NBA Reverse Standings: Core Four Holding Off New Contenders

The NBA trade deadline has officially come and went, leaving a flurry of questions in its wake.

With superstars and role players being dealt all across the league, their very well could be new contenders emerging post-deadline. On the flip side, there’s could also be teams much less committed to winning following deals.

So far, four teams have dominated the battle at the bottom of the standings: Detroit, Orlando, Houston and Oklahoma City. Some variation of those teams have occupied the bottom four spots for awhile now.

And, for now, that’s still the case.

The Pistons have a half-game lead on Orlando for the worst record in the NBA. There’s two and a half games separating the Magic and Rockets, and the same difference between Houston and OKC.

Aaron Wiggins, Oklahoma City Thunder — Alonzo Adams-USA Today

But the fallout of the deadline leaves new challengers for the 2022 Draft’s coveted top spots.

At 19-37, Indiana currently sits in the reverse 5-seed. And with Domantas Sabonis gone and Tyrese Halliburton added, they could begin moving up the rankings.

The most notable new challengers are the Blazers and Spurs. Both offloaded several win-now players, including Norm Powell, CJ McCollum and Derrick White, opting to get younger or draft assets back.

With head coach Gregg Popovich likely retirement impending, the Spurs could begin making a push for a top pick right now. The Blazers will allegedly look to re-load around superstar Damian Lillard. While they could do so through free agency, the draft could be the next place to look.

Here are the NBA’s full reverse standings:

Detroit Pistons, 12-43

Orlando Magic, 13-43

Houston Rockets, 15-40

Oklahoma City Thunder, 17-37

Indiana Pacers, 19-37

San Antonio Spurs, 20-35

Sacramento Kings, 21-36

Portland Trail Blazers, 22-34

New Orleans Pelicans, 22-33

New York Knicks, 25-31

Washington Wizards, 25-29

Los Angeles Lakers, 26-30

Los Angeles Clippers, 27-30

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