NBA midseason grades: Rating all 30 teams at the halfway mark - ESPN

With the NBA's regular season just past its halfway point, we've already seen plenty of stellar action. The Atlanta Hawks kicked off trade season by sending Trae Young to the Washington Wizards, ending his seven-plus-season tenure. It seems Ja Morant and Anthony Davis could be the next stars on the move.

We've also seen some surprises in the standings, with the young Detroit Pistons leading the East and the Boston Celtics refusing to fall without Jayson Tatum. And in the West, the San Antonio Spurs have given the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder a new rivalry.

It's the perfect time to hand out midterm grades to all 30 teams.

My grades, based on performance to date, are strongly influenced by a team's expectations entering the season. For context, I've included preseason win projections for each team alongside the current projection provided by ESPN's Basketball Power Index, which incorporates win-loss record and accounts for injuries.

Beyond wins and losses, I'm also considering how well teams are executing their goals, including developing young talent and securing lottery positioning. Generally speaking, meeting expectations thus far results in a «B» or «C» grade, meaning overperformance is required to get an A.

I've handed out four of those, plus two more «A-minus» grades, starting with two surprising teams battling for top seeds in the Eastern Conference. Check out where all 30 teams landed on my midseason grades. (Teams are in alphabetical order within each grade.)

Jump to a team:
ATL | BOS | BKN | CHA | CHI | CLE
DAL | DEN | DET | GS | HOU | IND
LAC | LAL | MEM | MIA | MIL | MIN
NO | NY | OKC | ORL | PHI | PHX
POR | SAC | SA | TOR | UTA | WAS

Preseason projection: 40.5 wins
Current projection: 50.7 wins

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