The NBA is days away from tipoff on NBC and Peacock for what will be a historic season! The Oklahoma City Thunder look to repeat as champions and are favored to do so.
The Thunder open the NBA season by accepting rings, while hosting Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets. Then, later that night, Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and the Warriors go to Los Angeles to take on Luka Doncic without LeBron James.
Oklahoma City opens the my No. 1 team in my first power ranking of the season, but some of the other slots may surprise you. As always, there will be snubs, but I feel pretty confident all 10 of these teams will be in the playoffs come June. All Championship odds are courtesy of DraftKings.
Vaughn Dalzell’s Week 1 NBA Power Rankings
Oklahoma City Thunder Primary Logo
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
NBA Finals odds: +245
2024-25 Record: 68-14
2024-25 Result: Won 4-3 in the NBA Finals as No. 1 seed
Oklahoma City brought back every major piece from last year’s championship team, plus added Nikola Topic with the 12th overall pick, Brooks Barnhizer with the 44th, and signed 2022 11th overall pick Ousmane Dieng. The Thunder are favored to win back-to-back titles by a wide margin, and it’s hard to argue against.
Chet Holmgren only played 32 games last year, and Alex Caruso played 54. With those two healthy for a full season, OKC can be even better in 2025 with the reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander nearing his prime.
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2. Denver Nuggets
NBA Finals odds: +600
2024-25 Record: 50-32
2024-25 Result: Lost 4-3 in the second round as No. 2 seed
In one of the blockbuster trades of the summer, Denver upgraded and received Cam Johnson (18.8 PPG) and a 2032 first-round draft pick in exchange for Michael Porter Jr, who dealt with injuries amid averaging 7.4 points per game in his final playoff series with Denver. That wasn’t the only upgrade.
The Nuggets signed Tim Hardaway Jr. (11.0 PPG) and Jonas Valanciunas (10.4 PPG), two veterans to bolster a bench that ranked in the bottom five of bench scoring last year, plus drafted DaRon Holmes 22nd overall to clean the glass. The Nuggets addressed some glaring weaknesses and will likely be the biggest threat to the Thunder.
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3. Los Angeles Clippers
NBA Finals odds: +2800
2024-25 Record: 50-32
2024-25 Result: Lost 4-3 in the first round as No. 4 seed
With all of the Kawhi Leonard drama hanging over this team, let’s not forget they have a lot of veterans and added pieces to save this team from falling apart. While Los Angeles will miss Norman Powell’s instant offense, the offseason additions felt very strategic and deliberate.
Bradley Beal (17.0 PPG) joins the Clippers’ starting lineup after a failed stint in Phoenix. John Collins (19.0 PPG) was acquired in a three-team trade, and Los Angeles signed Chris Paul (8.8 PPG, 7.6 APG) to a one-year deal to back up James Harden. Brook Lopez (13.0 PPG) agreed to a two-year deal to stretch the floor behind Ivica Zubac.
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4. Minnesota Timberwolves
NBA Finals odds: +1400
2024-25 Record: 49-33
2024-25 Result: Lost 4-1 in Conference Finals as No. 6 seed
Most of Minnesota’s core returns as the starting five will be the exact same as last year. Minnesota appears to be relying on youngsters Rob Dillingham (20 years old) and Terrence Shannon Jr. (25 years old) to become future co-stars alongside Anthony Edwards. Dillingham played 49 games and Shannon 32 as rookies, and two combined starts.
Edwards is one of my favorite MVP candidates coming off a career-high in points (27.4), rebounds (5.7), and three-point percentage (39.5%). Naz Reid looks to run it back on his reigning Sixth Man of the Year season, and Rudy Gobert is a top-five candidate for Defensive Player of the Year once again.
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5. Houston Rockets
NBA Finals odds: +1100
2024-25 Record: 52-30
2024-25 Result: Lost 4-3 in the first round as No. 2 seed
Houston got after it this offseason. By now, everyone knows Kevin Durant is a rocket, but they also added Dorian Finney-Smith (8.7 PPG) and Josh Okogie (7.1 PPG) to boost this team defensively on the bench.
With Fred VanVleet suffering an ACL injury that will require him to miss the entire season, Houston will rely on second-year guard Reed Sheppard to take a major leap forward alongside Amen Thompson. Four of the five starters, excluding Durant, are between 21 and 23 years old — so youth will likely be a problem at points in the season.
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6. Los Angeles Lakers
NBA Finals odds: +1400
2024-25 Record: 50-32
2024-25 Result: Lost in the first round as No. 3 seed
Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart, Maxi Kleber, and Jake LaRavia may end up being one of LeBron James’ better recruiting classes in recent years. Last season, Los Angeles ranked 13th in three-point percentage and certainly improved in that area this offseason with the acquisitions of Kleber and LaRavia.
Minus Anthony Davis, the opening day roster looks a lot better than last year. For example, Smart is an upgrade at guard over D’Angelo Russell (Dallas), and Ayton’s time in L.A. should go smoother than the Christian Wood experiment did last year (not in the NBA anymore).
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7. Cleveland Cavaliers
NBA Finals odds: +750
2024-25 Record: 64-18
2024-25 Result: Lost in the second round as No. 1 seed
The Cavaliers’ big move this offseason was bringing in Lonzo Ball (7.6 PPG), which is a red flag. The green flag for Cleveland is the expected rise of De’Andre Hunter after 27 games and five starts for the Cavs. The 27-year-old Hunter will be in a full season with Cleveland after being traded from Atlanta following 5.5 years with the Hawks.
The starting lineup is stacked for Cleveland, but it’s the bench I worry about. Cleveland ranked eighth in bench scoring last year, but I expect a dip in bench scoring for 2025.
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8. New York Knicks
NBA Finals odds: +900
2024-25 Record: 51-31
2024-25 Result: Lost 4-1 in the Conference Finals as No. 3 seed
The hype is back for the Knicks, and so are all of their pieces from last year’s team, plus Jordan Clarkson (16.2 PPG), which gives this team another layer of bench scoring.
Speaking of pieces, it seems like a lot of them are falling in place for a potential Finals appearance. Indiana and Boston will be without Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum for the year, while Philadelphia has issues with Joel Embiid. Milwaukee lost Damian Lillard and Cleveland added Lonzo Ball. Why not New York?
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9. Dallas Mavericks
NBA Finals odds: +2500
2024-25 Record: 39-43
2024-25 Result: Lost in the play-in as No. 10 seed
Defense wins championships, and the Dallas Mavericks have one of heck of a defense on paper. The combination of Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, and P.J. Washington as the bigs gives teams no breaks in the paint, while Cooper Flagg (No. 1 overall pick) and Klay Thompson are a disgusting perimeter duo with length.
The two question marks are point guards D’Angelo Russell and Dante Exum. Dallas opened 2024 with Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Spencer Dinwiddie as the main guards, so D-Lo and Exum are obvious downgrades in 2025.
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10. Orlando Magic
NBA Finals odds: +2200
2024-25 Record: 41-41
2024-25 Result: Lost 4-1 in the first round as No. 7 seed
One of my favorite moves of the offseason is Desmond Bane (19.2 PPG) to Orlando. Bane averaged at least 18 points per game in four straight seasons with Memphis and shoots 41% from three for his career. Orlando signed Tyus Jones (10.2 PPG), who shot 41.4% from three last year, plus drafted Jase Richardson from Michigan State, who nailed 41.2% of his triples.
The Magic ranked dead last in three-point percentage (31.5%) last year and addressed that this offseason. With a likely career year for Paolo Banchero on the way, I think Orlando is the sneakiest team in the Eastern Conference and will be a top-three seed, improving on its five-seed and first-round loss to Cleveland last season.
How to Watch the NBA on NBC and Peacock
Peacock NBA Monday will stream up to three Monday night games each week throughout the regular season. Coast 2 Coast Tuesday presents doubleheaders on Tuesday nights throughout the regular season on NBC and Peacock. On most Tuesdays, an 8 p.m. ET game will be on NBC stations in the Eastern and Central time zones, and an 8 p.m. PT game on NBC stations in the Pacific and often Mountain time zones. Check local listings each week. Both games will stream live nationwide on Peacock. NBC Sports will launch Sunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock on Feb. 1, 2026. For a full schedule of the NBA on NBC and Peacock, click here.