MacMahon: The end could be near with Trae Young in Atlanta (1:21)Tim MacMahon believes that the Hawks are indicating that they’re looking to trade Trae Young. (1:21)
It’s been a busy year already, with a jam-packed 2025-26 NBA regular season picking up pace as we head into the new year.
It’s a close race at the top of the East with the Detroit Pistons holding strong at No. 1 after an explosive start to the season. But the New York Knicks are not far behind. After winning the third annual NBA Cup, the Knicks are sporting the No. 3 best offense in the league in December.
In the West, despite the Oklahoma City Thunder losing more games this month than they did the entire season up to this point, they are still at the top of the standings. But keep an eye on the race for the play-in as we approach the back half of the regular season, as teams keep their eye on that postseason ticket.
Can the San Antonio Spurs overtake the defending champs? How will injuries continue to affect the East? Let’s see where our NBA insiders stack all 30 teams for the last time in 2025.
Note: Team rankings are based on where members of our panel (ESPN’s Anthony Slater, Dave McMenamin, Jamal Collier, Kevin Pelton, Michael C. Wright, Bobby Marks, Tim Bontemps, Tim MacMahon, Vincent Goodwill and Zach Kram) think teams belong this season.
Jaylen Brown has been on a season long heater in Boston as the team’s undisputed No. 1 scoring option, but that’s gone up a notch in December. Entering Tuesday’s game against the Jazz in Utah, Brown has scored at least 30 points in all nine games he has played this month, and 10 of the past 11 he has played overall. That’s got him in contention for an All-Star starter spot in the East and has Boston comfortably sitting among the top three teams in the conference. — Tim Bontemps
With L.A. reeling from a three-game losing streak and the news that Austin Reaves would be sidelined at least a month because of a left calf strain, the Lakers turned to an unlikely hero in a 125-101 win over the Kings: Nick Smith Jr. The 21-year-old combo guard, who signed with L.A. on a two-way contract after being waived by the Hornets, scored 21 points in 24 minutes off the bench to help get the team back on track. — Dave McMenamin
A couple of clutch wins in a back-to-back have buoyed the Raptors’ standing following a slump, which included a dismal 21-point loss in Washington. Toronto beat the Warriors in overtime and nipped the Magic by one point, and Scottie Barnes was the star in both games. He posted a 23-point, 25-rebound, 10-assist triple-double against Golden State and sank the game-winning free throws against Orlando, helping to cement his All-Star case. — Zach Kram
Just when Chicago had rediscovered its early-season magic, injuries have threatened the Bulls’ progress. Both members of their starting backcourt, Josh Giddey and Coby White, left Monday’s game with an injury, and both have been ruled out for Wednesday’s game against the Pelicans. The Bulls are beginning a stretch of six games in the next nine days, so they won’t get a break in action while they wait to get healthy. — Collier
Giannis Antetokounmpo is back, and although he is still working through a minutes restriction, the Bucks have won consecutive games for the first time since October. They still have some significant ground to make up, sitting in 11th place and outside of the East play-in tournament, but their schedule this week gives them a good chance at a jump start with games against the Wizards, Hornets and Kings. — Collier
The Clippers started their climb out of the Western Conference’s basement by clinging to Kawhi Leonard as he carried them back toward respectability. Entering Tuesday night, the Clippers were riding a recent four-game winning streak over the Lakers, Rockets, Blazers and Pistons. During that span, Leonard averaged 39 points on 51.6% (44.1% from 3) with 9.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.8 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. Their streak continued as they defeated the Kings on Tuesday. — McMenamin
Keyonte George is showing signs of emerging as an elite closer. His game winner against the Pistons on Friday was his third game-tying or go-ahead bucket in the final five seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime this season. That matches the most such shots made in the first 30 games of the season by any player since 1998-99. George is tied for eighth in the league with 62 clutch points. The Jazz have outscored opponents by 33 points in George’s 64 clutch minutes. — MacMahon
Washington won consecutive games for the first time this season and is now a respectable 4-4 since a 3-20 start. The Wizards even swept the season series with Memphis. Rookie Tre Johnson returned from a hip injury just before that stretch began and has played a big role during it, averaging 14.4 points in just 22 minutes per game while making 45% of his 3-point attempts. — Kram
Indiana’s losing streak has reached nine games, plunging the Pacers to the bottom of the NBA standings. That’s good news for Indiana’s pingpong balls in the lottery next spring, at least: According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, Indiana now has the second-best chance of landing the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, behind only the Wizards. — Kram
In his 13 games since returning from a complicated right wrist injury, Jalen Williams is averaging 17.3 points on 45% shooting, a small step down from his 21.6 points on 48.4% a season ago. Williams remains a high-impact two-way wing, chipping in five assists, five rebounds and nearly two steals per night. But the next progression in his return to All-NBA third-team form is a bump in his scoring and shooting production. He’s taking two fewer 3s and making one fewer per game. As he gets increasingly reacclimated and aggressive, the Thunder could get scarier. — Anthony Slater
Victor Wembanyama called what the young Spurs are now experiencing “a transition in our season” after enduring the highs of contending in the NBA Cup, along with three wins over defending champion Oklahoma City over the span of 12 days. “We have to be able to settle down after that,” Wembanyama said after San Antonio lost two in a row for the first time since mid-November. There’s no doubt the Spurs will be up for the task of Wednesday’s rematch with the New York Knicks, but De’Aaron Fox told ESPN the team needs to learn to take that same approach against middling teams. — Michael C. Wright
Here come the Knicks, no? They’ve pulled to within a game of top-seeded Detroit in the East with a couple of ugly wins on the road against New Orleans and Atlanta. Doing it with utility man Josh Hart out with an ankle injury delivers more credit to Mike Brown & Co. It’s worth pointing out that Brown has squeezed production not just from Tyler Kolek, but Mohamed Diawara in New Orleans (18 points in 18 minutes) and Kevin McCullar Jr. in Atlanta (13 points, eight rebounds in 23 minutes). The mandate was to develop the bench, and so far, Brown is achieving just that. — Vincent Goodwill
After dropping five out of seven, Houston jumped back on the winning track with victories in three consecutive games. The streak improved the Rockets to 20-10, marking the second straight year they’ve started 20-10 or better through 30 games — a feat they haven’t accomplished since the 2019-20 season. Now, five road games out of the next six await, starting Thursday in Brooklyn. Kevin Durant has produced four 30-point performances in his past seven outings, and Amen Thompson is coming off his sixth game with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists. — Wright
Reinforcements are on the horizon for the Nuggets, who lost a fourth starter to injury when three-time MVP Nikola Jokic suffered a hyperextension of his left knee that will sideline him for at least four weeks. Coach David Adelman has said that the team is optimistic that power forward Aaron Gordon (hamstring) and shooting guard Christian Braun (ankle) will be able to return from their extended absences at some point during the five games remaining on the Nuggets’ road trip. Lineups featuring Jamal Murray, Gordon and Braun have a plus-14.3 net rating in 171 minutes this season, but Jokic was on the floor for all but one of those minutes. — Tim MacMahon
Minnesota could stand to be the biggest beneficiary of the unfortunate news of Nikola Jokic’s hyperextended left knee. The Wolves entered Tuesday’s action a half-game out of fourth place in the West, and 1.5 games behind Denver for third place. With the three-time MVP now set to miss the next several weeks with his injury, Minnesota has a golden opportunity to reestablish itself as a top-four team out West — presuming the Timberwolves can start to get out of their own way and play with the consistency they’ve struggled to show so far this season. — Bontemps
The Suns will have a chance to close out 2025 with their fifth straight win (and sixth in their past seven games) with a victory in Cleveland on Wednesday. During its recent uptick, Phoenix has held its opponents to 105.8 points per game on 44.2% shooting overall (32.2% from 3) and has forced 15.4 turnovers per game. All three of those metrics are in range with the league’s No. 1 defense, the Thunder, which allows 107.9 points per game with its opponents shooting 43.4% overall (37.3% from 3). — McMenamin
The Warriors played 13 players for at least five minutes in their recent win over the Nets. That didn’t include Jonathan Kuminga, who hasn’t seen the floor in five games. Kuminga remains the name to watch as his Jan. 15 trade eligibility date nears. League sources continue to indicate the Warriors will actively explore his market. Though the Warriors have been playing better basketball of late — they’re 6-4 in their past 10 games with the sixth-ranked defense and 10th-ranked offense — there’s still an obvious gap between their current level and realistic contention. Using Kuminga’s $22.5 million salary is the clearest way for an upgrade. — Slater
Philadelphia stopped a three-game skid with a win in Memphis on Tuesday night, as the 76ers continue to jockey for position in the middle of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Although Joel Embiid has shuttled in and out of the lineup with various issues, the 76ers are getting closer to whole from a health standpoint with Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford returning to practice this week, and their expected returns will give a team that skews small some much-needed size on the wings. — Bontemps