NBA season grades: Why play-in darling Charlotte gets one of 7 As

Tuesday night kicked off the start of the NBA postseason, when the Portland Trail Blazers secured the 7-seed in the West playoffs and the Charlotte Hornets won an overtime thriller to avoid elimination in the battle for the East's final playoff spot.

But while numerous storylines will play out during the two-month trek to decide the 2026 champion, this is a good opportunity to take stock of what just took place across every franchise's 82-game regular season.

It has been an eventful 2025-26, full of superlative performances, shocking trades and surprises up and down the league standings. (Plus plenty of talk surrounding tanking and other less savory subjects.)

Here, we're handing out regular season grades to all 30 teams -- an ode to ESPN NBA analytics and grades legend Kevin Pelton -- using a simple rubric: Did a team meet, exceed or fall short of its preseason expectations?

Teams will have to go above and beyond to receive one of the seven 'A' grades handed out. See where all 30 teams landed below. (Teams are in alphabetical order within each grade).

Jump to a grade range:
A's | B's | C's | D's | F's

Jump to a team:
ATL | BOS | BKN | CHA | CHI | CLE
DAL | DEN | DET | GS | HOU | IND
LAC | LAL | MEM | MIA | MIL | MIN | | | | | | | | | |

'A' grades

Boston Celtics: A

2025-26 record: 56-26
ESPN Forecast: 43-39

Given the roster reshuffle in the wake of Jayson Tatum's torn right Achilles -- Boston traded Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday and lost Al Horford in free agency -- a run to the 2-seed was difficult to fathom. But behind a Coach of the Year caliber job by Joe Mazzulla and a career-redefining season from Jaylen Brown, the 2024 NBA champs are right back in the mix. And with Tatum rounding into form during his 16-game runup to the playoffs, the Celtics are back as the favorites to win the conference.

Charlotte Hornets: A

2025-26 record: 44-38
ESPN Forecast: 26-56

The belief leaguewide -- and likely in Charlotte as well -- was that the 2025-26 season would provide valuable experience for the team's young talent as the franchise prepared to add another high lottery pick in a loaded 2026 draft class. Instead, Charlotte went 18-9 after the All-Star break to roll into the play-in tournament with a chance to reach its first playoff series in a decade. But whatever happens in Friday's game, the season has been an unqualified success in Buzz City.

Detroit Pistons: A

2025-26 record: 60-22
ESPN Forecast: 47-35

Going from 14 wins in 2023-24 to 44 wins last season was a remarkable feat. Going to this season's staggering 60 victories, something that's only happened twice in the franchise's illustrious history -- is at another level. Cade Cunningham became an MVP candidate, Jalen Duren developed into a star and the Pistons reclaimed their status as the East's menacing, physical contender.

Phoenix Suns: A

2025-26 record: 45-37
ESPN Forecast: 30-52

The Suns were seen as a team more likely to finish last in the league than to make the playoffs. And yet, they flirted with a top-six seed in the West all season, ultimately finishing seventh, and now will have to win Friday to make the playoffs. Phoenix hired an excellent young coach in Jordan Ott, who has created an impressive hard-working, hard-playing culture in his first season.

San Antonio Spurs: A

2025-26 record: 62-20
ESPN Forecast: 44-38

Heading into the season, San Antonio merely reaching the postseason was considered a reachable goal, especially after Spurs' 34-win campaign featured Victor Wembanyama missing the second half due to a blood clot issue. But not only has Wemby been healthy, he led the Spurs to 62 wins while nearly chasing down the defending champion Thunder for the league's best record.

Los Angeles Lakers: A-

2025-26 record: 53-29
ESPN Forecast: 50-32

It might not feel great in Lakerland right now, given devastating injuries to leading scorers Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves just before the playoffs, but it's hard to see this season as anything but a success in the aggregate. The Lakers finished with a top-four seed in the West, Doncic had an MVP-caliber season and LeBron James settled into a role as a third star who had the franchise dreaming of a deep playoff run before injuries hit.

Oklahoma City Thunder: A-

2025-26 record: 64-18
ESPN Forecast: 64-18

It says plenty where the defending champions sit that winning 64 games is seen as achieving an expected outcome, but it's a truthful statement. The fact the team did it with so many injuries throughout the season is a testament to the talent across the roster, and the sheer steadiness of potential two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Oklahoma City will now hope to do something else it is expected to: Break the NBA's record streak of seven seasons without a repeat champion.

'B' grades

Portland Trail Blazers: B+

2025-26 record: 42-40
ESPN Forecast: 39-43

The regular season began with coach Chauncey Billups being charged in a federal gambling investigation. It ended with the team completing a sale to new owner Tom Dundon. Through it all, Portland finishing the regular season in the upper half of the play-in tournament is quite an accomplishment, particularly to interim coach Tiago Splitter and star forward Deni Avdija. It was a successful campaign for the rising Blazers, even before Avdija led them to the 7-seed and the franchise's first playoff appearance in five years

Toronto Raptors: B+

2025-26 record: 46-36
ESPN Forecast: 33-49

The Raptors were hard to place coming into this season, particularly since Brandon Ingram (ankle) had yet to make his Toronto debut after joining the team ahead of last year's trade deadline. But he played 77 games -- most since his rookie season in 2016-17. Ingram's bounce-back season and Scottie Barnes' All-NBA-caliber leap have the Raptors in the playoffs for the first time in four years.

Atlanta Hawks: B

2025-26 record: 46-36
ESPN Forecast: 47-35

Atlanta entered the season with aspirations of a top-four seed, built around longtime franchise icon Trae Young. Instead, Young was sidelined in October with a knee injury, played 10 games for the Hawks and was traded to the Wizards in the first deal of the season. But after floundering in the bottom of the East play-in picture through the All-Star break, a furious finish behind first-time All-Star Jalen Johnson lifted the franchise all the way to sixth.

Denver Nuggets: B

2025-26 record: 54-28
ESPN Forecast: 53-29

It's been an eventful season in Denver, one that concluded in odd fashion with the Nuggets trying to avoid the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round and ultimately still ending up against the team they've faced in the playoffs twice in the past three seasons. But at the same time, Denver will enter the playoffs relatively healthy and as one of three teams expected to have a chance to emerge from the West with a chance to win a second championship in the past four seasons. That's where Denver was expected to be when the season began.

Houston Rockets: B

2025-26 record: 52-30
ESPN Forecast: 54-28

This is another case where the season ended at or above where it was supposed to, just in a more circuitous path than expected. With starting point guard Fred VanVleet out with a torn ACL, Houston's offense sputtered, and the team's young talent -- specifically Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard -- had its ups and downs. And yet, Houston is expected to win a playoff series for the first time since 2020, and matched last season's 52-win total.

Philadelphia 76ers: B-

2025-26 record: 45-37
ESPN Forecast: 40-42

Until last week, this season would have been considered a major success after last year's injury-filled 24-58 campaign. But the news of Joel Embiid's emergency appendectomy could derail the 76ers bounce-back season before the playoffs even begin. So even though the Sixers pushed for a top-six seed, rookie VJ Edgecombe shined and Tyrese Maxey played his way into a likely All-NBA breakthrough, 2025-26 could end like many recent seasons in Philadelphia -- disappointing injury news involving Embiid.

'C' grades

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Brooklyn Nets: C

2025-26 record: 20-62
ESPN Forecast: 23-59

It might not have been an enjoyable process, but Brooklyn wound up where it was supposed to be: bottom three in the NBA standings with the highest possible odds of landing a top-four pick in June's draft. Michael Porter Jr. posting a career season after coming over (along with a future first-round pick) in an offseason trade with Denver was a welcomed bonus, but the Nets' overall goal was achieved.

Cleveland Cavaliers: C

2025-26 record: 52-30
ESPN Forecast: 59-23

Cleveland entered this season as co-favorites to come out of the East, but a topsy-turvy season saw the Cavaliers break up their "Core Four" and limp to a fourth-place finish. With former MVP James Harden replacing Darius Garland in the backcourt in one of trade season's biggest moves, Cleveland is banking on a deep playoff run to change this assessment, but it's been an unsatisfying regular season.

Minnesota Timberwolves: C

2025-26 record: 49-33
ESPN Forecast: 51-31

The Timberwolves have been the big winner from the tanking maneuvers at the top of the Western Conference over the past few days, as they will get the Nuggets, a team they've had postseason success against, and then an inexperienced Spurs squad as they vie for a third straight Western Conference finals. But it's been an up-and-down season, and rather than pushing for a top-four spot in the West, they nearly found themselves in the play-in.

New York Knicks: C

2025-26 record: 53-29
ESPN Forecast: 54-28

The Knicks, like the Cavaliers, entered the season with sky-high expectations after moving on from coach Tom Thibodeau after last season's conference finals defeat. And while this season's story will ultimately be written in the playoffs, it can only be seen as a mild disappointment right now. In Brown's first season, the Knicks feel like a group that's played to less than the sum of its parts as they chase preseason ambitions of reaching the NBA Finals for the first time this century.

Utah Jazz: C

2025-26 record: 22-60
ESPN Forecast: 19-63

The Jazz accomplished their preseason goal: keep their first-round pick and get one final swing at the top of the draft. Utah accomplished it while trading for former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. and being fined for tanking along the way, a more interesting path than many expected. The only thing left is to see if this is finally the year this team gets some lottery luck.

Washington Wizards: C

2025-26 record: 17-65
ESPN Forecast: 20-62

Like Brooklyn, the goal was clear all season in Washington: guarantee no worse than the fifth pick in the draft. But while the Wizards were securing the league's worst record, the franchise made two of the biggest splashes of trade season when it acquired Trae Young and Anthony Davis. With a high lottery pick coming in June, next season will be a fascinating watch in D.C.

Indiana Pacers: C-

2025-26 record: 19-63
ESPN Forecast: 39-43

While Boston avoided a gap year in the wake of Tatum's injury, the combination of Tyrese Haliburton being out for the season with an Achilles tear and a rash of other injuries in the opening weeks of the regular season doomed Indiana from the start. That said, the Pacers will come out of this season with All-Defense center Ivica Zubac and a potential top-four pick. There are far worse outcomes in a gap year, but Indy's lost season remains quite a fall from Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals.

Miami Heat: C-

2025-26 record: 43-39
ESPN Forecast: 39-43

Like Atlanta, Miami matched most projections but in a convoluted fashion. The Heat spent much of the season fighting for a top-six spot in the East and ended up surpassing their preseason over/under wins total. But after Bam Adebayo said repeatedly throughout the season that he was tired of being in the play-in, Miami finished there for the fourth consecutive season and grabbed the 10-seed for the second straight season. But unlike last year, the Heat couldn't make a run to the 8-seed.

'D' grades

Golden State Warriors: D+

2025-26 record: 37-45
ESPN Forecast: 48-34

The Warriors began the season dreaming of a top-six finish in the West, with a full season of Jimmy Butler III in the fold and another year of icon Stephen Curry. Instead, Golden State bungled several winnable games early and then endured season-ending injuries to Butler and Moses Moody -- plus lengthy absences for Curry and Kristaps Porzingis, among others. The bad stretches and injuries relegated the Warriors to the last team in the play-in for most of the past few months. Could Golden State still make the playoffs? Sure. But this is not the season the Warriors were hoping to have.

LA Clippers: D+

2025-26 record: 42-40
ESPN Forecast: 50-32

The Clippers had a great few months to dig themselves out of an early-season hole, but this was a team widely expected to have homecourt in the Western Conference playoffs. LA began the season with an almost unbelievable 6-21 record and coupled it with trading James Harden and Ivica Zubac. Even if both deals, for Darius Garland and a potential mid-lottery pick, were understandable, the final result makes this an easy season to label as a disappointment.

Chicago Bulls: D

2025-26 record: 31-51
ESPN Forecast: 36-46

Bulls fans might argue this season actually exceeded expectations, given the team finally chose a direction and is now searching to replace Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley as the leaders of basketball operations. But the Bulls, who didn't enter 2025-26 with visions of the East's 12-seed, also failed to meaningfully move up in the draft lottery standings after the play-in tournament became out of reach.

Dallas Mavericks: D

2025-26 record: 26-56
ESPN Forecast: 44-38

It's hard to remember given how awful this season has gone, but Dallas was believed to have a chance to be a factor in the Western Conference this season. Instead, Anthony Davis played 29 games before being traded, and Dallas spent most of the back half of the season desperately trying to move as high in the lottery standings as possible. It now enters the offseason searching for Nico Harrison's replacement as the franchise's head of basketball operations.

Memphis Grizzlies: D

2025-26 record: 25-57
ESPN Forecast: 42-40

The Grizzlies have been the league's most egregious tanking machine over the past couple of weeks -- it worked, they're all the way up to sixth in the lottery. But while it's a positive to come out of a lost season, it doesn't change that Jaren Jackson Jr. is in Utah, Ja Morant had another invisible campaign and Zach Edey spent another nearly entire season sidelined with ankle issues.

Orlando Magic: D

2025-26 record: 45-37
ESPN Forecast: 50-32

After years of inactivity with the roster, Orlando went all-in by trading Memphis four first-round picks for guard Desmond Bane in a move designed to vault the Magic into a true contender status. Instead, Orlando finished another regular season as a below-average offensive team and are unlikely to snap a streak of 16 seasons without a series victory.

Milwaukee Bucks: D-

2025-26 record: 32-50
ESPN Forecast: 46-36

No team belongs here more than the Bucks. Between a disastrous, injury-filled season that saw Doc Rivers step down as coach and the ongoing saga surrounding superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, there's little doubt this season has been a failure. Massive changes are coming to Milwaukee.

New Orleans Pelicans: D-

2025-26 record: 26-56
ESPN Forecast: 26-56

Expectations might not have been met in New Orleans, where the Pelicans made moves in the offseason while believing this team could contend for a play-in spot or better. But the reason the draft night trade with Atlanta was panned as much as it was last June was because of the expectation the Pelicans would land in the middle of the lottery. And, if it wasn't for egregious tanking from across the league, the pick would've landed even higher than it did.

Sacramento Kings: D-

2025-26 record: 22-60
ESPN Forecast: 37-45

A microcosm of the Kings this season: They were investigated for tanking, in a season that's been rife with it, and were cleared from it by arguing that their coach just completely messed up a strategy decision in a game. That said it all about a team that was projected to fight for the play-in and instead was one of the league's worst teams -- and then even won its way out of a top-three lottery spot.