It is April, so of course, everyone is wary of being fooled. But The Athletic NBA Power Rankings are dedicated to giving you all the information you need on a weekly basis.
But we’re always looking to improve and be better at providing that weekly service here. Therefore, we are opening the Power Rankings App Store. Every team will come with its own features designed for you to enhance your experience of watching them, whether that is in person at an arena, via television provided by a convenient cable or streaming service or by some highlights chosen by your algorithm.
Please keep in mind there are some troubleshooting issues. I know many of you have wanted the “Standings View” in the rankings, but we actually don’t do that. Some have also been asking about unlocking that first tier, but the user’s guide clearly states where the tiers are. Finally, some out there believe the first 50 games of the season shouldn’t count when considering these Power Rankings. But, these are not the “What If?” Rankings.
A reminder: These Power Rankings won’t just rank every team. We will retain the tiers that teams will be promoted into and relegated out of. There will be five tiers every week:
• Top Contenders – Locked at five, these are the class of the league
• In a Good Place – Could be one team, could be seven teams.
• The Bubble – Not to be confused with Walt Disney World. The middle of the pack.
• Not the Tier to Fear – Not playing the worst ball in the league, but with a lot of work to do.
• Basement Floor – Bringing up the rear.
Let’s download Week 23 of the Power Rankings into the rotation. Win/loss records and statistics are through Monday’s games.
Tier 1: Top Contenders
1. Oklahoma City Thunder (63-12)
Last ranking: 1
In the last week: W at SAC, W vs MEM, W vs IND, W vs CHI
Offensive rating: 119.2 (third)
Defensive rating: 106.0 (first)
App Store description: The most powerful app in the store. Do you realize this team has outscored foes by more than one thousand points with seven games left to play? If Oklahoma City were a virtual private network, it might be too strong for the everyday user.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers (60-15)
Last ranking: 2
In the last week: W at POR, W vs SA, L at DET, W vs LAC
Offensive rating: 121.5 (first)
Defensive rating: 111.9 (eighth)
App Store description: Center Jarrett Allen had a forgettable night when the Cavaliers visited the LA Clippers two weeks ago. But Allen took that personally in Cleveland and served the Clippers with 25 points on 11-of-12 shooting in what was arguably the best win of the month. Sometimes the best apps need a restart – or a rematch.
3. Boston Celtics (56-19)
Last ranking: 3
In the last week: W at PHO, W at SA, W at MEM
Offensive rating: 119.6 (second)
Defensive rating: 110.2 (fifth)
App Store description: Boston entered March on the heels of a blown lead against the Cavaliers. The Celtics responded by losing only once the entire month, and that was against the other conference top seed, Oklahoma City. The Celtics dominated March, and they went 8-0 on the road, with only one of those games decided by single digits. That’s the kind of app that performs well regardless of location.
4. Los Angeles Lakers (46-29)
Last ranking: 6
In the last week: W at IND, L at CHI, W at MEM, W vs HOU
Offensive rating: 114.4 (13th)
Defensive rating: 113.6 (14th)
App Store description: The Lakers were the first team since the 1992 Charlotte Hornets to win a game on a buzzer-beater one night only to be a buzzer-beater victim the very next night. They responded by putting up 134 points in Memphis and holding the Rockets under 100. There’s a sizable gap between the NBA’s top three teams and the rest of the league, but the Lakers have shown a ceiling that is more threatening than most. Thursday’s game against the Warriors is a no-excuse spot for Los Angeles given the previous success it has had against Golden State as well as what will be yet another rest advantage.
5. Houston Rockets (49-27)
Last ranking: 4
In the last week: W vs ATL, W at UTA, W at PHO, L at LAL
Offensive rating: 114.7 (11th)
Defensive rating: 109.7 (fourth)
App Store description: You know that app that hasn’t been great in years and finally makes some improvements but still no one quite trusts it because they have some issues that don’t make it trustworthy? These Rockets are that app. Houston is dominating the regular season with gains in the possession battle and on the fast break, but this team lacks one more money-season shot creator while being limited by inefficient shooting.
Tier 2: In a Good Place
6. Golden State Warriors (43-31)
Last ranking: 5
In the last week: L at MIA, W at NO, W at SA
Offensive rating: 113.8 (16th)
Defensive rating: 111.0 (seventh)
App Store description: The Warriors left some settings off in Miami and got smacked. But Stephen Curry did not play. When Curry and Jimmy Butler III share the floor together, Golden State is 17-2.
7. Indiana Pacers (44-31)
Last ranking: 7
In the last week: L vs LAL, W at WAS, L at OKC, W vs SAC
Offensive rating: 115.4 (eighth)
Defensive rating: 113.7 (16th)
App Store description: A really unfortunate week for the Pacers, as they were beaten at the buzzer by the Lakers while getting humbled in OKC. On the flip side, they were the only team to win a game by more than 50 points in March, blasting the Wizards for 162 points in the process. Indiana is the kind of app that runs smoothly but needs protections updated frequently.
Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers put up 162 points against the Wizards. (Trevor Ruszkowski / Imagn Images)
8. Minnesota Timberwolves (43-32)
Last ranking: 14
In the last week: W vs PHO, W vs DET
Offensive rating: 115.2 (14th place)
Defensive rating: 110.7 (sixth)
App Store description: The logistics were easy for the Timberwolves this past week. They got three days off after losing in Indiana, and then they didn’t have to leave Minnesota. The result was two blowout wins to finish March with 11 wins. This app is the opposite of Indiana — decent protection for the most part, but it doesn’t always work as it should.
9. LA Clippers (43-32)
Last ranking: 13
In the last week: W at NY, W at BRK, L at CLE, W at ORL
Offensive rating: 113.4 (18th)
Defensive rating: 109.4 (third)
App Store description: The Clippers went 3-0 this week with Kawhi Leonard in the lineup, dropping the front end of a back-to-back in Cleveland. Leonard ascended to All-NBA-level performance in March, scoring 20 points in all but one of his games. The one game in March Leonard didn’t score at least 20 points was his overtime buzzer-beater game against the Sacramento Kings. The Clippers are starting a five-game home stand at Intuit Dome, an arena that has an app of its own.
10. Denver Nuggets (47-28)
Last ranking: 9
In the last week: W vs MIL, W vs UTA
Offensive rating: 119.1 (fourth)
Defensive rating: 115.0 (20th)
App Store description: The most important thing that happened this week for Denver is that MVP candidate Nikola Jokić returned. Obviously, the Nuggets app is significantly better when it has the Joker available to hit shots from the backcourt and whip passes from exploratory angles. The Nuggets are in the middle of a five-game homestand, with Tuesday’s game against Minnesota coming with three days of rest; the Nuggets are looking to avoid being swept by the team that ended their season last year.
11. New York Knicks (47-27)
Last ranking: 8
In the last week: W vs DAL, L vs LAC, W at MIL, W vs POR
Offensive rating: 117.6 (fifth)
Defensive rating: 113.4 (13th)
App Store description: This was a solid week for the Knicks, and they’re 7-5 since Jalen Brunson injured his ankle. But March is over, and Brunson still isn’t back. Of the eight games left for the Knicks, three of them are against the Cavaliers and Celtics. There is time for the Knicks to get confidence-boosting statement wins, and perhaps get Brunson back at some point, too.
12. Detroit Pistons (42-33)
Last ranking: 12
In the last week: W vs SA, W vs CLE, L at MIN
Offensive rating: 114.6 (12th)
Defensive rating: 112.0 (10th)
App Store description: All-Star Cade Cunningham missed the last 10 days of March due to injury, and in that time, Detroit clinched a winning season for the first time in nine seasons. The Pistons also decided to fight the Timberwolves. They’re an app you must be careful downloading, as they don’t always interact well with other apps.
Tier 3: The Bubble
13. Memphis Grizzlies (44-31)
Last ranking: 10
In the last week: W at UTA, L at OKC, L vs LAL, L vs BOS
Offensive rating: 117.3 (sixth)
Defensive rating: 112.6 (12th)
App Store description: In 1983, the New Jersey Nets got off to a 47-29 start under coach Larry Brown, who took them to the playoffs the season before in his first year. But Brown was eyeing the Kansas job, and the Nets parted ways with him with only six games left to play. Including playoffs, the Nets finished 2-6 the rest of the way. And even that isn’t as shocking as the Grizzlies deciding to fire Taylor Jenkins with nine games left in the season. He was replaced by new assistant Tumoas Iisalo on an interim basis. Read the terms and conditions of all apps – the lesson here is to always beware if you have to hire a new staff of assistants against your will following a poor season.
14. Milwaukee Bucks (40-34)
Last ranking: 11
In the last week: L at DEN, L vs NY, L vs ATL
Offensive rating: 114.2 (15th)
Defensive rating: 112.6 (11th)
App Store description: The Bucks had a six-game losing streak earlier in the season, but this current four-game losing streak comes with the sobering development of All-Star point guard Damian Lillard being ruled out indefinitely due to deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. Giannis Antetokounmpo or one of his star teammates have been unable to play in the majority of postseason games every year since the 2021 championship, and this spring is looking no different.
Tier 4: Not the Tier to Fear
15. Miami Heat (34-41)
Last ranking: 23
In the last week: W vs GS, W vs ATL, W at PHI, W at WAS
Offensive rating: 111.6 (21st place)
Defensive rating: 112.0 (ninth)
App Store description: Yes, this is a massive leap in the rankings for a losing team. But the Heat ended March on a five-game win streak, currently the longest in the NBA outside of the Thunder and Celtics. The schedule helped, but Miami was playing awful basketball, and then the Heat throttled Jimmy Butler’s Warriors while scoring a key win over their Play-In brethren Hawks. Sometimes it’s a good thing for an app to catch on fire, and Miami is on a heater.
Erik Spoelstra’s Heat have been on a roll since beating Jimmy Butler and the Warriors. (Jamie Sabau / Getty Images)
16. Atlanta Hawks (36-38)
Last ranking: 15
In the last week: L at HOU, L at MIA, W at MIL
Offensive rating: 113.2 (19th)
Defensive rating: 114.7 (17th)
App Store description: The Hawks had one of the stranger road trips of the season as far as direction: flying west to Texas, east to Florida, then north to Wisconsin before heading back down to the Dirty South. Back-to-back losses also prevented the Hawks from getting back over .500. But Atlanta ended the trip by scoring at least 140 points for the fourth time this season while rookie top pick Zaccharie Risacher ran more laps around the Bucks than the common patron at Hartsfield-Jackson.
17. Dallas Mavericks (37-39)
Last ranking: 20
In the last week: L at NY, W at ORL, W at CHI, L vs BRK
Offensive rating: 114.3 (14th)
Defensive rating: 114.7 (18th)
App Store description: We’ve established often over these last several weeks that the Mavericks cannot have nice things. With that in mind, it is great for them that Daniel Gafford is back, one week after Anthony Davis made his return. Dallas has won four of six games after starting the post-All-Star break portion of the schedule 3-11. But I’m sure if there were an app for their fanbase to rescind a trade, the folks in Dallas would be all over it.
18. Orlando Magic (36-40)
Last ranking: 18
In the last week: W at CHA, L vs DAL, W vs SAC, L vs LAC
Offensive rating: 108.3 (28th)
Defensive rating: 109.2 (second)
App Store description: Do you like your apps to be as low scoring as possible? Then the Magic are for you! No team allows fewer points per game than Jamahl Mosley’s unit, as they hold foes to 105.7 points per game. Unfortunately for them, they only score 104.9 points per game, last in the league. Monday night marked the third time this season Orlando lost a game despite holding an opponent under 100 points.
19. Chicago Bulls (33-42)
Last ranking: 17
In the last week: W vs LAL, L vs DAL, L at OKC
Offensive rating: 112.8 (20th)
Defensive rating: 115.5 (24th)
App Store description: The extraordinary comeback against the Lakers capped by Josh Giddey’s half-court buzzer-beater will be played back for years to come – perhaps not as much as the previous game-winning buzzer-beating 3 by the home team in Chicago (see: 2015 Derrick Rose). Unfortunately, the Bulls did nothing to build on that momentum, as they came up short at home against the Mavericks while getting pummeled in Giddey’s return to Oklahoma City. The progression of Giddey, Coby White and rookie Matas Buzelis is great to see in a season where the Bulls need to decide what’s next.
20. Sacramento Kings (36-39)
Last ranking: 19
In the last week: L vs OKC, W vs POR, L at ORL, L at IND
Offensive rating: 115.4 (seventh)
Defensive rating: 115.2 (22nd)
App Store description: Speaking of the Bulls… all Kings lineups with DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine sharing the floor have been outscored by 58 points this season, and Sacramento is 10-15 in the games in which both play. The Kings have lost six of their last seven games and don’t return home until April 9. They’re going to make it so that all apps prohibit reuniting star teammates from squads that failed to win a playoff series together.
21. Phoenix Suns (35-40)
Last ranking: 16
In the last week: L vs BOS, L at MIN, L vs HOU
Offensive rating: 115.1 (10th)
Defensive rating: 117.2 (26th)
App Store description: The Suns are 2-11 this season without Kevin Durant. The volume of games being as low as it is didn’t save Phoenix before, and now Durant will miss time going into April with a sprained ankle. It has been mentioned many ways in this space throughout the season, but we will apply it in app form – great shooting does not make for a great team, and this team shows it regularly.
22. Portland Trail Blazers (32-43)
Last ranking: 21
In the last week: L vs CLE, L at SAC, L at NY
Offensive rating: 111.3 (22nd)
Defensive rating: 114.8 (19th)
App Store description: It’s been real, Portland. The Trail Blazers had a real Play-In Tournament push going, but ultimately, this team was never good enough to sustain its decent play to begin 2025. March ended with Portland losing 10 of 15 games after it was 16-12 in January and February.
23. San Antonio Spurs (31-43)
Last ranking: 22
In the last week: L at DET, L at CLE, L vs BOS, L vs GS
Offensive rating: 113.7 (17th)
Defensive rating: 116.5 (25th)
App Store description: The Spurs have suffered multiple four-game losing streaks after Victor Wembanyama’s unfortunate deep vein thrombosis diagnosis. Like Portland, San Antonio failed to survive March with any kind of viability toward a Play-In Tournament appearance, and that was despite uninspiring teams ahead of it. If you need to drop some apps, feel free to do so with some of these straggling West teams.
24. Toronto Raptors (28-47)
Last ranking: 24
In the last week: W at BRK, W vs CHA, W at PHI
Offensive rating: 109.6 (26th)
Defensive rating: 113.7 (15th)
App Store description: The Raptors are on the most hilarious run of accidental winning I’ve seen in a while. But then again, we’ve seen Darko Rajaković’s squad play well for a few weeks at a time. They won eight of 10 games over a three-week span before the trade deadline. Now, they are utilizing a tankers’ row app to win four straight games to finish March with a 10-5 record. Ethical losing has been what Toronto is about most of this season, and it will be interesting to see if the basketball gods shine on the Raptors next month in the draft lottery.
25. Brooklyn Nets (25-51)
Last ranking: 25
In the last week: L vs TOR, L vs LAC, W at WAS, W at DAL
Offensive rating: 108.5 (27th)
Defensive rating: 115.3 (23rd)
App Store description: Like the Raptors, the Nets are an Atlantic Division team that clearly wasn’t going anywhere but upheld a spirit of competition for most of this season. Sure, Brooklyn has had its share of outrageously bad showings (see: the two Clippers games), but the Nets have been respectable over the course of the year.
D’Angelo Russell and the Nets have shown fight all season long. (Jerome Miron / Imagn Images)
Tier 5: Basement Floor
26. New Orleans Pelicans (21-54)
Last ranking: 26
In the last week: L vs GS, W vs CHA
Offensive rating: 110.1 (25th)
Defensive rating: 118.7 (30th)
App Store description: We have reached the portion of our offerings that lacks several stars and quality reviews. The Pelicans have mercifully ended the seasons of Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum. They join mainstays Dejounte Murray, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III on season-ending injured reserve. That’s the wrong app to keep updating.
27. Charlotte Hornets (19-56)
Last ranking: 28
In the last week: L vs ORL, L at TOR, L at NO, W vs UTA
Offensive rating: 107.1 (29th)
Defensive rating: 115.0 (21st)
App Store description: Speaking of shutting down apps, the Hornets have declared that LaMelo Ball is done for the year. In five seasons with the Hornets, Ball has missed at least 20 games four times, and he has not played a game in April since 2022. Ball’s talent is obvious, but his lack of durability means so much more for a team that doesn’t have the talent to be compelling when Ball isn’t playing.
28. Washington Wizards (16-59)
Last ranking: 30
In the last week: W at PHI, L vs IND, L vs BRK, L vs MIA
Offensive rating: 105.9 (30th)
Defensive rating: 118.0 (28th)
App Store description: Washington is here because it beat the Philadelphia 76ers. The Wizards spent the rest of the week trying to make up for it, namely by getting roasted by the Pacers on their home floor. The average Wizards game is a 12-point Washington loss. The last time a team was as bad as the Wizards from a point-differential standpoint was 2012, when the 7-59 Charlotte Bobkittens were outscored by 13.9 points per game. This Washington team messed around and improved its win total from last season, so there’s that.
29. Philadelphia 76ers (23-52)
Last ranking: 27
In the last week: L vs WAS, L vs MIA, L vs TOR
Offensive rating: 111.3 (23rd)
Defensive rating: 117.4 (27th)
App Store description: Philadelphia is bringing that old Process ball back, signing players such as Philip Wheeler and Marcus Bagley to 10-day contracts just to tank accordingly. That’s the app the Sixers have been on since Paul George ended his podcast: the app that actually gets you a jersey and warm-ups so that you can be a part of this woeful experience on the court.
30. Utah Jazz (16-60)
Last ranking: 29
In the last week: L vs MEM, L vs HOU, L at DEN, L at CHA
Offensive rating: 110.2 (24th)
Defensive rating: 118.6 (19th)
App Store description: This franchise originated in 1974 in New Orleans, where it makes sense to name a basketball team after Black music. The Jazz never won 40 games in Louisiana before relocating in 1979. It took five years in Utah for the Jazz to become a winning team and a playoff team, but once they got in, they were there for 20 years. Now, at long last, the Jazz have their first 60-loss season in franchise history. For their sake, it better be worth it. In the meantime, there are several apps that allow you to create Jazz playlists. That may be better than watching how the April portion of the season winds up in Utah.
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(Top photo of Giannis Antetokounmpo: Jeremy Chen / Getty Images)
