The Oklahoma City Thunder claimed the 2025 NBA title largely on the strength of an all-time great defense. Oklahoma City finished the 2024-25 regular season nearly three points per 100 possessions clear of the field for the best defensive efficiency in the NBA, and Mark Daigneault's team followed that up by improving on that efficiency mark during a 23-game playoff run to the championship.
Given the team's personnel, it does make sense that Oklahoma City is the NBA's best defensive team. One major reason is that the Thunder do not deploy any "negative" defenders on a regular basis, with even the team's offensive stars — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams — able to perform at a very high level on defense. From there, Oklahoma City has a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Chet Holmgren to unlock various lineups, and the Thunder also boast elite-tier perimeter defenders in Alex Caruso, Lu Dort, and Cason Wallace.
All told, it is an impressive collection of defensive talent molded with high-end coaching and clear attention to detail. The end result is that the 2025-26 version of the Thunder has actually been better than the year before, allowing only 1.05 points per possession on the way to a 31-7 start after the first 38 games. Generally, it seems like every other team is "playing for second" when it comes the defensive rating leaderboard, but there are a number of intriguing candidates to finish No. 2 on the list.
Before glancing at those candidacies, here is a list (via NBA.com) of the defensive ratings through the games on Jan. 7.
NBA Standings by DRTG
Rank | Team | Win-Loss Record | Defensive Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Thunder | 31-7 | 105.0 |
2 | Pistons | 28-9 | 110.0 |
3 | Raptors | 23-15 | 111.7 |
4 | Spurs | 26-11 | 111.8 |
5 | Heat | 20-17 | 111.8 |
6 | Timberwolves | 24-13 | 111.9 |
7 | Rockets | 22-12 | 112.1 |
8 | Warriors | 20-18 | 112.4 |
9 | Suns | 22-15 | 112.5 |
10 | Mavericks | 14-23 | 112.7 |
11 | Magic | 21-17 | 113.4 |
12 | Cavaliers | 21-17 | 113.6 |
13 | 76ers | 20-15 | 113.8 |
14 | Grizzlies | 16-21 | 114.0 |
15 | Celtics | 23-13 | 114.5 |
16 | Hawks | 18-21 | 114.9 |
17 | Knicks | 24-13 | 115.7 |
18 | Bucks | 16-21 | 115.9 |
19 | Trail Blazers | 18-20 | 116.0 |
20 | Nets | 11-23 | 116.3 |
21 | Lakers | 23-12 | 116.9 |
22 | Nuggets | 25-12 | 117.0 |
23 | Hornets | 13-24 | 117.0 |
24 | Pacers | 6-31 | 117.1 |
25 | Bulls | 17-20 | 117.3 |
26 | Clippers | 13-23 | 117.7 |
27 | Pelicans | 8-31 | 119.1 |
28 | Kings | 8-29 | 119.2 |
29 | Wizards | 10-26 | 121.1 |
30 | Jazz | 12-24 | 121.6 |
What about the Pistons?
At present, Detroit sits atop the Eastern Conference standings, and the biggest reason for that ascent is defense. The Pistons do have at least one shaky defender (Duncan Robinson) in the regular rotation, but Detroit has built a rugged team around Cade Cunningham that features a couple of imposing bigs in Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart. Over the last calendar month, the Pistons are 9-4, and their defensive rating has dropped (in a good way) to 107.5 in that sample. In fact, Detroit is right on the heels of Oklahoma City over that period, and it seems sustainable, at least on some level.
The Raptors are.. for real?
A year ago, Toronto finished just 15th in defensive rating. There were natural caveats about injuries and, well, whether the Raptors were even trying to win at the end of the year, but the highs also weren't that high. This time around, Toronto is flummoxing opponents with size and athleticism on the wing, and they've been able to post a top-five defense with Jakob Poeltl in and out of the lineup with injury. Toronto is doing it on the strength of opponent shooting and turnover creation, but this is the way that the roster was built, and the returns are strong. Toronto is only No. 6 over the last month, though, so they will need to pick things up a bit.
Victor Wembanyama is pretty important
The San Antonio Spurs have the second-best record in the Western Conference and, famously at this point, they have a spotless record against Oklahoma City head-to-head this season. While there is plenty of intrigue about San Antonio's offense and its three-headed guard monster, the team's real foundation is Victor Wembanyama and an elite defense. It certainly helps that their young players have defensive aptitude, but Wembanyama is the skeleton key as the NBA's most game-wrecking defensive force.
In 672 minutes (across 23 games) with Wembanyama on the floor, the Spurs have a sparkling 103.0 defensive rating that is better than even OKC has been able to produce. In 1,109 minutes without Wembanyama, the Spurs have been totally fine (114.7), but very clearly diminished in defensive resistance. Wembanyama projects to, hopefully, play more in the second half of the season, even as the Spurs are being rightfully careful with him. If he can play most of the way, the Spurs might have the best case toward the No. 2 spot and a potential challenge to Oklahoma City's defensive crown.