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

281
Inter-Conference Games Played: 139
Eastern Conference Wins: 142
Western Conference Wins: West
Stronger Conference: 0.99
Eastern Conference Win Value: 1.01
Western Conference Win Value

Adjusted Rankings

#	Team		Adj. Record	Win %
1	Thunder	-	40.2 - 13.0	75.6%
2	Pistons	-	37.9 - 13.0	74.5%
3	Spurs	-	36.1 - 16.0	69.2%
4	Nuggets	↑ 1	34.0 - 19.0	64.2%
5	Celtics	↓ 1	33.9 - 19.0	64.1%
6	Knicks	-	33.9 - 19.0	64.1%
7	Lakers	↑ 1	32.1 - 19.0	62.8%
8	Rockets	↓ 1	32.0 - 19.0	62.7%
9	Cavaliers	-	31.9 - 21.0	60.3%
10	Timberwolves	-	32.0 - 22.0	59.3%
11	Raptors	-	31.8 - 22.0	59.1%
12	Suns	-	31.1 - 22.0	58.6%
13	76ers	-	29.9 - 22.0	57.7%
14	Warriors	↑ 1	28.1 - 25.0	52.9%
15	Magic	↓ 1	26.9 - 24.0	52.9%
16	Heat	-	28.0 - 26.0	51.8%
17	Hawks	-	26.0 - 28.0	48.2%
18	Clippers	-	25.1 - 27.0	48.1%
19	Trail Blazers	↑ 1	25.2 - 28.0	47.3%
20	Hornets	↓ 1	24.9 - 28.0	47.1%
21	Bulls	-	23.9 - 29.0	45.2%
22	Bucks	-	20.9 - 29.0	41.9%
23	Grizzlies	-	20.1 - 31.0	39.4%
24	Mavericks	-	19.0 - 33.0	36.6%
25	Jazz	-	16.0 - 37.0	30.2%
26	Nets	-	13.9 - 37.0	27.4%
27	Wizards	-	14.0 - 38.0	26.9%
28	Pelicans	-	14.0 - 40.0	25.9%
29	Pacers	-	12.9 - 40.0	24.5%
30	Kings	-	12.0 - 42.0	22.3%

Unadjusted Rankings

#	Team	Record	Conf	Win %
1	Thunder	40 - 13	30 - 9	75.5%
2	Pistons	38 - 13	24 - 7	74.5%
3	Spurs	36 - 16	22 - 13	69.2%
4	Celtics	34 - 19	23 - 13	64.2%
5	Nuggets	34 - 19	19 - 9	64.2%
6	Knicks	34 - 19	23 - 12	64.2%
7	Rockets	32 - 19	18 - 15	62.7%
8	Lakers	32 - 19	21 - 12	62.7%
9	Cavaliers	32 - 21	19 - 13	60.4%
10	Timberwolves	32 - 22	18 - 17	59.3%
11	Raptors	32 - 22	24 - 14	59.3%
12	Suns	31 - 22	21 - 15	58.5%
13	76ers	30 - 22	19 - 17	57.7%
14	Magic	27 - 24	18 - 17	52.9%
15	Warriors	28 - 25	18 - 15	52.8%
16	Heat	28 - 26	15 - 16	51.9%
17	Hawks	26 - 28	13 - 19	48.1%
18	Clippers	25 - 27	15 - 15	48.1%
19	Hornets	25 - 28	15 - 19	47.2%
20	Trail Blazers	25 - 28	20 - 15	47.2%
21	Bulls	24 - 29	16 - 20	45.3%
22	Bucks	21 - 29	16 - 17	42.0%
23	Grizzlies	20 - 31	16 - 19	39.2%
24	Mavericks	19 - 33	11 - 23	36.5%
25	Jazz	16 - 37	9 - 24	30.2%
26	Nets	14 - 37	10 - 21	27.5%
27	Wizards	14 - 38	9 - 22	26.9%
28	Pelicans	14 - 40	8 - 26	25.9%
29	Pacers	13 - 40	9 - 26	24.5%
30	Kings	12 - 42	8 - 27	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.