NBA 2025-26: Post-All-Star Break Power Rankings

The 2025-26 NBA regular season is about two-thirds of the way towards its completion following the pause in the schedule for the All-Star Break. But for many, the real action starts now: the last NFL football game has been played for the next seven months, and the focus on the NBA can increase.

That’s why I’m rolling out my first NBA Power Rankings of the 2025-26 season at this point in time. I’m not going to dive deep in to every single team, but I’ll share a few key indicators I looked at when ranking the NBA’s 30 teams:

Team record, obviously
Point Differential
Record over last 10 games, showing if a team is hot or cold right now
Eastern vs. Western Conference: The West is loaded with talented teams, so if two teams have an identical record, I’d probably give the nod to the Western Conference team
Current injuries: teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder have the best record in the NBA and the best point differential, but without last year’s NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they naturally fall a couple spots as this is a current snapshot.

A few weeks ago, the aforementioned Thunder probably would’ve topped the list, with Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs likely next up in the wake of SGA’s injury. But Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons have surged near the middle of the season, and look like the best team in the NBA right now.

After the three powerhouses this season (Detroit, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City), the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, and Boston Celtics make up the next tier of teams: potential title contenders, and surefire playoff teams. Also add to that list the Cleveland Cavaliers, winners of nine of their last ten games following the shocking James Harden trade.

The Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors, Golden State Warriors, and Philadelphia 76ers make up the next group of above average teams that lack serious title aspirations. Also rising in to this group is LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets, who just came off a nine-game win streak but still hold a 26-29 losing record.

The next group of teams are play-in teams at best, with no real shot of a deeper playoff run: the Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, and at the very bottom of this barrel but just too good to be in the next group, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the 23-20 Milwaukee Bucks.

The remaining ten teams in the league have no shot of making the playoffs in any way, shape, or form, and some of these teams are offensive to the game of basketball. Whether its the 18-38 Utah Jazz (who are actually kind of scrappy and fun to watch.. when they’re playing their best guys) tanking by benching their starters late, Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks failing to put things together, losing nine straight games, or the league-worst Sacramento Kings losing 14 straight games, there’s a few rotten eggs in the field of 30 teams this season.

Read on for my 2025-26 NBA Post-All-Star Break Power Rankings, and if you’d like to debate or discuss any rankings, join the conversation with Sakmann Sports on Twitter/X, on Facebook, or by commenting directly on this post!