It's an NBA Power Rankings Tuesday!
Because it's also Opening Night for the 2025-26 season
We are SO back!
The NBA's 80th campaign begins tonight with Rockets at Thunder and Warriors at Lakers. To get you as ready as possible for the 1,230 regular-season games ahead, The Committee (of One) has reconvened for the first time since April to deliver one of our trademark 1-to-30 ladders that serve as a pulse take for where the league as a whole stands entering Opening Night.
My overall mission, adhering to a monthly(-ish) rankings cadence rather than weekly like in my ESPN days since moving to this platform, remains unchanged: Establish a 1-to-30 order (at least somewhat) independent of the standings that measures big-picture potential and expectations alongside short-term results. Injuries and other off-court developments, positive and negative, are factored in as well … with some sprinkles of Committee whim mixed in.
You are asked, as always, to register your questions, quibbles or any other pertinent thoughts in the comments section below so we can respond and expound upon our thinking. And remember: Rankings posts are incredibly long. Just click on the main headline to get the web or app version instantly if it proves too unwieldy to consume as an email.
1️⃣ Oklahoma City Thunder
Can the Thunder become the NBA's first repeat champions since Golden State in 2017 and 2018? Will they make a run at winning 70 games? Do they come anywhere close, in the end, to the 16-game cushion they held over the rest of the West last season? The tenor of the questions should tell you what sort of favorite OKC is to start the season ... even with Jalen Williams' precise return from thumb surgery still unknown. You have to consider the possibility that, after winning one, they could be even more of a two-way monster this term.
Last ranking (April 15): 1
2️⃣ Denver Nuggets
One of The Committee's favorite stats: David Adelman has coached three regular-season games yet has seven playoff wins on his resume already. Now he'll proceed to his first full season as Nuggets coach in charge of the team widely regarded as the foremost threat to the reigning champs from OKC. That's the main reason why the Nuggets landed so high on the season's maiden ladder. Can't say we're as sold here on the cumulative impact of the Bruce Brown/Tim Hardaway Jr./Jonas Valanciunas additions in terms of bolstering an iffy bench as some of our colleagues ... but it also remains true that pretty much no one raises a team's ceiling like Nikola Jokić. Let's see how much the newcomers — Cam Johnson foremost among them — can lift Jokić when he needs it.
Last ranking (April 15): 9
3️⃣ New York Knicks
The Cavaliers' postseason frailties have some pundits (and zillions of hopeful Knicks fans who've waited so long for an opportunity like this) believing that Madison Square Garden might actually be home to this season's Eastern Conference champs. Possible? Yes. Probable? That depends on how much you believe in Mike Brown's ability to get more out of Jalen Brunson and Co. than Tom Thibodeau did. The Knicks start out one rung higher than Cleveland with us because of marginally better health, but it couldn't have been especially reassuring on the coaching front to hear Karl-Anthony Towns say Monday when asked to expound on his role in the faster-paced offense Brown covets: "Honestly I don’t know."
Last ranking (April 15): 10
4️⃣ Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers started last season with a 15-0 burst out of the gate that ultimately meant nothing (Kenny Atkinson's Coach of the Year trophy aside) when they managed to win exactly one game in a second-round series with Indiana. They start this season in a far more unenviable position and it has little to do with the injuries that have sidelined Darius Garland (toe) and Max Strus (foot). Cleveland's problem is that it has reached the point where there is essentially nothing that the Cavs can do in the regular season that is likely to impress us. They've got to make a real playoff run to validate the only payroll on the NBA map that has strayed into the luxury tax second apron.
Last ranking (April 15): 2
5️⃣ Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves played on Opening Night and Christmas Day last season because of The Ant Edwards Effect. They're on the Christmas slate again this season (at Denver in the fifth of five games) but they generally seem to be generating little preseason buzz this time around despite making back-to-back trips to the Western Conference finals. This is a franchise, remember, that had won exactly two playoff series in its existence before these past two seasons under Chris Finch. Yet it's more than fair to wonder if Edwards will have enough guard help now that Nickeil Alexander-Walker has bolted for Atlanta and, due to financial constraints, really wasn’t replaced.
Last ranking (April 15): 7
6️⃣ Houston Rockets
The Committee's view of the Rockets would have been undeniably sunnier (as in comfortably top five) if Fred VanVleet were healthy. The truth is that they would have been light in the backcourt even if FVV hadn't been lost to a season-ending knee tear, but we like the Kevin Durant addition that much that this gargantuan team would have been our top challenger to the Thunder in the West at full strength. Now? There will likely be problems-in-Houston quips aplenty unless Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard are ready to take on even larger roles than anticipated.
Last ranking (April 15): 4
7️⃣ Orlando Magic
The Magic suddenly have three players earning between $35 million (Jalen Suggs) and $39 million (Franz Wagner) … with a max extension for Paolo Banchero kicking in next season. The Committee's first question, then, about a team not known for such spending: How many players in that foursome, which also features newly acquired Desmond Bane, will be All-Stars? If the answer is two or more, that will presumably mean that Orlando is living up to its potential (and this ranking) by competing for a top-three seed in the East. Offense generally and specifically perimeter shooting (most notably Wagner's) are major question marks for a team that Jamahl Mosley always has at the top end of the league's defensive charts.
Last ranking (April 15): 15
8️⃣ Golden State Warriors
While it's the Clippers who have a whopping nine players on their roster who are 10-year vets or older, it's the Warriors who are absorbing all the Olden State jabs after adding 39-year-old Al Horford to a starting lineup headlined by Stephen Curry (37), Jimmy Butler (36) and Draymond Green (35). While there are likewise justifiable worries about the Warriors' general lack of size, it's going to be fascinating to see what they can do with a full season of Butler (and now Horford) added to Steve Kerr's mix. They were 27-8 last season when both Curry and Butler were on the floor when you add Play-In and playoff games to the regular season. Team officials believe that is an authentic glimpse of what they're capable of when whole.
Last ranking (April 15): 11
9️⃣ LA Clippers
Remember when we mentioned in the Warriors' section that the Clippers have nine players who've been in the league anywhere from 10 seasons (Ivica Zubac, Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr.) to 21 (Chris Paul)? The good news: Those nine guys averaged 71 games played last season ... with the starriest among them — Kawhi Leonard — starting this season healthy for a change. Leonard, mind you, is also starting this season at the center of a cloud that has engulfed the whole franchise: The NBA is investigating the Clippers amid Kawhi-centric allegations of salary-cap circumvention. What sort of distraction will that prove to be? What sort of disruptive force can these Clippers be in the West after an otherwise strong summer of roster-building? Both are valid questions.
Last ranking (April 15): 5
🔟 Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks, on paper, look stronger than they ever have in the Trae Young Era after making moves to import Kristaps Porzingis, Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard. They're also getting back Jalen Johnson after the talented swingman was limited to 35 games last season due to a serious shoulder injury. For all the uncertainty that surrounds Young's future as he nears the end of his current contract, Atlanta has a real opportunity to soar into the East's top four thanks to the injuries that have ravaged the likes of Boston and Indiana.
Last ranking (April 15): 16
1️⃣1️⃣ Los Angeles Lakers
LeBron James has never started a season as his team's second-best or second-most-important player ... until now. He's also never missed an Opening Night in 22 previous tries ... until now. The Committee thus isn't so sure that King James can play the 50 games he needs to pass Robert Parish for the NBA's games-played record. What we are sure about: Luka Dončić has never started a season in a better all-around place personally and, as we see it, has dragged lesser rosters to 50 wins. He'll be in the MVP mix if the Lakers can reach that territory in his first full season in Tinseltown.
Last ranking (April 15): 6
1️⃣2️⃣ Detroit Pistons
The Cade Cunningham buzz is everywhere. Scouts long trusted by The Committee are raving about him. Last week's Strat-O-Matic computer simulation of the 2025-26 season had Cunningham as the third-place finisher in MVP balloting. The 24-year-old had a monster preseason, too. The worry in Motown is the state of Cunningham's supporting cast. Veterans Malik Beasley, Dennis Schroder and Tim Hardaway Jr. have departed. Jaden Ivey has a fresh knee injury. Worst of all: There doesn't appear to be another All-Star-caliber player on the roster. Merely duplicating last season's remarkable leap to 46 wins — let alone taking the next step — could well prove tougher than expected even if Cunningham keep flourishing.
Last ranking (April 15): 13
1️⃣3️⃣ Milwaukee Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo remains the best player in the Eastern Conference. And the early returns suggest that Myles Turner, nearly a decade younger than Brook Lopez, is going to be a productive sidekick to Giannis. For those reasons, The Committee will continue to rate the Bucks higher than most of our Power Rankings rivals and give them a puncher's chance to make some noise in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Yet one suspects, barring a big bounce-back season from Kyle Kuzma or some other surprise from elsewhere on this roster, noise about Giannis' future is bound to drown out whatever is happening on the floor.
Last ranking (April 15): 12
1️⃣4️⃣ Dallas Mavericks
Two Avery Johnson teams finished fifth in the league in defensive rating. Two Rick Carlisle teams — including the title-winners in 2010-11 — finished eighth in defensive rating. These Mavericks, with Rookie of the Year favorite Cooper Flagg added to the likes of Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II, believe they can be the league's top-rated defensive team ... or at worst top-three on D. Which would make them the best defensive team in franchise history. All that said ... Dallas might have to be that good on that end to offset its likely offensive issues until Kyrie Irving can come back from his knee tear in March. Playmaking, shot creation, shooting from deep ... all are areas of concern even after that miraculous lottery night.
Last ranking (Feb. 20): 18
1️⃣5️⃣ San Antonio Spurs
It's Year 3 of the Victor Wembanyama Era. It's also the first season in San Antonio that begins without Gregg Popovich on the bench since (whoa) 1996-97. That was just The Committee's third full season on the NBA beat. We've never seen anything quite like the (purportedly now 7-foot-7) Wemby, true, but we also never thought we'd see the day that the Spurs' six straight seasons out of the playoffs would extend longer than any other team's active drought outside of Charlotte's nine seasons and counting. A scary blood clot diagnosis limited Wembanyama to 46 games last season. The Spurs, so long as their French phenom can stay healthy and if he clicks with De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and/or rookie Dylan Harper, are due for a surge up the ladder. Even in the stacked West.
Last ranking (April 15): 22
1️⃣6️⃣ Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies believe Ja Morant (ankle) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (toe) will be able to play in Wednesday night's season opener against visiting New Orleans despite their recent injury issues. Of course, Memphis being cursed Memphis, Morant and Jackson can't really celebrate when they will be starting the new campaign without any assistance from Scotty Pippen Jr., Ty Jerome, Brandon Clarke or Zach Edey. All of those projected key contributors are already unavailable for the Grizz, which is obviously not a recommended launch strategy in the unforgiving West. Staggering stat via my old friend Professor (John) Hollinger: Morant hasn’t played six consecutive regular season games since (gulp) March 2023.
Last ranking (April 15): 14
1️⃣7️⃣ Indiana Pacers
It was less than six months ago that Myles Turner was at an interview podium, announcing that the "power of friendship" had helped fuel Indiana’s Cinderella (and crazy-comebacks-filled) run to the NBA Finals. Now? Turner is a Milwaukee Buck, Tyrese Haliburton is out until next season after sustaining a crushing Achilles tear early in Game 7 of the Finals and they can't even turn to T.J. McConnell to rescue them due to a recent hamstring injury. There's still enough here, led by Pascal Siakam and Rick Carlisle’s coaching, for the Pacers to be pesky, but Indy .500 appears to be the realistic ceiling until Haliburton can return next season.
Last ranking (April 15): 8
1️⃣8️⃣ Boston Celtics
The forthcoming season has been frequently described as a potential gap year in Boston in the wake of Jayson Tatum's own devastating Achilles tear in the playoffs ... but what if Tatum insists on coming back late in the season? It's difficult to imagine the Celtics heeding external calls to make this a tank year instead — not with the ever-intense Joe Mazzulla in charge — so let’s see where they are in March as they attempt to lean heavily on Jaylen Brown and Derrick White and try to compensate for everything they've lost (Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Luke Kornet) by playing at a faster pace. Quite an opportunity for one of The Committee's faves (Neemias Queta) to seize the opportunity for frontcourt minutes.
Last ranking (April 15): 3
1️⃣9️⃣ Toronto Raptors
The opportunity is there for the Raptors, in the injury-ravaged East, to make it back to the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. Yet you could likewise argue that they're under some real pressure to do so given how much money has been invested in a group of players (Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl) that we've barely seen on the floor together. They are too expensive as a fivesome, frankly, not to make the playoffs given the conference they reside in.
Last ranking (Feb. 20): 23
2️⃣0️⃣ New Orleans Pelicans
The Committee can admit it. We saw the pictures of Skinny Zion and we were seduced. Inspired, even, since Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones are also back. Do we have the Pelicans too high? Possibly … but they haven't been this healthy in awhile. Eventually, though, someone brings up the daunting math and there's no escaping the reality that Zion Williamson has much more baggage to shed than mere poundage: He's played in more than 30 games just twice in his first six NBA seasons. The Pelicans' new front office helmed by Joe Dumars can only hope this season marks the third time Williamson reaches the 60-game threshold because, well, who can forget that New Orleans surrendered its 2026 first-round pick to Atlanta — completely unprotected — for Derik Queen last June?
Last ranking (April 15): 27
2️⃣1️⃣ Portland Trail Blazers
Lots going on in the Pacific Northwest. The Blazers have a new owner in Tom Dundon, brought back Damian Lillard — even though Dame is likely out for the season as he recovers from a torn Achilles — and took some big swings in their recent roster-building (trading for Jrue Holiday and drafting Yang Hansen) that have inspired no shortage of skepticism. Example: Does Holiday really fit alongside a young core (Deni Avdija, Shaedon Sharpe, Toumani Camara, Donovan Clingan and the presently injured Scoot Henderson) that hasn't even been to the playoffs yet?
Last ranking (April 15): 20
2️⃣2️⃣ Miami Heat
The undisputed star on South Beach now: Erik Spoelstra. He's starting his 18th season as Heat coach and was just named as the new coach of the men's senior national team for USA Basketball. Yet there is only so much even Spo can do with such a limited roster ... and with a top offensive option (Tyler Herro) unavailable at the start of the season. Shrewd as the acquisition of Norman Powell certainly was to flank Herro and Bam Adebayo, it's unclear how much Spo can legitimately squeeze out of this group while Heat management is trying to plot a post-Jimmy Butler course.
Last ranking (Feb. 20): 21
2️⃣3️⃣ Philadelphia 76ers
How many games will Joel Embiid play this season? Few questions are posed to The Committee as often as that one ... not that we're any more able to provide a concrete answer than the Sixers themselves or anyone else who watches them regularly. Availability issues for Embiid and Paul George seem likely to loom large all season in Philly yet again ... and the array of backcourt choices that is supposed to bail this team out has already taken a hit thanks to a thumb injury sustained by Jared McCain. Would love to be discussing something else here, but we have a question for you: Do you think Embiid, George and Tyrese Maxey will appear in more than 15 games together? That's how often we saw them as a trio last season.
Last ranking (April 15): 25
2️⃣4️⃣ Chicago Bulls
For all the justifiable Matas Buzelis Fever in the Windy City air, The Committee cautions that it's difficult to get too excited about the Bulls’ prospects ... even in this East. They've been eliminated in the Play-In round in each of the past three seasons and won’t have one of their most important players (Coby White) to start the season due to a calf strain. If White and Josh Giddey flourish as a backcourt duo for a full season like we saw during last season's second half, maybe Da Bulls can surprise us. In truth it's a maybe whispered with more trepidation than confidence.
Last ranking (Feb. 20): 19
2️⃣5️⃣ Sacramento Kings
DeMar DeRozan announced recently that the Kings "definitely gotta be fueled" by "bulls--t lists they put out there" ... presumably meaning 1-to-30 ladders like this one. Long-suffering Kings fans can only hope that low marks from The Committee can provide some sort of motivational boost, because the season is starting with both the typically durable Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray out injured, size and shooting in short supply without them and lots of local heartache — with just one playoff berth in the last 19 seasons — for All-Stars like DeRozan, Zach LaVine and newly signed Russell Westbrook to overcome on top of all the other challenges faced by a roster than (to put it politely) has a few holes.
Last ranking (April 15): 17
2️⃣6️⃣ Phoenix Suns
It's a common refrain in the desert: The Suns will be easier to root for as currently constructed after Durant, Bradley Beal and Mike Budenholzer were all exiled. Last season's 36-46 team was certainly no fun — for Suns fans especially — but will pesky defense from Dillon Brooks and Ryan Dunn and lots of Devin Booker be enough to placate a community that was watching a Finals team just four years ago? This is Booker's 11th NBA season and the lifelong Sun is playing for his seventh coach: Jordan Ott.
Last ranking (Feb. 20): 24
2️⃣7️⃣ Charlotte Hornets
The Committee saw the Hornets in person during the preseason and, as often happens on Charlotte's very infrequent visits to Dallas, undeniable potential was on display. LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, recent draftees Kon Kneuppel and Ryan Kalbrenner ... they all had their moments. Yet it remains difficult to project meaningful progress for the Hornets until we know first how much Ball we'll actually see after he played in just 105 games over the past three seasons. Charlotte was 3-32 last season when Ball was sidelined.
Last ranking (April 15): 29
2️⃣8️⃣ Washington Wizards
What's harder to process? That the Wizards, after back-to-back trips to the NBA Finals when they were known as the Bullets in 1977-78 and 1978-79, have posted zero 50-win seasons since? Or that respected veterans CJ McCollum and Khris Middleton find themselves marooned here and surrounded by no less than eight players who are 21 or younger? Add Cam Whitmore to that group of Wizards draftees headlined by Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly and Bub Carrington.
Last ranking (April 15): 28
2️⃣9️⃣ Brooklyn Nets
The Nets puzzled many on draft night when they kept all of their record five first-round picks draft picks (Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf) and selected a slew of players with similar profiles. Nets owner Joe Tsai, meanwhile, is already talking about the next draft, having somewhat stunningly made the following admission on a recent edition of the ALL-IN podcast: "We have one [first-round] pick in 2026 and we hope to get a good pick. So you can predict what kind of strategy we will use for this season." Don't think team owners are supposed to say such things out loud.
Last ranking (April 15): 26
3️⃣0️⃣ Utah Jazz
The Jazz are the consensus pick to be the worst team in the West and also have a first-round pick in the June draft to protect that is only top-eight protected or else it conveys to Oklahoma City ... but consider this a promise from The Committee: They will be interesting and/or (at the very least) in the news. That's a given with Ace Bailey as their prized rookie and external trade interest in Lauri Markkanen sure to be loud and constant. I know I keep citing this stat but that's because I still struggle to believe it: Markkanen is entering his ninth NBA season and has still yet to play a single playoff minute.
Last ranking (April 15): 30
Warriors above Lakers, all I care about 👍🏻
Happy Opening Night, Stein!