NBA offense has steadily improved over the past decade, but it experienced its biggest year-over-year decline between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns in more than two decades (assuming you exclude the 2011-12 lockout season). Well, offense improved steadily as league-wide shooting and shot selection improved. Layups and 3s replacing mid-range jumpers inevitably made offense more efficient.
However, the closer we get to optimized shot selection, there is less room for growth and more defenses have been able to adjust to that style of offense. Yet last year got us back on track with the highest league-wide offensive rating in NBA history. Instead, last year's offensive growth came in a few subtler areas that took a backseat during the 3-point revolution: Having great shooting and taking the right shots are still probably the most important components of building an NBA offense.
However, last year showed us that it's no longer enough to outshoot your opponents. Teams are finding more and more ways to generate good offense. And as we rank all 30 NBA offenses by predicting what the offensive rating leaderboard will look like at season's end, we need to take all of those methods into account.
So with that in mind, let's dive into our rankings. We all saw what happened to New York's offense in the playoffs. Using Karl-Anthony Towns as a passing hub led to the greatest offensive postseason in NBA history.
The Knicks were the No. 4 offense last season, and more thoroughly incorporating those principles this regular season should only make them better. They have shooting everywhere. They're a relatively low-turnover offense.
Perhaps most importantly, they've been among the NBA's most durable teams over the last few seasons. There are just fewer health concerns here than there are with most of the top teams. The only real concern here would be how much Mitchell Robinson's absence affects their dominant offensive rebounding.
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