NBA Power Rankings: Where Every Team Stands After Free Agency

An awful lot has changed in the NBA since our last version of the power rankings dropped in mid-June.

The draft, plenty of trades and most of free agency is now in the rearview. Several teams have overhauled. Dozens of players changed teams.

Now, it’s time to take stock of the league again.

In the regular season, the factors we consider are team and individual numbers, recent performance, championship chances and plenty of subjectivity.

But since we’re in the offseason, and we’ve yet to see how some of these new cores will work together, we have to rely a bit more heavily on those last two (with an assist from FanDuel for 2025 championship odds).

The Portland Trail Blazers had an interesting offseason, moving veteran Malcolm Brogdon as part of the deal that landed 23-year-old forward Deni Avdija and using a top-10 pick on a player at the same position as Deandre Ayton.

Even if Jerami Grant and Ayton aren’t traded before the start of the season, it feels like Portland is leaning a little harder into this rebuild. And in the loaded Western Conference, that should lead to tons of losses.

There’s some interesting young talent here, including that top-10 pick (Donovan Clingan), Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe. All three will have their moments in 2024-25, but this season will be largely about collecting ping pong balls for the lottery.

The Brooklyn Nets are going to be terrible this season.

They were 19-40 from mid-December to the end of 2023-24, and they just traded their best player, Mikal Bridges for a package built mostly on draft capital.

One of the picks they got back in a separate deal was their own 2025 first, which gives them the incentive to lose as many games as possible and chase Cooper Flagg in the lottery and subsequent draft.

Expect tons of shots from Cam Thomas, some more rebuilding trades for future assets (players like Dorian Finney-Smith, Cameron Johnson and Bojan Bogdanović could have some value) and a finish near the bottom of the standings.

The Charlotte Hornets didn’t make many notable changes this offseason, but they might still be a little better just by virtue of Brandon Miller improving and LaMelo Ball hopefully being a little healthier.

The latter is maybe the most important thing to watch for in 2024-25.

Ball is on a max contract through 2028-29, but he’s only played in 58 games over the last two seasons. When he plays, he’s wildly productive (23.5 points, 8.3 assists, 5.9 rebounds, 3.7 threes and 1.5 steals), but availability is a massive concern, at this point.

Even if the Hornets are bad again, but Ball plays 60-plus games, Charlotte fans could probably emerge from this campaign feeling a little better about the future.

It’s tough to wrap your head around the decision to trade Avdija, especially after the Washington Wizards signed Saddiq Bey, who’ll miss the season recovering from an ACL injury (he’s basically a human trade exception now).

The Washington Wizards should be in the business of accumulating young talent, and Avdija is a promising one. They did get some draft capital for him, though.

And even if incoming veterans Brogdon and Jonas Valančiūnas play a fair amount with Jordan Poole, Washington should be very much in the mix for high draft lottery odds again.

Perhaps most importantly, there should still be plenty of developmental minutes available for No. 2 overall pick, Alexandre Sarr, too.

Like the Wizards, the Detroit Pistons added a bunch of veterans this offseason. James Wiseman and Quentin Grimes are out, and Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr., Malik Beasley and Paul Reed are in.

Those first three could be particularly important as catch-and-shoot threats for Cade Cunningham to set up.

But even with the infusion of experience, as with the other teams detailed so far, the young talent is most important here. In addition to Cunningham, Detroit has a rangy playmaker and defender in Ausar Thompson, a good rim-runner and -protector in Jalen Duren and incoming No. 5 pick Ron Holland.

For the early portions of the 2023-24, Holland was regarded by many as the top prospect in the 2024 draft, but he slipped after an underwhelming campaign with the G-League Ignite. If Detroit figures out a better way to leverage his athleticism and switchability, it could surprise a few opponents.

But even a 10-win improvement would only put the Pistons at 24 total, which would still have them in the mix for a high draft pick.

Replacing Alex Caruso, Andre Drummond and DeMar DeRozan with Josh Giddey, Jalen Smith and Chris Duarte is almost certainly going to lead to a pretty steep dropoff in wins for the Chicago Bulls this season.

Assuming they can find takers for either or both, you have to think rebuilding-minded trades for Zach LaVine and Nikola Vučević could be next.

The new approach could lead to some short-term pain, but if the Bulls emerge with Matas Buzelis (this year’s first-rounder), Flagg (they keep their 2025 pick if it stays in the top 10) and Giddey (who’s still just 21 years old), they’d have a solid foundation to build upon.

It sort of feels like the Utah Jazz are in limbo right now.

New trade rumors seem to surface every week on whether they’ll trade Lauri Markkanen or not. It’s starting to feel like Anchorman‘s “panda watch.”

If he stays, the Jazz will probably be relatively competitive and end up picking toward the back of the lottery again. If he’s moved, they should be in the hunt for the No. 1 pick.

Over his two seasons with the team, Utah is plus-1.9 points per 100 possessions with Markkanen on the floor and minus-8.0 when he’s off.

After re-signing Immanuel Quickley and giving Scottie Barnes a max contract extension, the Toronto Raptors feel pretty locked into a core that really struggled down the stretch of 2023-24.

Of course, they can pin their late struggles on a variety of injuries to Barnes, Quickley and RJ Barrett. When those three were all on the floor, Toronto was a respectable plus-3.8 points per 100 possessions.

If you assume some natural development from two or even all three of those core players, and maybe a breakout for Gradey Dick or Ochai Agbaji, the Raptors could get back in the play-in mix.

The Atlanta Hawks jumped nine spots in the lottery, drafted Zaccharie Risacher with the No. 1 overall pick and landed intriguing second-rounder Nikola Đurišić with a trade.

Combine those two with 22-year-old Jalen Johnson and 23-year-old Onyeka Okongwu, and it’s easy to get excited about this young core.

Heck, even Trae Young—who’s now back to being the unquestioned primary playmaker following this summer’s Dejounte Murray trade—is only 25. And he’s a good enough offensive engine to have Atlanta in the mis for a play-in spot even while the younger players develop.

Losing Paul George in free agency could prove borderline disastrous for the Los Angeles Clippers (at least in the short term).

They didn’t have the cap space to meaningfully replace him, so they had to piece together their roster and rotation with minimum contracts and cap exceptions.

And even if they get the best versions of Derrick Jones Jr., Nicolas Batum and Kevin Porter Jr., they aren’t likely to fully replace PG.

Last season, L.A. was minus-2.2 points per 100 possessions when Kawhi Leonard and James Harden played without George.

The San Antonio Spurs were terrible last season, but when you dig into the numbers, it’s pretty hard not to wonder if that was wholly intentional.

Victor Wembanyama is already a top 10-15 player, and losing with that kind of player takes some effort.

When he was on the floor with an actual point guard in Tre Jones and a solid three-point shooting wing in Devin Vassell, San Antonio was plus-10.2 points per 100 possessions.

That means just about every other lineup combination was rough, and head coach Gregg Popovich had to know that.

With veterans Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes coming over now, it’ll be harder to find those tankworthy trios (barring injuries, of course). And the Spurs still have a boatload of draft assets to use in a win-now trade. If they’re competitive in the first couple months of hte season, San Antonio might be able to get back into the play-in mix.

This is going to be an interesting season for the Miami Heat.

After stagnating in 2023-24, they carried that trend into the offseason. While the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks loaded up, Miami lost Caleb Martin and broadcast to the world that it probably won’t extend soon-to-be-35-year-old Jimmy Butler’s contract.

With another underwhelming campaign, Butler could decline his player option, and the Heat could suddenly pivot to a post-Butler era that feels further from contention than the team that’s made two of the last five Finals.

That pivot could be made by a solid, young(ish) core, though. This probably wouldn’t be a rebuild, with Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. still on the roster. That trio, assuming it outlasts Butler’s time in Miami, would at least keep the team in the hunt for a play-in spot.

The Los Angeles Lakers obviously made a lot of noise by hiring JJ Redick to his first NBA head coaching contract and selecting LeBron James’ son, Bronny, with the 55th pick in the draft, but they didn’t make any truly game-changing roster moves.

That means this is a team that was in the play-in tournament in each of the last two seasons and whose best (or second best) player is almost 40 years old.

Yes, LeBron and Anthony Davis are both still top-10 players—at least they were in 2023-24—but in the loaded Western Conference, it’s fair to wonder if the supporting cast is good enough to make L.A. a title contender.

Even without a top-three pick in this summer’s draft, the Houston Rockets would’ve been considered a real threat to get back to the playoffs.

They were .500 last season and had a positive point differential when their starting five was on the floor. And that group includes three young players in Alperen Şengün (who was in the All-Star mix last season), Jabari Smith Jr. and Jalen Green.

Add in potential breakout candidates off the bench in Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore, and it’s already easy to be intrigued by this team’s upside.

But then you add that top-three pick. Houston was 23rd in three-point percentage in 2023-24, and it landed Reed Sheppard in the draft. He was this class’ best shooting prospect and hit 52.1 percent of his three-point attempts as a freshman at Kentucky.

The Sacramento Kings took a slight step back this past season, going 46-36 and falling short of the playoffs after losing in the play-in tournament.

But they landed one of this summer’s biggest-name free agents in DeMar DeRozan, whose fit alongside De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis may be a little wonky, but is nevertheless a raw talent upgrade.

Sorting out where the necessary space inside the three-point line will be will take some time. Figuring out who the primary clutch-time shotmaker will be interesting, too. DeRozan and Fox have both authored plenty of heroic moments over the last couple years.

The adjustment period should be worth it, though. And all three of those stars are solid playmakers and passers for their positions. Expect plenty of high-octane shootouts between the Kings and their opponents.

Like the Jazz, the Golden State Warriors are sort of in limbo. Right now, they don’t really have a bona fide second scoring option behind Stephen Curry (unless Buddy Hield gets back to scoring around 20 points per game), and their best option for that might be a Markkanen trade.

Even without that, they should be better than they were in 2023-24, and that’s with the losses of CP3 and Klay Thompson factored in.

Health permitting, De’Anthony Melton can be one of the best defensive guards in the league. Kyle Anderson is one of the game’s best and most unique defenders and playmakers. And Hield can replace much (if not all) of the shooting Thompson took with him.

If Draymond Green can avoid multiple multi-game suspensions, and Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga continue to develop, Golden State can get back to the playoffs.

Without a trade to land another star, though, expecting title contention might be too much.

We can probably put the Donovan Mitchell trade rumors to rest, at least for now. After signing a three-year, $150.3 million extension, it feels like the core of Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen is pretty much locked in.

And that should mean plenty of regular-season success. Over the last two seasons, when all four are in the game, Cleveland is plus-6.9 points per 100 possessions.

There are some outstanding questions about fit, particularly for playoff basketball. Can a backcourt as small as Garland and Mitchell survive on defense? Does a frontcourt with as little shooting as Mobley and Allen score enough on the other end?

Barring big steps forward from Mitchell as a defender or Mobley as a three-point threat, the answers to the above are probably no. Those steps aren’t out of the question, though.

After a surprise Eastern Conference Finals appearance, the Indiana Pacers’ biggest move this offseason was re-signing Pascal Siakam. And that move alone should keep Indiana in the playoff range.

When Siakam was on the floor with Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner, the Pacers were plus-5.8 points per 100 possessions.

The top of the East should be tougher than it was this past spring, especially if teams like the Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks don’t become the walking wounded in the playoffs, but that’s a strong enough trio to at least stay competitive.

Repeating last season’s success might require some developmental leaps from Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin and Aaron Nesmith.

Even if they aren’t able to move Brandon Ingram, the New Orleans Pelicans underwent some pretty dramatic changes this offseason.

Jonas Valančiūnas left in free agency, and Larry Nance is now with the Hawks, so the team might still need a starting center (with all due respect to Daniel Theis).

Those losses probably don’t outweigh the addition of Murray, though. His arrival signals the end of the “CJ McCollum as starting point guard” era and might even move him to a heat-check-scorer-off-the-bench role.

A starting five that includes Murray, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III and Zion Williamson could be nightmarish for opponents on the defensive end.

And if Zion is healthy down the stretch, the Pelicans can make the playoffs, even in the West.

Like Houston, the Orlando Magic could’ve just stood still this offseason and still been one of 2024-25’s most intriguing up-and-comers.

With Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero, they have a young, dynamic, playmaking forward combo that already led this group to the playoffs and a near-top-four seed.

But Orlando isn’t just running it back. It used its cap space to land perhaps this summer’s best role-playing free agent in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

The two-time champion is exactly the kind of wing the Magic needed to plug into lineups with Wagner and Banchero. He’ll gladly take on difficult perimeter matchups and space the floor without demanding too many touches on the other end.

The ultra-expensive Phoenix Suns were one of 2023-24’s most disappointing teams.

They fell shy of 50 wins and got swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs. Kevin Durant will come back as a 36-year-old. And Bradley Beal’s lack of durability over the last few years isn’t guaranteed to improve as he ages.

But the Suns were plus-7.5 points per 100 possessions when those two played with Devin Booker. And that number nudges up to plus-10.4 when you add Grayson Allen and Jusuf Nurkić to the big three.

With more time to gain some continuity and hopefully a little better health (a big if for this team), Phoenix can reenter the contenders’ tier.

The Memphis Grizzlies looked like a perennial 50-win team before Ja Morant’s 2023-24 was derailed by a suspension and shoulder injury.

And even if his (and Steven Adams’) absence led to a lot of losses, that campaign may prove helpful in the long run. Jaren Jackson Jr. got plenty of time and opportunity to expand his offensive game. And the on-court reps for GG Jackson and Vince Williams Jr. likely accelerated their development and should help their bench in 2024-25.

If Morant, Desmond Bane and JJJ are mostly available, and incoming rookie center Zach Edey can merely be competent, the Grizzlies could be a regular-season wins machine again.

There’s no doubt 2023-24 was a disappointing campaign for the Milwaukee Bucks. A prime Giannis Antetokounmpo season simply shouldn’t end in the first round of the playoffs.

Of course, Giannis was hurt for that series against the Indiana Pacers. Damian Lillard missed some time in that round, too.

And even though Lillard, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez are all well past their primes, the healthy Bucks can still win the title.

When Lillard, Giannis, Middleton and Lopez were all on the floor last season, Milwaukee was a whopping plus-16.3 points per 100 possessions.

The New York Knicks overpaid for Mikal Bridges, but they were in a unique position to justify that. He’s a perfect addition to his three Villanova teammates, including superstar Jalen Brunson.

But even that trade wasn’t the biggest move of the summer for New York. Brunson just signed a well-below-market-value contract extension that will keep him on the Knicks for four more years, while making team-building far easier for his organization than it would’ve been if he’d waited to sign a max contract next summer.

With him, Bridges, Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo all there and on reasonable contracts, OG Anunoby’s $212.5 million deal is easier to wrap your head around.

The Knicks are well built, versatile and bona fide contenders.

Annual roster turnover has become one of the only constants during Joel Embiid’s career, but the Philadelphia 76ers’ moves this summer undeniably made the team better.

They landed the biggest name on the free-agent market in Paul George. They re-signed Tyrese Maxey. And they bolstered that trio with a supporting cast that includes Caleb Martin, Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon.

Health in the spring and summer will always be the biggest factor for Embiid and his team, but if that trio is available, the Sixers are a very real championship threat.

Luka Dončić just made his first NBA Finals at 25 years old. Given his all-time statistical trajectory, it’s safe to assume more are on the way, and this offseason shored that up.

Dallas lost some helpful players in Jones, Hardaway and Josh Green, but they replaced them with Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall and Quentin Grimes.

The latter two both have some three-and-D upside, but the biggest addition was obviously Thompson.

He’s not the player he was at the height of the Warriors’ dynasty, but his job should also be easier with Dallas.

In lineups with Dončić and Kyrie Irving, Thompson will have tons of wide-open three-point attempts created out of nothing for him. His off-ball movement should help the Mavericks, but he also won’t have to do as much of that to get open. And more standstill catch-and-shoot opportunities could help his accuracy and save his legs a bit for defense.

Add those marginal improvements on the wing to continued development from Dončić and Dereck Lively II, and Dallas should absolutely still be in the hunt for the title.

Much was made of the loss of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and it’s obviously far from ideal, but he was the team’s fifth starter. Roster-building under this new collective bargaining agreement and its restrictions for more expensive teams is hard, and general manager Calvin Booth has long known that developing young talent would be the key for overcoming those hardships.

Now, his plan will be put to the test with Christian Braun, Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther all being asked to step into bigger roles.

The addition of Dario Šarić should help whichever two spend the most time with the most second unit. If they pull off the long-rumored Russell Westbrook addition, that’ll be an upgrade over Reggie Jackson, too.

But Denver remaining a title contender has more to do with Nikola Jokić than anything else. He’s the best player in the world, and even without KCP, a starting lineup with him, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon should be one of the best in the league.

Anthony Edwards’ star is rising through the 2024 playoffs and into this run with Team USA. His ascension to All-NBA status is the biggest reason the Minnesota Timberwolves are still contenders.

But another year of continuity for him, Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mike Conley and Jaden McDaniels should help, too.

And a trade for first-round pick Rob Dillingham could provide a nice boost to the bench behind that group.

After finishing first in the star-studded Western Conference last season, the Oklahoma City Thunder arguably had the best offseason of any team in the league this summer.

Lack of size and rebounding was one of their only real weaknesses in 2023-24, and they signed one of the best and most versatile centers available in Isaiah Hartenstein.

They also traded a shooting liability in Josh Giddey for perhaps the best perimeter defender in the NBA in Alex Caruso.

Add another MVP-caliber campaign from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the expected development of Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, and it’s pretty easy to imagine OKC in the Finals.

The Boston Celtics just ran through the 2023-24 campaign like an absolute juggernaut.

They won 64 games in the regular season, had the league’s biggest point differential (by far) and were never really challenged in the playoffs.

And this summer, they ensured that every member of that title-winning rotation would be back for the chance to repeat.

The Celtics are clearly and understandably the favorites to win it all next year.