After a week off for the All-Star break, NBC’s NBA Power Rankings are back, and they have a new No. 1: Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, fresh off beating the now-second Detroit Pistons.
1. San Antonio Spurs
(41-16, last week No. 2)
For three quarters, the Detroit Pistons used their physicality to disrupt and wear down Victor Wembanyama on Monday night. Didn’t work. In the fourth quarter, Wembanyama had 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and four blocks to make sure the Spurs pulled away from the Pistons for a 114-103 victory. It was one of those games where Wemby’s counting stats — 21 points, 17 rebounds (eight offensive), four assists and six blocks — don’t do justice to his impact. Devin Vassell added 28 in the game because someone is always stepping up for the Spurs, who have now won nine straight and are unquestionably contenders despite their young age. People often talk about the Pistons’ fast turnaround after winning just 14 games a couple of seasons ago, but people gloss over the fact that the Spurs have that same kind of story: This team was 22-60 in both the 2022-2023 and 2023-24 seasons. San Antonio entered this season with people expecting them to take a step forward into the play-in, not make a leap to title contender, but here we are.
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2. Detroit Pistons
(42-14, last week No. 1)
Last week showed us why this team has to be considered a genuine threat to make the NBA Finals out of the East, and also why some around the league have doubts about them in the postseason. The week started with a statement over the Knicks, one of the preseason favorites in the East, and the Pistons did it without suspended big men Jalen Duren (he’s back) and Isaiah Stewart (still serving time). Detroit looked dominant in that win. Then it ran into the Spurs, with their quality perimeter defenders backed by Wembanyama, and they lost a game in which Cade Cunningham had 16 points on 5-of-26 shooting, and the lack of a second perimeter shot creator caught up with Detroit. The Pistons are 18-6 against teams over .500 this season, but are “just” 8-5 at home in those games.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
(44-14, last week No. 3)
Oklahoma City has gone 4-3 without MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (and five of those games were also without Jalen Williams), holding onto its spot atop the Western Conference (although San Antonio is closing fast). It’s been the role players stepping up, as they always seem to for OKC. For example, since the trade deadline, the Jared McCain and Isaiah Joe bench combo has instant chemistry and is destroying teams. Another guy who helped on Sunday against Cleveland was Cason Wallace, who had his first 20-10 game ever. One of the challenges of being an elite team is that the league backloads the schedule for television reasons — OKC has the second toughest schedule in the league the rest of the way.
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4. Boston Celtics
(37-19, last week No. 5)
Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics are still figuring out exactly how to fit Nikola Vucevic in with their roster after picking up the stretch five at the trade deadline. Through five games, Vucevic is averaging 11.8 points and 8.4 rebounds a game, shooting 42.9% from 3-point range. “The gift Vuc has is versatility,” Mazzulla said before facing the Lakers. “So it’s not about what he’s best at, he’s good at a lot of things. And so it’s an understanding of how can we take advantage of that within a game. And so it is going to change from game to game, how is he being defended? How he’s being defended has a direct impact on how we’re being defended as a team.” On another note, Payton Pritchard’s move to the bench is already paying off.
5. Cleveland Cavaliers
(36-22, last week No. 6)
The Cavaliers started 5-0 in the James Harden era with a top-three offense in the league through that stretch, although the loss to a shorthanded Thunder team on Sunday was a reminder of the concerns about this team (particularly the defense). That loss makes us wonder if a starting five with Sam Merrill instead of Dean Wade may be coming soon. Either way, Cleveland has the sixth-easiest remaining schedule in the league, one with a lot of games against tanking teams, and it’s easier than any of the teams they are in the mix with at the top of the East. Cleveland sits just two games back of Boston for the No. 2 seed in the East and passing them is a reasonable goal over the final stretch of the season.
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6. New York Knicks
(37-21, last week No. 4)
Every concern fans have about the New York Knicks was exposed by Cade Cunningham and the Pistons in the first game back from the All-Star break. Part of that is the ongoing issue that Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns can be exploited in a pick-and-roll, but the other, maybe larger, issue may be shooting and floor spacing. Towns does not always seem comfortable and has stretches where he is not scoring like he needs to in Mike Brown’s system, at least against good defenses, although he has looked better of late (he scored 28 and looked great against tanking Chicago). Key game for East seeding on Tuesday when New York travels to Cleveland, a game you can catch on Peacock.
7. Minnesota Timberwolves
(35-23, last week No. 9)
Anthony Edwards is your All-Star Game MVP and he didn’t miss a beat in his return, dropping 40 on the Mavericks. That said, Sunday’s loss to Philadelphia was a reminder of just how much this team needs Rudy Gobert in the paint to be a serious threat — the Timberwolves defense is top three in the league when he is on the court and bottom five when he sits. Sit him for a game and Tyrese Maxey is dunking on everyone. Big test on Sunday, when it’s Gobert against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets in a key Western Conference game for West playoff seeding.
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8. Denver Nuggets
(36-22, last week No. 8)
It’s time to be genuinely concerned about Denver’s defense, which is 22nd in the league, although it has improved slightly over the last 15 games. Injuries are certainly part of this — not having Aaron Gordon is a critical loss — but watch them against the Clippers in the first game back from the break, when they should be rested, and they could not get stops when it mattered. Another reason for Nuggets fans to be concerned: This team is 6-13 in clutch games when Jokic plays. A third reason for Denver fans to be concerned: The Nuggets have the toughest remaining schedule in the league, and it starts this week with games against the Celtics, Thunder and Timberwolves. On the plus side for the Nuggets, they still have Nikola Jokic breaking basketball.
9. Houston Rockets
(35-21, last week No. 4)
Houston’s loss Sunday at New York — blowing an 18-point fourth-quarter lead thanks to nine turnovers in the frame — was the latest reason to be concerned about this team in the clutch. The Rockets are 14-16 in clutch games (within five points in the final five minutes) with a -8.8 net rating and a 29th in the league turnover rate (16.3% of possessions). What Houston has done well this season is beat up the teams they should beat and those teams fill the schedule this week: Utah, Sacramento, Orlando and Miami.
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10. Toronto Raptors
(34-23, last week No. 14)
While James Harden in Cleveland is drawing the headlines, Toronto is just 1.5 games back of the Cavs and has a legit chance to land a top-four seed in the West and host a playoff round. Center Jakob Poeltl is back in the rotation, and that is a big help (his return to the starting five really helps the bench rotation up front with Collin Murray-Boyles). The Raptors won their first two games out of the break, but have the Thunder and Spurs on a back-to-back this week, good luck with that.
11. Los Angeles Lakers
(34-22, last week No. 10)
A couple of weeks ago, after a loss to the Thunder, LeBron James summed up the Lakers this way: “We can’t sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes and they can. That’s why they won a championship.” If you think anything has changed, you didn’t watch the Lakers against the Celtics on Sunday (on NBC). That game featured all the concerns about the Lakers against the league’s top teams — the defense, the lack of shooting, the inconsistent effort and the lack of quality depth. The Lakers are 4-3 on their eight-game home stand, which concludes on Tuesday night against Orlando, before heading out on the road to face the Suns and Warriors this week.
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12. Golden State Warriors
(30-27, last week No. 15)
Stephen Curry has now missed too many games to qualify for postseason awards. The concern now becomes that he misses so many games the No. 8 seed Warriors fall to the No. 9 seed, with its tougher road through the play-in — Portland is just 2.5 games back and finding a groove of late. Which is why the Warriors raining 3s on the Nuggets on Sunday was a critical win. One Warriors subplot to watch the rest of this season and into the summer: Brandin Podziemski is extension eligible this summer. Will the sides reach a deal (the Warriors did with Moses Moody, for example), or wait until he’s a restricted free agent in the summer of 2027 and make a decision then?
13. Phoenix Suns
(33-25, last week No. 13)
Dillon Brooks is out at least a month due to a fractured left hand, and Devin Booker will miss this week (or most of it, at least) with a hip injury. Will that keep the Suns from climbing out of the play-in? They sit as the No. 7 seed now and are two games back of the Lakers to climb into the top six (Minnesota is in that mix as the No. 6 seed, but barring injury, it’s hard to see them falling back, even with their inconsistency). The Suns host the Lakers Thursday night and could use that win to keep their top-six dreams alive.
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14. Miami Heat
(28-26, last week No. 16)
Tyler Herro is back, returning after the All-Star break and reprising his role as Sixth Man of the Year in a couple of comfortable Heat wins. Bringing Herro off the bench and letting All-Star Norman Powell cook makes a lot of sense, but Herro wants to start, so we’ll see how long this lasts. Interesting tests for the No. 8 seed Heat at Milwaukee and Philadelphia this week, then home to host Houston.
15. Orlando Magic
(30-26, last week No. 17)
While we haven’t seen much out of Orlando’s core three of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs (148 minutes across 13 games this season), but lately we have seen Desmond Bane find his groove and start to break out. In February, Bane is averaging 24.4 points per game on an insane 75.4 true shooting percentage (fueled by shooting 50.9% from 3-point range). Orlando is 2-1 since the All-Star break (with the loss being in 2OT to Phoenix), but it needs to keep racking up wins as it, Philadelphia and Miami are all in the mix for the six seed and avoiding the play-in.
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16. Philadelphia 76ers
(31-27, last week No. 12)
Philly is 1-4 playing in this stretch without Joel Embiid (knee) and Paul George (10 games into his 25-game suspension), and they are barely holding on to the No. 6 seed in the East. The 76ers did pick up an unexpected win on Sunday against the Timberwolves, which makes Philadelphia an impressive 8-3 on the second night of a back-to-back this season. While Sunday against the Celtics may feel like the big game to fans, Thursday against the Heat — one of the teams they are fighting for the No. 6 seed in the East — is the critical game.
17. Charlotte Hornets
(27-31, last week No. 11)
Charlotte has come back down to earth after their nine-game winning streak, having gone 2-3 in the five games since. Charlotte can get rolling again starting this week with a string of games against struggling teams (Chicago and Indiana, for example), especially if LaMelo Ball is knocking down 10 3-pointers as he did against the Wizards.
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18. Los Angeles Clippers
(27-30, last week No. 20)
Bennedict Mathurin is thriving off the bench for LA since coming over in the Ivica Zubac deal at the deadline. Through five games, Mathurin is averaging 22 points and 4.2 rebounds a game, and the usually reliable 3-point shooter has yet to find his groove from deep in Los Angeles. This hot streak includes a 38-point performance in a win against Denver. Only a couple of games this week for the Clippers and one interesting one, against up-and-down Minnesota on Thursday.
19. Portland Trail Blazers
(28-30, last week No. 19)
Aș a Curry-less Warriors team struggles above them, the No. 9 seed Trail Blazers have won 5-of-7 and suddenly making the top eight (with a much easier path through the play-in to the playoff proper) seems realistic — Golden State is just 2.5 games ahead of them. Can Portland keep up the strong play with Shaedon Sharpe (calf) and Deni Avdija (back) missing time?
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20. Milwaukee Bucks
(24-31, last week No. 21)
There is no tanking in Milwaukee — the Bucks went 6-1 around the All-Star break and are now 6-5 without Giannis Antetokounmpo in this stretch, and he appears ready to return this week. The key has been the offense, which usually falls off a cliff when Antetokounmpo is not on the court, but was top five in the league during that hot stretch, with Cam Thomas and Ryan Rollins having some big games. The Bucks have done more than keep their heads above water without their former MVP and are just 1.5 games out of the play-in, which has to be the short-term goal (one step at a time).
21. Atlanta Hawks
(28-31, last week No. 18)
CJ McCollum started on Sunday in place of Zaccharie Risacher. McCollum has been closing games (with Risacher on the bench) for a while, but the fact that Quin Snyder is now starting this way is not a good sign for Risacher’s future with the Hawks. Atlanta is the only team in the NBA with a losing record at home (11-16) and a winning record on the road (17-15). The Hawks should be able to improve that this week with two home games against the Wizards (plus a tougher one against the Trail Blazers).
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22. New Orleans Pelicans
(16-42, last week No. 24)
After missing a little more than a year, Dejounte Murray is set to make his return to the court from a torn Achilles on Tuesday. He could provide some needed glue to the Pelicans’ offense for the stretch run of the season. It’s good news because the Pelicans are not tanking (they don’t control their own pick, so there’s no motivation), something evidenced last week in their come-from-behind win against the 76ers. Coach Willie Green is experimenting with some big lineups (6’6″ Zion Williamson is the smallest guy on the court), and it’s interesting.
23. Memphis Grizzlies
(21-35, last week No. 22)
I’m not saying the Grizzlies are tanking; I’m just saying that in recent weeks they have started Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Jahmai Mashack, and Lance Lovering, and then they lost to a Sacramento team that came in having lost 16 in a row. With Ja Morant injured and Jaren Jackson Jr. injured and in Utah, the only expected starter in Memphis getting run is Jaylen Wells, who is having some good games (25 points against Miami last week).
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24. Utah Jazz
(18-40, last week No. 28)
Adam Silver unfairly singled out Utah for tanking and slapped them with a $500,000 fine. To be clear, the Jazz were tanking — sitting Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the fourth quarter of games — but is that any more blatant and ugly than what is happening in other markets? No. But because Utah got press and gave the league a little PR trouble, Silver came down on them. Utah learned its lesson and now Jackson (knee) and Jusuf Nurkic (nose) will be out for the season due to surgeries (ones that maybe could have waited, but we’re not doctors here). It’s not going to be a pretty last couple of months of the season in Utah, but this is now a fan base with legitimate reasons for hope going forward when they envision what the Jazz will look like next season.
25. Dallas Mavericks
(20-36, last week No. 25)
It is a wise decision not to have Kyrie Irving return to the court this season, and Cooper Flagg has missed the last three games with a foot injury and likely will be out longer, as well. That said, Dallas snapped a 10-game losing streak by beating Indiana over the weekend thanks to a throwback Khris Middleton game. Expect to see a lot of Middleton and Max Christie the rest of the season for Dallas.
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26. Washington Wizards
(16-40, last week No. 27)
Here’s the thing about tanking: It’s a front-office/management call, the players who get put out on the court still try hard to win. That’s what happened last week when the Wizards swept two games from the Pacers, in part because Sharife Cooper (on a two-way contract) and Alondes Williams (10-day contract) played like guys fighting for bigger, better deals. They got the wins despite Alex Sarr (hamstring strain) missing the last four games. Washington has two games in Atlanta this week.
27. Chicago Bulls
(24-34, last week No. 23)
The Chicago Bulls have not won a game in February. That includes an ugly loss to Sacramento on Monday, a team that had lost 16 in a row before they met the Bulls. In classic Bulls style, this pivot to tanking has come so late that they have just the ninth-worst record in the NBA and, if that holds, a 50.7% chance of drafting ninth (currently they would have a 20.2% chance of jumping up to the top four.
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28. Indiana Pacers
(15-43, last week No. 26)
Kobe Brown was considered a throw-in by the Clippers as part of the Ivica Zubac trade at the deadline, but Brown is getting an opportunity and thriving with the Pacers. Through five games (one a start), Brown is averaging 10.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. “I like the things he’s doing,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said (via Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star). “When you get an opportunity like this, this is where you can really show what you can do.”
29. Brooklyn Nets
(15-41, last week No. 29)
Brooklyn isn’t tanking by sitting Michael Porter Jr.; he has played all three games since the All-Star break, but he is ice cold, shooting 3-of-23 in those games. Tough week ahead for the Nets, who start with fellow tanker Dallas but then get San Antonio, Boston and Cleveland.
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30. Sacramento Kings
(13-46, last week No. 30)
The Kings won! The Kings won! Sacramento snapped its franchise record 16-game losing streak on Monday by beating the also-tanking Grizzlies. Don’t worry Kings fans, your team still has the worst record in the league. What should worry you is that for three years running, the team with the worst record in the league fell to fifth in the NBA Draft lottery.
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