’s a refreshing break from what’s otherwise been an underwhelming season for Indiana. Pascal Siakam continues to shoulder the load for the Pacers, averaging 26.6 PPG and 8.0 RPG over the last five games. With so much of Indiana’s roster battling injuries, Siakam is the de facto leader in a season where Indiana’s main goal looks to have pivoted from “making the playoffs” to “setting themselves up for a lottery pick.”
26. Sacramento Kings
It’s been a very trying season for the Kings this year as they’ve been very, very underwhelming. If not for the Clippers’ downfalls then more eyes may be on Sacramento and their failures given the talent on their roster. Some of those struggles have come from Zach LaVine, who was finally able to exorcise some of this season’s demons by dropping 42 points on Miami after averaging just 14.9 PPG in the prior nine. Kings fans will have to savor that moment as long as they can as talks of a midseason tear down and rebuild continue to escalate.
25. Utah Jazz
If only Utah could figure out some things on defense. They’ve been posting a league-average over their last five games (prior to their game against the Thunder on Sunday), but the defensive rating of 122.1 ranks sixth worst in that span. Not that it’s all that different from their season long defensive rating (120.4) but it’d be encouraging to see improvement on that side of the ball. At the very least, they’re looking at the continued development of third-year guard Keyonte George, who’s shown major improvement in PPG (16.8 PPG to 22.9 PPG) and assists (5.6 APG to 6.9 APG). That’s going to go a long way for him and Utah once the Jazz are able to complete their rebuild and aim for a return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2021-2022 season.
24. Charlotte Hornets
At times it feels like maybe the Hornets have something here by staying competitive and beating a team atop the rankings of the Eastern Conference multiple times. But maybe they just have a read on the Raptors because they’ll also turn in performances against bottom-feeders, like the Nets, where they get wrecked by 13. Maybe there just needs to be roster consistency in Charlotte as they’ve tried balancing out the returns of LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller to their lineup. Those two have only shared the floor for 126 of 1,114 possible minutes this season. Still, the Hornets have just a -8.74 net rating with both of those two on the floor. There’s work to be d0ne in Charlotte if they want to try and make the play-in this season, which may prove to be a lofty goal.
23. Los Angeles Clippers
James Harden officially moved into 10th on the all-time scoring list on Saturday as part of a 34-point performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It’s a great personal accomplishment for the 36-year-old guard that the NBA has recognized widely. However, the Clippers are still just 6-18 and have lost 10 of their last 12 games. Kawhi Leonard’s return to the starting lineup hasn’t garnered any results with LA posting just a 1-7 record in those games despite him averaging 26.1 PPG in that span. Something needs to turn around so they can at least make the play-in. With a 3.5 game deficit as of Sunday afternoon, that’s still possible. But outside of that this season looks like a major failure.
22. Memphis Grizzlies
After a slow start out of the gates, the Grizzlies have started to turn things around and currently find themselves in the play-in. Some of that can be thanks to all the teams below them in the West that have slacked, but Memphis is there nonetheless. Not to be overlooked in the Rookie of the Year race, Cedric Coward has been a solid presence for the Grizzlies in 10 games as a starter (prior to Sunday night). He’s a main presence on the boards for Memphis as a starter, averaging 6.5 RPG in the starting lineup. Ja Morant hasn’t played since November 15th but is now day-to-day. However, trade rumors revolving around him may make the next few months for the Grizzlies a bit contentious.
21. Dallas Mavericks
Have they got this thing turned around now? It’s starting to look like maybe they do after winning four of their last five games. Some of those came over pretty solid competition in Houston, Miami and Denver. The return of Anthony Davis has certainly helped on the offensive side, though rookie Cooper Flagg is leading the way with 23.2 PPG over that five game streak. There’s still a ways to go before Dallas fans can start to feel like they’re truly on the right track, but this recent stretch is certainly a step in the right direction.
20. Chicago Bulls
The early season illusion of the Bulls being a competitive team is gone. Since their 5-0 start to the season, they’ve gone 4-14 (includes Sunday’s loss to Golden State) and are clearly reeling. They have refused multiple times to properly address their roster issues and instead bet on their current roster being their identity. But that identity is quickly turning into one that’s less about competitive basketball and one that is more centered the idea of whether they should fight for the play-in or tank for a lottery pick. If this streak continues then expect Nikola Vucevic’s name to pop up in trade rumors at the trade deadline as it has the past few seasons. He becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season and would be a very intriguing rental for those needing big man help.
19. Portland Trail Blazers
Another team whose hot start to the season is long gone, the Blazers have been reeling. Yet, they still hold the 10-seed in the West and currently would make the play-in tournament. That should be the goal for Portland this season, but fans would appreciate a little less losing. A kick start to the offense would help as they’re shooting for just a 51% eFG% over their last five games. One player that isn’t struggling offensively is Deni Avdija, who’s been the Blazers’ best player. He’s averaging 26.2 PPG and has two triple-doubles on the season with a few close efforts recently. He’s going to need more help if the Blazers want to stay in the play-in bracket.
18. Milwaukee Bucks
Sure seems like the story going forward for Milwaukee is going to be Giannis trade rumors until the deadline. And that’s going to come with him being off the floor as he’ll be out approximately four weeks dealing with a calf strain. How the Bucks’ roster holds up over the next four weeks is going to be crucial for those developments. The further they fall, the more likely it is that Milwaukee departs with the Greek Freak. With just two wins in their last 12 games, it doesn’t look likely that they’ll turn things around without Antetokounmpo.
17. Phoenix Suns
Maybe in a bit of a mini slide, Phoenix has dropped to 13-10 after losing four of their last six. That’s still a solid record for them, though, as the preseason views of this team weren’t exactly favorable. They’ve surprised in many ways, but Dillon Brooks being the second highest scorer on this team, while scoring 20+ PPG, may be one of the biggest surprises. Now they get to rest up for an NBA Cup matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. There’s a chance that Devin Booker can play on Wednesday, which would greatly help them. But if not, expect Brooks to be the main guy for Phoenix as they try to pull off a major upset.
16. Miami Heat
Miami is also getting ready for NBA Cup action this week as they’ll visit in-state rival Orlando on Tuesday. However, they’re not exactly dominating like they had been recently. They’ve now lost four of their last five games, not exactly the way you want to enter NBA Cup action. They may not have Tyler Herro ready for Tuesday’s game as he’s dealing with a toe injury. That could hamper their chances with Orlando, given how well the Magic have been playing, but the Heat have been playing a lot without Herro this season already. If they can find their early season form then they may be able to end Orlando’s NBA Cup experience.
15. Golden State Warriors
It feels like the Warriors are sliding without Steph Curry but they’ve actually been able to hold their own pretty well. After whooping up on the Bulls Sunday night they’re now 3-2 without Curry. Of their two losses you can excuse the one to the Thunder because, well, they’re the Thunder, and the loss to Philly was by just one point. With how important the 37-year-old is to the Warriors’ success, you’ll take that all day if you’re a Golden State fan. There’s no official return date for Curry quite yet, but the four day break in the schedule (or a “mini bye week” as they’d say in the NFL) should be very helpful for everyone on the Warriors’ roster.
14. Atlanta Hawks
In Friday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets we saw a 21/14/18 triple-double that wasn’t recorded by Nikola Jokic. Instead, that triple-double was posted up by Jalen Johnson. The very next night he followed it up with a 30/12/12 triple-double. Johnson has been spectacular for the Hawks in his young career when healthy and he’s showing up when they need him to so far this season. The Hawks have dealt with sporadic injuries this year, including a knee injury to Trae Young that’s had him sidelined since Halloween. He’s expected to miss about another week or so, but as long as Johnson keeps doing what he’s been doing then Atlanta is going to be fine.
13. Philadelphia 76ers
Don’t say this too loudly around Philly fans (you may just jinx it) but Joel Embiid and Paul George are finally healthy (enough) and are making starts in the Sixers’ lineup. Embiid’s been on an every-other-game type of schedule while George is at least stringing two-to-three games together before getting rested. Their help is going to be very much welcomed by Tyrese Maxey, who’s been shouldering the load in Philly for the past two seasons. Through the roster juggling they’ve won four of their last five games (prior to Sunday’s game vs the Lakers) and are holding up well in the East. When Embiid and George are able to tap fully into their skills and become the players we know they can be then Philadelphia will be a scary team to face in the East.
12. Toronto Raptors
So maybe Toronto was overachieving a bit with their recent hot streak. They’re a very good team, but they’re now hitting a pretty big bump in the road. They’ve lost five of their last six games and now have to face the Knicks in NBA Cup action on Tuesday. Given the recent form of each franchise, that’s going to be a tall task. They also lost to the Knicks by 22 last week, though that was on the second leg of a back-to-back. Revenge will certainly be on their mind as they look to face the winner of Orlando and Miami. Expect Brandon Ingram to lead the way scoring while Scottie Barnes fills the “do it all” role for the Raptors.
11. San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio will be in the midst of the NBA Cup action in the West and gets a matchup against the Lakers. Maybe a bit unfortunate timing given that the Lakers will be fully healthy and the Spurs will likely be without Victor Wembanyama. But they’ve been holding up just fine without him as De’Aaron Fox and Devin Vassell have been driving the Spurs’ offense in Wemby’s absence. They’ll need to rely heavily on them in order to keep up with what Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have been doing. They’ve put up a 118.8 offensive rating without Wembanyama and they’re going to need to do even better than that to beat the Lakers on Wednesday night.
10. Minnesota Timberwolves
Winners of five straight, the Timberwolves are looking like they’re ready to be a threat in the West yet again. During their five game winning streak Anthony Edwards has shot 50% from three while averaging 28.2 PPG. Julius Randle is holding his own as well, putting up 21.2 PPG alongside 6.4 RPG and 6.6 APG in that span. While Minnesota won’t be playing for anything in the NBA Cup this week, they’re fine focusing on trying to break the Western Conference Finals ceiling they’ve reached in the past couple seasons.
9. Boston Celtics
I think I’m finally ready to admit that yes, I think the Celtics are for real. This wasn’t a hot take for any of the past 10-20 seasons, but with the injuries this year and the former starters departing it caused real questions this season. Jaylen Brown is, unsurprisingly, leading Boston’s offense. His 29.0 PPG average would surpass his career high of 26.6 PPG he posted in the 2022-2023 season. Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Brown are all averaging at least 4.9 APG, meaning the Celtics are playing team ball and moving it a ton. And though they’re not at the championship level they have been the past few seasons, Boston is going to be a threat in the East this season.
8. Cleveland Cavaliers
One of the biggest mysteries remaining in my eyes is just who exactly the Cavaliers are this season. They expended a lot of energy last season being a dominant regular season threat. This season they’re not quite as dominant. They’re very good, but they don’t seem to have the same killer mentality. Additionally, they’ve lost five of their last seven games. They didn’t have a single stretch last season where they lost five of seven games. So what gives this season? The 115.9 offensive rating is top ten but not overwhelming and maybe that’s the key. Maybe they’re just conserving energy for later in the season. It’s a bit tough to tell. We know just who they can be, but a stretch of real dominant basketball would be very reassuring.
7. Orlando Magic
Magic fans were ecstatic to see Paolo Banchero return to the lineup on Friday, even if it was just in a limited capacity. However that jubilation may be short lived as Franz Wagner went down with a scary looking leg injury on Sunday afternoon in New York. Orlando has continuously battled injuries over the past couple seasons and excelled in the face of adversity last year. They now will have to face more adversity with however much time Wagner is expected to miss. On top of that, they’ll face Miami in NBA Cup action this week. With an important game on deck, newly acquired Desmond Bane is going to need to take an elevated role to lead the Magic to a win on Tuesday.
6. Los Angeles Lakers
The gang’s all here. LeBron James is back alongside Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Since James’ return the Lakers are 7-2. The strength of schedule may be questioned during that run, sure, but they’re at least doing what they need to in games they certainly should win. Now they’ll get a matchup against the Suns on Wednesday in NBA Cup action. They know what it’s like to win it and we’ll see how motivated they are to win it for a second time. If they make it past Phoenix then they’ll very likely face the Thunder. With their roster clicking and healthy, a matchup against OKC in a playoff-esque environment would be a really good measuring stick for LA.
5. Detroit Pistons
The Pistons losing back-to-back games for the first time all season has easily been forgotten. Detroit’s won four of their past five games since then and it appears all is good once again. Cade Cunningham is continuing to do Cade Cunningham things, averaging 23.2 PPG and 8.8 APG in that five game span. It’s gotten them the top seed in the East, perfectly setting them up to make the playoffs for the second year in a row for the first time since the 2008-2009 season.
4. New York Knicks
Though they’re the second seed in the East, the Knicks have been absolutely rolling. They’re posting a +10.4 net rating over the last 10 games. That ranks third best in the league in that span. That equates to a +8.2 net rating on the season, fourth best. They’ve won seven of their last eight and are in a great spot heading into NBA Cup action. They’ll head to Toronto on Tuesday in hopes of facing the winner of Miami and Orlando. If they continue playing how they’ve been playing, matched with Toronto’s recent slide, then Tuesday night should be another dominating Knicks victory. In fact, they are the betting favorites to come out of the East. Getting past the likely Western Conference champion in Oklahoma City, though? That’s going to be a tough task that NBA fans will be looking forward to.
3. Houston Rockets
Though Houston’s generally been dominating, they’ve been on the wrong side of some curious losses lately. Losses to the Jazz and Mavericks when you’re the caliber of team that Houston is just doesn’t quite fly. But, outside of those, they’re still dominating. Maybe we’ll chalk this up to simply overlooking opponents. That’s going to have to change going forward. In the meantime, they’re jumbled with the Lakers and Nuggets as the three jostle for the two-seed in the West. With how strong LA looks right now, and Denver’s talent, the battle for the two-seed will continue throughout the whole season.
2. Denver Nuggets
Denver, just like Houston, has some curious losses. Even more curiously, all of them are at home. In the past month they’ve lost to the Bulls, Kings and Mavericks at Ball Arena. Just like we mentioned with the Rockets, you can’t lose to these teams without it being a mental oversight. But Denver knows better and this has been an issue with them for some years now. They’ll need to get things corrected. A big week is ahead of them starting on the 15th when they host the Houston Rockets at home on Monday the 15th and then again on Saturday the 20th. They already have a win against Houston and two more would go a long way in proving that they can be one of the best in the West as long as Nikola Jokic is healthy.
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
There are a lot of teams chasing the Thunder, and many of them are very good, but the gap between them and everyone else is still pretty large. To make their dominating start even better, Jalen Williams has finally returned from a wrist injury and is averaging 16.0 PPG in his five games since his return. With just one loss on the season the pundits will soon be asking if they’re going to surpass the 2015-2016 Golden State Warriors for the best regular season record in NBA history. With how they’re playing now it’s hard to say they won’t get at least 74 wins. And until anyone shows us otherwise, the Thunder continue to be our number one ranked team and it’s likely they’ll be here for the foreseeable future.
