One of our favorite exercises is trying to place the most recent happenings to NBA history. In order to help us in that regard, Kyle Wright, who wrote the excellent book “NBA From Top to Bottom” has passed on his 2008-09 update. Just to give you a little context, Kyle has ranked every NBA and NFL ever from first to last. The list is based upon his formula, which identifies several factors, including point differential, strength of schedule, and various other factors. It measures each team against its own league and that dominance is reflected in the list, the formula does not factor in playoff showings or relative strength of the average player for each era. Kyle’s very cool site, Sports From Top to Bottom can be found here. Here is the full list, with each team’s historical ranking, rating with Kyle’s formula, and raw won-loss record.
| Team | Rank | Rating | W-L | |
| Cleveland | 10 | 8.62 | 66-16 | |
| Boston | 39 | 7.40 | 62-20 | |
| L.A. Lakers | 50 | 7.12 | 65-17 | |
| Orlando | 80 | 6.43 | 59-23 | |
| Portland | 148 | 5.03 | 54-28 | |
| Houston | 222 | 3.76 | 53-29 | |
| San Antonio | 263 | 3.38 | 54-28 | |
| Denver | 282 | 3.16 | 54-28 | |
| Utah | 367 | 2.33 | 48-34 | |
| Dallas | 439 | 1.71 | 50-32 | |
| Atlanta | 443 | 1.67 | 47-35 | |
| Phoenix | 447 | 1.65 | 46-36 | |
| New Orleans | 466 | 1.45 | 49-33 | |
| Miami | 571 | 0.47 | 43-39 | |
| Philadelphia | 611 | 0.12 | 41-41 | |
| Chicago | 645 | -0.20 | 41-41 | |
| Detroit | 667 | -0.40 | 39-43 | |
| Indiana | 708 | -0.77 | 36-46 | |
| Milwaukee | 719 | -0.90 | 34-48 | |
| Charlotte | 760 | -1.24 | 35-47 | |
| New Jersey | 871 | -2.35 | 34-48 | |
| New York | 872 | -2.35 | 32-50 | |
| Toronto | 893 | -2.56 | 33-49 | |
| Golden State | 979 | -3.76 | 29-53 | |
| Minnesota | 1036 | -4.68 | 24-58 | |
| Memphis | 1062 | -5.16 | 24-58 | |
| Oklahoma City | 1107 | -5.99 | 23-59 | |
| Washington | 1140 | -7.00 | 19-63 | |
| L.A. Clippers | 1177 | -8.40 | 19-63 | |
| Sacramento | 1182 | -8.55 | 17-65 |
Kyle has informed me that there are now 1,213 NBA/BAA teams ever to have played in the league since its inception. As you might’ve guessed, Cleveland has made an impact on the list, landing in the top ten of All-Time, knocking back the 1993-94 Sonics. A few of the other good teams are also registering in the top 100, though not near Cleveland. The cluster of Western teams don’t rank great, except for Portland, which may be an indicator of some playoff success. You also have to be impressed by how well Boston was able to rank with all the injuries. Kyle’s list also tells us that the Kings and Clippers were every bit as puke bad as you perceived, and even worse than the Wizards. Finally you should note that the list has done quite a good job of picking NBA champs so putting some cash on Cleveland wouldn’t be a bad idea.