NBA

2025-26 Week 21 Rankings

Oklahoma City Thunder is No. 1 in the Week 21 NovaModel NBA rankings, ahead of San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons. The biggest climb: Miami Heat, up 2 spots. The biggest drop: Toronto Raptors, down 3 spots. Every team is rated the same way, on game results alone - no polls and no committee votes.

What happened in Week 20

52 games were played in Week 20. Top-10 teams lost 14 times. 5 games were upsets by the pre-game rankings.

Brooklyn Nets upset No. 2 Detroit Pistons, 107-105 on the road. Michael Porter Jr. led Brooklyn Nets with 30 pts. In these rankings, Brooklyn Nets stays at No. 27 and Detroit Pistons falls from No. 2 to No. 3.
Golden State Warriors upset No. 6 Houston Rockets, 115-113 on the road. Brandin Podziemski led Golden State Warriors with 26 pts. In these rankings, Golden State Warriors stays at No. 15 and Houston Rockets falls from No. 6 to No. 7.
Miami Heat upset No. 2 Detroit Pistons, 121-110 at home. Tyler Herro led Miami Heat with 25 pts. In these rankings, Miami Heat rises from No. 13 to No. 11 and Detroit Pistons falls from No. 2 to No. 3.
Charlotte Hornets upset No. 4 Boston Celtics, 118-89 on the road. Kon Knueppel led Charlotte Hornets with 20 pts. In these rankings, Charlotte Hornets falls from No. 17 to No. 18 and Boston Celtics stays at No. 4.
Orlando Magic upset No. 8 Minnesota Timberwolves, 119-92 on the road. Desmond Bane led Orlando Magic with 30 pts. In these rankings, Orlando Magic rises from No. 16 to No. 14 and Minnesota Timberwolves stays at No. 8.
No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder beat No. 5 New York Knicks, 103-100 on the road. Chet Holmgren led Oklahoma City Thunder with 28 pts. In these rankings, Oklahoma City Thunder stays at No. 1 and New York Knicks stays at No. 5.
No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder beat Chicago Bulls, 116-108 on the road. Jared McCain led Oklahoma City Thunder with 20 pts. In these rankings, Oklahoma City Thunder stays at No. 1 and Chicago Bulls stays at No. 22.
No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder beat Golden State Warriors, 104-97 at home. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City Thunder with 27 pts. In these rankings, Oklahoma City Thunder stays at No. 1 and Golden State Warriors stays at No. 15.

Week 20 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 21 ranking uses only games played before Week 21, 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	50-15	W 104-97 vs GS	vs #9 DEN	72.0O 52.8 · D 57.1	–
2	San Antonio SpursWestern Conference	47-17	W 145-120 vs HOU	vs #4 BOS	68.3O 53.3 · D 53.4	▲ 1Up 1 spot since last week
3	Detroit PistonsEastern Conference	45-18	L 110-121 @ MIA	@ BKN	65.9O 51.2 · D 54.8	▼ 1Down 1 spot since last week
4	Boston CelticsEastern Conference	43-21	W 109-98 @ CLE	@ #2 SA	63.2O 48.8 · D 57.4	–
5	New York KnicksEastern Conference	41-24	L 97-110 @ LAL	@ #19 LAC	61.9O 51.6 · D 54.2	–
6	Cleveland CavaliersEastern Conference	39-25	L 98-109 vs BOS	vs #16 PHI	59.3O 53.8 · D 50.1	▲ 1Up 1 spot since last week
7	Houston RocketsWestern Conference	39-24	L 120-145 @ SA	vs #13 TOR	59.0O 49.2 · D 54.8	▼ 1Down 1 spot since last week
8	Minnesota TimberwolvesWestern Conference	40-24	L 92-119 vs ORL	@ #10 LAL	58.3O 52.5 · D 50.7	–
9	Denver NuggetsWestern Conference	39-25	L 103-142 vs NY	@ #1 OKC	57.5O 54.4 · D 48.6	–
10	Los Angeles LakersWestern Conference	39-25	W 110-97 vs NY	vs #8 MIN	56.1O 50.5 · D 50.0	▲ 1Up 1 spot since last week
11	Miami HeatEastern Conference	36-29	W 121-110 vs DET	vs WSH	55.5O 54.8 · D 48.6	▲ 2Up 2 spots since last week
12	Phoenix SunsWestern Conference	37-27	W 111-99 vs CHA	@ #21 MIL	55.5O 47.0 · D 54.1	–
13	Toronto RaptorsEastern Conference	36-27	W 122-92 vs DAL	@ #7 HOU	55.0O 48.6 · D 53.1	▼ 3Down 3 spots since last week
14	Orlando MagicEastern Conference	35-28	W 130-91 @ MIL	vs #6 CLE	54.2O 49.9 · D 51.5	▲ 2Up 2 spots since last week
15	Golden State WarriorsWestern Conference	32-31	L 97-104 @ OKC	@ UTAH	52.2O 50.0 · D 51.4	–
16	Philadelphia 76ersEastern Conference	34-29	L 116-125 @ ATL	@ #6 CLE	51.9O 50.9 · D 48.8	▼ 2Down 2 spots since last week
17	Atlanta HawksEastern Conference	33-31	W 125-116 vs PHI	vs #24 DAL	51.3O 52.3 · D 48.1	▲ 1Up 1 spot since last week
18	Charlotte HornetsEastern Conference	32-33	L 99-111 @ PHX	@ #20 POR	51.1O 50.1 · D 52.5	▼ 1Down 1 spot since last week
19	LA ClippersWestern Conference	31-32	W 123-120 @ MEM	vs #5 NY	50.3O 47.6 · D 53.0	–
20	Portland Trail BlazersWestern Conference	31-34	W 131-111 vs IND	vs #18 CHA	48.5O 50.5 · D 47.8	–
21	Milwaukee BucksEastern Conference	27-36	L 91-130 vs ORL	vs #12 PHX	42.9O 46.1 · D 49.7	–
22	Chicago BullsEastern Conference	26-38	L 110-126 @ SAC	@ #15 GS	41.9O 50.4 · D 45.7	–
23	Memphis GrizzliesWestern Conference	23-39	L 120-123 vs LAC	@ BKN	40.7O 50.1 · D 47.6	–
24	Dallas MavericksWestern Conference	21-43	L 92-122 @ TOR	@ #17 ATL	37.1O 48.0 · D 47.7	–
25	New Orleans PelicansWestern Conference	21-45	W 138-118 vs WSH	vs #13 TOR	36.9O 50.2 · D 45.5	–
26	Utah JazzWestern Conference	19-45	L 99-113 @ MIL	vs #15 GS	34.0O 52.4 · D 40.9	–
27	Brooklyn NetsEastern Conference	16-47	W 107-105 @ DET	vs #23 MEM	31.6O 42.6 · D 50.0	–
28	Indiana PacersEastern Conference	15-49	L 111-131 @ POR	@ SAC	29.7O 46.7 · D 45.6	–
29	Sacramento KingsWestern Conference	15-50	W 126-110 vs CHI	vs IND	29.7O 46.0 · D 45.1	▲ 1Up 1 spot since last week
30	Washington WizardsEastern Conference	16-47	L 118-138 @ NO	@ #11 MIA	28.5O 47.6 · D 42.3	▼ 1Down 1 spot since last week

What happened in Week 20

All 30 teams

How these rankings work

What happened in Week 20

All 30 teams

How these rankings work

Biggest Movers