NBA Power Rankings V1: Ranking Every Team in the NBA

Everybody else does ‘em, so why not get in on the fun?

Welcome to the debut edition of our NBA power rankings where we’ll survey the entire league and appropriately order all 30 squads based on their record, recent play, net rating, and the ultra-subjective eye test. You’ll agree with most of the order. There will, of course, be some disagreements, most especially the closer we get to the top. But that's fine. And to be expected. This ain't gospel and, more than anything, it's a tidy snapshot of what’s going on across the Association right now.

Quick note: If you’re unfamiliar with net rating, know that it’s a team's average point differential, or more specifically the difference between a team's offensive rating per 100 possessions compared to its defensive rating per 100 possessions. We’re featuring it because NBA champions almost always end up owning a top 5 net rating—team's that barely score more points than they allow usually do not end up having deep playoff runs. So it’s kind of noteworthy/important.

We’ll be updating the rankings every other week, so there are no massive knee jerk reactions to a few bad games. As we enter February, here’s where we stand:

Owner’s of the NBA’s worst record, where else are we going to put Washington except last? I’m not giving them any kind of bump for one crazy win over Brooklyn. But at least Team Turmoil got a feel good win since Bradley Beal’s future continues to swirl over the team that's just 1-4 since returning to action following a 13-day shutdown due to COVID protocols. Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook’s advanced stats remain ugly.

Worst net rating in the league by a wide margin. Minnesota can’t defend and they can’t score enough to stick with teams. It’s another lost season for the Timberwolves. On the bright side, Anthony Edwards leads all rookies in scoring.

They beat the Lakers last week, but yeah, that was the second night of a back-to-back for an LA team that ran out of gas in the fourth-quarter and played without Anthony Davis. So let’s keep that win in perspective. Detroit owns the league’s worst road record at 1-8.

Orlando is just 2-8 over its last 10 games and has lost 11 of its last 13. I have absolutely nothing good to write about the Magic right now.

Second-worst net rating in the league, yet the Thunder are kind of hovering around .500 and only a game back of Houston to qualify for the play-in because they’ve been pretty good on the road (7-4). On the flip side, OKC has been shockingly awful at home (league worst 1-7).

About where you’d expect Sacramento, right? The Kings had their three-game winning streak snapped against Miami Saturday when they watched Jimmy Butler score 30 in his return from a 10-game absence. Of note, Buddy Hield owns the NBA longest current streak of consecutive games with a 3-pointer made at 85.

Brutal loss to Portland Saturday night. And other than a 3-7 mark over their last 10 games, I have nothing more to say about the Bulls. Chicago's ranked right where they should be—they're competitive against the league's better teams, but haven't closed out enough games to warrant a higher ranking.

Another surprisingly good defensive team that likes to push the ball. Cleveland’s kind of looking like it could be feisty enough to flirt with the postseason—especially if Collin Sexton keeps balling like he is (24.0 PPG, 43.1 FG3P%, 55.0 EFG%). Don't let them get out on and run you: Cleveland is tops in the league (tied with Portland) averaging 1.21 PPP in transition and owns the NBA’s top scoring frequency (55.7 percent) in transition.

A very good win over Milwaukee Friday was followed by a sluggish effort Saturday in a loss to the Rockets. Something still seems off with the Pelicans who could be looking at some roster turnover with Lonzo Ball and JJ Redick—two straight DNPs despite being healthy—reportedly candidates to get shipped out of town.

LaMelo Ball leads all rookies in assist per game (6.05), Gordon Hayward is averaging over 20 PPG (23.2 to be precise) for the first time since his final season in Utah, and Charlotte has a pretty respectable squad that took a game from the Bucks Saturday.

Immanuel Quickley for Rookie of the Year. Aside from the 25th selection in November’s draft being a revelation off the bench (he’s averaging 12.4 PPG, tops among rookies), the Knicks are actually a pretty good defensive team (109.89 defensive rating, 8th best in the league) for the first time in forever. I guess Tom Thibodeau knows what he's doing.

Butler’s back and now maybe the Heat can finally start looking like a legit team. It’s been a rough go of it so far for the defending Eastern Conference champs who have been without a bunch of key contributors and probably will continue to be for a few more weeks. But Butler’s return from a 10-game absence, going off on the Kings Saturday, is precisely what Miami needs to start digging out of its hole.

Toronto, of course playing its games this season in Tampa Bay, got off to a woeful start and despite dealing with a rash of injuries they are finally starting to look more like the playoff team many expected them to be this season. Positive trends aside, the Raptors need to start winning on the road where they’re just 2-7, the second worst mark in the Eastern Conference.

Can you figure out what Dallas’ deal is right now? Because I can’t. That Luka for MVP hype feels a little silly right now since the Mavericks have lost five in a row and look like a lost cause. Shooting a league worst 32.8 percent from beyond the arc isn’t helping matters.

Trae Young’s scoring at a ridiculous clip over the Hawks’ last five games (37.6 PPG) that includes his 38-point performance in a win over the Clippers last week (albeit without Leonard and George in the lineup). Atlanta opens a four-game homestand by welcoming the defending champions to town Monday.

Five wins in a row for Houston. It’s incredible what happens when you get rid of a malcontent and can start building toward a better future with solid pieces like Victor Oladipo, Christian Wood, and a resurgent John Wall. Houston’s 6-3 since the Harden trade as Wood continues to put up big numbers. Oh yeah, the Rockets are actually defending pretty well, too.

After a tough stretch of games in the middle of January, the Warriors took advantage of a relatively soft portion of their schedule to close out the month with a better record than a lot of us thought they’d have at this point before their season tipped Dec. 22 in Brooklyn. Kudos to the Warriors’ defense (8th in defensive rating) for helping make it happen.

San Antonio is quietly bouncing back nicely after failing to make the playoffs for the first time in decades last year. The Spurs are 6-3 on the road, one of the best marks in the NBA.

Portland’s kind of puzzled me all season because their record should be better than it is. But the Blazers have also been hit hard by the injury bug again this season so we have to give them a little slack. Thankfully Damian Lillard is heating up, as highlighted by Saturday’s absurd heroics against Chicago. Lillard’s averaging 34.0 PPG over his last eight games and his 44 against the Bulls saved Portland from another bad loss to Chicago.

Phoenix has been without Devin Booker (hamstring) for the past four games, but Chris Paul’s been picking up the slack in his absence and the Suns are surviving just fine without their top scorer.

They’re young, they’re fun, and they’re legit. Memphis owns a six-game winning streak that stretches back to Jan. 8 (thanks to a bunch of postponements for COVID reasons). Victories during the stretch came against the Nets, Sixers, Suns, and Spurs. Nobody’s played fewer games in the league than Memphis.

There’s nothing spectacular about the Pacers. They’re just rock solid. Domantas Sabonis should be an All-Star again. Myles Turner is still blocking shots despite a fractured hand. And Malcom Brogdon’s scoring like never before.

I thought ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins was talking wild when he was saying Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are a top three duo in the NBA before the season started. Well, he was right. They are dynamite and the Celtics are yet again one of the top teams in the East. No Marcus Smart—calf strain—for possibly three weeks isn't ideal, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the Celtics will be just fine.

Doesn’t look like the Bucks are winning 60 games (or the equivalent of 60 games over a a shortened season) for the first time in three seasons. Milwaukee remains a top team, even if Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t quite putting up MVP numbers like we’ve seen from him in previous seasons. Offensively, the Bucks remain elite, even as the Greek Freak adjusts to a new role. But this is not the same defensive team we’re used to and that should be concerning.

If not LeBron James or Joel Embiid, your early season MVP right now has to be Nikola Jokic. He’s the biggest reason why the Nuggets are rolling, winning six straight and seven of 10, including Sunday’s smackdown of the Jazz at home. According to ESPN, Jokic has strung together 20 straight double-doubles to start his 2020-21 campaign, the second longest such streak in NBA history

Their defensive rating is atrocious and the lack of stoppers will continue to cost them games from week to week—like Sunday’s mind-boggling defeat to the lowly Wizards when they allowed Westbrook to go for 41 and Joe Harris’ bad inbounds pass led to the shocking upset. We know it’s going to be a work-in-progress on that end of the floor for the Nets. Offensively speaking, the three-headed monster of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Harden (who missed Sunday’s game) is working out pretty damn well.

It feels like the Clippers are getting zero respect around the league, despite the NBA’s best record because of the stink of last season’s horrific early exit hasn’t left Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and the rest of the crew. Regardless, LA’s balling, having won nine of its last 10, and owns the NBA’s top offensive rating (118.74).

The Sixers did beat the Lakers last week, despite LA”s furious comeback over the final few minutes. In some people’s book that means the Sixers should reside ahead of the Lakers in the rankings. I ain’t one of those guys because while I’m loving what I’m seeing out of Embiid, a top 3 MVP candidate right now, only lunatic Philly fans would pick the Sixers in a seven-game series over the Lakers. But shouts to Tobias Harris for that cold game-winner against LA.

The NBA’s hottest team just had its 11-game winning streak snapped by the Nuggets Sunday. But Utah was due for a clunker one of these nights. The Jazz look like the team we thought we were going to see last season which means they have the chops to reach the Western Conference Finals. They’re also bombing teams to death this season. Utah tied an NBA record against Denver hitting at least 15 3-pointers for a 10th straight game.

The NBA’s best road team (11-2) remains its best overall team despite back-to-back losses to the Sixers and Pistons last week. LA bounced back with a nice win in Boston Saturday night and continues to be one of the best defensive squads in the league with a top 2 adjusted net rating (that takes into account the strength of their opponents). The combo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis is head and shoulders above all the other combos in the league and I’d like to declare that I’m officially joining the LeBron for MVP bandwagon. He's a freak of nature.