The conversation surrounding the NBA often focuses so much on championships (there's even a name for it -- "Ringz Culture"), that we forget that the regular season matters. Warriors get a No. 6 seed? That's actually a good thing. The Sixers get a No. 3 seed? Just gives them an easier first-round opponent.
But for so many reasons, the regular season bears importance. Not only does it provide certain teams with much-needed home-court advantage, but it also gives us the entertainment we all crave -- both on and off the floor. Try telling the Utah Jazz or Orlando Magic fans that the regular season doesn't matter. Meaningful steps are taken every year that help lead teams to eventual glory.
With that said, this is the final regular-season edition of the Power Rankings, taking into account every team's entire catalog of work this year. On top are three beasts from the East: The Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers. Really, it's dealer's choice with these three, but ultimately the Bucks came out on top given their record and their uncanny ability to win close games. The West's best, the Denver Nuggets, took a bit of a slip due to a so-so finish to the season, but they're right up there with the other juggernauts.
Sneaking into the top 10 after a roller coaster season are the Golden State Warriors, who got themselves into the playoffs despite a truly horrific road record. Right behind them are the Los Angeles Lakers, who started off the season terribly, but are peaking at the right time heading into the postseason behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
It was truly a fun and unpredictable year, which is really all you can ask for as a sports fan. Please enjoy the final regular-season NBA Power Rankings.
Biggest Movers
5
Heat
4
Knicks
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | With Khris Middleton out for more than half the season, all the Bucks did was finish with the best record in the NBA. That's in large part to the wonders of Giannis Antetokounmpo, but it wouldn't happen without excellent seasons from both Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez. Milwaukee had the league's fifth-best net rating, but racked up wins thanks to a sterling 27-8 record in clutch games. | 1 | 58-24 |
| 2 |  | Second in offense. Second in defense. Despite the Celtics failing to finish with the NBA's best record, the profile of a champion is certainly there. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the way, but depth and versatility are Boston's true strengths. | 1 | 57-25 |
| 3 |  | Joel Embiid and the 76ers were everything we thought they could be after deft offseason moves and the return of a healthy James Harden. Embiid may have solidified his MVP case after multiple superhuman performances, and Philly finishes the season as a top-five offense and top-10 defense. | 1 | 54-28 |
| 4 |  | A stumble toward the end of the season can't sour a brilliant year from the Nuggets, who clung to the No. 1 seed in the West. Nikola Jokic was MVP-level once again, and a resurgent year from Jamal Murray plus a breakout campaign from Aaron Gordon helped bolster a well-balanced offensive attack. However, a mediocre defense kept them from reaching the levels of the East's elite. | 1 | 53-29 |
| 5 |  | The Cavs didn't get the memo about being a couple years away from contention, as they put together an incredible season behind a career year from Donovan Mitchell and the league's stingiest defense. Landing in the top-10 in offense is a credit to Mitchell, Darius Garland and added aggressiveness from Evan Mobley. Overall, the Cavs finished with the second-best net rating in the NBA. | 3 | 51-31 |
| 6 |  | The Suns really had two seasons -- one before Kevin Durant and one after -- but overall they landed in the top half of the Western Conference playoff standings. We can't ignore the fact that they didn't lose a single game with Durant, but these rankings are based on the whole season, where they landed ninth in net rating. | -- | 45-37 |
| 7 |  | A turbulent season for the Grizzlies included some high highs and even lower lows, but they come out of the wash as the No. 2 seed in the West for the second straight season. Off-court issues aside, Ja Morant was absolutely brilliant, with Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. each making the proverbial leap. Even with injuries, the constant wave of serviceable replacements just never seems to end for the Grizzlies -- a testament to Taylor Jenkins, his development staff and the front office. | -- | 51-31 |
| 8 |  | Light. The. Beam. Nobody saw this coming, and boy was it fun. Sacramento finished as the West's No. 3 seed with the best offensive rating in the history of the NBA. Domantas Sabonis was the offensive hub, De'Aaron Fox improved his scoring output and efficiency, and the front office did a perfect job placing shooters around them. The defense was not good, but that can't rain on the Kings' parade after making the playoffs for the first time in 16 years. | 1 | 48-34 |
| 9 |  | A breakout campaign from Jalen Brunson and a return to form for Julius Randle highlighted an exciting season for the Knicks. While RJ Barrett failed to reach another level, the improvement of Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes and Obi Toppin helped New York surge from a bottom-10 offense last season to the top five this season. | 4 | 47-35 |
| 10 |  | Well it certainly wasn't the season the defending champs were expecting, but they can fall back on a few things. Steph Curry continues to be otherworldly great, Klay Thompson is back to his old self, Draymond Green stayed healthy, and their starting unit was the best in the league when it was actually on the court. You can't hide the abysmal road record or the defensive slippage, but the Warriors enter the postseason as dangerous as ever. | 1 | 44-38 |
| 11 |  | What looked like a lost season turned into a roller coaster ride that landed the Lakers in the postseason. Even through injuries to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Darvin Ham kept his team playing hard. The midseason trades made a huge impact, as a suddenly sensical roster construction led to one of the best records in the league after the deadline. | 1 | 43-39 |
| 12 |  | It wasn't the season that the star power and depth predicted, as the Clippers once again had availability issues that hampered their consistency. As usual, they were excellent with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on the floor, but they simply were never able to put things together on either end. That being said, they still earned the No. 5 seed, so that shows how talented the roster is. | 1 | 44-38 |
| 13 |  | Another year, another Heat team that persevered through injuries to salvage a season. This time they land in the play-in, but for them to get six games over .500 seems like a miracle, particularly with their bottom-five offense. Lineups with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro were consistently dominant. | 5 | 44-38 |
| 14 |  | Give the Pelicans credit for battling through injuries to make the postseason. Brandon Ingram took his game to another level, while role players like Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones kept the ship afloat. You still wonder what could have been after a hot start with Zion Williamson in the lineup, but that will have to wait for another day. | 2 | 42-40 |
| 15 |  | The Nets essentially had two completely different teams this season thanks to the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving trades, with the first team obviously more successful than the other. Mikal Bridges looks like a superstar in the making, but Brooklyn still went just 12-15 after the trade deadline. | 1 | 45-37 |
| 16 |  | Considering how bleak things were looking early in the season, the Raptors did well to get to .500 and earn a play-in berth. Pascal Siakam registered career-highs in points and assists, and the addition of Jakob Poeltl proved vital, as Toronto went 15-11 after the trade deadline with the league's sixth-best defense over that stretch. | -- | 41-41 |
| 17 |  | A blow-up between Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson, coupled with a Jaden McDaniels broken hand from punching a wall on the last day of the season really epitomizes a season of frustration for the Wolves. Karl-Anthony Towns' injury allowed Anthony Edwards to flourish, but didn't answer any of the questions of how Towns and Gobert would play together. The result is a dangerous team that never quite put it together. | 2 | 42-40 |
| 18 |  | The Hawks were about as mediocre as you can get, landing at .500 with essentially a dead-even net rating. They finished seventh in offense and 22nd in defense, as the addition of Dejounte Murray didn't have the desired effect. The hiring of Quin Snyder didn't provide the jolt they were looking for either, as Trae Young endured his worst shooting season since his rookie year. | 3 | 41-41 |
| 19 |  | What a season for OKC, who went from bottom-dweller to a postseason berth in a single season. The improvement is largely due to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, now a bona fide superstar and 30-point per game scorer. The Thunder are way ahead of schedule, and there's plenty to be excited about for next season and beyond. | 2 | 40-42 |
| 20 |  | If you would have said at the beginning of the season that the Bulls would finish with the league's fifth-best offense, you'd think they'd be at the top of the Eastern Conference standings. Instead they finished below .500 thanks to a paltry 24th-ranked offense -- truly puzzling given that Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic all played 74 games or more. It makes more sense when you realize those three and Patrick Williams (10.2) are the only players on the team to average double-digit scoring. | 3 | 40-42 |
| 21 |  | The Jazz were a legitimate postseason contender before they decided that wasn't the direction they wanted to head, with Lauri Markkanen reaching potential All-NBA status with his play. They landed in the top 10 in offensive rating, a testament to first-year head coach Will Hardy. There's a lot to build on in Utah, with plenty of draft capital coming their way. | 1 | 37-45 |
| 22 |  | Welp. The desperation trade deadline acquisition of Kyrie Irving didn't pan out, as the Mavs went 5-11 with both he and Luka Doncic on the floor and elected to try to keep their lottery pick rather than fight for a play-in spot. The defense was bad all year, but particularly after the trade, and the offense just couldn't keep up despite Doncic's brilliance. | 2 | 38-44 |
| 23 |  | Don't let the record fool you -- the Pacers showed promise this season behind the rise of floor general Tyrese Haliburton and a career year from big man Myles Turner. Rookie Bennedict Mathurin also had his moments, making for an exciting young core heading forward in Indiana. | 2 | 35-47 |
| 24 |  | Nothing but excitement coming from Orlando, where the Magic exceeded expectations with Rookie of the Year favorite Paolo Banchero and emerging young talent in Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr. and Markelle Fultz. Orlando went from a 103.9 offensive rating last season to 111.3 this season. | 4 | 34-48 |
| 25 |  | Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma all averaged over 20 points per game, but the Wizards still finished in the bottom 10 in both offense and defense -- a surefire path to the lottery. On the plus side, Porzingis played more than 60 games for the first time since 2017, and was one of the league's best rim protectors while hitting 39% of his 3-pointers. | 2 | 35-47 |
| 26 |  | Whatever the Blazers attempted to do last offseason did not work, as they landed at the bottom of the West despite perhaps the best season of Damian Lillard's career. They finish with the league's third-worst defense, with no help in sight. One positive note: Rookie Shaedon Sharpe looked excellent as the team's main option once they decided to tank toward the end of the season. | -- | 33-49 |
| 27 |  | Injuries prevented the Hornets from being able to compete this season, which isn't the worst thing in the world moving forward since they'll earn a high draft pick. LaMelo Ball missed more than half the season, but he put up career-high averages in points and assists, while shooting nearly 11 3-pointers per game. | 1 | 27-55 |
| 28 |  | Things were a mess again for the Rockets, who landed in the bottom three in both offense and defense. They'll try again next season with a new head coach, who can hopefully maximize the young talent on the roster. | 1 | 22-60 |
| 29 |  | The Spurs had one mission this season, and they accomplished it by earning the highest odds at a shot at Victor Wembanyama. Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell look like solid pieces moving forward, but outside of that we didn't learn a whole lot about San Antonio's future this year. | 2 | 22-60 |
| 30 |  | Once Cade Cunningham was ruled out for the season, any hopes of competitiveness went out the window for the Pistons, who will have a new head coach next year with Dwane Casey moving to a Detroit front office crossing its fingers for the No. 1 pick. The team's bevy of young big men is intriguing, while Killian Hayes and Jaden Ivey got all the run they could handle. | -- | 17-65 |
