NBA

2025-26 Week 18 Rankings

Oklahoma City Thunder is No. 1 in the Week 18 NovaModel NBA rankings, ahead of Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs. The biggest climb: Portland Trail Blazers, up 3 spots. The biggest drop: Atlanta Hawks, down 3 spots. Every team is rated the same way, on game results alone - no polls and no committee votes.

What happened in Week 17

31 games were played in Week 17. Top-10 teams lost 5 times. 3 games were upsets by the pre-game rankings.

Indiana Pacers upset No. 5 New York Knicks, 137-134 on the road. Pascal Siakam led Indiana Pacers with 30 pts. In these rankings, Indiana Pacers rises from No. 28 to No. 27 and New York Knicks stays at No. 5.
LA Clippers upset No. 6 Houston Rockets, 105-102 on the road. Kawhi Leonard led LA Clippers with 27 pts. In these rankings, LA Clippers stays at No. 18 and Houston Rockets stays at No. 6.
Milwaukee Bucks upset No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder, 110-93 on the road. Ousmane Dieng led Milwaukee Bucks with 19 pts. In these rankings, Milwaukee Bucks rises from No. 22 to No. 21 and Oklahoma City Thunder stays at No. 1.
No. 8 Cleveland Cavaliers beat No. 7 Denver Nuggets, 119-117 on the road. Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland Cavaliers with 32 pts. In these rankings, Cleveland Cavaliers rises from No. 8 to No. 7 and Denver Nuggets falls from No. 7 to No. 8.
No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder beat Los Angeles Lakers, 119-110 on the road. Jalen Williams led Oklahoma City Thunder with 23 pts. In these rankings, Oklahoma City Thunder stays at No. 1 and Los Angeles Lakers stays at No. 11.
No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder beat No. 9 Phoenix Suns, 136-109 on the road. Jalen Williams led Oklahoma City Thunder with 28 pts. In these rankings, Oklahoma City Thunder stays at No. 1 and Phoenix Suns falls from No. 9 to No. 10.

Week 17 recap reel

All 30 teams

How these rankings work

Every team is rated the same way, on game results alone - no polls and no committee votes. A Week 18 ranking uses only games played before Week 18, so it's the order the teams went into that week in. Movement is the change from the ranking before it.

Rank	Team	Record	Last	Next	Rating	Trend
1	Oklahoma City ThunderWestern Conference	42-14	L 93-110 vs MIL	vs BKN	72.2O 53.4 · D 56.9	–
2	Detroit PistonsEastern Conference	40-13	W 113-95 @ TOR	@ #5 NY	68.6O 51.1 · D 55.3	–
3	San Antonio SpursWestern Conference	38-16	W 126-113 @ GS	vs #10 PHX	66.3O 52.1 · D 53.5	–
4	Boston CelticsEastern Conference	35-19	W 124-105 vs CHI	@ #13 GS	62.2O 49.2 · D 56.3	–
5	New York KnicksEastern Conference	35-20	W 138-89 @ PHI	vs #2 DET	61.4O 52.0 · D 53.1	–
6	Houston RocketsWestern Conference	33-20	L 102-105 vs LAC	@ #19 CHA	60.3O 49.3 · D 55.2	–
7	Cleveland CavaliersEastern Conference	34-21	W 138-113 vs WSH	vs BKN	59.8O 54.1 · D 49.5	▲ 1Up 1 spot since last week
8	Denver NuggetsWestern Conference	35-20	W 122-116 vs MEM	@ #18 LAC	58.7O 54.2 · D 48.7	▼ 1Down 1 spot since last week
9	Minnesota TimberwolvesWestern Conference	34-22	W 133-109 vs POR	vs #24 DAL	58.1O 53.2 · D 50.7	▲ 1Up 1 spot since last week
10	Phoenix SunsWestern Conference	32-23	L 109-136 vs OKC	@ #3 SA	56.6O 48.3 · D 53.6	▼ 1Down 1 spot since last week
11	Los Angeles LakersWestern Conference	33-21	W 124-104 vs DAL	vs #18 LAC	55.9O 50.3 · D 49.5	–
12	Toronto RaptorsEastern Conference	32-23	L 95-113 vs DET	@ #22 CHI	55.4O 48.3 · D 52.9	–
13	Golden State WarriorsWestern Conference	29-26	L 113-126 vs SA	vs #4 BOS	53.5O 49.9 · D 52.0	▲ 2Up 2 spots since last week
14	Philadelphia 76ersEastern Conference	30-24	L 89-138 vs NY	vs #20 ATL	53.3O 51.1 · D 49.0	▼ 1Down 1 spot since last week
15	Miami HeatEastern Conference	29-27	W 123-111 @ NO	@ #20 ATL	53.2O 53.8 · D 48.6	▼ 1Down 1 spot since last week
16	Orlando MagicEastern Conference	28-25	L 108-116 vs MIL	@ SAC	52.0O 49.5 · D 50.6	–
17	Portland Trail BlazersWestern Conference	27-29	W 135-119 @ UTAH	vs #8 DEN	49.3O 51.2 · D 47.8	▲ 3Up 3 spots since last week
18	LA ClippersWestern Conference	26-28	W 105-102 @ HOU	vs #8 DEN	49.3O 46.7 · D 53.2	–
19	Charlotte HornetsEastern Conference	26-29	W 110-107 vs ATL	vs #6 HOU	49.2O 49.7 · D 51.7	–
20	Atlanta HawksEastern Conference	26-30	L 107-110 @ CHA	@ #14 PHI	48.1O 51.9 · D 47.3	▼ 3Down 3 spots since last week
21	Milwaukee BucksEastern Conference	23-30	W 110-93 @ OKC	@ NO	43.6O 46.6 · D 50.2	▲ 1Up 1 spot since last week
22	Chicago BullsEastern Conference	24-31	L 105-124 @ BOS	vs #12 TOR	42.7O 51.0 · D 45.3	▼ 1Down 1 spot since last week
23	Memphis GrizzliesWestern Conference	20-33	L 116-122 @ DEN	vs #25 UTAH	41.2O 49.8 · D 48.3	–
24	Dallas MavericksWestern Conference	19-35	L 104-124 @ LAL	@ #9 MIN	39.0O 48.4 · D 48.5	–
25	Utah JazzWestern Conference	18-38	L 119-135 vs POR	@ #23 MEM	35.3O 53.3 · D 40.3	–
26	New Orleans PelicansWestern Conference	15-41	L 111-123 vs MIA	vs #21 MIL	33.5O 49.5 · D 45.8	–
27	Indiana PacersEastern Conference	15-40	W 115-110 @ BKN	@ WSH	32.5O 46.3 · D 47.4	▲ 1Up 1 spot since last week
28	Brooklyn NetsEastern Conference	15-38	L 110-115 vs IND	@ #7 CLE	32.0O 42.7 · D 50.6	▼ 1Down 1 spot since last week
29	Washington WizardsEastern Conference	14-39	L 113-138 @ CLE	vs IND	28.6O 47.5 · D 42.7	▲ 1Up 1 spot since last week
30	Sacramento KingsWestern Conference	12-44	L 93-121 @ UTAH	vs #16 ORL	28.0O 45.2 · D 46.1	▼ 1Down 1 spot since last week

What happened in Week 17

All 30 teams

How these rankings work

What happened in Week 17

All 30 teams

How these rankings work

Biggest Movers