diff --git a/docs/my-website/docs/proxy/load_balancing.md b/docs/my-website/docs/proxy/load_balancing.md
index a311d688b55..93f3d944340 100644
--- a/docs/my-website/docs/proxy/load_balancing.md
+++ b/docs/my-website/docs/proxy/load_balancing.md
@@ -377,21 +377,6 @@ For router internals: when a `team_id` is in scope, optimized lookups key off `(
 
 If a stale alias is detected and the bypass is **not** enabled, the proxy may emit a **one-time** warning in logs explaining that sibling deployments may be unreachable until the flag is set or aliases are cleaned up.
 
-### Team-scoped models and legacy `model_aliases` {#team-scoped-models-and-legacy-model_aliases}
-
-Team-scoped deployments are identified by `model_info.team_id` and `model_info.team_public_model_name`. Requests should use the **public** model name; the router resolves all sibling deployments (same public name, different `api_base` / `order`, etc.) for routing, failover, and deployment `order`.
-
-For router internals: when a `team_id` is in scope, optimized lookups key off `(team_id, team_public_model_name)`. If code passes an internal deployment id (e.g. `model_name_<team_id>_<uuid>`) instead of the public name, routing still works via the usual deployment-name paths, but the team-specific fast path applies only to the public name.
-
-**Legacy teams:** Older proxy versions could persist `model_aliases` on the team row mapping a public name to a single internal deployment id (`model_name_<team_id>_<uuid>`). On each request, pre-call logic may still rewrite `model` to that internal name **before** routing, which collapses to one deployment and can make newer sibling deployments unreachable.
-
-**Migration options:**
-
-1. **Recommended for upgrades:** Set environment variable `LITELLM_ENABLE_TEAM_STALE_ALIAS_BYPASS=true` so that when sibling team deployments exist for the public name, the stale alias rewrite is skipped and team-scoped routing (including `order` and failover) applies. See the [Environment variables](./config_settings) table in the proxy settings doc.
-2. **Data cleanup:** Remove obsolete `model_aliases` entries for team public names from the team record in the database so only `team_public_model_name` + team model list drive access.
-
-If a stale alias is detected and the bypass is **not** enabled, the proxy may emit a **one-time** warning in logs explaining that sibling deployments may be unreachable until the flag is set or aliases are cleaned up.
-
 ### When You'll See Load Balancing in Action
 
 **Immediate Effects:**
diff --git a/litellm/router.py b/litellm/router.py
index 64ad6fc2215..5cd4f837782 100644
--- a/litellm/router.py
+++ b/litellm/router.py
@@ -5290,6 +5290,64 @@ class Router:
         if "fallback_depth" not in input_kwargs:
             input_kwargs["fallback_depth"] = 0
 
+        # ORDER-BASED FALLBACKS: prepend higher order levels to the fallback list
+        # Skip for error types that have their own dedicated fallback handlers
+        _skip_order_fallback = isinstance(
+            e,
+            (litellm.ContextWindowExceededError, litellm.ContentPolicyViolationError),
+        )
+        all_deployments = self._get_all_deployments(model_name=original_model_group)
+        _order_set: set = {
+            d.get("litellm_params", {}).get("order")
+            for d in all_deployments
+            if d.get("litellm_params", {}).get("order") is not None
+        }
+        order_values: list = sorted(_order_set)
+        if len(order_values) > 1 and not _skip_order_fallback:
+            # Determine which order levels have already been tried
+            current_target = kwargs.get("_target_order")
+            skip_up_to = (
+                current_target if current_target is not None else order_values[0]
+            )
+            # Build order-based fallback entries (skip already-tried levels)
+            order_fallback_entries: List = [
+                {"model": original_model_group, "_target_order": o}
+                for o in order_values
+                if o > skip_up_to
+            ]
+            # Get external fallbacks — handle both standard and non-standard formats
+            external_fallback_group: Optional[List] = None
+            if fallbacks is not None and model_group is not None:
+                if _check_non_standard_fallback_format(fallbacks=fallbacks):
+                    # Non-standard formats (e.g. ["claude-3-haiku"] or
+                    # [{"model": "...", "messages": [...]}]) are passed through directly
+                    external_fallback_group = fallbacks
+                else:
+                    external_fallback_group, generic_idx = get_fallback_model_group(
+                        fallbacks=fallbacks,
+                        model_group=cast(str, model_group),
+                    )
+                    if external_fallback_group is None and generic_idx is not None:
+                        external_fallback_group = fallbacks[generic_idx]["*"]
+
+            # Combined list: order fallbacks first, then external
+            combined_fallbacks = order_fallback_entries + (
+                external_fallback_group or []
+            )
+
+            if combined_fallbacks:
+                input_kwargs.update(
+                    {
+                        "fallback_model_group": combined_fallbacks,
+                        "original_model_group": original_model_group,
+                    }
+                )
+                response = await run_async_fallback(
+                    *args,
+                    **input_kwargs,
+                )
+                return response
+
         try:
             verbose_router_logger.info("Trying to fallback b/w models")
 
@@ -8886,12 +8944,6 @@ class Router:
                 if i not in invalid_model_indices
             ]
 
-        ## ORDER FILTERING ## -> if user set 'order' in deployments, return deployments with lowest order (e.g. order=1 > order=2)
-        if len(_returned_deployments) > 0:
-            _returned_deployments = litellm.utils._get_order_filtered_deployments(
-                _returned_deployments
-            )
-
         return _returned_deployments
 
     def _get_model_from_alias(self, model: str) -> Optional[str]:
@@ -9140,6 +9192,12 @@ class Router:
             ),
         )
 
+        ## ORDER FILTERING ## -> if user set 'order' in deployments, return deployments with lowest order (e.g. order=1 > order=2)
+        _target_order = (request_kwargs or {}).pop("_target_order", None)
+        healthy_deployments = litellm.utils._get_order_filtered_deployments(
+            cast(List[Dict], healthy_deployments), target_order=_target_order
+        )
+
         if len(healthy_deployments) == 0:
             exception = await async_raise_no_deployment_exception(
                 litellm_router_instance=self,
@@ -9544,6 +9602,12 @@ class Router:
                 request_kwargs=request_kwargs,
             )
 
+        ## ORDER FILTERING ## -> if user set 'order' in deployments, return deployments with lowest order (e.g. order=1 > order=2)
+        _target_order = (request_kwargs or {}).pop("_target_order", None)
+        healthy_deployments = litellm.utils._get_order_filtered_deployments(
+            healthy_deployments, target_order=_target_order
+        )
+
         if len(healthy_deployments) == 0:
             model_ids = self.get_model_ids(model_name=model)
             _cooldown_time = self.cooldown_cache.get_min_cooldown(
diff --git a/tests/test_litellm/test_router_order_fallback.py b/tests/test_litellm/test_router_order_fallback.py
index 679036c6c2f..760766a7461 100644
--- a/tests/test_litellm/test_router_order_fallback.py
+++ b/tests/test_litellm/test_router_order_fallback.py
@@ -283,6 +283,7 @@ async def test_router_order_fallback_then_external_fallback():
     )
     assert response._hidden_params["model_id"] == "fallback"
 
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_router_order_fallback_with_non_standard_fallbacks():
     """Non-standard fallback formats (e.g. fallbacks=["model-name"]) passed