The 2021-2022 regular season is finally over, and what a season this was. We got players who refused to play, like Ben Simmons, others who got paid to sit on the bench and watch, like John Wall, and there were the usual disappointments and surprises. 

So, it’s time to review how every team did this season and give them a good-old grade. And by the way, the Lakers haven’t the worst one.

How I did it: the grade is only based on the regular season, and does not count the expectation that the team has for the playoffs.

Here are the grades:

Teams that had basically perfect seasons

• Phoenix Suns: A+, how can you grade a team which had two potential All-NBA players (Booker and Paul), a DPOY candidate (Bridges), the COTY, and ended the season as the best team in the league if not with the best grade
• Miami Heat: A+, I absolutely love this team. The roster is a perfectly oiled mechanism where every piece fits in the best way, and they enter the playoffs as the favorite to reach the Finals
• Boston Celtics: A+, the season was an A, the + is for their incredible turnaround. After the speculation about breaking up the Tatum-Brown duo, they manage to put the criticism aside and focus on winning, which they did in the best way
• Memphis Grizzlies: A+, the biggest surprise of the season, these players have a great future in front of them, now they have to show that they can be a true contender in the Playoffs as well

Teams that had a very good season

• Milwaukee Bucks: A, with some of the key players missing, Giannis had to carry them in the first part of the season, but as soon as they were healthy, we could fully understand how good of a team they are
• Dallas Mavericks: A, this Mavs team, guided by Jason Kidd, was spectacular. They also could understand the necessity to break up the Doncic-Porzingis duo with the best trade they could find
• Minnesota Timberwolves: A, the Wolves probably had their best season since the Garnett era. Something has changed in their mentality, and now it looks like they can start to win again

Teams that had a pretty good season

• Philadelphia 76ers: A-, Embiid played at an MVP level, they manage to solve the Simmons drama and ended the season as the 4th seed, pretty good
• Golden State Warriors: A-, could have been better, could have been worse: still, the Warriors enter the playoffs as one of the most dangerous teams, and that’s also thanks to the big improvement the supporting cast had
• Toronto Raptors: A-, people are not realizing how good the Raptors have been since December: Siakam has been playing at an All-NBA level, Scottie Barnes has become a serious candidate for this year’s ROY and they are 5th seed, not bad

Teams that had an average season

• Chicago Bulls: B+, the grade could have been way better, but the last part of the season and the 2-20 record against playoff teams decrease it to an average B+
• Denver Nuggets: B+, Probably couldn’t have expected this Nuggets season to go any better than it did once we found out Michael Porter Jr. wasn’t coming back. After the injuries of MPJ and Murray, all the team was on Jokic’s shoulders, and the reigning MVP rose up to the challenge
• Cleveland Cavaliers: B+, Overall, this has been a very impressive season for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nobody really thought they’d be in a position to avoid the Play-In Tournament by making the top six. They nearly pulled it off, had it not been for the injuries to multiple starters and key players they likely would have
• Indiana Pacers: B+, a lot of people might disagree with this grade, but the trade they made with Sacramento was probably one of the best of the last few years. Yet, they still have decisions to make.

Teams that could have had a better season

• Los Angeles Clippers: B, even with the injuries of the two stars, the Clippers manage to play a good season relying on the role players, who did their job in an outstanding way
• New Orleans Pelicans: B, I think everybody is impressed with the turnaround by the New Orleans Pelicans. After starting 3-16 with a new coach, they could have easily decided to give up, especially when your franchise player Zion Williamson is destined to miss the entirety of the season.
• Atlanta Hawks: B-, the Hawks are one of the teams that manage to make a turnaround during the season. Still, they made the Conference Finals last year, and they finished the season in the Play-In, a bit disappointing
• Charlotte Hornets: B-, the Hornets are just happy to be in the Play-In, and this overall wasn’t a bad season for them: Lamelo Ball played at an All-Star level already, and Miles Bridges took a giant leap from last season
• San Antonio Spurs: B-, this was a pretty good year for the Spurs who manage to find a Play-In mostly thanks to the downfall of the Lakers and the Blazers, but still, Dejounte was an All-Star this year and the future for them looks bright
• Brooklyn Nets: B-, this was such a chaotic season for them, who had Durant missing 27 games, Harden forcing his way out and Irving missing the main part of the season only playing the last months part-time. They reached the Play-In and could still be dangerous in the Playoffs, even more, if Simmons comes back

Disappointing teams

• Utah Jazz: C, it’s strange for a team that made the 5th seed to feel so disappointing, but it is. This season really felt like it could be the last of the Mitchell-Gobert duo, who already had a lot of struggles in the past, and may have reached the end
• Washington Wizards: C-, while other teams had a turnaround to save their seasons, the Wizards had the exact opposite: after starting the season looking like a potential contender, they just fell apart and ended the season without even being able to reach the Play-In
• Portland Trail Blazers: D+, they finally, finally decided to blow it up, especially by trading CJ McCollum. After Dame’s injury and after seeing that this team wasn’t going anywhere, the Blazers decided to trade for a little more flexibility this summer, to try to put a contending team around their star
• New York Knicks: D+, another disappointing season for the Knicks, that after last year hoped that something was going to change, that they could finally become a contender, but they are clearly far away from being one. They have to make the right moves this summer, after the mistake they made last year by adding Walker and Fournier, who turned out to be not a good fit for them

Rebuilding teams

• Detroit Pistons: C+, this team has one of the best young cores in the league, which clearly is not going to win now, but has the potential to be dangerous in the future after already showing some competition during this season
• Houston Rockets: C, just like the Pistons, they have built a young core full of potential, that will become even more deep with the upcoming draft, since the Rockets will probably have a top-3 pick
• Oklahoma City Thunders: C, the project in Oklahoma is clear: lose as many games as possible to acquire a top pick in the draft, and they did that. The most positive note of this season was Josh Giddey, who showed his potential and his abilities, especially in the last part of the season
• Orlando Magic: C-, the team is coming along in the way the Magic are aiming at, with a lot of young guys full of potential. The only negative note of this season for them was Suggs disappointing basically all season long, they just have to hope he can make a good leap next season

The worst ones

• Los Angeles Lakers: F, tragic, this is what the Lakers season was, just tragic. All went in the wrong way: the Westbrook trade turned out to be an absolute disaster, Davis once again proved to be a player you can’t rely on and Lebron James found himself fighting alone, having flashbacks of his first years in the league
• Sacramento Kings: F-, another Kings-type of season, they just look like they can’t stop the trend. Seeing that the season wasn’t looking good they tried to save it by making the worst trade they could: Haliburton and Hield for Sabonis, the Pacers probably weren’t believing that the Kings really accepted that trade