The NBA league standings paint a vivid picture of how each team is faring through the season, and it pinpoints emerging contenders, surprise risers, and struggling franchises across both conferences. As wins and losses mount, the standings hint at momentum shifts, statistical dominance, and early positioning for playoff battles.
Eastern Conference
• The surprise of the East: Detroit Pistons are leading with a stellar 15-2 record, first place in the East.
• Not far behind are Toronto Raptors at 13-5 and Miami Heat at 12-6.
• Also on winning records are the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers, though there is a bit of turbulence regarding injuries and rotations in Cleveland.
The East has been impressively strong lately: over the past two weeks, Eastern teams have gone 19-13 (.594) against Western Conference opponents in interconference games.
Western Conference
• The dominant team of the season so far is the Oklahoma City Thunder, 18-1 while holding the best record in the league, far ahead of everyone else.
• Behind them are Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets, both at 13-4, and also Houston Rockets at 12-4.
• Phoenix Suns have also made a leap, as they currently sit at 12-7, which is an improvement that earns them notice in recent power rankings.
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Efficiency, Pace, and Scoring Context
Based on the most up-to-date metrics from week 6:
League-wide, the average offense has been 114.8 points per 100 possessions at an overall pace of about 101.2 possessions per team per 48 minutes.
• The Thunder lead in efficiency, with an offensive rating of 119.6 – top 4 in the league – and their defensive rating is 102.8, best in the league. Their net rating sits at an elite +16.9.
• On the other end of the scale, there are clubs like the New Orleans Pelicans. With a record of 3-15, they have the league’s worst record; owing to struggles on both ends, their net rating is deeply negative at –12.5.
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Who’s Surging — Teams & Storylines
Detroit Pistons
The Pistons are the surprise package this season; never generally thought of as one of the top contenders, but 15-2 is real – they currently lead the East.
But with that surge comes questions: are they this good because of some type of early-season momentum, or are they genuinely improved? Either way, that performance is turning heads across the league.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Historically Great Start
It’s not all about the wins and losses with the Thunder, as their point differential, pace, efficiency, and depth all point toward a team firing on all cylinders. Their +16.9 net rating in 18 games is one of the best starts historically.
Even when their star (Shai Gilgeous Alexander) sits, the bench is contributing-recent games saw solid scoring from second-unit players keeping the offense humming.
Phoenix Suns & Resurgent West Middle Pack
The Suns have climbed fast into the West’s upper tier, entering the Top-10 power rankings this week.
The race for playoff spots is already crowded across the West, with Lakers, Nuggets, Rockets, Suns, and Spurs all within a few games of each other. As the season goes on, that could make the middle of the West especially competitive.
Struggling through Lower End: New Orleans Pelicans & Some Others
Teams like the Pelicans are at the bottom, and early results suggest this may be a rough year for rebuilding or retooling franchises. Their –12.5 net rating highlights that the problems are across both ends of the floor: offense isn’t clicking and defense is leaky.
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What these numbers could suggest for the season ahead
• The fact that the East, which has been more bunched together historically, currently has three teams at or near elite-level records suggests a potential shift in the balance of power this season. Detroit’s rise, along with Toronto and Miami’s good records, could make the Eastern Conference surprisingly deep.
• The West remains dangerous as ever. A hot start by Oklahoma City could firmly establish them as a runaway favorite. But there is little margin for error: several teams are close in record, meaning one or two losses could shuffle the standings dramatically.
• Efficiency metrics – not just wins/losses – reinforce that Thunder aren’t just winning, they’re dominating. If the team can remain healthy and maintain depth and rotation, they may be on track for one of the best full-season performances in recent memory.
• On the other side, teams that are poor now may have a tough time rising quickly — especially if their offensive/defensive ratings remain poor, and also if they lack consistency or star-level contributions.
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Recent Headlines & Notable Context (from Week 6)
• The latest release of power-rankings has had the Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns break into the league’s Top 10 — a sign of shifting momentum.
• The East has had strong interconference performance of late: 19–13 vs the West over the past fortnight, which begs the following question – is the East getting back to being as competitive as the West historically has been?
• Team by team, some clubs – like the Cleveland Cavaliers – are dealing with injuries and fluctuating rotations and still managing to hang on, record-wise.
• While bottom dwellers like Pelicans are likely to face an uphill battle unless they can shake their problems on both offense and defense, it’s a tall order if early indicators are anything to go by.
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Takeaways & What to Watch for Next
• Watch Detroit closely. If their early-season form holds, they might not just challenge for a playoff berth — they could be a legit contender in the East.
• Oklahoma City looks like world-beaters. They have balance between offense, defense and depth; perhaps the most complete team in the league currently.
• The West: a war zone. With several teams bunched up around similar records, every game matters. Mid-season trades or injuries could drastically shake up the standings.
• Efficiency > Record. Teams performing well in efficiency metrics, OffRtg/DefRtg/NetRtg, tend to have more sustainable success than those just scraping by with early wins — a trend that has been evident with OKC, Detroit, and Phoenix.
• Potential busts at the bottom. Teams like the Pelicans may have to grind out games to avoid lottery positioning — and that can be mentally and physically taxing as the season winds on.