NBA Power Rankings 24-25: Top 10 teams after Week 18 ft. LA Lakers and Detroit Pistons

With the NBA All-Star Game and the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, we've officially entered the most crucial stretch of the 2024-25 NBA season.

Every win and loss is more crucial than ever, as all games will have playoff implications, leaving teams on the outside looking in with no margin for error.

It's also time for contenders to start making statements, but they will also have to put health atop their priority list with the playoffs just around the corner.

Here are the top 10 teams in the league after Week 18.

NBA Power Rankings after Week 18 of the 2024-25 season

#10 Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks are fifth in the Eastern Conference and they're striving to host at least one playoff series. They are also 19-9 at home.

Kyle Kuzma's addition has been solid and they've gone 6-4 in their last 10 games and 32-25 overall. They're just one game behind the No. 4-seeded Indiana Pacers.

#9 Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets continue to be one of the top teams in the Western Conference; however, they've lost some ground in the race for a top two seed. They're now fourth after going 5-5 in their last 10 games.

While their defense continues to be elite, their offense could use more spacing and shooting. They shoot just 44.7% from the floor, good for 24th in the league.

#8 New York Knicks

For the most part, the New York Knicks have looked like a championship-caliber team this season. However, that's not the case when they go against another contending team.

Mitchell Robinson's return should do wonders for their interior defense, but that also means Karl-Anthony Towns will most likely have to slide back to power forward — a major adjustment to make.

#7 Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies are one of the best home teams in the NBA, riding a 22-6 home record, good for second-best in the Western Conference. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about their away record (16-14).

With Victor Wembanyama's season-ending injury, Jaren Jackson Jr. is now the odds-on favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year, and should he win it, he will be eligible to sign a supermax contract extension.

#6 Detroit Pistons

J.B. Bickerstaff has done an outstanding job in his first year in charge of the Detroit Pistons. They overcame another slow start to the season and a big injury from Jaden Ivey to get into playoff contention.

The up-and-coming Pistons have won eight consecutive games, and are 33-26 and four games ahead of the Orlando Magic for the No. 7 seed.

#5 LA Lakers

Luka Doncic is starting to catch fire for the LA Lakers, and that's terrible news for the rest of the league. The Lakers have gone 7-2 since the trade and he's starting to get more comfortable.

With Doncic and LeBron James at the helm, JJ Redick's team is 35-21, just 1.5 games behind the Rockets for fourth in the Western Conferene. They are also 20-7 at home.

#4 Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets have officially put their slow start to the season in the rearview mirror. Jamal Murray is back to his old ways and Russell Westbrook has been a huge complement to Nikola Jokic.

Mike Malone's team has gone 9-1 in its last 10 games and 20-9 at home, tied for the second-best record in the conference. Jokic is averaging a 29-point, 12-rebound, 10-assist triple-double.

#3 Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics have been up and down this season, but they have also caught fire at this time of the year multiple times in the past. They are 3-1 against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.

The defending NBA champions are 42-17 and leading the league in 3-pointers made at 1,053. They also have the second-fewest turnovers per game (11.5) and second-best assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3).

#2 OKC Thunder

The OKC Thunder have a case for being the best team in the NBA this season. They're 47-11, including 25-4 at home despite not having Chet Holmgren for a long stretch.

They lead the NBA in free-throw percentage (82.2%) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4), and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the leading scorer in the league at 32.4 points per game on 52.4% shooting.

#1 Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to have the best record in the NBA. They are 9-1 in their last 10 and are a league-best 27-4 at home.

The Cavs are just four wins away from securing a top-six playoff spot, and they've already clinched a spot in the Play-In Tournament at worst. They lead the league in points per game (123) and three-point percentage (39.4%).