NBA

2025-26 Week 22 Rankings

Oklahoma City Thunder is No. 1 in the Week 22 NovaModel NBA rankings, ahead of San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons. The biggest climb: Atlanta Hawks, up 2 spots. The biggest drop: Golden State Warriors, down 4 spots. Every team is rated the same way, on game results alone - no polls and no committee votes.

What happened in Week 21

53 games were played in Week 21. Top-10 teams lost 13 times. 5 games were upsets by the pre-game rankings.

Dallas Mavericks upset No. 6 Cleveland Cavaliers, 130-120 on the road. Cooper Flagg led Dallas Mavericks with 27 pts. In these rankings, Dallas Mavericks stays at No. 24 and Cleveland Cavaliers falls from No. 6 to No. 7.
LA Clippers upset No. 5 New York Knicks, 126-118 at home. Kawhi Leonard led LA Clippers with 29 pts. In these rankings, LA Clippers rises from No. 19 to No. 18 and New York Knicks stays at No. 5.
Toronto Raptors upset No. 3 Detroit Pistons, 119-108 at home. Brandon Ingram led Toronto Raptors with 34 pts. In these rankings, Toronto Raptors falls from No. 13 to No. 14 and Detroit Pistons stays at No. 3.
Orlando Magic upset No. 6 Cleveland Cavaliers, 128-122 at home. Desmond Bane led Orlando Magic with 35 pts. In these rankings, Orlando Magic rises from No. 14 to No. 13 and Cleveland Cavaliers falls from No. 6 to No. 7.
LA Clippers upset No. 8 Minnesota Timberwolves, 153-128 at home. Kawhi Leonard led LA Clippers with 45 pts. In these rankings, LA Clippers rises from No. 19 to No. 18 and Minnesota Timberwolves falls from No. 8 to No. 10.
No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder beat No. 9 Denver Nuggets, 129-126 at home. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City Thunder with 35 pts. In these rankings, Oklahoma City Thunder stays at No. 1 and Denver Nuggets rises from No. 9 to No. 8.
No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder beat No. 4 Boston Celtics, 104-102 at home. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City Thunder with 35 pts. In these rankings, Oklahoma City Thunder stays at No. 1 and Boston Celtics stays at No. 4.
No. 10 Los Angeles Lakers beat No. 9 Denver Nuggets, 127-125 at home. Austin Reaves led Los Angeles Lakers with 32 pts. In these rankings, Los Angeles Lakers rises from No. 10 to No. 9 and Denver Nuggets rises from No. 9 to No. 8.

Week 21 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 22 ranking uses only games played before Week 22, 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	53-15	W 116-103 vs MIN	@ #13 ORL	72.6O 52.7 · D 57.2	–
2	San Antonio SpursWestern Conference	49-18	W 115-102 vs CHA	@ #18 LAC	68.3O 53.5 · D 53.3	–
3	Detroit PistonsEastern Conference	48-19	L 108-119 @ TOR	@ WSH	66.0O 51.6 · D 54.8	–
4	Boston CelticsEastern Conference	44-23	W 111-100 vs WSH	vs #11 PHX	62.4O 48.6 · D 57.5	–
5	New York KnicksEastern Conference	44-25	W 110-107 vs GS	vs IND	61.7O 51.3 · D 54.2	–
6	Houston RocketsWestern Conference	41-25	W 107-105 vs NO	vs #9 LAL	58.9O 48.7 · D 54.9	▲ 1Up 1 spot since last week
7	Cleveland CavaliersEastern Conference	41-27	L 120-130 vs DAL	@ #21 MIL	58.7O 53.9 · D 50.0	▼ 1Down 1 spot since last week
8	Denver NuggetsWestern Conference	41-27	L 125-127 @ LAL	vs #16 PHI	58.2O 55.1 · D 48.5	▲ 1Up 1 spot since last week
9	Los Angeles LakersWestern Conference	42-25	W 127-125 vs DEN	@ #6 HOU	57.4O 50.9 · D 50.0	▲ 1Up 1 spot since last week
10	Minnesota TimberwolvesWestern Conference	41-27	L 103-116 @ OKC	vs #11 PHX	57.0O 52.5 · D 50.2	▼ 2Down 2 spots since last week
11	Phoenix SunsWestern Conference	39-28	L 115-122 @ TOR	@ #4 BOS	55.6O 47.4 · D 53.9	▲ 1Up 1 spot since last week
12	Miami HeatEastern Conference	38-30	L 117-121 vs ORL	@ #17 CHA	55.6O 54.9 · D 48.6	▼ 1Down 1 spot since last week
13	Orlando MagicEastern Conference	38-28	W 121-117 @ MIA	@ #15 ATL	55.2O 50.3 · D 51.3	▲ 1Up 1 spot since last week
14	Toronto RaptorsEastern Conference	38-29	W 119-108 vs DET	@ #22 CHI	54.8O 48.6 · D 53.0	▼ 1Down 1 spot since last week
15	Atlanta HawksEastern Conference	36-31	W 122-99 vs MIL	vs #13 ORL	52.3O 52.1 · D 48.6	▲ 2Up 2 spots since last week
16	Philadelphia 76ersEastern Conference	37-31	W 109-103 vs POR	@ #8 DEN	51.9O 50.5 · D 49.0	–
17	Charlotte HornetsEastern Conference	34-34	L 102-115 @ SA	vs #12 MIA	51.4O 49.7 · D 52.8	▲ 1Up 1 spot since last week
18	LA ClippersWestern Conference	34-33	L 109-118 vs SAC	vs #2 SA	51.3O 48.2 · D 52.7	▲ 1Up 1 spot since last week
19	Golden State WarriorsWestern Conference	32-35	L 107-110 @ NY	@ WSH	50.2O 49.8 · D 51.2	▼ 4Down 4 spots since last week
20	Portland Trail BlazersWestern Conference	32-36	L 103-109 @ PHI	@ BKN	48.0O 50.0 · D 48.3	–
21	Milwaukee BucksEastern Conference	28-39	W 134-123 vs IND	vs #7 CLE	42.1O 46.1 · D 49.4	–
22	Chicago BullsEastern Conference	27-40	L 108-119 @ LAC	vs #23 MEM	41.8O 50.7 · D 45.4	–
23	Memphis GrizzliesWestern Conference	23-43	L 110-126 @ DET	@ #22 CHI	39.2O 50.1 · D 47.1	–
24	Dallas MavericksWestern Conference	23-45	W 130-120 @ CLE	@ #25 NO	37.8O 48.0 · D 47.6	–
25	New Orleans PelicansWestern Conference	22-46	L 105-107 @ HOU	vs #24 DAL	37.6O 50.1 · D 45.9	–
26	Utah JazzWestern Conference	20-48	L 111-116 @ SAC	@ #10 MIN	33.9O 52.2 · D 41.1	–
27	Brooklyn NetsEastern Conference	17-50	L 97-104 @ PHI	vs #20 POR	31.7O 42.3 · D 50.2	–
28	Sacramento KingsWestern Conference	18-51	W 116-111 vs UTAH	vs #2 SA	31.3O 45.9 · D 45.6	▲ 1Up 1 spot since last week
29	Indiana PacersEastern Conference	15-53	L 123-134 @ MIL	@ #5 NY	28.8O 46.4 · D 45.7	▼ 1Down 1 spot since last week
30	Washington WizardsEastern Conference	16-50	L 100-111 @ BOS	vs #19 GS	28.3O 47.9 · D 42.0	–

What happened in Week 21

All 30 teams

How these rankings work

What happened in Week 21

All 30 teams

How these rankings work

Biggest Movers