diff --git a/.changeset/cold-plums-hunt.md b/.changeset/cold-plums-hunt.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a952c5e459
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/cold-plums-hunt.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/plugin-azure-devops-backend': patch
+---
+
+Only warn if teams fail to load at startup.
diff --git a/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/api/PullRequestsDashboardProvider.ts b/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/api/PullRequestsDashboardProvider.ts
index a4879de7be..0f6dbe5b04 100644
--- a/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/api/PullRequestsDashboardProvider.ts
+++ b/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/api/PullRequestsDashboardProvider.ts
@@ -40,7 +40,11 @@ export class PullRequestsDashboardProvider {
     azureDevOpsApi: AzureDevOpsApi,
   ): Promise<PullRequestsDashboardProvider> {
     const provider = new PullRequestsDashboardProvider(logger, azureDevOpsApi);
-    await provider.readTeams();
+    try {
+      await provider.readTeams();
+    } catch (error) {
+      logger.warn(`Failed to load azure team information, ${error}`);
+    }
     return provider;
   }
 
@@ -124,10 +128,12 @@ export class PullRequestsDashboardProvider {
     });
   }
 
-  public getUserTeamIds(email: string): string[] {
+  public async getUserTeamIds(email: string): Promise<string[]> {
+    await this.getAllTeams(); // Make sure team members are loaded
     return (
-      this.getTeamMembers().find(teamMember => teamMember.uniqueName === email)
-        ?.memberOf ?? []
+      Array.from(this.teamMembers.values()).find(
+        teamMember => teamMember.uniqueName === email,
+      )?.memberOf ?? []
     );
   }
 
@@ -138,8 +144,4 @@ export class PullRequestsDashboardProvider {
 
     return Array.from(this.teams.values());
   }
-
-  public getTeamMembers(): TeamMember[] {
-    return Array.from(this.teamMembers.values());
-  }
 }
diff --git a/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/service/router.test.ts b/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/service/router.test.ts
index 335e581d73..e6cd856c0a 100644
--- a/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/service/router.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/service/router.test.ts
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ describe('createRouter', () => {
       getPullRequests: jest.fn(),
       getBuilds: jest.fn(),
       getBuildRuns: jest.fn(),
-      getAllTeams: jest.fn().mockReturnValue([]),
+      getAllTeams: jest.fn(),
       getTeamMembers: jest.fn(),
     } as any;
     const router = await createRouter({
@@ -411,6 +411,7 @@ describe('createRouter', () => {
 
   describe('GET /users/:userId/team-ids', () => {
     it('fetches a a list of teams', async () => {
+      azureDevOpsApi.getAllTeams.mockResolvedValue([]);
       const response = await request(app).get('/users/user1/team-ids');
       expect(response.status).toEqual(200);
     });
diff --git a/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/service/router.ts b/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/service/router.ts
index 6482ed2f59..f41209e4ff 100644
--- a/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/service/router.ts
+++ b/plugins/azure-devops-backend/src/service/router.ts
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ export async function createRouter(
 
   router.get('/users/:userId/team-ids', async (req, res) => {
     const { userId } = req.params;
-    const teamIds = pullRequestsDashboardProvider.getUserTeamIds(userId);
+    const teamIds = await pullRequestsDashboardProvider.getUserTeamIds(userId);
     res.status(200).json(teamIds);
   });