2024-25 NBA League Pass Rankings

Which teams should you tune into?

The sweet smell of autumn is in the air. The world explodes in color as the leaves start packing up for their trip to the ground, pumpkins sprout up on doorsteps like particularly rotund weeds, and North Faces appear on college campuses everywhere. The best part: I get to judge teams based on an entirely subjective yet 100% accurate watchability rubric for my 2024-25 NBA League Pass Rankings.

[Editor’s note: This post is roughly 5x my usual size and nearly killed me, so there won’t be another post until next week. But I think this is plenty of words to tide you over.]

I take everything into account. Quality of play is important, but novelty plays a huge part. Superstars get a bonus, particularly if they bring something unique to the table. New free agents or coaches? Exciting rookies? They get a bump. Are there major team-building decisions to be made? Color me intrigued. Everything from the jersey and court designs to the broadcast team and halftime gimmicks goes into the final score.

I love NBA basketball, even at its worst. There are no unwatchable squads. But this is a relative exercise; some teams give more reasons to tune in than others. If your favorite team is low on this list, that doesn’t mean they’re unlovable, and it definitely doesn’t mean they’re bad.

30. Brooklyn Nets

Okay, sometimes it means they’re bad.

The Nets absolutely had to make the moves they did. In exchanging a bunch of picks to regain control of their draft future and stockpiling draft capital from the Knicks for Mikal Bridges, the Nets have set a clear direction for next season:

And that’s well and good! But it won’t make for the most watchable of teams.

The Nets are in the weird position where they might be the tanking team that’s a more viable viewing experience in March and April than at the season’s start. Right now, they still have several decent veterans who feel destined to be traded in point guard Dennis Schroder, 3-and-Ders Cameron Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith, and shooter Bojan Bogdanovic. If the price is right, they might even move 24-year-old center Nic Claxton, their best player.

Once a few of those players have exited the rotation, we will have more time to study the youngsters like Noah Clowney, Summer League MVP Jalen Wilson, and maybe even intriguing Chinese import Jacky Cui.

Plus, who’s ready for Ben Simmons' return?!

I’m not particularly excited to watch Cam Thomas explore the edges of his game while jacking up 25 shots a night; there’s a chance his season reflects Jordan Poole’s last year. But I reserve the right to change my mind; shotmakers of his caliber don’t come around every day.

It’s too bad the on-court product will be so messy, because the presentation and broadcast team (Noah Eagle, returning from the Olympics, Sarah Kustok, and Richard Jefferson) are elite. And for my 30th-ranked team, I’ll be happy to watch plenty of Nets games, especially once they begin their youth movement in earnest.

29. Los Angeles Clippers

I may be in the minority, but I really like the Clippers’ refreshed logo, and the jerseys (especially the red ones) and courts are solid. Seeing the new arena for the first time, even just via my TV screen, will be fun.

That’s, uh, about all I got.

Los Angeles has retooled around a defensive identity after losing Paul George in free agency, adding Derrick Jones Jr., Nic Batum, and Kris Dunn in the offseason. I was more sanguine about their chances of being competitive before the news that Kawhi Leonard’s knee, for the millionth time, is borked.

Everyone on this team is old news, emphasis on old. It’ll be mildly intriguing to see Harden re-shoulder a higher workload, I guess. He still makes some brilliant passes.

Norm Powell is a steady bucket-getter with a greener light than in years. Dunn is one of my favorite disruptors in the league, a one-man fast-break killer. Jones Jr. is an aerial ace and very good defender. Batum is a smart connector on both sides. I’ve always had a soft spot for Amir Coffey.

Leonard still had moments where he looked like an apex predator last season, but I can’t get excited about 20 games of Leonard looking good. I should mention Terrance Mann, but I can’t find the energy now that I’ve re-written this section after the Leonard news.

Even with a fairly new roster, I can visualize exactly what this team will look like, and it’s not great! They might be competitive at peak health, but their ceiling is short enough to force a hunch. It’s rough out there.

28. Washington Wizards

The Wizards are still beginning a long-needed teardown, but they’ve already accumulated a few young players to keep an eye on. The development of the French forwards, second-year Bilal Coulibaly and #2 overall pick Alex Sarr, is priority numero uno.

Inch by inch, the Wizards gave Coulibaly a little more leash to try things as the season went on, and you could see him testing new skills in real time. He began handling the ball more, making passes on the move, and even running the very occasional pick-and-roll. His defense was solid in October and borderline excellent by April. At this point, it’s impossible to guess his end state, but the rate of improvement dating back to his time in France has been so steep as to be nearly vertical.

Sarr shone defensively and struggled offensively in Summer League; I’d expect more of the same during the regular season. I’ll also be watching to see if another rookie, Bub Carrington, can capitalize on the flashes of difficult shotmaking he showed at Summer League.

Corey Kispert is underrated (I hope he starts), and Jordan Poole may be in line for a bounce-back season after last year’s catastrophe (he improved toward the end of the year, for what that’s worth). Kyle Kuzma’s little hook shots are a treat, even if the ballhoggery reached such a level that I wanted to pop an apple in its mouth and serve it at a luau.

But it’s impossible to look at the Wiz and not pine for the days of yore, when they had an interesting (if not exceptionally skilled) roster and the most beautiful art in the league. Bring back the cherry blossoms!

27. Detroit Pistons

Detroit already had an intriguing collection of young talent. Then they added some veteran shooters, a new (much better) head honcho in JB Bickerstaff, and a top-two shooting coach in Fred Vinson. That all sounds promising!

Unfortunately, they’ll likely need a season to gel. Vinson can’t perform miracles overnight (can he?), and the roster is cluttered with square pieces, round holes, and little bits you’re pretty sure belong to this set but can’t quite find a place for. It’s a mess, in other words.

This year will be critical to establishing two things. First, what level of stardom can Cade Cunningham reach? Despite a frankly criminal coaching job by Monty Williams and an unholy offensive ecosystem (remember, Killian Hayes went from starting to out of the league literally overnight! No, being on the Nets for training camp this year doesn’t count), Cunningham showed huge improvements as an outside shooter, foul-drawer, and distributor. He should make an All-Star push this season if the team can just, you know, avoid losing 28 straight games.

Second, what is the pecking order behind Cunningham? Who the team prioritizes (please let it be Ausar Thompson, please let it be Ausar Thompson) at the end of the year will be telling, but I expect a lot of false starts while Bickerstaff feels out his roster.

Jaden Ivey’s outside shot was a roller-coaster all season, as was Jalen Duren’s defense. The aforementioned Thompson (healthy after a blood clot scare) was a defensive force of nature. Ron Holland is a promising rookie who, naturally, can’t shoot. I love Simone Fontecchio, a crafty outside threat with a mean streak.

After a long time in the wilderness, Detroit, your time is coming soon.

(Just not this year.)

26. Utah Jazz

This placement feels harsh because Will Hardy’s whirring offensive system is a modern marvel. The sheer number of ways Hardy uses Lauri Markkanen needs to be studied by every other coach in the league. No star in the league plays quite like Markkanen, the world’s largest movement shooter:

Can point guard Keyonte George, last year’s 16th pick, make a second-year leap? It’s funny, the way expectations color perception. National media largely deemed third-overall pick Scoot Henderson a disappointment and Keyonte George a relative success, but their year-one stats were virtually identical. Makes ya think!

(Bonus George fact: John Schuhmann at NBA.com dug up a stat that George had the fewest potential assists per minute of possession of all high-possession players, speaking to George’s bumpy transition to playing point guard full time. That’s not pure indictment, however: Jalen Brunson was second-lowest, and he’s not half-bad!)

Cody Williams and Isaiah Collier are intriguing rookies. I’ll be honest, though. The Jazz overfloweth with players who aren’t my cup of Earl Grey: Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson, John Collins. (Coach Hardy keeps wringing career-best passing years out of these guys, but you can tell it’s playing against type.) Fine players, but not particularly fun players. It would be nice if Walker Kessler could carve out a few more minutes.

I am not a fan of the team’s broadcasters, but their in-arena entertainment has long been the Association’s best — I’ll never forget the time they had a young married couple play “Whammy” as a surprise pregnancy reveal to the father. It was pretty weird!

25. Portland Trail Blazers

What will Scoot Henderson bring in year two? Henderson’s baseline statistics, as I just mentioned, weren’t pretty: he was bottom-decile in points per shot attempt, finishing at the rim, and turnover percentage (although his 33% clip from three-ball land was higher than I expected). But he had his moments, and the passing vision was clear. Henderson’s issues, while substantial, are classic young-guard hurdles, and players far less talented have made significant improvements in their second year.

Shaedon Sharpe was injured most of last year, but few — if any — human beings have jumped higher on a basketball court. The clip below is far from his most impressive leap, but I’ve never seen an alley-oop quite like this one, in which the ball is passed over his head from the same side as Sharpe is cutting from:

Sharpe refined his game dramatically in his second season, although plenty of work still needs to be done. Monitoring his evolution next to Henderson will be fun.

Anfernee Simons is one of the league’s most underappreciated bombers (39% from deep on nearly nine attempts per game is no joke). Still, his anemic defense has seemingly depressed his trade value. Not sure if he makes it past the trade deadline. Speaking of trades, tracking Deni Avdija’s shooting this season will be an important subplot. If last year’s improvement is real, the Blazers have a stud on their hands.

Rookie Donovan Clingan was a fine pick, but as a defense-first center with little touch around the basket (he shot an astonishingly bad 36% from the field in Summer League), he doesn’t exactly scream excitement.

Lamar Hurd is one of my favorite broadcast analysts. I’m out on Chauncey Billups as a coach, but I’m very in on second-year defensive dynamo Toumani Camara. I can’t quite pinpoint why, but I’ve always enjoyed backup forward Jabari Walker’s game. Duop Reath is an incredible story and a legitimate stretch-five, opening the floor for his young teammates. DominAyton is here, which moves no feelings in me either way.

A++ grade for the rose motif on their NBA Cup court. (Side note: if you hated last year’s racing-stripe courts, you might enjoy this year’s set much more. Still bold colors, but there are some unique design quirks for almost every team that add some local flavor.)

This was a lot of talk about the Blazers, and you know what? I don’t regret it. We’re only at #25, and I’m already pumped up for the season.

24. Miami Heat

Miami isn’t exactly old, but we know what this team is. If the greatest change agent is a healthy Terry Rozier, well, I won’t be recommending the Heat to my casual friends.

The announcers are fantastic. I like watching the wacky Spoelstra zone defenses, which they ran on 13% of their defensive possessions, far more often than anyone else. Bam Adebayo fitting ballhandlers for straightjackets is always a pleasure, and I expect a Jimmy Butler bounce-back season.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. is a wonderfully hirsute mixture of post panache and midrange mastery. Nikola Jovic made strides as a coast-to-coast tempo-pusher and stretch threat, and rookie center Kel’el Ware looked like a steal in Summer League. One or two of those guys must pop for Miami to exceed expectations this year.

But competition for eyeballs is stiff, and the Heat are more appealing to basketball nerds than the average fan. If Adebayo starts hitting threes with any regularity (I’m skeptical), bump this team up five spots.

23. Phoenix Suns

Your mileage may vary with this ranking. Phoenix certainly has the star power between Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal. New additions Tyus Jones and Mason Plumlee (who might have more highlights and lowlights per minute than any NBA player since JaVale McGree’s prime) provide desperately needed depth at point guard and center, respectively, and I’ve long been a fan of coach Mike Budenholzer. Grayson Allen just turned in one of the best shooting seasons of all time. I think the Suns will be very, very good this year, particularly in the regular season.

But it’s hard for me to see them doing much more than taking bunches of jump shots, even if a higher share of those jumpers are threes than in the past. They never get to the rim (30th in rim-attempt frequency for three years in a row before “jumping” up to 25th last season), and their highlights are more “Nifty footwork!” than “Holy ****!” Their most exciting plays will be whatever The Gorilla concocts for halftime entertainment and Plumlee trying to run the fast break:

(Neat sort-of no-look steal there by Deni Avdija, too.)

I’m glad the team reached an agreement with Josh Okogie. Although his offense waxes and wanes, he’s everywhere on defense and one of the best positional offensive rebounders in the league. He adds an element of delicious chaos to a team that otherwise can feel very mechanical, and I hope he receives consistent playing time.

Like the Miami Heat, the Suns are probably a bigger treat for hardcore basketball fans than normal people.

22. Toronto Raptors

This is a big step up from where I had Toronto at the start of last year, but their watchability will depend entirely on Scottie Barnes’ evolution. If he can take another leap from All-Star to the fringes of the All-NBA conversation, we’ll have to re-evaluate this ranking.

Barnes made tremendous strides last season as a shooter, playmaker, and off-ball defender. He had some breathtaking highlights. I love this play, in which he falls for Tyrese Maxey’s fake, jumps in the wrong direction, and still blocks the reverse layup attempt:

Coach Darko Rajakovic made good on implementing a quicker-touch offense last season, although it didn’t really make a difference on a team roiled by trades, injuries, and tanking. It’ll look better on a healthier, effortful squad (I think).

I’ve never been a huge Immanuel Quickley guy relative to the rest of the basketball media, and while I enjoyed RJ Barrett’s surge after the trade, he doesn’t play the most beautiful style of basketball. If Barrett sustains and Quickley improves, this team has the potential to jump in these rankings. (I do like it when Quickley gets on a heater and starts skipping down the court, though.)

Kelly Olynyk does some fun things on offense — slippery little passes that catch defenders off guard. I haven’t given up on a Davion Mitchell comeback yet, and Gradey Dick quietly had a nice second half to his rookie season.

I moved them up a spot or two solely for the return of the cartoon Raptor.

21. Los Angeles Lakers

It feels weird having LeBron this low. The forest in my backyard was but saplings when he began his career, yet the world just watched him dominate the Olympics. An engaged James is still a one-man show, and we can’t take for granted what he’s doing regardless of age — he just averaged 27/8/7 on 54% from the field and 41% from deep, and he was only on the All-NBA Third Team!

But the Lakers’ only significant move this offseason was signing JJ Redick to cross his arms and yell from the bench, and given the limitations of this roster, I’m not sure how much he can change. He’ll emphasize shooting more threes, but where will they come from? James and D’Angelo Russell might be the only plus shooters on the team (Hachimura needs to up his volume for defenses to respect him as a spot-up shooter; 3.4 attempts per game doesn’t quite cut it). I’m not sure rookie Dalton Knecht will be defensively viable enough to play big minutes, although I’d welcome wrongness.

I am excited to see Max Christie finally (maybe? hopefully?) get extended run. I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him as a 3-and-D guy. After that and those classic purple-and-gold jerseys, there aren’t a lot of great reasons to tune in for non-LeBron fans, although that will understandably be enough for plenty of people.

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