NBA Teams Tier List
Twelve franchises, and three completely different reasons to rank them: how good they are now, how they are run, or how much you enjoy watching them. Pick one. A list that mixes current form with historical prestige ends up arguing with itself. Every entry starts in Unranked — drag or tap a tile to fill S through F, rename any row, then export the finished board as a PNG.
Lakers
Celtics
Warriors
Bulls
Heat
Knicks
Spurs
Mavericks
Nuggets
Thunder
Cavaliers
76ers0 of 12 items ranked.
Board saved automatically in this browser. Original.
How this board is built: the 12 tiles are an editorial starting set, not an official roster and not a published ranking — every entry waits in Unranked until you place it. Item tiles are original pictograms or two-letter emblems drawn for this site rather than character artwork, film stills or club logos, so nothing here is licensed material reused from a rights holder. Tiers you set are your own judgement.
What's included in this NBA Teams board
The board arrives with all 12 entries present as tiles and none of them assigned to a tier. That is deliberate: a template that opens with a finished ranking only invites you to agree or disagree with whoever made it, whereas an empty ladder makes you commit to an ordering of your own. Drag a tile onto a row, or on a phone tap the tile and then the tier you want. You can add rows for extra categories, rename the standard ones, and remove any entry you do not recognise — a list you can defend is more useful than a long one you cannot.
How to rank this NBA Teams board
Start with fan preference if this is a personal board, and be honest about whether you are ranking affection or quality. Then weigh recent form, which is the fastest-moving criterion on the board and should carry a date in the title. Team identity is the third pass: style of play, organisational reputation, and how consistently the franchise has a recognisable way of doing things. If you want a list that ages well, lean on identity rather than standings. One useful technique is to rank the top four and bottom four first, then place the middle by asking which of them you would actually choose to watch for a full season.
Using the board without over-thinking it
Most people finish a board like this in a couple of minutes and then reorder the middle rows for another ten. That middle is where the honest disagreement lives, so do not rush it: place the obvious top three and the obvious bottom three first, then work inward. If two entries still feel identical, that is a real observation — say so in a row note or a text tile rather than inventing a difference. When the ordering settles, export the PNG so the arrangement is saved somewhere permanent, and copy the share link if you want someone else to argue with it.
Ranking criteria used here
- fan preference
- recent form
- team identity (choose one)
Before you share it
Put your criterion in the board title, so a reader knows whether they are looking at a favourites list or an analytical one. If the subject changes with patches, seasons or releases, add the date. And remember the share link carries tier names, colours and the tile order — uploaded photos stay on your device, so export a PNG when those matter.
All 12 items in this template
Back to the boardLakersCelticsWarriorsBullsHeatKnicksSpursMavericksNuggetsThunderCavaliers76ersNBA Teams tier list FAQ
Should current standings drive the ranking?
Only if you date the board. Standings move weekly, so a snapshot without a date becomes misleading within a month. Identity-based ordering ages much better.
How do I rank teams I do not follow?
Remove them, or put them in a separate Unwatched row. A confident tier for a team you have not watched this season is a guess wearing a label.
