NBA Power Rankings: How all 30 teams finished the regular season, plus final grades

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?

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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

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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 —…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/nba-power-rankings-how-all-30-teams-finished-the-regular-season-plus-final-grades-192837235.html

Author : Ben Rohrbach

Publish date : 2026-04-13 19:28:00

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