Two of the most powerful entities in NBA content have officially joined forces. We’re combining power rankings with report cards to wrap up the regular season.
First, we power ranked all 30 teams into perfect order, based on where they finished in the hunt for a championship. In what order would I pick the postseason-bound teams to win the title? As for lottery-bound teams, how pathetic were they — intentionally or not — in the pursuit of a ring?
Hardest, probably, was the Los Angeles Lakers, who have lost Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves to injury. The Houston Rockets may have a better shot to get out of the first round, but if LA can squeak by and get both Dončić and Reaves healthy, it has a slightly better chance to win it all.
Or at least that was my thinking there.
Then, the grades. We provided you with first-quarter, midseason and third-quarter report cards. These are also perfect. We graded all on a curve against expectations. How close did a team come to obtaining its objective, whether that was winning or losing as many games as possible? The defending champion from both conferences each reached a goal, only in different manners.
You’ll see. Let’s get to the power rankings. And the report cards.
That’s right, the Celtics finished No. 3 in our power rankings. (Photo by Finn Gomez/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
(Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Nobody figured the Wizards for a winner this season, and they delivered, losing more often than any other team — with some cushion to spare. Bam Adebayo scored 83 points in a single game against them. It wasn’t all bad. Alex Sarr is a rising star. Tre Johnson and Bilal Coulibaly are players, too. They traded for both Trae Young and Anthony Davis, who played five games combined for Washington, almost certainly by design. There is something interesting to this roster. Grade: B
In their Tyrese Haliburton-less season, the Pacers did what they set out to do, which was to put themselves in the best position for a top draft pick. Their top lineup — Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Jarace Walker, Johnny Furphy — played only 47 minutes together across six games. But it did feature Walker and Furphy, two developmental projects. They added Ivica Zubac at the trade deadline. This is a winner in 2026-27. Grade: A
The NBA investigated Kings head coach Doug Christie, if only to check if he was losing games on purpose, and it turned out he wasn’t — he was just incompetent. The front office didn’t cover itself in glory, either, turning Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis into De’Andre Hunter’s hefty deal. This team is not without talent. Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Malik Monk and Russell Westbrook are proven performers. Only none of it made sense together. Grade: F
The Nets used all five of their first-round draft picks and almost certainly will not put a single one of them on an All-Rookie team. That is a disappointment. But Michael Porter Jr. was a revelation for Brooklyn. The Nets didn’t turn him into anything at the deadline. It would have been nice if Brooklyn took even a half-step toward constructing an identity. I’m not sure they’re any better off than they were last season, when they were similarly banking on Ping-Pong balls. Grade: C
The Jazz identified a future star in Keyonte George (24-4-6 on 46/37/89 shooting splits). Ace Bailey may be one, too. They added one-time Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. to a core that already included All-Star big man Lauri Markkanen. That is the foundation of a good team, only they were terrible, once again, almost entirely on purpose, so they can add another high-end draft pick to a roster that increasingly has designs on competing next year. Grade: B
The Bucks and head coach Doc Rivers wasted no time parting ways in the aftermath of a disastrous season. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s relationship status with Milwaukee is uncertain, only “it’s complicated” doesn’t capture the entirety of the disaster. Myles Turner’s contract, combined with Damian Lillard’s waived-and-stretched deal, is an albatross on their books, and the only way out is to maximize what they can get in return for Antetokounmpo. Grade: F
There is a 29.3% chance the Pelicans hand Atlanta a top-four pick and a 6.8% shot they give the Hawks the No. 1 overall selection. Not great! On the other hand, rookies Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears showed enough to believe in both. Trey Murphy III is their best asset. Saddiq Bey is good. Dejounte Murray returned from an Achilles injury. Zion Williamson played 52 of 53 games at one point. There is stuff to like in New Orleans. Maybe just not together. Grade: D
The Bulls were a story to start the season, only to choose an alternative direction. They traded Ayo Dosunmu, Nikola Vučević, Coby White and Kevin Huerter for a few restricted free agents and a slew of second-round picks. The acquisition of Jaden Ivey was the final straw for outgoing executives Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley. I’m not sure there is anything of value in Chicago, other than Matas Buzelis and whoever they choose with their lottery pick. Grade: D
Cooper Flagg has a case for Rookie of the Year. He had the most responsibility, both offensively and defensively, of any first-year player, delivering a 21-7-5 on 47/30/83 splits with 2.1 combined steals and blocks per game, albeit for a terrible team. He is going to be great. It wasn’t his fault the Mavericks entered the season without a true point guard. It wasn’t his fault, after firing Nico Harrison, they dealt Anthony Davis to get from underneath the Luka Dončić ordeal. Grade: D
The Grizzlies traded Desmond Bane to start this campaign. A prudent decision as it turns out. The Ja Morant experience went south quickly, though he remains. They dealt Jaren Jackson Jr. at the deadline. Gone is the Grit ‘n’ Grind redux. This team has been stripped to the studs, and there are some gems — Zach Edey and Cedric Coward —among them. Whoever was left played hard for head coach Tuomas Iisalo, who didn’t have the talent, or the centers, to compete. Grade: D
How the heck the Magic lost to Boston’s bench on the final day of the regular season I do not know. They just didn’t try hard enough, which was a microcosm of their entire campaign — a year that will almost certainly end in the ousting of head coach Jamahl Mosley. Now, they must win one of potentially two play-in tournament games, just for the right to get beat by the Celtics or Detroit. Do not be surprised if a trade comes for this team in the offseason, too. Grade: D
Losing Jimmy Butler to an ACL injury was a bummer. I still think, with Butler, with a 37-year-old Stephen Curry, with an aging Draymond Green and an aged Al Horford, with a more ambitious acquisition at the deadline, these Warriors could have been on upset alert in the opening round. Instead, they lost Butler, then Curry for half the season. Now, given their age and how much has to go right for them, we must wonder if they can ever again compete in the Curry era. Grade: D
Deni Avdija is an All-NBA candidate, averaging a 24-7-7 for a team that now has two shots at cracking a crowded Western Conference playoff picture. I bet you didn’t think that possible to start the year. Donovan Clingan may be the most impactful player nobody talks about. Even Scoot Henderson ended the season on a high note. It is almost enough to make us forget their head coach, Chauncey Billups, was arrested in a gambling ring to start the season. Grade: B
Bam Adebayo would not have averaged 20 points per game if he had not scored 83 against the Wizards. Remarkable. He added 10 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. He could be the second-best player on a title team. The Heat just lack a No. 1. They have talent. Norman Powell, Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Davion Mitchell, Kel’el Ware, Kasparas Jakucionis, they’re all good. Miami just needs someone else great. Grade: C
No team had more All-Stars on its roster this season than the Raptors, who put both Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram in the exhibition. Do not ask me how that is possible. Toronto was consistently good and never great throughout the season, mostly since everyone on the roster was consistently good and rarely great, including Barnes and Ingram. It makes you wonder if they could possibly find a higher gear in the playoffs, or if they too need a superstar. Grade: C
Honestly, the Sixers might be cursed. They lost Tyrese Maxey and Paul George to ailment and issue throughout the season, and just as they looked like they may get healthy for a playoff run, Joel Embiid required an appendectomy. Now, their season could be over in the play-in tourney. It’s a good thing the 76ers have Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, a backcourt for the future, because all else in Philadelphia is a question mark — or the exclamation point on an expletive. Grade: C
The Hawks traded Trae Young and got better. No other way to say it. Nickeil Alexander-Walker should be the favorite for Most Improved Player. He joins Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher in a wing core that is as sound as any team in the NBA. Swap CJ McCollum in for Young, give the center keys to Onyeka Okongwu, and suddenly you have one of the best lineups in the league, one still capable of giving the Knicks a scare without Ice Trae. Grade: B
The Suns suffered a miserable season last year, when Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal were playing on max contracts. They traded Durant, waived and stretched Beal, and they, too, got better. Devin Booker remains awesome. Dillon Brooks is the human embodiment of everything head coach Jordan Ott wants from his team — effort. Collin Gillespie was one of many players who took a step forward for Phoenix, where the whole is greater than the parts’ sum. Grade: B
Despite the Aspiration scandal, despite a 6-21 start to the season, the Clippers have given themselves a chance, even if it is a slim one, of making the playoffs. That is mostly because Kawhi Leonard robotically put up a career season in the face of scandal, at least statistically. And partly because the Clips were able to turn 36-year-old James Harden into 26-year-old Darius Garland. For all the turmoil in Inglewood, there is something to like here. Grade: C
The Hornets were 12 games below .500 on Jan. 21. Since then, they are the Eastern Conference’s second-best team by record (28-10) and its best by net rating (+10.8). Credit Kon Knueppel, whose ability to unlock a winner is his own Rookie of the Year case. Credit LaMelo Ball for unlocking Knueppel. Credit Brandon Miller for taking a step forward beside them. Credit Moussa Diabate for working so hard. Credit all in Charlotte for turning this around. Grade: B
The Rockets lost point guard Fred VanVleet before the season and center Steven Adams in the early going. Without the table-setter and the guy who gets them seconds, respectively, Houston had to scrape together an offense. Kevin Durant and Alperen Şengün are not such bad starting points. Nor is Amen Thompson so bad to start a defense. They could use help on either side of the floor, but their depth, even without VanVleet or Adams, is impressive nonetheless. Grade: C
Things weren’t going so great for the Cavaliers, who made the Garland-for-Harden swap in hopes it would shake things up. And it did. The Cavs looked like contenders, for a spell, if only to return to what they looked like before, which is an easy second-round playoff out. (Which is the mark of a Harden team.) Bigger changes are on the horizon if that is the case. How much longer can Donovan Mitchell wait for Evan Mobley’s development to stop stagnating? Grade: C
It took some time, but head coach JJ Redick sorted it out. Give the ball to Luka Dončić, slot Austin Reaves as a secondary playmaker beside him and shift LeBron James to an outsized third option. Rotate a cast of characters, including Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton, around them, and they’ll figure it out. And they did. Until Dončić and Reaves suffered injuries that could force them from the first round of the playoffs, leaving James to reclaim a lead role. Grade: B
If you had told the Knicks at the start of the season that they would be fourth in offensive rating and seventh in defensive rating at year’s end, they probably would have taken it. How they got there isn’t a story they want to tell. There were questions about everyone on the roster at some point, save for Josh Hart, their constant. After it all, they still have yet to answer the question of whether Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns can lead a serious title contender. Grade: C
Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels and Donte DiVincenzo played 710 minutes together, and no other lineup across the NBA played more than 550 as a unit. That they outscored opponents by 7.9 points per 100 possessions is reason for optimism they could reach a third straight Western Conference finals. Ayo Dosunmu is just what they needed as a sixth man, where Naz Reid was already an award winner. Watch out for the Wolves. Grade: B
The Pistons were the class of the East all season long. Even when they lost Cade Cunningham to a collapsed lung, giving rise to the 65-game rule discussion, they kept up the fight. Props to Jalen Duren, who also belongs on an All-NBA team. Ausar Thompson is a defensive weapon. They have shooters. They have most everything except for a secondary playmaker, and they haven’t needed that … yet. We shall see if it comes back to bite them in the playoffs. Grade: A
Nikola Jokić became the first player ever to lead the league in assists and rebounds per game, adding a hyper-efficient 28 points a night. The team around him was not always complete. Even he missed a month of the season to a knee injury. And still the Nuggets won 54 games. There is reason to believe in Jokić, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Cam Johnson and Christian Braun as a unit, because they have outscored opponents by 13.5 points per 100 possessions. Grade: B
No team overachieved this season quite like the Celtics. They lost Jayson Tatum to an Achilles injury in last season’s playoffs, before losing Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porziņģis, Al Horford and Luke Kornet to the luxury tax. Jaylen Brown was an MVP candidate. Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Neemias Queta and a horde of wings supported him. They bided their time in second place until Tatum’s return hoisted their ceiling to serious championship consideration. Grade: A
Victor Wembanyama is a force who, if he can stay healthy, should alter the NBA for a decade to come. He is already the face of the sport in his third year, commanding courts and microphones alike. He even made the MVP case for himself and might have been right. With so much young talent burgeoning around him, including a guard trio of De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, it is hard not to imagine just how many championships they can win together. Grade: A
For as long as I have been doing NBA power rankings, and I have been doing them in some form or fashion for a long time, I cannot remember a time that a team ranked No. 1 wire to wire, and yet here we are. The Thunder have remained in the top spot for the entire regular season. The path to consecutive regular-season and Finals MVP awards on a back-to-back champion is laid out before Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whose ascent up the all-timer’s list persists. Grade: A
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