NBA power rankings as regular season ends: Who tops list ahead of playoffs?

The 2025-26 NBA regular season has come to an end, and the playoff bracket is officially set.

Sixteen teams – 20, counting those participating in the Play-In Tournament – will now have the chance to make their pushes in the postseason with the hopes of an NBA title up for grabs. The final week of the season saw teams jostling for seeding, as they tried to improve their path forward.

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The end of the regular season also meant that the 10 teams that were officially eliminated from postseason contention can formally plan for the 2026 NBA Draft.

Here are the final USA TODAY Sports’ NBA power rankings of the 2025-26 regular season:

1 / 8

Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 26: The Dallas Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg dunks the ball past the Toronto Raptors’ Sandro Mamukelashvili at the American Airlines Center.

1 / 8

Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 26: The Dallas Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg dunks the ball past the Toronto Raptors’ Sandro Mamukelashvili at the American Airlines Center.

2 / 8

Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 26: The Washington Wizards’ Cam Whitmore dunks the ball against the Charlotte Hornets at Capital One Arena.

3 / 8

Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 26: The Brooklyn Nets’ Michael Porter Jr. dunks in front of the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama at Frost Bank Center.

4 / 8

Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 25: The Denver Nuggets’ Christian Braun dunks the ball against the Phoenix Suns’ Grayson Allen at Ball Arena.

5 / 8

Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 24: The Memphis Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr. dunks against the Miami Heat at FedExForum.

6 / 8

Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 24: The Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo dunks over the Memphis Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr. at FedExForum.

7 / 8

Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 22: The New York…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nba-power-rankings-regular-season-211040442.html

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Publish date : 2026-04-13 21:10:00

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