The 2024-2025 NBA season is down to its last legs. We only have one more week of basketball before the postseason starts. The battle for the top spot in the rankings all season long has mostly been dominated by two NBA teams, the Cavs and the Thunder.
If we look at the Eastern Conference standings, there’s little to no drama about playoff positioning. However, the same thing can’t be said in the West. Only the Thunder and the Rockets have clinched a playoff berth. Seedings may not be finalized until the last day of the season. Crazy.
Let’s take a look at the power rankings for all 30 NBA teams after week 24 of action.
Who are the top-ranking NBA teams after week 24?
30. Utah Jazz (30)
The Jazz are all in for the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes. They have lost nine straight games while mostly playing their bench guys’ heavy minutes on the floor.
When it comes to the lottery, though, the Jazz haven’t won the top prize. Can this be their year to do it?
29. Washington Wizards (29)
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Another 60-plus loss season for the Wiz. It is not surprising at all how their roster was constructed at the start of the season.
The good thing is that they do have quite a decent number of young prospects who may have a chance to become solid players in the very near future.
28. Charlotte Hornets (28)
Injuries and poor roster construction really doomed this Hornets team this season. Even with LaMelo Ball healthy and playing the best basketball of his young NBA career, the losses kept pounding, and their rankings kept sliding.
2-8 in their last ten, they currently have the third-best odds of winning the NBA Draft lottery in June.
27. Philadelphia 76ers (27)
Losers of 11 straight games, the Sixers went from possible title contenders to lottery-bound in just a few months.
Injuries played a huge part in their demise, but that’s what they get for clinging to their title hopes with injury-prone guys like Embiid and George.
26. New Orleans Pelicans (26)
With all their healthy starters smartly pulled out by the front office for the remaining part of the season, the Pelicans have finally embraced tanking in the hopes of landing a top-three pick in June.
Not tampering here but Ace Bailey or VJ Edgecombe might be a good fit for them next season.
25. Brooklyn Nets (25)
What a sorry season for the Nets. They were playing a very good brand of basketball early in the season before crumbling in late December until now.
They only went 2-8 in their last ten and mostly deployed their end-of-the-bench guys in week 24.
24. Toronto Raptors (24)
With the postseason out of the picture now, the Raptors are heading toward the offseason with much uncertainty.
As you can see, most of the rankings from bottom-tier teams(including Toronto) haven’t moved because they are all in for capturing the Flagg in the NBA lottery.
That’s an open secret within the league.
23. San Antonio Spurs (23)
The Spurs are officially out of postseason contention after the conclusion of week 24.
They will now focus on the long-term health of Victor Wembanyama, who remains out indefinitely due to a blood clot issue.
22. Portland Trail Blazers (22)
Sorry, Blazers fans. The dream of reaching the play-in tournament is officially over. There was a slim chance of making it before the start of week 24, but the odds weren’t in their favor.
Well, it’s time to get back to the drawing board and assess their roster in the summer.
One thing’s for sure: Deni Avdija is a stud!
21. Phoenix Suns (21)
With a week left of regular season play, the Suns’ play-in tournament hopes are hanging on a very thin thread. Losing six straight games at this crucial stage of the year really ballooned their chances of missing the postseason.
While Devin Booker has played well during the absence of Kevin Durant, the same cannot be said for Bradley Beal.
20. Miami Heat (19)
Miami is getting hot at the right time, but it may be a little bit too late when it we talk about their chances in the postseason.
They are currently sitting at the 10th spot in the East and are certainly going to face a suddenly red hot Chicago Bulls team in the upcoming play-in tournament.
19. Dallas Mavericks (17)
Barring a monumental collapse, it looks like the Mavs will grab the last play-in spot in the West this season. They could climb as high as nine, but that doesn’t really matter after all they’ve gone through, right?
After starting the season in the top five in the NBA rankings, the Mavericks’ collapse needs further analysis. You don’t trade young superstars out of the blue, and that’s bad for basketball.
18. Sacramento Kings (20)
The Kings have continued to struggle in week 24, but they picked up important wins to keep themselves afloat in the Western Conference standings.
At this point, they were truly better off tanking when they dealt De’Aaron Fox away at the trade deadline. Even Domantas Sabonis is questioning his future with the franchise.
17. Chicago Bulls (18)
Going 7-3 in their last ten games, the Bulls still have a chance to climb all the way up to the 7th spot in the East and secure themselves a homecourt advantage in the upcoming play-in tournament.
Their sudden hot streak was unforeseen by many pundits(including me), and their rise in the NBA rankings was inevitable, given how they are playing well within the last couple of months.
16. Atlanta Hawks (15)
The Hawks cooled off a bit for the past couple of weeks, resulting in a 5-5 record in their last ten.
Atlanta is sitting at the 8th spot in the East, only a game behind the Orlando Magic for the 7th spot and a homecourt advantage in the play-in tournament.
15. Orlando Magic (16)
Orlando went 7-3 in their last ten games, but their late push for a top-six finish in the East is all but over.
They will finish no higher than the 7th spot, but with a few games left to play in their schedule, they could fall to the 10th if they are not careful.
14. Detroit Pistons (13)
Kudos to the Pistons for securing a top-six finish in their conference and completely avoiding the play-lin tournament in the process.
Their jump from being cellar-dwellers to a playoff team in just a year is one of the most inspiring stories in the NBA this season.
They still have a chance to climb up to the fifth spot to avoid the Knicks in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs.
13. Milwaukee Bucks (14)
While a four-game winning streak sounds nice, we can’t help but feel sorry for Giannis Antetokounmpo in the upcoming playoffs.
Without Damian Lillard, the Bucks’ title aspirations went from plausible to nearly zero. Despite Giannis’s brilliance, this Bucks team is quite shallow in depth.
12. Memphis Grizzlies (9)
The biggest losers in this week’s NBA rankings were the Grizzlies, who were in the top three of the Western Conference standings not too long ago.
Now, they are a play-in team – a far cry from being contenders in the playoffs.
Despite their recent struggles, should they finish the season strong, there’s a slim chance that they could climb all the way to the third or fourth seed in the West before the end of the regular season.
11. Minnesota Timberwolves (11)
Why did the Wolves lose a spot in this week’s NBA rankings despite winning five straight games to close out week 24?
Can’t blame you if you’re livid. It’s just that the Clippers and the Warriors have been playing well as of late and are looking like strong contenders for a title this season.
Can you envision the Wolves winning it all this season? I bet you don’t.
10. Los Angeles Clippers (12)
After a late-season surge, the Clippers are finally inside the top-six bubble in the West, overtaking the Wolves, Grizzlies, and Warriors in the process.
They are still not out of danger of falling out of the top six and into the play-in tournament, though. But looking at how well Kawhi Leonard has played since returning from injury, this team is slowly morphing into a possible sleeper contender in the playoffs.
9. Golden State Warriors (8)
With one week left to play this season, the Warriors are barely hanging onto the sixth spot in the West.
Going 7-3 in their last ten definitely gave them a boost to avoid falling into the play-in tournament, for now. Draymond Green looks energized, and Brandon Podziemski picks up the scoring load whenever Curry has an off night.
8. Indiana Pacers (10)
As we approach the end of regular season play, the Pacers look like formidable foes in the upcoming playoffs.
Their magic and aura are back, and that bodes well for their overall ranking as the NBA playoffs draw nearer and nearer.
Does this team have what it takes to make a Finals run? Don’t count them out.
7. New York Knicks (6)
With Jalen Brunson back, does the Knicks have what it takes for a deep playoff run this year?
They certainly believe so, especially with how the team performed with Brunson out for nearly a month due to an ankle injury.
They have gone 7-3 in their last ten games and are entering the playoffs with a healthy roster.
6. Los Angeles Lakers (7)
The Lakers finish off week 24 with a bang, blowing out the league-leading OKC Thunder in Oklahoma City.
The trio of Luka, LeBron, and AR has been playing well lately, and their cohesiveness as a unit is starting to emerge.
They better play well because, with over a week of basketball left in the regular season, falling into play-in territory is still a possibility.
5. Denver Nuggets (4)
Despite Nikola Jokic’s brilliance, the Nuggets are in a peculiar hole right now. Losers of four straight games, this is not the right time for this team to limp.
Another bad news that has hit them is Jamal Murray’s availability in the upcoming playoffs. He’s nursing a mysterious hamstring injury that even his coach cannot explain the severity of it.
Lose more games, and they’d fall into the play-in and out of the top 10 in the rankings by the end of the 2024-2025 NBA season.
4. Houston Rockets (5)
The Rockets are going to the playoffs for the first time since the James Harden era, and by the looks of it, they are heavily favored to secure the second seed in the brutal West at the end of regular season play.
They went 8-2 in their last ten games, with Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun leading the way.
3. Cleveland Cavaliers (3)
The Cavs’ recent struggles are concerning for anybody who follows NBA basketball. Was this season a fluke, or do they have another gear that they could use for a deep playoff run?
Their play has been erratic and lethargic for the last couple of weeks. It doesn’t scream title contention or anything close to that level.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder (1)
Well…that loss to the visiting Lakers truly raised some eyebrows, didn’t it? SGA should win MVP, but clearly, Luka Doncic is still the best basketball player.
OKC’s loss against the Lakers exposed a glaring question for this team in the playoffs: If Shai struggles, who is their second option?
1. Boston Celtics (2)
Finally! After coasting much throughout the regular season, the Celtics are entering the playoffs with a mostly healthy roster.
They never cared about any NBA rankings across the web because this team knows who they are and what they are capable of.
Boston is still the team to beat in the playoffs, regardless of the Cavs and OKC’s regular-season records.
