2025-26 · 30 teams ranked by schedule difficulty

NBA Schedule Rankings

Denver Nuggets have the toughest schedule: a 79.7 score, 47,900 miles, and 17 back-to-backs.

Updated Wed, Aug 19, 10:37 AM EDT

#	Team	Difficulty	Miles	B2B	3in4	Zone	Rest disadv.	Longest trip
1	DenverNuggetsDEN	79.7	47,900	17	14	42	13	7 gm · 3,940 mi
2	Golden StateWarriorsGSW	71.6	48,453	16	15	30	14	6 gm · 5,093 mi
3	PhoenixSunsPHX	71.3	46,020	16	15	40	11	6 gm · 4,808 mi
4	MiamiHeatMIA	69.1	49,792	17	15	25	12	5 gm · 4,287 mi
5	UtahJazzUTA	59.8	47,118	15	14	37	11	5 gm · 4,159 mi
6	LAClippersLAC	59.5	49,670	15	15	28	11	7 gm · 6,872 mi
7	WashingtonWizardsWAS	55.6	39,375	16	16	23	12	5 gm · 4,135 mi
8	OrlandoMagicORL	53.3	55,105	14	14	23	12	5 gm · 2,682 mi
9	New OrleansPelicansNOP	52.0	45,795	15	14	30	11	6 gm · 3,025 mi
10	DallasMavericksDAL	50.7	48,143	15	14	33	8	6 gm · 4,138 mi
11	MinnesotaTimberwolvesMIN	46.1	49,565	14	12	33	12	4 gm · 3,262 mi
12	Philadelphia76ersPHI	46.0	37,678	16	15	20	12	5 gm · 4,454 mi
13	PortlandTrail BlazersPOR	45.1	51,731	15	12	31	9	5 gm · 4,345 mi
14	MemphisGrizzliesMEM	45.0	54,328	14	13	35	6	5 gm · 3,712 mi
15	San AntonioSpursSAS	44.9	48,810	15	12	32	10	5 gm · 1,804 mi
16	Oklahoma CityThunderOKC	42.9	44,173	14	13	33	11	5 gm · 2,593 mi
17	CharlotteHornetsCHA	42.0	37,325	16	15	21	10	5 gm · 3,611 mi
18	Los AngelesLakersLAL	41.5	45,740	14	14	29	9	8 gm · 4,539 mi
19	BrooklynNetsBKN	40.3	43,587	14	14	23	12	5 gm · 5,261 mi
20	SacramentoKingsSAC	39.4	43,970	14	14	24	11	6 gm · 3,422 mi
21	MilwaukeeBucksMIL	38.7	38,257	15	14	37	6	5 gm · 2,266 mi
22	DetroitPistonsDET	35.1	43,731	14	13	25	11	5 gm · 3,575 mi
23	HoustonRocketsHOU	34.0	47,525	14	12	32	8	6 gm · 4,301 mi
24	New YorkKnicksNYK	33.1	41,125	14	14	23	10	5 gm · 4,635 mi
25	ChicagoBullsCHI	30.5	38,156	14	14	36	5	5 gm · 2,511 mi
26	TorontoRaptorsTOR	30.0	39,956	15	13	21	10	5 gm · 4,561 mi
27	BostonCelticsBOS	29.2	44,906	13	13	25	10	5 gm · 4,217 mi
28	ClevelandCavaliersCLE	20.8	38,079	14	14	23	6	5 gm · 4,835 mi
29	IndianaPacersIND	18.6	37,451	13	13	25	9	6 gm · 1,224 mi
30	AtlantaHawksATL	12.4	40,404	13	12	20	9	4 gm · 3,342 mi

What the columns mean

#: Rank on the column the board is sorted by, 1 = most. The rank belongs to the team, not the row, so flipping to low-to-high counts down to #1 at the foot. Ties share a rank.
Difficulty: Schedule Difficulty Index, 0–100: the mean of the five columns to its right, each min-max normalized across this league's teams. Higher is harder.
Miles: Great-circle miles between consecutive game venues, summed over the season.
B2B: Games played on zero days rest — the second night of two in two days.
3in4: Distinct stretches of three games in four local calendar days. Overlapping windows count once.
Zone: How many games start in a different time zone than the team's previous game. A count of crossings, whatever their size.
Rest disadv.: Back-to-backs played against an opponent who had at least a day off.
Longest trip: The team's longest unbroken road trip — games, then miles covered.

The extremes

Longest road trip

The LA Clippers' longest haul: 7 games, 6,872 miles, Nov 14 – Nov 25.

Longest single hop

The season's longest single hop: Orlando to Berlin, 4,870 miles.

Worst 7-day stretch

The Memphis Grizzlies' worst week: 3 games and 9,789 miles in seven days, Jan 15 – Jan 21.

Most back-to-backs

The Denver Nuggets lead the league with 17 back-to-backs.

Most rest-disadvantage games

The Golden State Warriors face the most rest-disadvantage games — 14 nights on zero rest against a rested opponent.

Per-team travel maps and month-by-month splits live behind each team name on the Travel board.

How it's counted

The Schedule Difficulty Index is the mean of five metrics — travel miles, back-to-backs, 3-in-4 stretches, time-zone crossings, and rest-disadvantage games — each min-max normalized to 0–100 across the league's teams, then averaged with equal weight.

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