Week 1 NBA power rankings: 10 best and 10 worst teams right now, including the Lakers and Knicks

Not every team can get off to a flying start in the new NBA season. There are quite a few teams that have issues dating back to last season that they must first overcome before they can earn respectability around the game. Let’s take a look at the 10 teams that had a first week that fell well below their expectations.

The Miami Heat should be a competitive team again this season. However, they have looked underwhelming in the first week of the season. While it is nice that Terry Rozier has had a good start to the year, the average play of top stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo after two games may be an early reason for concern about their potential this season.

Also Read: 20 Worst NBA players of all-time, including Greg Oden

The Houston Rockets return with many of the same pieces from last season’s team despite trade rumors in the summer. They competed for a play-in spot late in the year but fell short. They have the parts to make the postseason in 2024-25 and they should be better in year two for head coach Ime Udoka.

That has not shown yet after the first week of the season as the Rockets were on the wrong side of losses to lottery teams the Hornets and Spurs. It also hasn’t helped that talented young big man Alperen Sengun has gotten off to a very slow start to begin the year.

It was another lost season for the Chicago Bulls in 2023-24 after injuries and drama curtailed any hopes they had of a return to the playoffs. If Lonzo Ball can stay healthy and make an impact, Josh Giddey can look more like the player he was a few seasons ago, and Zach LaVine can return to All-Star former then Chicago can be better than early projections have them finishing this season.

So far, building chemistry between the team’s old, new, and returning players is not coming easily. Chicago has not looked good to begin the season and their 1-2 record after the first week is proof of that. Ball is still playing limited minutes. If they can increase to his previous levels, it makes sense to expect Chicago to get better in the weeks ahead.

Related: Chicago Bulls Game Today – TV Channels, Start Time, and Full 2024-2025 Schedule

The Charlotte Hornets disappointed again in 2023-24. And top star LaMelo Ball mirrored his brother Lonzo as a gifted player who had trouble staying on the court. The expectations are low for the team this season. But, they haven’t been too bad to start the year. While they are 1-2 they have been competitive in their games and most importantly, Ball has recaptured his young star former early in the new season.

While Scottie Barnes elevated his game and grew into the new face of the Toronto Raptors, the team went into rebuild mode last season after shipping off OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakim before the trade deadline. They need former Knicks Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett to be top-shelf secondary scorers if they plan to go far.

So far that hasn’t been possible as both are dealing with early-season injuries. The Raptors could easily be 0-3 but they scored a win over a beat-up 76ers squad and second-year man Gradey Dick has done a solid job filling the void.

Related: Rankings the 50 best NBA players in the 2024-25 season

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups is on a very hot seat this season. They have a roster that can be competitive, so Billups must finally get the pieces to fit, as well as elevate the game of Scoot Henderson. Last season’s top pick.

It is still a work in progress to begin the season as the Blazers have gotten off to a 1-2 start. They scored a surprise win over the Pelicans, but being absolutely blown out by the Warriors to open the season was not a good look for the embattled head coach.

The hope last season was that new head coach Monty Williams could bring the Detroit Pistons back to respectability like he did when he won a Coach of the Year award with the Phoenix Suns. Unfortunately, the losing ways of 2022-23 actually got worse under Williams and it led to his stunning firing after the season.

Detroit has unfortunately started the new season much like they ended the last. However, their 0-3 start is misleading and they have been competitive in matchups against the Cavs, Pacers, and Celtics. Elite teams in the East. The Pistons are showing some early signs of hope.

Related: NBA predictions 2024-25 – Predicting win-loss records for all 30 teams and final NBA stats leaders

This is an important year in the young career of head coach Will Hardy. After the Utah Jazz surprised in 2022-23, they regressed last season. The goal from the top is to be better in 2024-25. Unfortunately, they have not had the start ownership wants after kicking off the year 0-2. The years of cultivating draft and trade assets is starting to show more than ever on the product Utah puts on the floor.

The Washington Wizards were a disaster last season despite adding some nice players, like former Warriors bench ace Jordan Poole. In the offseason, they brought in worthwhile veterans like Jonas Valanciunas and Malcolm Brogdon. They also used their top pick on French big man Alex Sarr. On paper, this can be a competitive team in the East, but it will be new head coach Brian Keefe’s job to make that a reality.

So far, not so good. Brogdon is sidelined with a thumb injury and top player Kyle Kuzma has had a rough start. Unsurprisingly, the Wizards were winless the first week of the new season.

Also Read: NBA standings – Get a look at the latest win-loss record for all 30 NBA teams

This could be a very ugly season for the Brooklyn Nets. Yes, they have a couple of nice young players in Cam Thomas and Nic Claxton. But the club is completely in rebuild mode this season and expectations are very low. However, they have played solid ball to start the season. One of the best signs for the team so far is that despite Mikal Bridges’ departure this summer, Thomas has still put up strong numbers as the team’s undisputed No. 1 option.

Now it is time to look at the cream of the Week 1 NBA crop. Some of the teams below were expected to be among the 10 best to start the NBA schedule. However, there are a few surprises after the first week of the season.

This will be the dawn of a new age in Golden State. The Big Three era is over and a shift is beginning to Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski being core players of the roster. However, to start the season Stephen Curry and a new face have led the way in the team’s 2-1 start.

While Curry hasn’t played like a scoring beast, he has filled up the stat sheet and has gotten some big help from Buddy Hield. The three-point ace has been a perfect fit in the Warriors system. Furthermore, their strong play on defense has been a very nice surprise for Dub Nation.

Also Read: Golden State Warriors game today – Get time and channel for the next Warriors game

After another strong season last year, the Orlando Magic are no longer a surprise team in the East. They are a legitimate top-five squad and Paolo Banchero is one of the future faces of the league. The organization is hoping veteran swingman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope can be the missing piece to a dark horse team this season.

So far in 2024-25, the Magic are playing just like they did last season. They are one of the best defensive teams in the league and the young combo of Banchero and Franz Wagner continues to be one of the best in the East.

There is a lot of pressure and high expectations on this Phoenix Suns roster. That is what comes with investing a massive amount of money in three players that may not necessarily be a perfect fit. But after Frank Vogel failed to turn this unique group into a title contender the task now falls to Mike Budenholzer.

Over the first week, the team’s three-headed scoring monster has played well. Kevin Durant is the undisputed No. 1 option. But Devin Booker has sacrificed his looks to help Bradley Beal get going and it has worked so far. Plus, new point guard Tyus Jones has also been key as a needed facilitator on the floor.

Related: Phoenix Suns Game Today – TV Channels, Start Time, and Full 2024-2025 Schedule

The expectations for the Los Angeles Lakers this season were not high. But over the first week of the season, they have looked like a title contender for new head coach JJ Redick. Anthony Davis has been playing like an early MVP candidate and Austin Reaves has looked a lot more like the player who earned a big extension two summers ago. Injuries are always a concern for this team, but as of now, the Lakers are a problem in the West.

Also Read: Los Angeles Lakers game today – Get time and channel for the next Lakers game

The Dallas Mavericks quieted a lot of doubters last season after a disastrous finish to the 2022-23 season. In the offseason, they added future hall-of-famer Klay Thompson. And they will have key role players Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington on the roster from the start of the season.

While they split their first two games of the season, the good defense they played late in the season has continued in their new campaign.

The New York Knicks front office went all in this summer to bolster this roster for a serious championship run. Star guard Jalen Brunson will now have two-way stud Mikal Bridges with him in the backcourt, and four-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns as his scoring partner. Although they were dominated by the Celtics to open the season, they bounced back by thrashing the Pacers. They still have work to do but this group has big potential.

Also Read: New York Knicks game today – Get time and channel for the next Knicks game

The Minnesota Timberwolves were one of the best squads in the NBA all of last season. While there was a lot of doubt about whether this group was for real after a red-hot start, they maintained their strong play and did so with an outstanding defense.

The strong defensive play is still there in 2024, but this time around former Knicks Julius Randle is playing second fiddle to Anthony Edwards instead of Karl-Anthony Towns. And he has done well in the role. Giving the TWolves just as formidable a one-two punch on offense as they had last season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will return with much of last year’s team. And that is not a bad thing. With new head coach Kenny Atkinson the Cavs have had a fantastic start to the season. While they didn’t face the elites of the East in the first week of the season, they dominated their way to a 3-0 start. They are getting a strong team effort and doing it without sharpshooter Max Strus. But as always, their high-level defense is again leading the way for Cleveland.

Related: Highest paid NBA players right now – Running down the 20 best paid in 2024-25

The Oklahoma City Thunder added underrated center Isaiah Hartenstein and defensive ace Alex Caruso in the offseason. Those moves help to make them the team to beat out west until further notice. So far Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the crew have looked scary as they have the best defense in the league despite Hartenstein being out with an injury. They finished the first week of the season unbeaten and had little competition from the Nuggets, Bulls, and Hawks. They are scary good.

The Boston Celtics were one of the top teams in our NBA power rankings throughout last season and remain in that spot to begin the season. To open their title defense they smashed rivals the Knicks and followed that up with two more easy wins. And they did it without Kristaps Porzingis. But it hasn’t mattered since it looks like Jayson Tatum is out to win an MVP award this season after being marginalized on the 2024 Olympic team.

Also Read: Boston Celtics game today – Get details on the next Celtics game