Honestly, looking back at the NBA power rankings 2024 25 is a bit like looking at a time capsule where nobody knew the storm that was coming. We all thought we had it figured out. The Boston Celtics were coming off a dominant title, the Denver Nuggets still had the best player on the planet, and the Minnesota Timberwolves looked like they were ready to eat the world.
Then the season actually started.
By the time Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was hoisting the Bill Russell Finals MVP trophy in June 2025, the entire hierarchy of the league had been flipped on its head. If you weren't paying attention, you might have missed how a 68-win Oklahoma City Thunder team didn't just "get lucky"—they systematically dismantled the old guard.
The OKC Thunder and the Death of the "Too Young" Narrative
For years, the knock on Oklahoma City was their age. "They’re too young," "They don't have the size," "Wait until the playoffs." Well, the NBA power rankings 2024 25 eventually reflected the reality that Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams weren't just "prospects" anymore. They were high-level winning players who complemented SGA’s surgical scoring.
The Thunder finished the 2024-25 regular season with a 103 defensive rating. That’s absurd. It was seven points better than the next closest team. They played defense on a string, and while Chet’s rim protection gets the highlights, the perimeter pressure from guys like Lu Dort and Alex Caruso basically made it impossible for teams to even get into their sets.
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What most people get wrong about that 2024-25 run is the idea that it was a fluke. It wasn't. They led the league in net rating for almost the entire second half of the season. By the time they met the Indiana Pacers in that wild seven-game Finals series, the Thunder were the most polished team in basketball.
The Indiana Pacers: The Most Disrespected 50-Win Team
Can we talk about Indiana for a second? Nobody had them as a top-five team in their NBA power rankings 2024 25 at the start of the year. Most "experts" figured their 2024 Conference Finals run was a "right place, right time" situation because of injuries to the Bucks and Knicks.
Tyrese Haliburton spent the 2024-25 season proving everyone wrong. He led the league in assists (11.6 per game) and spearheaded an offense that simply refused to stop running. The Pacers set a postseason record that year with five 15-point comebacks. They were never dead.
The tragedy, of course, was Game 7 of the Finals. Seeing Haliburton go down with that ruptured Achilles in the first quarter was one of those "what if" moments that will haunt Indy fans forever. They were heavy underdogs, but they had the Thunder on the ropes multiple times.
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Why the "Blue Bloods" Fell Off the Map
If you looked at the power rankings in October 2024, you would have seen the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets at the top. But the NBA power rankings 2024 25 tell a story of attrition.
- Milwaukee Bucks: The Giannis and Dame experiment never quite hit that 2021 level of synergy. By the time the 2025 playoffs rolled around, the roster felt old.
- Denver Nuggets: They struggled with depth all year. When Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon missed significant time, the bench—which was already bottom-10 in scoring—totally evaporated.
- Boston Celtics: It’s hard to repeat. It’s even harder when Jayson Tatum goes down with a late-season injury. They won a ton of games, but they never found that "championship gear" they had the year before.
The Trade That Changed Everything: KD to Houston
Late in the 2024-25 cycle, a move happened that basically broke the internet and the rankings. The Houston Rockets decided they were done waiting. They shipped out Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, and a haul of picks to Phoenix for Kevin Durant.
At the time, people thought Houston gave up too much. But look at the results. The Rockets surged into the top five of the power rankings almost overnight. They already had a top-four defense, but they desperately needed a "get-a-bucket" guy for the playoffs.
Durant fit Ime Udoka’s system like a glove. It turned the Rockets from a "scary young team" into a "win-now juggernaut." This move didn't just affect the 2024-25 season; it set the stage for the absolute chaos we're seeing in the current 2025-26 standings.
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Surprise Risers and Disappointments
The Detroit Pistons were arguably the biggest shock of the 2024-25 season. They didn't just improve; they became a legitimate problem in the East. Jalen Duren turned into an All-Star caliber center, averaging a double-double that made him a frontrunner for Most Improved Player.
On the flip side, the Sacramento Kings were a disaster. Despite having elite talent on paper, they finished near the bottom of the league in net rating. It’s a reminder that talent doesn't always equal wins if the chemistry is off.
Actionable Insights for Following the 2025-26 Season
If you're tracking the current NBA landscape, the lessons from the 2024-25 season are clear. You can't just look at the names on the back of the jerseys; you have to look at the underlying data.
- Monitor Defensive Rating over Net Rating: The Thunder proved that a historic defense is a more reliable indicator of playoff success than a flashy offense. Keep an eye on teams that consistently stay in the top three defensively.
- Watch the "Clutch" Stats: The Los Angeles Lakers propped up their 2024-25 record with an undefeated mark in clutch games (games within 5 points in the final 5 minutes). This is almost always a sign of impending regression. If a team is winning by "luck" in the final minutes, they're probably ranked higher than they should be.
- The "Gap Year" Factor: Teams like the Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards are currently navigating a landscape where the 2026 Draft class (featuring Cooper Flagg’s transition and other elite prospects) is influencing front-office decisions. Power rankings will fluctuate wildly as teams decide whether to push for the play-in or pivot toward the lottery.
- Health Trends: Check the "Games Played" threshold. With the league's 65-game rule for awards, stars like Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren are under immense pressure to stay on the floor. A team's ranking is only as good as its star's calf muscles.
The 2024-25 season taught us that the NBA’s middle class is gone. You’re either a defensive juggernaut, a high-octane offensive machine like Indiana, or you’re falling behind. Keep those metrics in mind before you bet on the "big names" over the "big systems."