2025 Pre-Season: Russell

After a nice and easy 2025 draft, we're here to look at the new SlamNation season! Good luck everyone! [ 2025 Chamberlain | 2024 End of Season: Playoff Teams | Toilet Bowl Teams ]

TeamID - Abbrev - Name (2024 Record, 2023 Record)

#1 FJUB Fat Jubas (10-8, 12-7-1)

Having made their mark in last season’s playoffs by pulling off a huge first round upset over the twin seven-foot rookies from SPDE, FJUB was only slightly disappointed to be upset themselves in the next round by eighth-seeded SQSQ.

Heading into 2025 with their playoff streak intact—ten in a row, and having only missed one playoffs ever—FJUB is actually a totally brand new team after last season’s moves. From a keeper roster that featured Fred VanVleet and Brook Lopez to one that is now headlined by Trae Young and Karl-Anthony Towns, FJUB has dramatically transformed their keeper core—replaced all six plaeyrs—in a way that SlamNation has rarely seen. While the new core didn’t rate that high on our recent keepers tiers analysis, there’s no denying that FJUB’s future is very bright as they chase their third title.

Headlined by the NBA’s first overall pick, Zaccharie Risacher (2025 RD1.10)—FJUB’s draft also brought in Keon Ellis as an intriguing three-and-D piece, along with Grayson Allen and Corey Kispert as floor spacers. While Herb Jones and Isaiah Hartenstein are defensive stalwarts, the FJUB roster is constructed to be offense-first, with Young, Towns, Bradley Beal, and Collin Sexton firing away. It’ll be interesting to see if this brand-new FJUB can continue the success of a proud franchise that is always in the contender mix, regardless of what the prognosticators say.

#2 CHMK (8-9-1, 8-12)

A pair of eight-win seasons and three years out of the playoffs marks a nadir for the CHMK franchise. Despite two straight Toilet Bowl wins in 2022-23, CHMK managed to only pull Jabari Smith (2023 RD1.1) and Amen Thompson (2024 RD1.3) from the lottery grab bag. Smith was traded after his rookie year and while Thompson has lots of promise, he certainly wasn’t last year’s rookie of the year, even accounting for Wemby-mania.

However, despite those top of the draft misfires, CHMK has been outstanding in mining Jalens, with the results speaking for themselves as they now have Anthony Edwards and Alperen Sengun after cashing in two three-for-one trades last season. Edwards accelerated to mega-superstardom incredibly quickly and is now poised for an MVP-type season. The defensive backbone of Bam Adebayo and Evan Mobley are also second to none and adding Jalen Suggs (RD2.9) will further give them a point of attack.

To put themselves back into the playoff picture however, CHMK is counting on a bounceback season from Jamal Murray, further growth from Thompson, and the mercurial D’Angelo Russell (RD1.5) to support the main core. Taylor Hendricks (RD3.6) was a great upside pick but we feel like Mike Conley (RD2.11) is about to be the washed king soon, as he’ll likely be on a minutes restriction in Minnesota.  The additions of Tari Eason and Norman Powell are nice value picks though. The intriguing news: someone drafted Bronny James (RD6.11) and it wasn’t a Lakers fan, shocking! Here’s hoping we get to see Ant-Man in the 2025 Slam playoffs!

#3 FUNK (8-9-1, 12-8)

After six straight playoff appearances, FUNK dipped back into the Toilet Bowl. The silver lining was that they made it to the Toilet Bowl Finals and due to the SWMP Rule, “earned” the top pick in the 2025 draft. In a year with no clear standouts however, FUNK chose to go with Reed Sheppard at number overall pick, and belatedly realized he was not categorized as a point guard. Pre-draft, FUNK had already traded away Dejounte Murray—straight up for Lauri Markkanen—leading to a draft that unfurled with plenty of guard options.

The two-headed monster duo of Terry Rozier (RD2.12) and Dennis Schroder (RD3.5) will have to handle point duties for the strong forward core of the team, featuring new NBA champion Jayson Tatum, Markannen, OG Anunoby, and Trey Murphy III. With Devin Vassell ailing, the rest of FUNK’s draft was more guards—Malik Monk and Jordan Clarkson—as they have semi-floor spacers Myles Turner and Wendell Carter Jr. manning the middle.

Once a team full of up-and-coming franchise level stars, FUNK find themselves in a transitional year as they look to get back into the playoffs with a roster that is young vet heavy but light on upside, minus Sheppard. This is a roster built to win now, the question will be if they can?

#4 UFOS (1-17, 3-16-1)

It took a few months for UFOS to find their footing, but by the end of the season, UFOS got a better handle on the complicated Games Played cap and should roll into their sophomore season with a better grasp of how to play with the big boys.

Rolling over almost all of their keepers from the 2024 dispersal draft—only adding Onyeka Okongwu in place of Cameron Johnson—UFOS made a huge splash pre-draft, moving on from Damian Lillard, their only true blue star player. In return, UFOS acquired Immanuel Quickley, whose youth will much better align with the rest of this squad.

The frontline of Jabari Smith Jr., Jarrett Allen, Okongwu, and Nic Claxton is rock solid, and the clear strength of this team. Josh Giddey was tossed aside by Oklahoma City but drafted at 2025 RD1.4 by UFOS, who clearly have big hopes for his multi-purpose stats in Chicago. Sophomores Bilal Coulibaly (RD2.15) and Brandin Podziemski (RD3.2) will be given even more opportunity to shine, and another fellow sophomore, Jarace Walker (RD5.2) has talent if not a direct line to playing time.

Also, rookies Bub Carrington and Rob Dillingham were brought on board for a full youth movement. With Quickley and Jordan Poole—who can’t be worse than last season—alongside the big centers, UFOS have defined strengths at least to pick up a few more wins that last season. With their feet now wet from their first fantasy basketball experience, UFOS will look to build and grow!

#5 TRUO (5-13, 4-15-1)

It’s been a long six seasons of single digit wins for TRUO, and their previous string of playoff appearances are far behind them in the rearview mirror. When can they start their re-ascent? With De’Aaron Fox and Jalen Green in the fold, at least the backcourt seems set—especially with Cam Thomas possibly putting up so many shots this upcoming season that his arm might fall off.

There are larger questions surrounding the rest of this roster though. Will Julius Randle put up another All-NBA season? Can Jonathan Kuminga finally break through? Is Keegan Murray (2023 RD1.4) a better NBA player than fantasy asset? TRUO was able to upset CHMK in the Toilet Bowl, earning themselves a top-two pick in this year’s draft. That selection was used on Zach Edey (2025 RD1.2), who has Rookie of the Year potential, but is likely to have a high floor, low ceiling career as his unique stature is more a change-of-pace option.

Aside from Edey, TRUO’s draft was mostly safe options like John Collins, Alex Caruso, and the venerable Chris Paul (RD6.6). Andrew Nembhard and GG Jackson II are very nice role players for their NBA teams, but fantasy wise are still likely a little boxed in for minutes. At the end of the day, the hopes for TRUO to hit 0.500 again rest largely on Green’s ascendance—and maybe Kuminga. Here’s hoping TRUO can start some forward momentum in 2025 and get more than five regular season wins this season, at least.

#6 SWMP (10-8, 12-8)

Our 2025 Toilet Bowl champions! The last two TB victories for SWMP resulted in Markelle Fultz (2018 RD1.1) and DeAndre Ayton (2019 RD1.1), who are both famously not the best player in their respective drafts. Perhaps having learned a valuable lesson, SWMP instead went with a non-rookie with their pick this year, choosing sophomore Keyonte George (RD1.3) as he’s already flashed some star upside.

Having already made some big moves last season—moving Alperen Sengun for Jalen Williams and Jalen Johnson—SWMP entered the 2025 draft down their RD2 and RD3 picks, but recouped a third-rounder with a trade off of Bradley Beal. SWMP’s draft was mostly for role players with the likes of Cameron Johnson (RD3.10), Ayo Dosunmu, rookie Dalton Knecht, and Max Strus offering some light shooting and offense, but nothing that will push SWMP up a level.

Much like the real life Nicola Jokic, there seems to be a need for some filling out of the roster to get SWMP back to championship level. Paul George and Zach LaVine are great on paper, but both are injury prone, to say the least. That will put a lot of pressure on Williams and George to head the backcourt, and for Jalen Johnson to really blow up this season—which we think he will. Was 2024 just a brief hiccup in SWMP’s chase for a long awaited title? Or is it the start of a slow decline?

#7 MELO (5-13, 10-10)

Four years into SlamNation, MELO fans have experienced some whiplash action, seesawing from eleven wins to three wins, back to ten, and then last year collapsing to five again. History would indicate a winning season for MELO this year, and they certainly are the strongest MELO team we’ve had on paper.

Finals MVP and NBA champ Jaylen Brown and Kevin Durant are great cornerstones to build a team around, and it looks like sophomore Brandon Miller will follow in their footsteps as a great wing player. Pascal Siakam will have renewed life in Indianapolis, as does RJ Barrett, now returned to his native Canada. That gives MELO a great nice forward rotation, buttressed by Jerami Grant (RD2.13) as well. Incoming rookie Stephon Castle (RD1.7) is another do-everything type of player and gives MELO some upside to invest in.

Solid veterans Jakob Poeltl, Marcus Smart, and Aaron Gordon (RD5.4) will be plug-and-play, and even with everyone simply matching their career averages, MELO should be much better than last year already. Will that mean a second appearance for them in the playoffs? We can sure hope so!

#8 KSKT (12-5-1, 16-4)

It only took four seasons for KSKT to rise from six wins to a 2024 championship, and KSKT’s storybook franchise saga continues as they return the exact same keeper core for the second year running. The oldest player there is Kristaps Porzingis, at twenty-nine, but everyone else is still in their young to mid twenties. This is a team that has proven their championship mettle and is still getting better, as Cade Cunningham, Tyrese Haliburton, Zion Williamson, and Anfernee Simons could all go up another level, at least.

With Porizingis out for a few months, Clint Capela (RD1.16) will step in as the nominal starter, with Kelly Olynyk (RD3.14) tapped to simulate Porzingis’ big man shooting when necessary. Without many holes to fill besides at center, KSKT drafted Donte DiVencenzo (RD2.3), PJ Washington, and De’Anthony Melton as difference making role players and additional shooting. Late pick Tidjane Salaun (RD5.14) is one of KSKT’s signature rookie bets that could pay off handsomely.

Overall, injuries will likely determine if KSKT can repeat, but if healthy, this is the Slam team best positioned to repeat in recent history—something that hasn’t been accomplished since SOUR went three-peat in 2015-17. All hail the young king!

2025 Pre-Season: Chamberlain

Back with our pre-season team previews! [ 2025 Russell | 2024 End of Season: Playoff Teams | Toilet Bowl Teams ]

TeamID - Abbrev - Name (2024 Record, 2023 Record)

#9 SQSQ (10-8, 7-13)

It’s been a couple up and down seasons for SQSQ lately, as they’ve built to contend but have been unable to coalesce into championship form, dipping from winning season to seven wins and then back again like a yo-yo. However, during the 2024 playoffs, SQSQ got some serious payback against SCRM, as they pulled off the #8 vs #1 upset, taking out the juggernaut SCRM squad. (Back in 2022, #8 SCRM took out #1 SQSQ in the first round…) That had to feel amazing and even though SQSQ lost in the next round to eventual champion KSKT, the 2025 trophy still made it to the SQSQ/KSKT household as the father helped push the son to the mountain top. Amazing!

Now, for SQSQ to earn a title of their own, they’ll need some serious help from Father Time. LeBron James, DeMar DeRozan, Jrue Holiday, and even arguably Anthony Davis are all past their primes. Recall the huge Giannis Antetokounmpo trade from last season, which has now resulted in Giannis for Davis, DeRozan, Buddy Hield (2024 RD2.2), and Derrick White (2025 RD1.12). This is a win-now squad if we’ve ever seen one—this side of SCRM.

The 2025 draft brought in White, but also RD1.11 Alex Sarr, who has all kinds of physical potential, but may be quite the hit-or-miss prospect, depending on the pundit. It’s just as likely sophomore Julian Strawther (RD5.9) or fellow rookie Kel’el Ware (RD4.8) has as much short term fantasy impact as Sarr. However, Sarr gives this aging team some upside at least, along with last year’s RD1.2, Scoot Henderson, who has goggles now and hopefully a clearer view of the basket. And we can’t overlook the double Bogdanovic pairing of Bogdan and Bojan, which will make for fun vibes at the very least. We assume this is SQSQ’s last year to really push for a title, and we’re excited to see what the front office will do to pursue that goal.

#10 ABCX (0-16, 6-14)

Where is there to go after a winless season? Nowhere but up, right?! Despite recent troubles, ABCX was actually a playoff team just two seasons ago, as the Ja Morant and LaMelo Ball combo looked like an incredible duo. Instead, both have hit upon injury—and off-court related—hard times and ABCX floundered last season, racking up the worst regular season in SlamNation history—Jedi Knights went 0-18-1 in 2017.

Without much in-season of offseason movement, ABCX returns five keepers, with Jaden Ivey replacing Bobby Portis. Critics decried the keeping of Kelly Oubre Jr., but it’s possible he’ll start in Philadelphia. Still, other owners wondered if ABCX should have traded a future pick for a better keeper. We move on however! The return of Morant, Ball, and Bennedict Mathurin should give this team some semblance of competitiveness and scoring punch.

There will be certainly beef inside to help out all these guards, as ABCX elected to keep Jonas Valanciunas—one of the longest running Slam keepers at eleven years and running, and the lone non-All-Star—and then selected Jusuf Nurkic (RD1.8) and Ivica Zubac (RD2.16) to open their 2025 draft. That’s three non-shooting mashers to rebound and defend and while that sounds great for an actual NBA team, we’re worried ABCX isn’t in a position to do anything but aim for upside right now. Aside from arguably Keldon Johnson (RD4.16) and last overall pick 2025 RD6.16 rookie Yves Missi, ABCX is really going for the veteran low ceiling selections.

Maybe just getting a few wins for this team will be a win this season, but for a once proud franchise, something must sell tickets besides the promise of Ja and LaMelo not in street clothes.

#11 BUFF (12-6, 7-13)

What a show BUFF put on last season, as they went from seven wins in 2023 to a Finals berth in 2024. It had been a decade since BUFF last went to the Finals and it looks like they’re raring to go again with a draft heavy on veterans and a new keeper core featuring Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Coby White—a trade acquisition pre-draft. The all offense keeper core maintains their identity and adds almost keeper Klay Thompson (RD1.9), Brook Lopez, Russell Westbrook, Andrew Wiggins, Harrison Barnes, and um, sixth round flier Lonzo Ball—his career is over, right?

Trading off a top-five fantasy NBA player in Anthony Edwards is tough for any fan base to digest, but the Finals appearance and the magic of turning Edwards into Brunson and Bridges makes for a much deeper team. Domantas Sabonis is a beast in the middle, while ex-Lakers Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma are basically sort of the same player now...right?

What does that all add up to for BUFF? To be honest, we’re not really sure. Going this veteran heavy is a staple of BUFF’s drafts, but with everyone minus some of the keeper core on the downsides of their careers, is there enough oomph to power them to another title chase? Believe in Brunson!!!

#12 SOUR (10-7-1, 14-6)

It’s strange to have SOUR so sitting so far outside of the title picture. A ho-hum regular season led to a quick first round exit to eventual champs KSKT and SOUR’s repeat hopes were dashed pretty quickly. Our 2023 title holders are no stranger to change though and have already pulled off two transformative moves: trading for Dejounte Murray pre-draft and then Damian Lillard during the draft, losing Lauri Markkanen and Immanuel Quickley in the process.

With Olympic hero Steph Curry back again, as well as Jimmy “I’m Angry” Butler, on a revenge tour, SOUR is looking to contend again asap. Scottie Barnes is a franchise level Swiss knife, and while Miles Bridges is still a terrible human, he’s a fine fantasy player. The defense for this team will come from the five-D trio of Deni Avdija (RD1.13), rookie Donovan Clingan (RD2.6), Draymond Green, another rookie Ryan Dunn, and Andre Drummond. Actually, is that what GM Trieu is doing? Collecting D-names? Dejounte, Damian, etc.

Whatever SOUR’s strategy, we can look forward to a regular season that won’t find them so far out of the regular season spotlight, as Curry, Lillard, and Butler all have a lot to prove this year, and a title for SOUR is never too far out of reach.

#13 SBUK (10-8, 12-8)

Another title winning franchise that is getting a little long in the tooth, SBUK has slipped from 13-6-1 in their 2022 championship year to 12-8 in 2023, and then a less than enthusiastic 10-8 last season--a record that put them just outside the playoff picture. The core of Joel Embiid, Rudy Gobert, Kyrie Irving, and CJ McCollum stay the same and there’s plenty of upside for both Franz Wagner and last year’s pre-draft acquisition Desmond Bane. An upset by UFOS in round one of the Toilet Bowl was, well, upsetting, and that left SBUK without one of the top picks in the 2025 draft.

However, it seems like SBUK ownership knows it needs to invest in a semi-youth movement, and they went all upside for their draft, starting with RD1.6 Ausar Thompson, who was selected at the exact same spot in 2024 as well, albeit by TRUO. It’s not often a rookie is cut so fast, but Thompson has a very polarizing game. The hope is that Thompson’ll grow in his sophomore year. SBUK also brought in a trio of bigs to perhaps take over the reins from Embiid and Gobert. Naz Reid, Trayce Jackson-Davis, and Nikola Jovic have all shown flashes of being big contributors for their NBA teams, and the hope is they’ll show the same for SBUK.

Adding in Kevin Porter Jr. (RD4.10) and Tre Mann (RD5.7) also gives SBUK some much needed additional scoring. In a semi-transition year, it’ll be interesting to see if SBUK can trend back up for one more push at contention, or if this is the beginning of their team revamp. 

#14 SPDE (13-4-1, 7-13)

What is there even to say about this team? The old, emphasis on “old,” version of SPDE was a consistent threat on paper but they consistently fell short due to health issues. After a spectacular 14-4-1 2020 regular season, SPDE has gone 14-42 since. Well, when you get Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren exploding on the scene, your franchise direction changes abruptly! The two super rookies powered SPDE to almost as many wins in one year as they had the previous three, and now give SPDE the best keeper core in SlamNation.

With Devin Booker, Tyrese Maxey, and Tyler Herro surrounding the trees in the middle—did we mention Walker Kessler was a keeper as well?—all SPDE needs is some forward types to fill in the gaps for a complete roster. With that in mind, SDPE brought in old standby Tobias Harris (RD2.2) and defensive ace Jadne McDaniels (RD5.15) to fill out the starting roster, and then took in Austin Reaves, Malcolm Brogdon, and Ben Simmons (RD4.2) for additional guard depth. With another center drafted last in Nick Richards, SPDE certainly will be looking to dominate the paint.

It may be too soon to call this a championship caliber team but Wemby and Chet seem capable of scaling any heights. We’ve love to call this the year of SPDE, even if they aren’t the direct favorites for the 2025 title!

#15 ILCN (11-7, 13-7)

With a roster brimming with talent, ILCN continues to be very good, but not great, and the question is when they’ll put it all together for a dominant regular season. Despite having racked up double digits wins in each of the last four seasons, ILCN has never been higher than a fourth seed. In fact, ILCN is still looking for their first playoff win ever—in three tries, minus the aborted 2020 postseason. The franchise’s main claim to fame is getting to a Toilet Bowl finals in 2022—the lone year from that span they didn’t make the playoffs. 

It’s certainly hard to fault the roster, as ILCN is carrying over all their keepers from a year ago and rank as the second-best keeper roster moving forward. Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell, and Darius Garland are as complete a backcourt as one can hope to assemble. The emergence of Paolo Banchero solidifies a forward spot, with Jaren Jackson Jr. sort of on-and-off dominating on defense. The wild card, twenty-one year old Shaedon Sharpe, is a fine prospect as well.

The 2025 draft brought in a bounty of riches as well, as ILCN had an extra third and fourth round pick from the 2024 trade off of Walker Kessler and Bradley Beal. ILCN took their own rookie from last year, Dereck Lively (RD1.15), to start things off, and then reeled off Josh Hart, Mark Williams, and fellow sophomore Jaime Jaquez Jr. before most teams had even fleshed out their starting eight.

Using their extra picks to mine for potential sleepers, ILCN then took rookies Matas Buzelis (RD3.12) and Cody Williams (RD5.12), before another sophomore, Noah Clowney (RD4.5) to finish things off—while adding Caris LeVert as a stop-gap in the last round.

While ILCN has always dealt with many injuries, the fanbase is demanding a longer run in the playoffs this season, as Luka and Co. are looking to make an impact in SlamNation aside from enviable roster construction.

#16 SCRM (16-1-1, 15-4-1)

In perpetual championship or bust mode, SCRM is always a thrill ride to follow. Following up their astounding 15-4-1 2023 regular season, SCRM stepped up to the plate in a big way in 2024, acquiring not only Giannis Antetokounmpo but also Kawhi Leonard as well. Both of them have championship pedigree and while they both cost a pretty penny, SCRM showed out with a regular season winning 16-1-1 record last year. Alas, SCRM was upset by eighth-seeded SQSQ in the first round, which left a lot of unfinished business heading into 2025.

Unafraid to make more moves, SCRM was already down a few 2025 early round selections but then sent off another one for Jalen Duren—while recouping a pick by selling off Coby White. The one-two punch of Antetokounmpo and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are a force to reckon with, and the backcourt of James Harden and Fred VanVleet fit the core very well.

Without a pick unit the fourth round, SCRM drafted Jeremy Sochan (RD4.1) and Khris Middleton (RD4.4) before adding Dyson Daniels and rookie Ron Holland II  (RD6.4). With a roster thin post-draft, SCRM was understandably active at the first waiver wire, grabbing Rui Hachimura, Jalen Smith, Jonathan Isaac, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to round out the roster.

There’s no doubt this team will be a top contender—even without Leonard’s services—and we can’t rule out the possibility that another big move could reshape the team, but SCRM’s time will need to be now if they want to win a long awaited title. We hope they get that shot at a Finals berth in 2025!

Keeper Core Tiers: 2025

Using the same methodology as we did in 2019, here are the keeper cores ranked by pure stats! Math never lies! We did move around some teams though, as context matters. Also, we did look at keeper cores in 2023 as well... so see what has changed in five or two years! Note: Somehow, SPDE and CHMK are back atop these keeper core rankings, five years later, after total rebuilds from both! [ 2019 Keepers | 2023 Keepers ]

T I E R 1

SPDE (24 points)

After hitting jackpot with Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren’s rookie seasons, we can’t overlook Tyrese Maxey’s All-Star campaign as well. Add in the additional backcourt of Devin Booker and Tyler Herro and that covers SPDE on offense and defense. On top of that, Josh Giddey is about to triple-double every night in Chicago, so that just elevates the best keeper core by far in SlamNation. Average age? We’re can’t even tell because the future for SPDE is so bright…or dark, as Wemby and Chet block out the sun for the rest of the league. [Edit: Made a mistake, the sixth keeper is actually Walker Kessler, so basically SPDE is not letting anyone score at the rim, ever.

T I E R 2

ILCN (23)

Carrying over all six keepers from last season, ILCN features Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell, and Paolo Banchero as their NBA team’s number one studs. Does Darius Garland or Jaren Jackson Jr. ever make an All-Star team again? Maybe not… Garland had an injury filled year while Jackson desperately needs Morant back to return to his former standing. A semi-lost season left Shaedon Sharpe still a mystery, but he could easily establish himself as Portland’s best player soon. Overall, the one-two-three punch of this team is unmatched from the teams below them.

CHMK (23)

With all the Jalens cashed in, CHMK now has Anthony Edwards, Alperen Sengun, and Bam Adebayo—now the longest tenured Monkey— leading the way for a still evolving keeper core. Evan Mobley and Amen Thompson have a lot of upside to explore, and while neither could hit much offensive growth, they are defensive demons. The only question about this core is Jamal Murray and his oft-injured status. Still, any team with Edwards and Sengun is more than set for the a bright future.

T I E R 3

KSKT (22)

The defending champs return all six keepers from last year and they showed the this core can win championships—when healthy. Tyrese Haliburton elevated himself to top tier status, and Cade Cunningham may follow this season. Zion Williamson, Michael Porter Jr., and Kristaps Porzingis are all huge injury risks, while Anfernee Simons isn’t exactly Mr. Durability himself. Still, this team is very young and only entering their primes. We would push them up higher due to age, but the injury stuff is perhaps too much to count on year after year—except for their championship last year!

SCRM (23)

This team isn’t like the other teams above them, with keeper cores brimming with upside and productivity. SCRM uses the rim attacking duo of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Giannis Anteokounmpo to position themselves up this high—two MVP candidates will do that—while ex-MVP types Kawhi Leonard and James Harden are around as super vet difference makers. Fred VanVleet is a nice fit here as his low percentages are mitigated by the entire roster, and the pre-draft trade for Jalen Duren could net a starting center for this always title chasing team. Note: We moved SCRM down a notch due to the age of the Clippers duo.

SWMP (22)

The many headed center trio for SWMP has finally been diversified, leaving behind Nikola Jokic and Deandre Ayton in the middle. With four wings to flank them in Paul George, Jalen Williams, Jalen Johnson, and Zach LaVine, SWMP is very versatile—albeit arguably lacking a point guard. Rumors had Ayton or LaVine on the move this offseason, but in the end both were retained. With only George on the wrong side of thirty, SWMP has maintained its elite keeper core status.

BUFF (22)

After a huge in-season trade off of homegrown Anthony Edwards, BUFF rode some mega vibes all the way to a Finals appearance last season. Their new leader is Jalen Brunson, who has pre-draft acquisition Coby White behind him, with a fleet of forwards—Mikal Bridges, Brandon Ingram, and Kyle Kuzma—surrounding Domantas Sabonis. The future is looking very bright for BUFF as they have an all-under thirty team that looks balanced and deep. They’re still very offensive heavy but as they showed in the playoffs last year, that can work!

SOUR (22)

Olympic hero Steph Curry still rates as one of the best in the game and he just got a lot of scoring help in Immanuel Quickley and Miles Bridges—both draftees from last season—to bolster the offense. Scottie Barnes made an All-Star appearance last season while pre-draft acquisition Dejounte Murray and old hand Jimmy Butler should bring their all-around game to help the center-less SOUR squad. Never one to rest on their laurels, we expect half this team to change over during the course of the 2025 season.

SBUK (22)

Not much changes in SBUK-land, with only Desmond Bane adding onto a core that is usually rock steady—and Bane was acquired during the 2024 draft. Signs of age are coming for SBUK though, as Kyrie Irving, Rudy Gobert, and especially CJ McCollum are getting a little long in the tooth. Hopefully Franz Wagner can find his three point stroke again as he was a real bright spot after his rookie season.

T I E R 4

MELO (21)

Striking gold with Brandon Miller in last year’s draft really bolstered MELO’s core. We can’t overlook their drafting of RJ Barrett as well, as Barrett could have a better chance to shine in tanking Toronto. Jaylen Brown and Pascal Siakam are rock solid All-Stars—more in Brown’s case—while Kevin Durant is, well, still Kevin Durant. Nikola Vucevic is quietly thirty-four years old but still throwing up good counting stats and the memory of Andrew Wiggins and James Wiseman as keepers are long gone.

FUNK (20)

Once flanked by Trae Young and Karl-Anthony Towns, Jayson Tatum is now the lone franchise star amidst a smattering of very good role players. Devin Vassell is another crafty scorer, OG Anunoby and Myles Turner provide defense, while Trey Murphy III and pre-draft trade acquisition Lauri Markannen will spread the floor with plenty of shooting. All the adds up to Tatum plus nothing to get too excited about, barring some more franchise type additions.

T I E R 5

TRUO (19)

A late breaking trade for Jonathan Kuminga adds some more upside to TRUO, but waiting on Kuminga could take some more time. Luckily, Jalen Green has seemingly finally arrived, and he’ll pair with De’Aaron Fox to be a great backcourt. Cam Thomas will get a ton of garbage stats this season too, while Keegan Murray is developing nicely as a role player. And whatever you feel about Julius Randle as an actual NBA player, there’s no doubting his fantasy production. TRUO’s core could easily be ranked higher if Green continues his ascent.

FJUB (18)

A total team makeover has FJUB somehow still near the bottom of the keeper rankings. However, this team now looks a lot younger and a lot better from last season with Jerami Grant, Brook Lopez, and Terry Rozier out the door. Karl-Anthony Towns and Trae Young headline the new FJUB, with Collin Sexton and new pre-draft trade acquisition Bradley Beal adding some offensive punch. Herb Jones and Isaiah Hartenstein—the only free agent to be selected as a keeper—are indispensable NBA players but their fantasy value isn’t nearly as high.

SQSQ (18)

Where does the Laker duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis lead? Together they are still very productive and quite fearsome—and had a great year last season—but the other keepers definitely look more like a championship chasing core, rather than a rebuilding one. DeMar DeRozan (35 years old), Jrue Holiday (34), and Buddy Hield (32) all easily into their thirties. The franchise savior was supposed to be Scoot Henderson but his struggles have been, well, struggles. Does SQSQ pivot to youth this season or take another swing at contention?

T I E R 6

UFOS (15)

Almost every keeper UFOS took through the dispersal draft had an off season last year—with the possible exception of Jabari Smith Jr., who is coming along nicely. Damian Lillard needs a bounce back year, as does Jordan Poole, while Jarrett Allen and Nic Claxton need health on their side. The last keeper, Onyeka Okongwu still can't beat out Clint Capela for a starting job, but he projects as the same type of big man aas Allen and Claxton. This team was young and talented going into the 2024 season and they could still be in 2025, if you squint a little. All those big men will need to be diversified at some point, but for now it's just collecting talent for UFOS as they head into their second year.

ABCX (15)

Kelly Oubre Jr. again?! After a winless season, ABCX will need to sell some tickets this year, and maybe Oubre Jr. is a great looking guy, but people are paying to watch basketball! The good news is that there’s fresh hope for injury-less seasons from Ja Morant and LaMelo Ball, while Bennedict Mathurin and Jaden Ivery inject a bit of hope for this team in the form of untapped potential. Jonas Valanciunas has been with this team for three seasons now but his sell by date has to be gone after this season, right? We need upgrades across the board here, and some serious doctoring for Morant and Ball’s reputation.

Pre-Draft Trades: 2025

While there weren’t a whole lot of pre-2025 draft trades--unlike last year--there were the usual shifting of keepers around as Jalen Duren, Jonathan Kuminga, Bradley Beal, and Coby White were all moved to other teams for mid-round draft picks. Duren and Beal netted RD3s while Kuminga and White were sold for RD4s. The standard is now to attach a RD6 to those players, which is hell for the SlamNation interns to process—but we are a professional league so we get it done!

Aside from those four player-for-pick trades, the only other exchange was between SOUR and FUNK, who did a clean swap of Lauri Markannen and Dejounte Murray. Both are about the same age and solidly in their primes. Markannen signed a big contract with Utah this offseason, securing his future there, while Murray was traded to New Orleans, which should negatively impact his scoring but up his assists and presumably defense by quite a bit.

While rumors swirled of bigger moves, in the end it was just some light business before the rookie draft!

Keepers 2025

Draft Order 2025

And it's our sixth year using draft slots! If you have questions about how this was calculated, these links should help: Draft Slots in RD1. Remember, RD2-6 are slotted in Power Ranking order #1-16, with snaking from RD3 and on. [ New Post-Season 2.0 | Power Ranking 2024 | Draft 2024 Sheet ] *Note these draft slots and picks don't account for trades.

(Note: FUNK gets RD1.1 pick due to seeding rule, and TRUO gets RD1.2 due to the same.)

2024 Championship: Original Glazed

In a matchup that was closer than the final score indicated, third-seeded KSKT took out fourth-seeded BUFF in the 2024 Finals, acquiring the championship for Krispy Kreme Team! Up through Friday and Saturday, the matchup was a back and forth, even as BUFF piled up the Games Played. Heading into Sunday, it would be seven players on-deck for KSKT to wrap up a title. In the end, even with Cade Cunningham a scratch, Zion Williamson pulled through with a huge 36 PTS, 6 AST, and 13/14 FT% performance. That, along with Paul Reed’s two blocks, really sealed the deal for KSKT.

For KSKT, it was a glorious playoff run as Williamson, Tyrese Haliburton, and Cunningham all came together for the stretch run. We always knew that KSKT mainly needed health to contend, and this was the year it all came together, as championship week also featured Kristaps Porzingis, Anfernee Simons, Michael Porter Jr., and D’Angelo Russell playing their hearts out. The real secret sauce of the matchup was KSKT winning both percentage categories, which was too big a challenge for BUFF to overcome.

For our youngest owner to take a title with the youngest SlamNation core seems very fitting!

How did they acquire this core? Well, since entering SlamNation as the sole owner of a franchise in 2021, Matt has steadily risen the ranks, valuing a strong foundation over early success. With their training from helping run dad’s SQSQ franchise, GM Matt clearly had a vision for his Krispy Kreme Team. That first year, KSKT only notched six victories but already had the core of his future title winning team in place with Williamson, Porzingis, and Porter Jr., on-board via the dispersal draft. That year’s RD1.4 pick by Matt was Haliburton, and after SQSQ won the 2021 Toilet Bowl, KSKT got the 2022 RD1.1 pick due to the SWMP Rule. That first overall pick was used to take Cunningham, and the 2022 season also featured grabbing Anthony Simons as a FAAB pickup.

As for trades, in 2021 KSKT moved a future RD1, basically for Clint Capela and Keldon Johnson, which resulted in it being a future RD1.4—which was used by CHMK to take Richuan Holmes. Aside from that, most of KSKT’s other moves were around the edges, as GM Matt had a penchant for acquiring multiple picks for each draft and drafting a slew of players each year.

However, as we can see, all of KSKT’s core is homegrown, and they had their foundation set up from nearly the start. It was only a matter of waiting for some seasoning—and health—for KSKT to make a title run. Their first playoff run, last season, was after a 16-4 season that saw them win the regular season crown. (Note: KSKT is 44-29-1 in four regular seasons, good for seventh best owner winning percentage in Slam, out of thirty owners.) Unfortunately, they were upended by FJUB in the semifinals. This time, KSKT got it all right, taking out defending champion SOUR in RD1 and then taking care of business from there on out, including eliminating SQSQ—who had already taken out heavily favored SCRM in RD1—for their Finals shot.

It’s wonderful to see such great ownership rewarded by a title, and with the way this roster is constructed—and the emergence of a thrilling backcourt—KSKT could look for many titles in future years, congrats!

As for BUFF, making it into the Finals was no small accomplishment. It’s been eleven years since BUFF last made the Finals behind a Tim Duncan led team that barely lost the title to 100 Acre Wood Heffalumps—three points literally decided the title. That loss sent BUFF on a seven year decline before they started to build some respectability back four seasons ago—they’ve had a regular season record of 37-36-1 and last made the playoffs in 2021 with a 0.500 record.

All those down years did result in some talent coming back via the draft, as BUFF managed to acquire Brandon Ingram (2017 RD1.2), Trae Young (2019 RD1.4), and Anthony Edwards (2021 RD1.6) with top selections. Young and Edwards were both eventually traded, while Kyle Kuzma was also a 2021 draft pick, at RD4.8. A huge win for GM Roger was grabbing free-agent Domantas Sabonis in 2018. That was also the year Klay Thompson came on-board as a keeper, in exchange for Khris Middleton.

Still, nobody expected this BUFF team to be in contention for a title but here they were, slugging it out with the best, as new trade acquisition Jalen Brunson was having some huge games. The additions of Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Jalen Duren really fleshed the depth out on this team, and there’s a world where a healthier Brandon Ingram might have tipped the balance. In the end however, getting to a Finals was a huge win for 2024 BUFF, and we hope to see them in the title hunt again next year!

(Full stats)

Toilet Bowl 2024: Sucked Back In

After five straight seasons in the playoffs, SWMP somehow found themselves in the Toilet Bowl despite a 10-8 record. Edged out by multiple tie-breakers, SWMP was the leading candidate to win the 2024 Toilet Bowl and they did so without much trouble as the top seed, dispatching ABCX and UFOS in the first two rounds—the two worst teams in the league—and then breaking the spirit of FUNK in the final round. The Toilet Bowl win is nice, but SWMP is also a victim of its own success, as they now dubbed “SWMP Rule” will prevent them from enjoying a top-two pick in the 2025 draft. However, they will win a RD1.3 selection, and that is still a nice prize for a team that is loaded with talent.

The trade off of Alperen Sengun will give SWMP a new look heading into next season as they’ll feature a theoretical keeper core of Nikola Jokic, Jalen Williams, Paul George, Zach LaVine, Jalen Johnson, Keyonte George, Deandre Ayton, and Bradley Beal—who led this team in minutes in the TB Finals! (Already there were talks of the injured LaVine being shopped in the upcoming offseason.)

This SWMP’s third Toilet Bowl win, tying them with CHMK for the record. Congrats Eddie and we hope to never see you in the Toilet Bowl again!

As for FUNK, they pulled off wins versus MELO and TRUO to advance to their third Toilet Bowl finals, and they’ll get the number one overall pick by default. The last time FUNK had back-to-back Toilet Bowl victories and subsequent number one picks, ending up with Karl-Anthony Towns and Ben Simmons in 2015 and 2016 respectively. With no consensus top prospect in the upcoming 2025 draft, it’ll be interesting to see what direction FUNK goes with this selection.

(Full Stats)

Postseason Recap & A Mess Up

A slight mess up. In RD2 of the consolation games, it should have been #1 SCRM vs #6 SOUR and #2 SPDE vs #5 ILCN. Instead, I had it SCRM vs ICLN and SPDE vs SOUR. The result was a SOUR upset win, but seeing as the mistake happened, I’m gonna leave the results as is. Apologies to all teams involved.

During the last round of consolation games, FJUB defeated SQSQ via a tie—with the higher seed winning—while SCRM defeated SOUR and SPDE took down ILCN.

Over in the Toilet Bowl consolation, TRUO defeated UFOS, MELO took down ABCX—also via a tie score—and CHMK upset SBUK in the final round.

Postseason Recap & RD3 Matchups

Another wild week in Slam! A tie in the Toilet Bowl and two Toilet Bowl contestants that have already made history for their franchises. Note: Matchup  and then 2025 RD1 draft picks being played for in parentheses.

👑Playoffs RD3

3 KSKT vs 4 BUFF ( Pick RD1.16 / RD1.9)

Playoffs RD3 Consolation

7 FJUB vs 8 SQSQ (10 / 11)

1 SCRM vs 6 SOUR (12 / 13)

2 SPDE vs 5 ILCN (14 / 15)

For our title game featuring two teams who've never grasped the championship, we have a matchup between "the team that’s been promised," KSKT, versus a longtime franchise that’s been adrift recently, BUFF.

Since spinning off into their own team in 2021, KSKT has gone 44-29-1 in four regular seasons, capturing one regular season wins crown and making two playoff appearances. Now, after defeating dad’s team, SQSQ, in the semi-finals, owner Matt will have a chance to make history as the youngest SlamNation champion! The team itself is also incredibly young, as Tyrese Haliburton, Cade Cunningham, Zion Williamson, Anfernee Simons, and Michael Porter Jr. are all twenty-five years old or under. The lone “old man” of the core, Kristaps Porzingis, is still under thirty himself.

During this same four year period, BUFF has gone 37-36-1, meandering from back-to-back 0.500 records to a 7-13 2023 season, and then an unexpected 12-6 record this year. As the fourth overall seed, it’s maybe not an objective surprise that BUFF is in the Finals--which they reached once in 2013--but this team sure wasn’t on anyone’s contender radar.

As a true dark horse, BUFF has been on an 11-1 run since mid-December, including a win versus KSKT in WK12—who was minus a healthy Tyrese Haliburton and Kristaps Porzingis. Overall, BUFF hasn’t lost a game since mid-January and all their playoff success can’t be just credited to juicing up the roster after trading away Anthony Edwards. (Of course, getting 35.7 PTS and 3.7 3PT from Jalen Brunson and 17.5 PTS and 15.0 REB from Jalen Duren for the week was crucial.)

On paper, this is KSKT’s championship to lose as they have all the star names, but BUFF clearly has the momentum and the support of the fans who love cheering for underdogs. For this matchup, Porzingis will likely still be missing, but the rest of KSKT’s oft-injured lineup looks fully healthy. They also have two clear winning categories—3PT and BLK—while BUFF should win REB. After that, the rest of the categories will be a toss up, with KSKT getting the slight edge in PTS and AST.  However, Jalen Brunson is gamer and as the 2024 playoffs has proven: anything can happen!!!

🚽Toilet Bowl RD3

9 SWMP vs 12 FUNK (3 / 1 ) 🔒

Toilet Bowl RD3 Consolation

14 TRUO vs 15 UFOS (2 / 4)

10 SBUK vs 11 CHMK (5 / 6)

13 MELO vs 16 ABCX (7 / 8)

In the Toilet Bowl, it’s another case of a post-CHMK trade partner powering their way to the final game. SWMP jettisoned home-grown Alperen Sengun—who got hurt last week--for two Jalens (Williams and Johnson), and those two have combined for an average of 19.1 PTS, 5.75 REB, 4.6 AST, 1.3 STL, 0.9 BLK, 2.1 3PT, and just about 50% FG for the past two weeks.

A Toilet Bowl title is likely, however that doesn’t mean SWMP will get their choice of top picks next season, as they will be locked into 2025 RD1.3 pick, as the benefactor’s of the SWMP Rule. That means, as the next team up, FUNK falls into the first overall draft pick next season, and did it by the skin of their teeth.

In a matchup that came down to a handful of rebounds and tie in steals, FUNK and TRUO ended Sunday tied up at 4-4-1, necessitating a visit to the rulebook. After a short consultation with the commissioners, it was decided officially that the higher seed would win in any postseason matchup, thus sending FUNK to face off against SWMP. [ Playoff Tie-Breaker System, updated ]

While there isn’t any draft positioning at stake, there is still something on the line. Both FUNK and SWMP have won repeat Toilet Bowl titles, and one of them will join CHMK in the exclusive three time Toilet Bowl winner club. It may be a ignoramus distinction, but for teams in the Toilet Bowl, a win is a win is a win!

Note: Due to the SWMP Rule, TRUO and UFOS will be playing for the 2025 RD1.2 and RD1.4 picks.

Postseason Recap & RD2 Matchups

In a shocking WK1 of SlamNation 2024 playoffs, we maybe had our most upset filled week ever! (And we thought last year’s RD1 was exciting!) Down went #1 and #2 overall, as well as two higher seeds in the Toilet Bowl. With karma playing a huge role—and injuries—we already have a very interesting final four in the title and Toilet Bowl chases.

👑 Playoffs RD2

3 KSKT vs 8 SQSQ

4 BUFF vs 7 FJUB

Playoffs RD2 Consolation

1 SCRM vs 5 ILCN

2 SPDE vs 6 SOUR

In an extreme shocker, eighth seeded SQSQ took out the seemingly invincible SCRM. Toward the back half of the regular season, some owners were convinced that SCRM was unbeatable. However, once you get on the court, anything can happen. In this case, SCRM sort of had sewn the seeds of their own unexpected destruction.

The early season trade for Kawhi Leonard has been great all season for SCRM but at Leonard took the most in inopportune time to miss a game. And then last week’s pre-deadline move to bring in rim deterrent Brook Lopez only netted SCRM five total blocks in four games, which was way below Lopez’s average. And then there was the big revenge game. Ex-SCRM franchise cornerstone Anthony Davis came through huge with a gigantic week, highlighted by a 27 PTS, 25 REB, 5 AST, 7 STL, 3 BLK career day to cap off Sunday. Now that’s a revenge game!

Overall, SQSQ took REB, BLK, TOS, and both percentage categories. This has to be a huge moment for the franchise—perhaps their biggest win ever! SQSQ has not advanced past the first round since 2019 and have never pulled off an upset of this magnitude. Now coach Brian will have a chance to face off against his son Matt for a chance to advance to SQSQ’s first SlamNation finals.

As if one major upset wasn’t enough, FJUB—who backed into a playoff spot--called upon the fantasy gods himself to take down future fantasy gods Viktor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren. Sure, it helped that Wemby only suited up for thirty-one minutes total, but it was still quite a feat to match SPDE in blocks, with Isaiah Hartenstein and Herbert Jones really came through there. With major injuries on both sides, this upset ended up being not all that close as FJUB used three extra Games Played to emerge with a stress-free 6-2-1 victory.

For the semi-final round, we’re looking at three teams that have never been in the championship game before—KSKT, BUFF, SQSQ—with only FJUB having any previous title game experience. Our eyes will be glued to the father-son matchup but BUFF versus FJUB is also a showdown for the (Catch the Damn Ball) ages. Congrats to all four teams still left alive in the chase for the ring! Note: KSKT took care of business at home and eliminated the defending champs, SOUR, so the repeat is out the window.

🚽 Toilet Bowl RD2

9 SWMP vs 15 UFOS

12 FUNK vs 14 TRUO

Toilet Bowl RD2 Consolation

10 SBUK vs 16 ABCX

11 CHMK vs 13 MELO

Over in the Toilet Bowl, the upsets didn’t stop, as TRUO and UFOS both pulled off huge wins versus CHMK and SBUK respectively—and MELO was one block away from tying FUNK.

With recent trade acquisition Alperen Sengun being carted off the floor on Sunday, CHMK entire front line let him down as Evan Mobley was hurt and Bam Adebayo had been slumping. Thin after all their recent mega-trades, the stage was set here for an upset already. TRUO still had to take care of business however and they did with some accurate shooting, plenty of threes, and winning PTS by a mere eleven as De’Aaron Fox averaged 28.8 points over four games.

And then there was UFOS toppling tenth seeded SBUK, who mismanaged and hit the games cap on Saturday, although it’s likely their fate was sealed regardless Joel Embiid and Desmond were out of action anyway. For a fifteenth seed with just one win on the season, UFOS taking out one of the top-two seeds in the Toilet Bowl has to be the highlight of the year. Damian Lillard flanked by rebounding and defense was the winning formula.

Now both TRUO and UFOS have guaranteed themselves at least a top four pick in the 2025 draft, great job! In RD2, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the SWMP versus UFOS cousin face-off to see if Victor can pull off another huge upset! 

Playoffs Teams: 2024

[ Power Rankings 2024 | Toilet Bowl Teams 2024 | One-Third Power Rankings 2024 ]

#1 SCRM (16-1-1)

ODE: 2/1/5

Capturing his first regular season championship in SlamNaton, SCRM has been on a steady climb ever since entering the league four years ago: from seven to eleven to fifteen and now sixteen wins—in a shorted schedule no less. With just a single WK1 loss and a tie versus KSKT in WK11, SCRM basically ran the table and will enter the 2024 playoffs as the heavy favorite for a ring.

Never one to rest on his laurels, GM Jordan shook the league with three mega-deals this season—acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo pre-draft, moving all-in for Kawhi Leonard early on, and then divesting themselves of Karl-Anthony Towns late to acquire some additional postseaon depth. SCRM is top-ranked in PTS, REB, AST, STL, and FG%, while being very good in BLK as well. With a mostly healthy roster headed into our last few weeks, it looks like SCRM will be the clear team to beat. All they have to do is put the cherry on top of a banner 2024 regular season to give this franchise its first title!

#2 SPDE (13-4-1)

ODE: 6/2/5

Welp, after three down season, SPDE is fully back to their dominant regular season selves. Adding two generational seven-footers didn’t hurt, as both 2024 RD1.1 Victor Wembanyama and 2023 RD1.2 Chet Holmgren were better than advertised as rookies, powering SPDE back into contention in an instant. SPDE the season off well but really hit their stride late, wrapping up the regular season 7-1, as Wemby fully took off. A late October trade-off of Kawhi Leonard—for Walker Kessler and Bogdan Bogdanovic—seemed great then, but a fully healthy Leonard has powered top-seeded SCRM to regular season greatness.

However, this first season of Wemby-Chet has to be considered the floor for the new-look SPDE as they are not only young but extremely stacked. Tyrese Maxey emerged as an All-Star this season and even with injuries still plaguing the roster throughout, SPDE spanked teams down the stretch. SPDE was tops in BLK (obviously), but also lead SlamNation in FT% and are top five in PTS, 3PT, and STL. Entering the playoffs, they are missing a significant portion of their star power, as it looks like Devin Booker, Maxey, Tyler Herro, Kessler, and even Wembanyama have injury issues. However SPDE finishes the season however, they can already go into 2025 as the likely favorites, and maybe forever more?

#3 KSKT (12-5-1)

ODE: 2/11/12

Our repeat Chamberlain Conference winner started the season off on a seven win game streak before a troubling midseason stretch had them going just 2-4-1 as they got upset time and time again. Some of that was due to the injuries to Tyrese Halliburton and Cade Cunningham—the dual-turbo backbone of KSKT—so once they came back, the team rounded back into shape and are now the second-favorites for the 2024 title.

An explosive backcourt surrounding Zion Williamson and Kristaps Porzingis are a handful for anyone, and it looks like everyone’s healthy, which is a huge factor for this team. KSKT’s offense is rated second overall, as they shoot threes and pass with the best. However, their lack of rebounding and defense could be exposed come the playoffs against the wrong matchup. However, KSKT’s roster is deep and talented throughout and a championship breakthrough is overdue after last year’s semi-final upset at the hands of eventual champ FJUB. Playing under the radar most of the season, KSKT might be aligning right in time for an epic playoff run.

#4 BUFF (12-6)

ODE: 3/10/15

After only one winning season over the past decade, BUFF surprised everyone this year with a stunning ascension to home-court advantage in the first round and a top-four playoff seed. Bravo! After a slow 0.500 start to the year, BUFF hit their stride at the end of December and went 9-1 over the next ten weeks, with only a WK13 loss against FJUB. They were an excellent offensive team—with good PTS and AST—while struggling with STL, BLK, and FT%.

Interestingly, there wasn’t much substantive roster change—minus a Spencer Dinwiddie for Ben Simmons keeper swap, and the usual slew of rental veterans from the 2024 draft—but this BUFF team just simply outperformed their predecessors. With the team finally pointed upward, it was a bit of a shock to see twenty-two year old All-Star Anthony Edwards traded away right before the postseason, even as it brought back Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Jalen Duren. With such a significant roster move pre-playoffs, it’s hard to gauge how well BUFF is positioned for a playoff run so for now we’ll laud their stellar regular season bounce back!

#5 ILCN (11-7)

ODE: 4/2/15

A team bursting with talent and conceptually on the rise, ILCN should have been going full-bore toward a title run this season. Instead, ILCN stumbled out of the gate with four losses in their first five weeks and we thought the team was going straight downhill. However, even as injuries piled up, ILCN found itself re-balancing and then used a six-game win streak to finish the season as an outside-ish contender. With just one win separating them from possibly being in the Toilet Bowl, it wouldn’t be accurate to say that ILCN has a true shot at the title.

However, ILCN does possess giant-killing powers, as they are well balanced on offense and defense, and are only held back week-to-week by their poor free throw shooting—and second-to-last TOS. Still a young team, nearly everyone on the roster had a career year—especially Donovan Mitchell--but injuries truly did wreak havoc on ILCN. Entering the postseason, there is a likely scenario where Mitchell, Khris Middleton, and Dereck Lively II won’t suit up, nevermind the long-time absence of Shadeon Sharpe and Mitchell Robinson. It was a valiant effort to climb back into the playoffs, but short of a Luka Doncic led miracle, the 2024 ILCN story may end in round one.

#6 SOUR (10-7-1)

ODE: 5/9/8

Our defending champs were rumored to in a deal for an all-in defense, but alas the trade deadline came and went quietly for GM Trieu. It’s rare to see SOUR so quiet before the playoffs but we’ve heard there’s a new addition to the SOUR household so congrats! And let’s not forget that Trieu already flipped over five of their six keepers from 2023 to 2024, and in retrospect, most of those moves look like wins, especially in the case of Scottie Barnes, who had a breakout All-Star campaign. SOUR had a very good draft too, with potential keepers Miles Bridges, Immanuel Quickley, and Jonathan Kuminga picked up with their first three selections.

SOUR started off the season hot with four wins in their first five games, but the rest of their regular season unfolded erratically, with losses against not only future playoff teams but the bottom dwellers of the league. Closing the year on a 1-3 run took SOUR into the lower echelons of the playoff bracket and now they’ll have to fight their way to another repeat title. As always however, it would be foolish to count SOUR out, as they’ve stolen rings they should’ve never logically gotten. With Barnes and Lauri Markkanen ailing though, it could be a quick exit even with the potential playoff heroics of Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler accounted for.

#7 FJUB (10-8)

ODE: 7/8/9

Trolled by an outside source that assured owner Eric he was out of the 2024 playoffs, FJUB had already turned their attentions toward future when they found out they had back-doored their way to yet another playoff appearance. That’s fourteen out of fifteen appearances btw! Despite wanting to turn a page to the next generation of FJUB, this franchise just can’t help winning! Having already moved for Trae Young earlier this season, FJUB traded for Karl-Anthony Towns right before the postseason started, cementing their foundation for next year but having passed up contention this season—Young was out.

With an up-and-down regular season that featured five wins against teams with 0.500+ records, FJUB was hard to pin down. This version of FJUB was less defensive focused but they were still top-five in BLK, STL, and AST—along with 3PT and FT%, while lacking in PTS, REB, and FG%. However, all of those numbers had to change with so much of the roster shifted over. Heading into the postseason with Young out (and KAT now that we see the future), it’l be tough for FJUB to make an impact in this playoffs after last season's surprise Finals run but maybe they’ll still have enough to play spoiler for a round or two. [Editor: Sorry Eric, congrats on making the playoffs again!]

#8 SQSQ (10-8)

ODE: 12/6/3

It’s been a roller coaster tale lately for SQSQ, and this year’s version is in the playoffs after a 7-13 season in 2023. We love to see teams compete and like that SQSQ gave it their all to return to the title chase. With a roster full of super-vets like LeBron James, DeMar DeRozan, Bojan Bogdanovich, Jrue Holiday, and Mike Conley, it was the clear choice. Having already pulled of the mega of all mega-trades in exchanging Giannis Antetokounmpo for Anthony Davis pre-draft, karma gave Davis (and LeBron) a full year of health.

It took awhile for this team to gel however, as SQSQ was middling throughout most of the regular season before roaring to life with a 4-2 record down the stretch, highlighted by a WK13 upset against KSKT that likely secured them the playoff bid.

SQSQ is the rare playoff team that is winning through defense—we’ll call that the Davis effect—but their lack of PTS and 3PT can likely only carry them so far this postseason. If they could upset top-seeded SCRM though, wow! Also, are these the real-life Lakers with the exact same strengths and weaknesses? Additionally, it’s unfortunate that 2024 RD1.2 Scoot Henderson has suffered a disappointing second-year, but this playoff team could be the bright spot that takes the pressure off Scoot for a better sophomore campaign.

Toilet Bowl Teams: 2024

There were two teams in the Toilet Bowl with 0.500+ records this year, which happens from time to time. With a shortened eighteen game regular season schedule, and two bottom teams that went 1-35 combined, there were some wonky W-L records! [ Playoff Teams 2024 | One-Third Power Rankings 2024 ]

#9 SWMP (10-8)

ODE: 9/5/5

For a team that was always in the championship picture during 2019-2022, the last two years have been weird, seeing as this fully stacked roster has fallen a little step behind recent title favorites. Seeing SWMP in the Toilet Bowl is a total shock though, as they haven’t been here since 2017-2018, when they had 10-9 and 12-7-2 winning records and were so dominant in the TB that we had to create the “SWMP Rule” for them. Now SWMP are in the position of testing out that exact rule, as they are clearly a step above the rest of the teams in the Toilet Bowl but will be ineligible for the 2025 RD1.1 or RD1.2 picks. Sources say that a hard partying All-Star weekend had coach Eddie mismanage his games that week, likely leading to this TB appearance.

The wheels were already coming off a 9-3 start by All-Star weekend already though, as SWMP enters the postseason on a five-game losing streak. However, on paper, SWMP actually has the third-best combined ODE in the league, as they are very strong in REB, PTS, FG%, and AST. Another big aftermath of All-Star weekend was the trade that brought in Jalen Williams, Jalen Johnson, and rookie Keyonte George—at the cost of Alperen Sengun. Despite some injuries across the board, SWMP should still be able to ride a healthy Nikola Jokic and Paul George to a high draft pick next season, as they dip their toe back into the smelly toilet bowl waters after five years away. Remember the stench?

#10 SBUK (10-8)

ODE: 13/7/1

Another team that really has no business not being in the playoffs, SBUK is on a run of four very good regular seasons, but due to a weird “rich versus poor” regular season, a glut of 10-8 teams resulted in a shake out that left SBUK on the outside looking in. Despite a 5-2 start to the season, SBUK hit a four-game snag in mid-January before righting the ship late with two gimme wins versus UFOS and TRUO to end the year on a slight upswing. Now this former champ has a shot at the 2025 RD1.3 pick, if they can win the Toilet Bowl. Adding another top prospect might just be the jolt SBUK needs to vault back into regular season domination.

Already, the SBUK roster is nicely balanced between youth and veterans, with a positional overlap solved mid-2024 draft by acquired Desmond Bane for Jalen Brunson. Mostly, SBUK’s late season stumble was caused by the injury to Joel Embiid and Bane, which cratered this team’s offense. Without those two, the bulk of the scoring was left to Kyrie Irving and despite a resurgent year from defensive anchor Rudy Gobert, the missing Embiid was likely too much to overcome on both sides of the ball. Still, the talent is definitely here to win a Toilet Bowl, which would be SBUK’s first.

#11 CHMK (8-9-1)

ODE: 11/4/13

Showcasing their scouting department, CHMK cashed in on two year’s worth of superior drafts and free agent pickups to emerge with a core that now features Anthony Edwards, Jamal Murray, Bam Adebayo, Evan Mobley, Alperen Sengun, and rookie Amen Thompson. Back-to-back Toilet Bowl wins didn’t hurt either, although we’d contend that neither of those high picks—2024 RD1.3 Thompson and 2023 RD1.1 Jabari Smith Jr. will be the best players in their respective classes. However, going all-in on “Jalens” yielded great results and GM Evan had enough talent to pull off three separate three-for-ones in 2024, yielding Murray, Edwards, and Sengun. That’s general manager of the year material!

After starting off 5-2, CHMK hit a bad patch and then really slipped, as they went 1-5 to end the season versus a tough schedule. However, with no losses against sub-0.500 teams, a high pick is all but assured for CHMK. Ostensibly a defense-focused team, we don’t really know how to evaluate CHMK’s actual Toilet Bowl chances as they were stripped down to the studs and now Mobley is injured. Still, it might not take much for CHMK to sneak another porcelain crown this year—ironically the one season they would be eligible for a top-two pick in next year’s draft. If they should three-peat in the Toilet Bowl, we might have to make a “CHMK Rule,” right?

#12 FUNK (8-9-1)

ODE: 8/12/4

After six straight seasons in the playoffs, FUNK found themselves starting off okay before a winless month left them out of the playoff picture. Picking up some wins late was small consolation for a lost season. It wasn’t even much about injuries either, as only OG Anunoby missed any major time. The all-wing keeper core featuring Jayson Tatum, Trey Murphy III, and PJ Washington was mostly a disaster and former franchise point guard Trae Young was traded mid-season to acquire a starting center.

At least FUNK’s 2024 draft yielded Tyus Jones and Ivica Zubac, who were much-needed all season long, along with FAAB pickup Malik Monk. For a team that used to boast Tatum, Young, and Karl-Anthony Towns, the premiere talent has really washed away without much playoff success to show for it. This 2024 version of FUNK was middling in just about every category, aside from jacking up a lot of threes, albeit at a not great FG%. The core of the playoff run was built through back-to-back 2015-2016 Toilet Bowl wins—resulting in Towns and Ben Simmons—so maybe FUNK can fire up their winning ways again with a high draft pick next year.

#13 MELO (5-13)

ODE: 10/13/10

Through four regular seasons in Slam, MELO has put up a 29-45 regular season record, with one playoff showing from their rookie year. The good news is, 2024 was the year MELO really got that Games Played down, and their GP was excellent, as Coach Jack didn’t rack up one lineup violation! That alone is cause for celebration, even as MELO is still looking to build out its roster and get onto steady footing.

A nine-game winning streak in this weird season wasn’t even all that bad, relatively, and MELO did finish the year with three wins in five tries, and they have a shooter’s chance of securing a top-two draft pick next year. Kevin Durant and Jaylen Brown are great mentors for 2024 RD1.4 Brandon Miller, who is proving that he’s the best non-Wemby 2024 rookie around and has tremendous outside. Unafraid to make roster changes—they exchanged Lauri Markannen for Pascal Siakam pre-draft—MELO will look to keep stacking additional talent while working their way toward sustained respectability. Game on my friend!

#14 TRUO (5-13)

ODE: 13/15/14

We have been anticipating TRUO’s long anticipated return to regular season relevance, but another five-win season will make that five straight years with less than five wins each. This year, TRUO strung together losing streaks of four and six, the last one to end the year. So despite some early season excitement, TRUO is still sloshing around in the shallow end. 

On the bright side, 2024 RD1.6 Ausar Thompson had a great rookie season while De’Aaron Fox, Jalen Green, and Cam Thomas are all great bucket-getters. Frontcourt stalwart Julius Randle is hurt to end the year, but his numbers are always impressive. TRUO does really need some top end talent though, so a good Toilet Bowl run would be huge. Having their pick of a prime lottery talent could be the push TRUO is looking for.

Also, our king of moves, GM Thien has a streaming style that has unearthed great pieces like late season find Vasilijie Micic, but also caused TRUO to eject too early on the likes of rookie RD3.2 Keyonte George and RD5.2 Coby White—both of which could’ve been valuable keepers. Can we say which method is better? As always however, we respect the hustle!

#15 UFOS (1-17)

ODE: 16/14/1

Cousin Victor’s first foray into fantasy basketball was rough, as managing all facets of a premiere sports franchise can really have a steep learning curve. Salary caps, uniform designs, concessions, local bylaws, new arena headaches, figuring out interstellar exchange rates, it’s all very difficult! All of that resulted in six lineup violations for UFOS this season, with most of the first half of the year lost to coaching mix ups. Stat: UFOS averaged 21.5 games per week, while league leader SCRM had 25.8 games per week.

However, UFOS did not finish last, as they sandwiched a win versus ABCX in WK11 in-between losing streaks on either side. And they weren’t dead last in combined ODE either, as they had a fourteen-rated defense, with an almost-average BLK and FG% ranking, showcasing their strong frontline of Jarrett Allen, Nic Claxton, and Onyeka Okongwu. With Damian Lillard and Jordan Poole firing away, plus youngsters like Jabari Smith Jr., Deni Avdija, and Cam Johnson as potential keepers, this team has some talent and will be better served with a full season to evaluate their overall talent. While a Toilet Bowl victory—and an assured top-four pick likely won’t come this season, UFOS have a brighter future than should be expected on paper. Congrats on finished a full season in SlamNation!

Up next: UFOS will use FAAB to pick up more than one player next season—they nabbed Marvin Bagley III for one dollar back in Nov. Baby steps!

#16 ABCX (0-18)

ODE: 15/16/10

We all have our off days, every sports franchise has its down years. We’ll give ABCX the benefit of the doubt here, as their winless season—the worst in Slam history, overtaking Jedi Knight’s 0-18-1 2017 campaign—comes on the heels of a 11-9 season just two years ago. ABCX’s Games Played ranking was awful this year, but traditionally they are more around slightly below average and not in the cellar.

So we’ll just assume owner Oliver wasn’t paying much attention over the back half of the year, as LaMelo Ball has been out since mid-January and in the ABCX starting lineup—along with Bennedict Mathurin who has been out for awhile now too. And aside from a $0 FAAB pickup of Josh Hart in early January, there’s been no free agent activity from ABCX since November. 

We hope Oliver and ABCX is doing well and we’ll look forward to their bounce back season. Frankly, having Ja Morant and LaMelo Ball out would be cause for anyone to take a break. The good news is 2024 RD1.7 Jaden Ivey is finally getting minutes in Detroit and he’ll be the bright spot to remember this disastrous season.