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Final NBA power rankings
Both Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook dominated the NBA competition this season. Noah Graham/Getty Images

Final NBA power rankings

The 2015-16 NBA regular season couldn't have ended in a more exciting fashion. The Golden State Warriors officially broke the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' record for best record in a season in history, notching win 73 to finish 73-9 on the season in style. Stephen Curry became the first player ever to surpass 400 three-pointers made in a season, and the Warriors blew out the Memphis Grizzlies to close the regular season.

Of course, Kobe Bryant stole the show, scoring 60 points in his final NBA game ever in front of a raucous Staples Center crowd. Oh, he also hit the game-winner and assisted on the game's final basket, all while scoring the most points ever for a players in his final game. Kobe knows how to rise to the moment, and he did it one last time to give Lakers fans — and basketball fans — one last thrill in what has been a trying time for the Lake Show.

Now that the season is over and the playoffs are on the horizon, it's time for the final NBA power rankings of the 2015-16 season.

30. Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia finished the regular season with a 10-72 record. Those 72 losses ties this team with the 1972-73 Sixers for the most defeats by a team in the history of the NBA. Want more? Philadelphia lost 29 of its final 31 games. For comparison's sake, the Golden State Warriors have lost 29 times in their past 176 regular-season games. The good news? It can only get better from here.

29. Los Angeles Lakers

Kobe Bryant goes for 60 points and leads the Lakers to a rare win in his final NBA game. No one could have drew that one up better. Despite this, Los Angeles now enters the post-Kobe era with way more questions than answers after putting up a 17-65 record, its worst mark since the organization was in Minnesota back in 1957-58.

28. Brooklyn Nets

Brooklyn finished out a disastrous 2015-16 campaign with 10 consecutive losses, eight of which came by double digits. Anyone thinking that this crap-fest was on former head coach Lionel Hollins is kidding him/herself. The face of the franchise is an aging center with an injury history, and the team doesn't boast a first-round pick in June's draft after sending it to Boston in the ill-fated Kevin Garnett/Paul Piece deal.

More than that, the Nets simply aren't an attractive destination for potential free agents. Without any money to spend in comparison to the rest of the league, that's likely not going to matter. Sadly, Brooklyn's 21-61 record this season might be its high-water mark for the foreseeable future.

27. Phoenix Suns

Phoenix finished up its disastrous season with 35 losses in its final 47 games. This led to the team putting up its second-worst mark in franchise history. It sure didn't help that the likes of Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe missed a combined 80 games.

With some young talent on this team, it's not all lost. Alex Len and rookie Devin Booker had tremendous seasons. It's now all about getting the right coach and adding another elite youngster in the draft.

26. New Orleans Pelicans

Speaking of injuries, Anthony Davis, Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday and Eric Gordon missed a combined 157 games. Obviously, this led to a horrendous first season for head coach Alvin Gentry. When all was said and done, the Pelicans finished with a 30-52 record after making the playoffs last season. None of this should have a bearing on Gentry's job status. Though, New Orleans is going to need to find a way to get an above-average second option behind Davis.

25. New York Knicks

Maybe better off than its counterpart in Brooklyn, New York has a long road ahead of itself in order to even be considered a playoff contender. The team isn't in the greatest of cap situations. And unless Arron Afflalo declines his large player option for 2016-17, the team isn't going to be able to add a max player.

With Carmelo Anthony slowing down and not much more in terms of proven talent behind him, this is going to be an uphill battle. At the very least, Kristaps Porzingis showed some solid promise as a rookie.

24. Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks are likely going to find themselves in an offseason of transition. After adding Greg Monroe to the mix last summer, the expectation here was that this team would improve off last year's playoff appearance. Instead, Milwaukee put up a 33-49 record in what was a disappointing season.

There is a bright side here. Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo had breakout seasons. Middleton averaged 18.4 points while shooting 40 percent from three. Meanwhile, the the "Greek Freak" put up such an amazing season that he's slated to be the team's starting point guard next season. By the way, he's a freakish 6-foot-11.

23. Minnesota Timberwolves

Despite putting up their second consecutive season of 50-plus losses, the Wolves are definitely trending upward. Presumptive NBA Rookie of the Year Karl-Anthony Towns averaged 18.4 points and 10.2 rebounds, putting up 51 double-doubles in the process. Last year's Rookie of the Year, Andrew Wiggins, added 20-plus points. Meanwhile, the high-flying Zach LaVine improved his all-around play to the tune of 14 points per game and a 39 percent mark from three-point range.

This is a solid young nucleus for the team to build around under a new head coach next season.

22. Sacramento Kings

With George Karl gone and DeMarcus Cousins potentially on his way out of town, the Kings are entering an offseason of transition. That's not necessarily a bad thing considering the franchise put up its 10th consecutive losing season. More than anything, the primary issue here was Sacramento's regression from the first half of the year. After starting with a 20-23 record, the Kings lost 26 of their final 39 games.

21. Denver Nuggets

The good news first. Denver put up a 9-8 record in March. It was by far the team's best stretch of action since George Karl was manning the bench back in 2012-13. The bad news? Denver finished with a 33-49 record, its third consecutive season with 46-plus losses.

The veteran core of Kenneth Faried, Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari simply isn't playoff-caliber. Instead, Denver needs to move forward with the likes of Emmanuel Mudiay, Will Barton and Gary Harris leading the way.

20. Orlando Magic

Once a playoff contender earlier in the season, Orlando fell off big time as the year progressed. Following a 19-13 start to the season, the Magic put up a 16-35 mark to close out the campaign.

With a ton of cash to spend during the summer and a couple solid building blocks in Nikola Vucevic and Victor Oladipo, things aren't incredibly bad here. It just remains to be seen whether Scott Skiles is the long-term solution on the bench.

19. Washington Wizards

With Randy Wittman gone, the Wizards are now going to have to move on from what was a disastrous 2015-16 campaign. Missing out on the playoffs is one thing. Failing to live up to the level of talent on your roster is a completely different thing.

What we're going to have to see moving forward is a willingness from the front office to spend the cash in order to get more talent behind John Wall and Bradley Beal. Short of that happening, Washington will continue to be the mediocre .500 team that it was this season.

18. Chicago Bulls

What exactly is happening in Chicago? We read reports that certain members of the team aren't happy with the preferential treatment Jimmy Butler received. We also read reports that suggested the front office had already made the decision to fire Tom Thibodeau and hire Fred Hoiberg before the former was even let go last season. Now add in the fact that both Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah are set to become free agents, and there are a ton of questions in Chicago. Missing out on the playoffs surely isn't going to help answer these questions.

17. Utah Jazz

Unfortunately for the Jazz, a rather surprising 2015-16 campaign did not end in a playoff appearance after it lost four of its final five games. That's the bad news. Want some good news? Gordon Hayward played the role of a superstar during what was a tremendous season that saw him average 19.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

In addition to this, youngster Rodney Hood took on a larger scoring role down the stretch, putting up double-digit points in 27 of his final 35 games. Add in the strong play of Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors and Alec Burks, and there is a strong young core here.

16. Houston Rockets

Houston stepped up when it needed to the most toward the end of the season, winning its final three games en route to sneaking in to the playoffs as the eighth seed. By no means does this indicate that the 2015-16 season has been anything but a failure.

Finishing with a .500 record can't be considered a success. Having to take on the defending champion Golden State Warriors definitely isn't an ideal scenario either. Short of handing the Warriors what would be a historical upset, the Rockets won't end the season as a pleased organization.

15. Memphis Grizzlies

It's still rather stunning that the Grizzlies found a way to earn a playoff spot without the services of Mike Conley and Marc Gasol down the stretch. Conley missed the final 26 games with an Achilles injury. Meanwhile, Gasol only played in 52 games before suffering a broken foot. Add in the trades of Jeff Green and Courtney Lee, and things seemed to be headed for a meltdown.

While Memphis did lose nine of its final 10 games, it will play postseason basketball. Unfortunately, that's likely to come to a quick end against the San Antonio Spurs in the first round.

14. Dallas Mavericks

Rick Carlisle did a tremendous job managing the minutes of his veteran roster throughout the season. This helped the team to strong finish to the season with wins in seven of its final 10 games.

Playing pretty darn good basketball, Dallas will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round. While the Mavs are a big underdog in this series, it wouldn't be surprising to see the likes of Dirk Nowitzki and Deron Williams put up a big fight here. The bad news? Chandler Parsons is out for the series. That will place Dallas behind the proverbial eight ball.

13. Detroit Pistons

Things probably couldn't have worked out better for Detroit this season. A campaign that should have been defined by roster transition under Stan Van Gundy culminated in a 44-38 regular-season record. Now set to take on a top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers team that they beat three of four times this year, anything from here on out is icing on the cake.

From an individual standpoint, Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson sure proved that they can be big-time players on a good team. Drummond averaged 16.2 points and 14.8 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Jackson did a tremendous job leading the offense, putting up 18.8 points and 6.2 assists per outing.

12. Indiana Pacers

Indiana is currently playing its best basketball since the first month or so of the season. It ended the regular year with six wins in its final seven games to earn the seventh spot and avoid Cleveland in the first round. The issue heading into the playoffs is finding a second scorer behind Paul George. No other member of the team averaged more than 13.8 points per game. Even then, Monta Ellis had to put up an average of 12.6 shots per game. Unless something changes here, it will be a quick dance for the Pacers in the playoffs.

11. Portland Trail Blazers

A season that was supposed to be defined by rebuilding is now heading into the playoffs. After losing both LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum during the summer, most figured Portland would be headed to an early lottery pick. After posting a 15-24 record through Jan. 8, these concerns seemed to be taking hold.

Since then, the Blazers have won 29 of a possible 43 games. With a star-studded backcourt tandem of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum making waves in the Pacific Northwest, it wouldn't be a major surprise to see Portland take out the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round. That's what we'd call a minor miracle following the offseason this franchise dealt with.

10. Boston Celtics

Brad Stevens would be my choice for Coach of the Year. What he's done with a roster that doesn't possess a top-end star has been nothing short of amazing. And despite the fact that Boston lost out on a top-three seed, it has an opportunity to move past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since the Doc Rivers era.

More than anything, the regular season was defined by great teamwork from a squad that nearly hit the 50-win mark. Isaiah Thomas will be the X-factor in the playoffs against Atlanta. He averaged 22.2 points and 6.2 assists per game during the regular year.

9. Charlotte Hornets

Much like Portland out west, the Hornets came out of nowhere in the second half of the season with some of the best basketball in the Eastern Conference. Seemingly dead in the water with a 23-25 record to start February, the Hornets finished with wins in 25 of their past 34 games.

All this was made possible by Al Jefferson's return to health and the improved play of Kemba Walker. The point guard finished this past regular season averaging 20.9 points and 5.2 assists per game. Meanwhile, Nicolas Batum performed like the best all-around player on the team, averaging 14.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. Now taking on Miami in the first round, Charlotte will look to make hay in the second season.

8. Atlanta Hawks

Remember when the Hawks were going to blow this whole thing up and trade everyone back in February? That seems like ages ago. Atlanta was able to save what looked like a lost season by winning 17 of 24 to end the regular season. This gave the team the fourth seed and homecourt advantage in the first round.

Though, Atlanta isn't necessarily heading into the playoffs on a high note. It lost four of seven to end the year and would likely be forced to take on Cleveland in the conference semifinals should it get out of the first round.

7. Miami Heat

There's no other way to put it, Miami lucked into the third seed with Atlanta's season-ending loss. After all, it blew a 26-point lead against Boston on Wednesday only to end up losing by 10. That game saw Miami put up a total of 26 points in the second half, including five in the third quarter. Ouch!

Now set to take on Charlotte in the first round, the Heat needs to get it fixed on offense. That's two consecutive games without putting up 100-plus points after tallying triple digits in eight of the past nine games.

6. Toronto Raptors

Firmly entrenched as the biggest threat to Cleveland's hopes of repeating as conference champs, Toronto is coming off a franchise-best 56-win regular season. DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry put up All-Star campaigns in what is quickly becoming one of the most talented backcourts east of Oakland. Meanwhile, the Raptors put up an absurd 32-9 home record.

The only real cause for alarm here is that Toronto is just 4-4 in its past eight games against winning teams. This might not cause much of a problem against Indiana in the first round, but it's something to think about down the road.

5. Los Angeles Clippers

Despite missing Blake Griffin for 47 games during the regular season, Los Angeles put up its third consecutive 50-win season. Picking up the slack with Griffin out, Chris Paul might have just had his best regular season in his career. Meanwhile, J.J. Redick finished the regular year with the highest three-point percentage in the NBA.

Now the fourth seed out west, the Clippers' reward is taking on a hot Blazers team with a potential second-round series against the Warriors looming. Hey, at least they're in the dance.

4. Oklahoma City Thunder

If Stephen Curry didn't exist, we'd be talking about the tremendous season Russell Westbrook had. He averaged 23.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 10.4 assists in leading Oklahoma City to a 55-win regular season. With former MVP Kevin Durant also playing at a high level, the Thunder is a legitimate conference title contender.

The only real issue here is that Oklahoma City was swept by Golden State in three regular-season games and doesn't match up particularly well with the defending champs. Though, a second-round series against San Antonio could work to the Thunder's advantage. The two teams split four games in the regular year.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers

You might not know it by looking at the media headlines and the midseason firing of David Blatt, but Cleveland actually put up the third-best record in franchise history with 57 wins during the regular season. With LeBron James playing at an absolutely absurd level right now, there's no reason to believe anyone but the Cavaliers will come out on top back east. He's averaging 28.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 7.8 assists while shooting 66 percent in five games this month.

2. San Antonio Spurs

San Antonio somewhat faltered down the stretch, losing three of its final five regular-season games. Though, this primarily came with starters resting after it became apparent the team wouldn't be the top seed. It's the two losses against Golden State (both with relatively full lineups) over the past week that have to be concerning, especially the Spurs' home loss last weekend.

San Antonio has a darn easy first-round matchup against an injury-ravaged Memphis team in the first round. However, is Pop's squad up to going against Oklahoma City and Golden State en route to the NBA Finals? That's the larger question here.

1. Golden State Warriors

Golden State capped off an NBA-record 73-9 regular season with a dominating win over Memphis on Wednesday. While beating the undermanned Grizzlies isn't a big deal, handing the Spurs two defeats in the past week is. That's the one team most observers believe can dethrone the defending champs. But as we saw in these two games, the Warriors are surely ahead of the curve here.

Speaking of ahead of the curve, likely MVP Stephen Curry is heading into the playoffs red hot. He averaged 41.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.5 steals while nailing 14 threes and shooting 61 percent from the field in the final two regular-season games.

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