NBA Power Rankings Week 25: The Playoffs Are Here


Getty Image

Every NBA team has participated in 82 regular season basketball games and the dust settled on the playoff picture. While there will be plenty of playoff preview analysis available, we’ll reconvene for one final run at our DIME power rankings, keeping in mind that things will continue to be fluid as the postseason continues.

Without further ado, here we go.

1. Golden State Warriors (57-25, Last week — 2nd)The reigning champs enter the postseason as the team to beat, even if they didn’t finish with the best regular season record. Golden State’s win total of 57 should be seen as disappointing given their overall level of talent but, along the way, there were enough flashes of brilliance to provide comfort in the decision to place them at the top of the heap.

2. Milwaukee Bucks (60-22, Last week — 1st)

It was a wildly impressive campaign for the Bucks, as the team cruised to 60 wins without having to put the pedal to the floor in March and April. From a regular season standpoint, Milwaukee was the best team in the league by a considerable margin and all eyes move toward how the Mike Budenholzer-led squad will fare under the bright lights in May and, possibly, June.

3. Toronto Raptors (58-24, Last week — 3rd)

This was probably going to be where the Raptors landed regardless, but winning seven of eight games to finish the season was an encouraging display. Toronto has paced themselves beautifully throughout the marathon that is the regular season and it will be interesting to see what their A-game looks like against the best of the best.
4. Denver Nuggets (54-28, Last week — 8th)
Denver needed to win on the final night of the regular season to grab the No. 2 seed and, in some ways, it is disappointing that it took 82 games to clinch that fate. Still, it happened for the Nuggets and, by any objective measure, the team’s overall performance was impressive this season. Now, we turn our attention to whether Denver can hold up in the second season.

5. Portland Trail Blazers (53-29, Last week — 7th)

If we’re being honest, Portland isn’t a bigger playoff threat than Houston (see below), but this was still a heck of a ride from Damian Lillard and company. The Blazers winning 53 games is both relatively stunning and impressive, with consistency on a night-to-night basis and a strong finish to the campaign.

Getty Image

6. Houston Rockets (53-29, Last week — 4th)

It’s tempting to bury the Rockets a bit with the way their season ended but Houston remains the biggest threat to the Warriors in a playoff series, providing a higher baseline. Honestly, 53 wins felt unthinkable after an early-season swoon and James Harden enjoyed a spectacular season.
7. Oklahoma City Thunder (49-33, Last week — 18th)
After a dismal 6-13 stretch, the Thunder finished strong with five straight victories. Your guess is as good as mine with regard to which OKC team shows up against Portland in the playoffs, but that will be a fun series to monitor.

8. Utah Jazz (50-32, Last week — 5th)

As we preached in this space throughout the season, Utah was always going to be a good basketball team. They started slow against a brutal schedule, then finished strong against a softer one. The end result of 50 wins sounds about right and they’ll square off with the Rockets in what should be the best first round series of the bunch.

9. Philadelphia 76ers (51-31, Last week — 9th)

The weirdness with Joel Embiid looms over everything in Philly and, in truth, this Sixers team wasn’t as good as it should have been. They do have the talent to make a dent in the postseason, though, which is why they were constructed this way by Elton Brand.

10. Boston Celtics (49-33, Last week — 11th)
It is insane that the Celtics didn’t win 50 games this season. If you were following the drama all season long, it isn’t shocking now, but Boston winning more than 60 games was a popular preseason prediction. Instead, the season was kind of a disaster … one in which they won 49 games and secured the 4-seed in the East.

Getty Image

11. San Antonio Spurs (48-34, Last week — 10th)

Gregg Popovich is ridiculously good at his job. San Antonio righted the ship to the tune of 48 wins and simply took care of business throughout the campaign, especially when considering the Spurs won 32 games at home. It remains to be seen how dangerous they’ll be in the postseason, but this isn’t a roster that should win 48 games without Dejounte Murray and they did it, anyway.

12. LA Clippers (48-34, Last week — 6th)

The Clippers did drop three of their last four games but, on the whole, it was a fantastic season for Doc Rivers’ team. Even after shipping Tobias Harris away in a future-facing deal, L.A. continued to overachieve and their setup for this summer and beyond is highly encouraging.

13. Orlando Magic (42-40, Last week — 14th)
Orlando probably isn’t going to beat Toronto in a playoff series and that’s okay. The Magic were 20-31 (!) at one point before turning their season around, and it is an awesome accomplishment for the franchise to make the postseason again for the first time since the Dwight Howard trade.

14. Indiana Pacers (48-34, Last week — 12th)

The Pacers were 25-11 with Victor Oladipo and 23-23 without him. That sounds right, and while it’s unfortunate, all credit to Indiana for keeping the ship afloat down the stretch.

15. Brooklyn Nets (42-40, Last week — 17th)

It wasn’t unthinkable that the Nets could make the playoffs before the season began but Brooklyn still overachieved, which is a credit to Kenny Atkinson and his staff. D’Angelo Russell’s breakout campaign certainly helped but, in the same breath, this is a team without a legitimate superstar that kind of cruised to 42 wins and a playoff spot. It’s also a fun team to watch, which always helps.

Getty Image

16. Detroit Pistons (41-41, Last week — 13th)Blake Griffin isn’t healthy at the moment, which isn’t fun. He was fantastic throughout the season and the star forward is the biggest reason why Detroit made the postseason. The Pistons still made it, though, so they’ll have a puncher’s chance.

17. Sacramento Kings (39-43, Last week — 16th)

The Kings fell out of the playoff chase a few weeks ago and, as a result, the buzz subsided about Sacramento. That is a mistake, because this is one of the best stories in the league. Absolutely no one projected the Kings to even approach the .500 mark and they were genuinely a pleasure to watch throughout the season.

18. Miami Heat (39-43, Last week — 15th)

Dwyane Wade’s last dance was a joy to consume, even when the Heat weren’t playing well down the stretch. Miami’s overall season was a disappointment but that did help a bit.19. Memphis Grizzlies (33-49, Last week — 21st)The Grizzlies were 13-16 in their last 29 games and they sincerely competed down to the wire. There is something to be said for that, even amid another relatively disappointing season. While we’re here, Mike Conley deserves love for putting together an All-Star caliber season in relative obscurity.

20. Minnesota Timberwolves (36-46, Last week — 25th)

What a weird season. The Jimmy Butler madness started it all in Minnesota and the Wolves just never put it together. It would help to have Robert Covington healthy but, for all the optimism surrounding Karl-Anthony Towns (and rightly so), Andrew Wiggins did not improve.

Getty Image

21. Charlotte Hornets (39-43, Last week — 20th)

Kemba Walker didn’t have much help, which is the story of the season for the Hornets. The door was open for Charlotte to crash the playoff party, even down the stretch, but they just couldn’t walk through it.

22. Los Angeles Lakers (37-45, Last week — 22nd)

What can be said about the Lakers that hasn’t already been said? Things didn’t go very well.

23. Atlanta Hawks (29-63, Last week — 19th)

After starting 6-23, the Hawks were legitimately fun and competitive. The combination of Trae Young and John Collins helped to produce highlights and quality offensive performance, while first-year head coach Lloyd Pierce did a heck of a job. The future is bright in Atlanta.

24. New Orleans Pelicans (33-49, Last week — 26th)

When Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday played together (1,437 minutes), the Pelicans outscored their opponents by 9.5 points per 100 possessions. That is the performance of an elite-level team. New Orleans won 33 games. That kind of says it all.25. Dallas Mavericks (33-49, Last week — 24th)Dallas was better than a 33-win team when they were trying to win and, of course, the deal for Kristaps Porzingis makes sense, even if it made the team worse in the moment. Luka Doncic definitely tailed off down the stretch but, in totality, he put together a season that should allow fans of the Mavericks take some comfort in the process.

Getty Image

26. Washington Wizards (32-50, Last week — 23rd)

It was quite an up and down year for the Wizards. At times, it seemed possible that Washington could get hot and make the playoffs but, in the end, Washington finished with the sixth-worst record in the league. Everything comes back to John Wall’s injury but, on the more optimistic side, Bradley Beal was genuinely tremendous from wire to wire.

27. Chicago Bulls (22-60, Last week — 30th)

The Bulls lost eight of their last nine games to finish with only 22 wins. Chicago was probably better than that overall but, when it was bad, it was hideous.28. Phoenix Suns (19-63, Last week — 27th)Remember when there was genuine optimism about the Suns? Phoenix tried to put together a playoff contender when they signed Trevor Ariza and a 19-win showing is embarrassing as a result. On a happier note, the Suns do have strong building blocks in Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton.

29. New York Knicks (17-65, Last week — 29th)

At least New York had an excuse. It has almost been forgotten that the Knicks were supposed to have Kristaps Porzingis at some point this season and, of course, they leaned hard into the tank with the mid-season deal to clear cap space. On the floor, though, the Knicks were really bad.

30. Cleveland Cavaliers (19-63, Last week — 28th)

The Cavs made quite an effort to land in the No. 30 spot. Cleveland dropping the last 10 games of the campaign ensured that fate but, on the positive side, the Cavs didn’t actually finish with the league’s worst record.

×