Unskew the League

Conference-Adjusted NBA Rankings

Our goal is to offer NBA league-wide rankings that have been adjusted to reflect the differences in conference difficulty. This website was inspired by the March 8, 2024 episode of the Greatest Of All Talk podcast. For more information on these conference adjustments, review our methodology.

How much weight should be placed on the conference adjustments?

None

Low

Medium

High

Inter-Conference Performance

324
Inter-Conference Games Played: 159
Eastern Conference Wins: 165
Western Conference Wins: West
Stronger Conference: 0.98
Eastern Conference Win Value: 1.02
Western Conference Win Value

Adjusted Rankings

#	Team		Adj. Record	Win %
1	Thunder	-	49.4 - 15.0	76.7%
2	Pistons	-	44.7 - 15.0	74.9%
3	Spurs	-	44.1 - 17.0	72.2%
4	Celtics	-	40.8 - 21.0	66.0%
5	Knicks	-	39.7 - 23.0	63.4%
6	Rockets	-	38.1 - 22.0	63.3%
7	Timberwolves	-	39.2 - 23.1	63.0%
8	Cavaliers	-	38.8 - 24.0	61.8%
9	Nuggets	-	38.1 - 24.0	61.4%
10	Lakers	-	37.3 - 24.0	60.8%
11	Suns	-	35.2 - 26.0	57.5%
12	Raptors	-	34.6 - 26.0	57.2%
13	76ers	-	33.9 - 27.9	54.8%
14	Magic	-	31.9 - 28.0	53.3%
15	Heat	-	33.0 - 29.0	53.2%
16	Warriors	-	31.2 - 30.0	51.0%
17	Hawks	-	31.9 - 30.9	50.8%
18	Hornets	-	31.9 - 30.9	50.7%
19	Clippers	-	30.1 - 31.0	49.3%
20	Trail Blazers	-	30.3 - 33.0	47.9%
21	Bucks	-	25.8 - 34.9	42.4%
22	Bulls	-	24.8 - 36.9	40.2%
23	Grizzlies	-	23.2 - 38.1	37.9%
24	Mavericks	-	21.0 - 40.1	34.4%
25	Pelicans	-	19.1 - 44.1	30.2%
26	Jazz	-	18.0 - 44.1	29.0%
27	Wizards	-	15.9 - 44.9	26.1%
28	Nets	-	14.9 - 46.0	24.4%
29	Pacers	-	14.9 - 46.9	24.1%
30	Kings	-	14.1 - 49.1	22.3%

Unadjusted Rankings

#	Team	Record	Conf	Win %
1	Thunder	49 - 15	34 - 9	76.6%
2	Pistons	45 - 15	30 - 8	75.0%
3	Spurs	44 - 17	26 - 13	72.1%
4	Celtics	41 - 21	27 - 14	66.1%
5	Knicks	40 - 23	27 - 15	63.5%
6	Rockets	38 - 22	21 - 16	63.3%
7	Timberwolves	39 - 23	24 - 17	62.9%
8	Cavaliers	39 - 24	25 - 15	61.9%
9	Nuggets	38 - 24	22 - 13	61.3%
10	Lakers	37 - 24	26 - 15	60.7%
11	Suns	35 - 26	24 - 18	57.4%
12	Raptors	35 - 26	27 - 16	57.4%
13	76ers	34 - 28	21 - 20	54.8%
14	Magic	32 - 28	20 - 19	53.3%
15	Heat	33 - 29	17 - 18	53.2%
16	Warriors	31 - 30	21 - 19	50.8%
17	Hawks	32 - 31	18 - 21	50.8%
18	Hornets	32 - 31	20 - 21	50.8%
19	Clippers	30 - 31	19 - 18	49.2%
20	Trail Blazers	30 - 33	23 - 18	47.6%
21	Bucks	26 - 35	19 - 23	42.6%
22	Bulls	25 - 37	17 - 26	40.3%
23	Grizzlies	23 - 38	18 - 25	37.7%
24	Mavericks	21 - 40	11 - 29	34.4%
25	Pelicans	19 - 44	12 - 28	30.2%
26	Jazz	18 - 44	10 - 30	29.0%
27	Wizards	16 - 45	11 - 28	26.2%
28	Nets	15 - 46	11 - 27	24.6%
29	Pacers	15 - 47	11 - 30	24.2%
30	Kings	14 - 49	10 - 33	22.2%

Methodology

To account for the difference in skill levels across conferences, we analyze all games played between teams from the Eastern and Western Conferences throughout the season. From this inter-conference data, we determine the adjusted weight for a win against each conference, referred to as the "Win Value." The stronger conference will have a Win Value greater than one, indicating that a victory against teams from this conference will carry more weight in our adjusted rankings. Conversely, wins against the weaker conference will contribute less to the adjusted rankings. Losses are also considered but are not weighted as heavily as wins, so losing to a weaker conference opponent is slightly more favorable than losing to a stronger conference opponent. You have the option to manually adjust the extent to which conference adjustments influence the rankings.