Final NBA power rankings of 2025-26: Thunder top rankings, with Nuggets, Spurs rounding out top three
Two Eastern Conference teams, the Pistons and Celtics, round out the top five.
To my mind, there are seven teams with some shot at the NBA title, but I'd also be shocked if a June parade isn't held in OKC, Denver or on the River Walk in San Antonio (and that last one feels like a longer shot). Title Contenders 1. Oklahoma City Thunder (64-18, last week No.
1) Defending champions. Best defense in the NBA. Best and most clutch player in the NBA who is about to be a two-time MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
However, this team's real superpower is its ability not to look ahead during the regular season and to build good habits. "You go through the regular season, there's different opponents every night that present different challenges, but it always starts between you and yourself," coach Mark Daigneault said. 2.
Denver Nuggets (54-28, last week No. 2) Don't read anything into the Nuggets' victory over the Spurs on the final day of the season, other than it sets up those two teams for a titanic second-round clash. The real key to that series could be Peyton Watson, who missed the end of the regular season with a strained hamstring but should be good to go for the playoffs (at least the second round).
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