Ranking the Remaining NBA Playoff Teams

After Oklahoma City's convincing defeat over Denver in Game 7, only four teams remain in the 2025 NBA playoffs. Naturally, this is the perfect time to rank the remaining basketball clubs. I have ranked them by who I want to win and who I think will win!

Who I Want to Win

1. Oklahoma City Thunder

   I love rooting for teams that I have recently seen in person! Even better when I saw that team play at their home venue. Oklahoma City fits that description to a tee; I saw them play at Paycom Center just last month. It helps when I enjoy my experience, which I 100% did. I found Paycom Center to be a great basketball venue and the fans were incredibly loud and passionate for their Thunder. I also love their colors and their logo (even if there is no appearance of anything relating to Thunder, that part is admittedly odd). Aside from superficial reasoning, the Thunder play an entertaining brand of basketball. I found fan favorites such as Shai-Gilgeous Alexander and Chet Holmgren to be very captivating players when I saw them in person. Lastly, I love seeing a team win their first ever championship! The closest that OKC has come to winning it all is a Finals loss to Miami in 2012.

   
   

   

   Pin that I got a Thunder Game last month

   
   

2. New York Knicks

   While I did get to see the Thunder in April, they are not the most recent team I have seen in person remaining. That honor falls to the New York Knicks, the team that eliminated my Detroit Pistons in six games. I was at Game Six in Detroit (more on that in another blog post). I hated the Knicks during that series, but wow...they have my respect. Jalen Brunson is a lot more fun to watch now that he is not foul-baiting against my team and hitting series-ending emotional daggers against my team. Karl-Anthony Towns is also playing great basketball. It is hard to believe after leaving Little Caesars Arena soul-crushed, but I would not be upset if this team wins it all. Especially because my Mom taught me to always root to lose to the eventual winner. I will feel even better about the Pistons hard fought effort against New York if the Knicks win it all!

   
   

   

   Moments after Jalen Brunson broke my heart

   
   

3. Minnesota Timberwolves

   One of the first teams to get the Traveling Sports Nerd vlog treatment were the Minnesota Timberwolves! Although the arena felt a little bit outdated (2nd oldest arena in the NBA behind MSG), I still found some charm in it. I especially enjoyed how Target Center was connected to the Minneapolis Skywalk. I think the Timberwolves branding is great, the howling Timberwolf looking to the sky is very cool. I also greatly enjoy the Twin Cities in general, so I would be happy for them if they got an NBA Champion. While women's teams such as the Lynx and Frost have found championship success in recent years, the major men's teams have not won a championship since the Twins did in 1991. Their fans are starving for a long overdue title. Additionally, Minnesota would be a first-time champion should they go all the way. They have never even played in an NBA Finals, so that would be exciting if they make it!

   
   

   

   Pregame at Target Center in 2024

   
   

4. Indiana Pacers

   Somebody has to come in fourth place here, and no surprise that it is the Indiana Pacers. Why am I not rooting for Indiana? Simple, I am a Pistons fan! If that does not explain my dislike, do yourself a favor and google the Wikipedia page for "Malice at the Palace." Even though I am not a Pacers fan, I can find some reasons to be okay with a Pacers championship. For starters, they are another team that would be a first time NBA champion (although they have won 3 ABA championships pre-merger). I love the colors blue and yellow as a Michigan fan. And though I have not yet been to a Pacers game, I have been to a Fever game. I can state with full confidence that Gainbridge Fieldhouse is one of the best basketball venues in the country. It would be really cool to see Finals basketball played in Indianapolis.

   
   

   

   Pacers 50th Anniversary Pin that I got in 2017

   
   

Who I Think Will Win

1. Oklahoma City Thunder

   Much like my desire rankings, the Thunder also top my "try to be objective" ranking list. Despite some very big upsets in this year's tournament, the NBA playoffs usually feature deep runs from the proverbial cream of the crop. While the East's top team (Cleveland) fell in Round 2, the West's top team lived to see another series with their Game 7 win over Denver. Oklahoma City impresses me because they have found series victories in very different ways. Their first series was a blowout sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies. Their second series was a seven-game battle with Denver. The Thunder have proven that they can win games and series in a variety of ways and that is invaluable this time of year. Another key to success in the playoffs? Injury luck. Top teams such as the Cavaliers and Celtics as well as my Pistons prove this theory. Injury luck will not always win you a championship, but it certainly can lose one. The Thunder are not missing any key players and that is huge. I think OKC is well positioned to win their first championship in franchise history.

   
   

   

   Tipoff at Paycom Center in April 2024

   
   

2. New York Knicks

   I believe that the Finals will consist of the Thunder and Knicks so if it isn't OKC, I think New York will exercise their historical demons and take home the Larry O'Brien. The Knicks have a team of destiny feel to them. They faced a tougher-than-national-expectations challenge against my Pistons. They took out the heavily favored Boston Celtics. Both were six game series' that they had a stranglehold on after four games with 3-1 leads. They have found ways to win at home and on the road. They have won games close, in blowouts, or even coming back from down 20 points in back-to-back games. I have always been less of an analytics guy and more of a vibes guy, and this team has great vibes. After years and years of being a bridesmaid, I think there is a decent chance that New York could finally be the bride.

   
   

   

   MSG exterior during construction in 2023

   
   

3. Indiana Pacers

   Take all of what I said about the Knicks and throw it away! Because the next team that I believe to be most likely to take home the NBA crown is the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers have faced their own gauntlet so far and handled the challenge with relative ease. They were able to dispatch both the Bucks and (top-seeded) Cavaliers in five games! But despite being top seeded, the Cavs were shorthanded due to injuries to key players. New York will be a whole different beast for Indiana in my opinion. I believe that the Pacers very well could become champions, but I have a harder time believing they will win over New York and Oklahoma City. Stranger things have happened though! Definitely do not count this team out.

   
   

   

   Gainbridge Fieldhouse during a Fever game in 2024

   
   

4. Minnesota Timberwolves

   Lastly, there are the Minnesota Timberwolves. They are in the conference finals because they were able to knock out the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors...two big name/iconic brands in the NBA! But the Lakers and Warriors were not the Lakers of the early 2000s or the Warriors of the late 2010s. They almost certainly will not have provided the challenge that awaits the Timberwolves in Oklahoma City. Do I think Minnesota could win it all? I definitely do. But I believe they have the toughest path of any team remaining, and that is why they are last on this list. Prove me wrong, T-Wolves!

   
   

   

   Target Center exterior in 2024