Most NBA teams are only four or five games into their schedules, but we've already seen some incredible action this season. The Thunder opened up their title defense with back-to-back double overtime wins, while Victor Wembanyama announced himself as the future and the present in the still-undefeated Spurs' season-opening demolition of the Mavericks.
There have already been four 50-point games so far, including from last year's scoring champ Shai Gilegous-Alexander and a surprising trio of Lauri Markkanen, Austin Reaves and Aaron Gordon. Offense has been the focal point for sure, but you know what they say — defense wins championships, and OKC proved that last year by relentlessly smothering the entire league with their deep lineup of young switchable perimeter players and the rim-protecting prowess of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein down low.
The Lakers were a prime example last year of a team with a potent offense that had no hope of advancing deep into the playoffs because of their defensive deficiencies. It will be interesting to see if that's true again this year now that they have a more dependable center in Deandre Ayton, but they've been getting by so far thanks to Reaves' continued brilliance in the absence of Luka Dončić and LeBron James.
Of course, teams need balance to win long-term. Having just a great defense isn't enough, which is why last year's Magic cratered so hard late in the year despite being one of the stingiest teams in the league. Orlando just struggled so much to score, and the early returns on the Desmond Bane trade that was supposed to fix that glaring problem have been lukewarm. They're currently 2-4 and still sport one of the NBA's least watchable offenses, while their defense has fallen to the bottom third of the league as well.
Let's look at each team ranked not by their win-loss record, but by their defensive rating to see if it will give us any insight into how this season could play out. All stats have been taken from NBA.com.
NBA standings ordered by defensive rating
Team (Record) | Defensive rating | 2024-25 rank |
|---|---|---|
1. Oklahoma City Thunder (6-0) | 104.1 | 1 |
2. San Antonio Spurs (5-0) | 104.2 | 25 |
3. Chicago Bulls (4-0) | 106.2 | 19 |
4. Miami Heat (3-2) | 106.3 | 9 |
5. Denver Nuggets (3-1) | 109.5 | 21 |
6. Portland Trail Blazers (3-2) | 110.2 | 16 |
6. New York Knicks (2-2) | 110.2 | 13 |
8. Dallas Mavericks (2-3) | 110.3 | 20 |
9. Boston Celtics (2-3) | 111.2 | 4 |
10. Milwaukee Bucks (4-1) | 111.4 | 12 |
11. Detroit Pistons (3-2) | 112.0 | 10 |
12. Cleveland Cavaliers (3-2) | 112.3 | 8 |
13. Golden State Warriors (4-2) | 112.8 | 7 |
14. Los Angeles Clippers (2-2) | 113.5 | 3 |
15. Indiana Pacers (0-4) | 113.7 | 14 |
16. Sacramento Kings (1-4) | 114.5 | 22 |
17. Memphis Grizzlies (3-2) | 115.4 | 11 |
18. Los Angeles Lakers (3-2) | 115.6 | 17 |
19. Houston Rockets (2-2) | 116.0 | 5 |
20. Utah Jazz (2-2) | 116.1 | 30 |
21. Orlando Magic (2-4) | 117.3 | 2 |
22. Atlanta Hawks (2-3) | 117.6 | 18 |
23. Charlotte Hornets (2-3) | 119.2 | 24 |
24. Minnesota Timberwolves (2-3) | 119.5 | 6 |
25. Philadelphia 76ers (4-0) | 119.9 | 26 |
26. New Orleans Pelicans (0-4) | 120.0 | 29 |
27. Washington Wizards (1-4) | 120.1 | 28 |
28. Phoenix Suns (1-4) | 120.5 | 27 |
29. Toronto Raptors (1-4) | 121.3 | 15 |
30. Brooklyn Nets (0-5) | 129.1 | 23 |
What can we learn from this season's defensive rating stats?
We're still dealing with a small sample size this early in the season, but a few things jump off the screen. First and foremost has to be the Spurs, who have leapt all the way from 25th in the league to second with a mark that's better even than what the league-leading Thunder finished with a year ago. It was only a matter of time until the rest of the defense coalesced around Wemby, and we're seeing the fruits of fielding a deeper roster as the Spurs have started 5-0 for the first time in their history, a shocking stat given all of their great teams of yesteryear.
The Thunder are once again No. 1, and somehow even better than they were last year in the defensive department. That's despite playing two double overtime games to start the year, which one would think would have lingering effects on most teams. OKC is so deep that even when they lose a defensive dynamo like Jalen Williams or Cason Wallace for a game or two, they don't even miss a beat.
There's a strong case to be made that the Nuggets are the team everyone should worry about based on this chart. Denver has never had a high-level defense in the Nikola Jokic era, but if they can maintain a top-10, let alone a top-5, standing, they might be nearly impossible to beat. Jokic is so brilliant that he nearly toppled the Thunder last year with an average roster at best, but now he has a whole host of offseason reinforcements to make his life easier.
It's too early to divine if the Bulls' hot start is just a mirage. The defensive stats say that it isn't, though they haven't exactly faced the cream of the offensive crop in beating the Pistons, Magic, Hawks and Kings. Back-to-back contests against the Knicks on Friday and Sunday will give us a better idea of whether Chicago is a team to be taken seriously.
The only other undefeated East team is another surprising one, as the Sixers have also gotten out to a 4-0 start. Strangely enough, they've been doing it without getting many stops at all. Every time out they've been locked in a high-scoring slugfest, but thanks to the dynamic young backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, they've still been able to remain unblemished while being a sneaky MVP of NBA League Pass.
The Pacers are winless, but their middle-of-the-road defensive rating suggests that they shouldn't panic just yet. They've been competitive against a tough schedule, and should start putting some wins on the board as soon as they can figure out their offense in a post-Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner world.
NBA offenses have gotten more efficient every year, and going by the bottom of this list, this year will continue that trend. Seven teams currently have a worse defensive rating than last-place Utah had last year, and the Nets have been so abysmal that your average fan could probably drop 20 on them on any given night.
With well over 70 games to go, we'll check in throughout the season to see how these numbers change.