The NBA regular season came to a close Sunday night after every team in the association took the court. Play-in and playoff seeding was decided and lottery odds were set. Many teams opted to rest players in the final game of the year, if not for multiple games over the last week, but there was still plenty to glean from teams’ performances.
Here’s how the NBA landscape looks heading into the play-in tournament:
(Note: SI’s NBA staff is ranking every team from best to worst all season long, taking into account how each squad is currently playing.)
1. Phoenix Suns
Current record: 64–18
Previous ranking: 1
The Suns starters weren’t seen much over the final week of the season. They had the top seed in the conference locked up for quite some time and had the luxury of resting Chris Paul and Devin Booker for a couple games. Phoenix won both games its All-Star duo did play in against the Lakers and Jazz and lost to the Clippers and Kings without them.
2. Memphis Grizzlies
Current record: 56–26
Previous ranking: 2
Ja Morant returned to the Grizzlies lineup for the first time in nine games on Saturday and fit right back in. Memphis exploded for a 55-point third quarter against the Pelicans to snap a rare two-game losing streak and get Morant some playing time to gear up for the postseason. The Grizzlies sat their starters on Sunday in a loss against the Celtics and now await their first-round opponent a year after participating in the play-in tournament themselves.
3. Miami Heat
Current record: 53–29
Previous ranking: 3
The Heat rattled off six wins in a row before losing the regular-season finale to the Magic. They clinched the top seed in the East earlier in the week for the first time since 2013. Miami appears to have put its Jimmy Butler-Erik Spoelstra feud behind it—now the team just needs to get healthy for the postseason, something that’s been a struggle all year.
4. Boston Celtics
Current record: 51–31
Previous ranking: 4
Boston lost to the Bucks on Thursday and still managed to edge out the defending champions for the two seed. The Celtics blew out a Grizzlies team that was resting its starters in the finale to set up what could in all likelihood be a first-round series against the Nets. Jayson Tatum closed out the best season of his young career with yet another 30-point outing against Memphis after he sat out the Milwaukee game.
5. Milwaukee Bucks
Current record: 51–31
Previous ranking: 5
The Bucks sat their starters for Game 82 against the Cavaliers and lost accordingly. That loss, combined with Boston’s win, put Milwaukee in third place in the East and set up a first-round matchup with the Bulls, whom the Bucks swept this season. Milwaukee won its three games leading up to Sunday, including bouts with Boston and Chicago, to notch yet another 50-win campaign.
6. Golden State Warriors
Current record: 53–29
Previous ranking: 10
Klay Thompson scoring 41 points in the Warriors’ 82nd game was huge. Not only because it ensured Golden State would head into the playoffs as the three seed but also because it marked a season-high for Thompson, who’s been steadily working his way back from an Achilles injury. The Warriors went 3–0 last week with wins against the Lakers, Spurs and Pelicans. They’ll enter the playoffs winners of five in a row and will get Steph Curry back for their run.
7. Dallas Mavericks
Current record: 52–30
Previous ranking: 6
Dallas was unable to catch the Warriors for the three seed in the West. The Mavericks posted a 3–0 week that included a massive 128–78 win against the Trail Blazers. Sunday’s season finale brought on the Spurs and Dallas defeated its in-state opponent by 10, a game which Luka Doncic left early with a strained left calf. He’ll have almost a full week off to recover before the playoffs begin this weekend.
8. Toronto Raptors
Current record: 48–34
Previous ranking: 10
The Raptors beat the Hawks, 76ers and Rockets in order last week thanks to a few huge games from Pascal Siakam. Toronto was locked into the fifth seed before Sunday’s game so Siakam, Fred VanVleet and even coach Nick Nurse did not participate in a loss to the Knicks.
9. Philadelphia 76ers
Current record: 51–31
Previous ranking: 7
Philadelphia won three of its final four games but still finished in fourth place in the East. The 76ers fared poorly against playoff teams down the stretch—their only loss last week was against Toronto, its first-round opponent. Joel Embiid added a pair of 40-point double-doubles to his MVP campaign in two separate wins against the Pacers while James Harden’s shooting struggles continued.
10. Minnesota Timberwolves
Current record: 46–36
Previous ranking: 8
The Timberwolves dropped two of their final three games of the season and will be the highest-seeded team in the West play-in, where they’ll face the Clippers. Minnesota suffered a bad loss to Washington early in the week while it was still fighting for position with Denver. The Nuggets clinched the six seed on Thursday with a win, the same night Anthony Edwards exploded for a career-high 49 points in a T-Wolves win against the Spurs. With its seed secured, Minnesota held some of its stars out for the season finale, a close loss to the Bulls.
11. Denver Nuggets
Current record: 48–34
Previous ranking: 9
Denver’s only win last week was a gutsy one against Memphis that locked the team into the final playoff spot in the West. Avoiding the play-in game was huge for both the Nuggets’ postseason hopes and Nikola Jokic’s case for back-to-back MVPs, but their ceiling is seemingly capped amidst reports that Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray might not return for the playoffs.
Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports
12. Brooklyn Nets
Current record: 44–38
Previous ranking: 13
Brooklyn wrapped up the season by winning its final four games. The Nets’ competition (Houston, New York, Cleveland, Indiana) wasn’t stiff, but their win against the Cavaliers on Friday was important ahead of Tuesday night's play-in game where they will meet again. Closing out the year with a string of victories and taking the season series with the Cavs ensured Brooklyn hosted that game instead of playing it on the road.
13. Utah Jazz
Current record: 49–33
Previous ranking: 14
The Jazz did a lot to right the ship in the last week. Utah won as many games in the last seven days as it did in the previous two and a half weeks. The team beat the Grizzlies in overtime, blew out the Thunder, lost to the Suns and then dominated the Trail Blazers to close out the season. The Jazz played like a perennial playoff team should be expected, which is a lot more than anyone could say about the team over the last few weeks.
14. Atlanta Hawks
Current record: 43–39
Previous ranking: 12
Atlanta won the regular-season finale against Houston decisively to secure its standing as the ninth seed in the East. That means the Hawks get to host the Hornets in Wednesday’s play-in game. Atlanta did lose to both playoff teams it faced last week (Toronto and Miami) but Trae Young still closed the season on a positive note to bookend what should be his first All-NBA campaign.
15. Los Angeles Clippers
Current record: 42–40
Previous ranking: 14
Los Angeles scored a big win against the Suns on Tuesday in Norman Powell’s first game back in a month. The Clippers followed that up with massive victories against the Kings and Thunder to wrap up the season. Strong play in the final week of the season didn’t do anything to improve L.A.’s eighth place position in the West, though the team will enter Tuesday’s play-in game against Minnesota on a five-game winning streak.
16. Charlotte Hornets
Current record: 43–39
Previous ranking: 14
The Hornets were unable to move out of the 10 spot in the Eastern Conference despite closing the season with a trio of wins. Charlotte defeated the Magic, Bulls and Wizards each by 16 points or more behind LaMelo Ball’s scoring and playmaking. The Hornets’ scary offense was on full display as the season winded down but their defense remains a liability—it allowed 144 to the Heat in a loss on Tuesday.
17. Cleveland Cavaliers
Current record: 44–38
Previous ranking: 18
The Cavaliers made light work of the Bucks’ skeleton squad on Sunday and locked up the eighth seed in the East. That victory ended the team’s three-game skid. Evan Mobley returned to the lineup on Friday after a five-game absence and took part in the big win against Milwaukee. Now Cleveland just needs Mobley’s backcourt partner Jarrett Allen back for its play-in game against Allen’s former team, the Nets.
18. Chicago Bulls
Current record: 46–36
Previous ranking: 14
Sunday’s win against the Timberwolves was big for the Bulls. Neither team played their starters and it didn’t change seeding in any way, but it prevented Chicago from entering the playoffs having lost four games in a row, all by double digits. The Bulls were outscored by the Bucks, Celtics and Hornets this week by a combined 60 points, which only drove home the very real talking point that Chicago can’t beat good teams.
19. New Orleans Pelicans
Current record: 36–46
Previous ranking: 19
New Orleans went 2–2 last week to end the year. The Pelicans blew out the Kings and Trail Blazers, both lottery teams, and the Grizzlies and Warriors, both playoff teams, returned the favor against them. They avoided falling too far in the standings, though, and will host the Spurs in the play-in tournament.
20. San Antonio Spurs
Current record: 34–48
Previous ranking: 20
Gregg Popovich’s team will enter Wednesday’s play-in game riding a three-game losing streak. The Spurs began the week with a big win over the Nuggets that earned them the opportunity to play for a playoff spot. With that spot secured, San Antonio dropped its final three games to the Timberwolves, Warriors and Mavericks.
Vincent Carchietta/USA TODAY Sports
21. New York Knicks
Current record: 37–45
Previous ranking: 21
The final two games of New York’s season were the Obi Toppin show. The second-year pro set a new career high in points (35, 42) in back-to-back games, both Knicks wins against the Wizards and Raptors. Those performances followed a Tuesday night loss to the Nets in which Brooklyn completed the season sweep of its New York counterpart. The Knicks finished six games out of the play-in tournament a season after ending their seven-year playoff drought.
22. Washington Wizards
Current record: 35–47
Previous ranking: 14
Washington blew out a hot Timberwolves team, 132–114, early last week and proceeded to roll over for three straight losses to end its once promising season. The Wizards lost by double digits against the Hawks, Knicks and Hornets to close out the year and finished with one more win than the previous year when they made the playoffs.
23. Detroit Pistons
Current record: 23–59
Previous ranking: 23
Detroit went winless in its final three games. That three-game skid, not an uncommon occurrence on the Pistons’ journey to the third-worst record in the NBA, followed a rare three-game winning streak. Detroit dropped games by double-digits to Dallas, Milwaukee and Philadelphia to close out the season.
24. Sacramento Kings
Current record: 30–52
Previous ranking: 24
Domantas Sabonis, the Kings’ midseason win-now acquisition, could only watch from the sidelines as his new team missed the postseason for the 16th season in a row. Sacramento ended the year with a win against Phoenix, which broke its three-game losing streak, but there weren’t a lot of positives to take away from the season overall.
25. Indiana Pacers
Current record: 25–57
Previous ranking: 26
The Pacers’ schedule to end the season was not kind to them. Back-to-back games against the 76ers and a bout with the Nets on the final day of the regular season resulted in an 0–3 week and bookended a 10-game losing streak. Indiana’s horrid defense allowed 121 points or more in each of its final nine games.
26. Los Angeles Lakers
Current record: 33–49
Previous ranking: 25
The Lakers' lackluster season ended without LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the court, which was the case for much of the year, only for different reasons. Los Angeles went 2–2 across its final four games and the Suns, its first-round opponent from a season ago, had the honor of eliminating the team from play-in contention on Tuesday. A win against OKC mercilessly ended L.A.’s season-long eight-game losing streak and then the team beat Denver in overtime on Sunday night.
27. Houston Rockets
Current record: 20–62
Previous ranking: 29
Houston showed as much promise as a team can during a seven-game losing streak to finish with the league’s worst record. Rookie Jalen Green scored a season-high 41 points in the regular-season finale and Kevin Porter Jr. had a strong final week alongside him in the backcourt. For their struggles, the Rockets will pick near the top of the draft for the second year in a row.
28. Oklahoma City Thunder
Current record: 24–58
Previous ranking: 27
After scoring rare back-to-back victories, the Thunder proceeded to go 0–3 on a road trip to conclude the season. That included blowout losses to the Jazz, Lakers and Clippers. OKC finished with the fourth-worst record in the NBA for the second season in a row.
29. Orlando Magic
Current record: 22–60
Previous ranking: 30
The Magic notched two quality wins during the final week of the season despite finishing with the second-worst record in basketball. Orlando ended its six-game skid with a win against Cleveland, suffered a blowout loss to Charlotte and then ended the year with a double-digit win against Miami, which sat its starters. The Magic improved on their win total by one and are headed back to the lottery.
30. Portland Trail Blazers
Current record: 27–55
Previous ranking: 28
Portland’s tank job should be written about in history books. The Trail Blazers logged an 0–4 week to end the season, including a 33-point loss to the Pelicans, a 50-point defeat against the Mavericks and 31-point beating against the Jazz. Those three losses extended the team’s losing streak to 11 games and Portland finished with the sixth-worst record in basketball.
