NBA Power Rankings: Pistons, Spurs on top; post-All-Star-break outlooks

Album of the Week: “One Nation Under a Groove,” Funkadelic (1978)

I touched on this last week, but I am so glad that we have basketball games back, because lately, we have been having a lot of non-basketball conversations. It’s like we have a basketball parliament, and every member is trying to leave their legacy. Who can come up with the best plan to end tanking?! How many games should the season be? What are we ever going to do about Kevin Durant’s alleged burner accounts?

I fear what’s going to happen to the basketball conversation when this season is over. I respect everybody’s endeavor to make a more perfect basketball union. But I said last week that I was glad basketball is back, and I’m excited about the fact that this upcoming week we have wall-to-wall basketball. We need it now that all of the medals have been accounted for from the Winter Olympics.

It’s not lost on me where we are in the NBA season. If this were the NFL season, then the postseason would be underway at the end of the week. And while the standings are in a relatively static place for the rest of the season, these lineups are not. There is a lot more fine-tuning that needs to happen for teams that are getting ready for the playoffs, or teams trying to see who can sink or swim in the deep sea of development.

Fine print: These Power Rankings won’t just rank every team. We’ll retain the tiers that teams will be promoted into and relegated out of. There will be five tiers each week:

• Top Contenders – Locked at five, these are the class of the league
• In a Good Place – Could be one team, could be seven teams
• The Bubble – Not to be confused with Walt Disney World. The middle of the pack
• Not the Tier to Fear – Not playing the worst ball in the league, but with a lot of work to do
• Basement Floor – Bringing up the rear

What to expect from Power Rankings:

• These are my subjective rankings. I will consider a variety of objective measures, but it’s my final call.
• These rankings are not just a review of the past week — we are projecting forward as well, so it is a balance of the two.
• These are subjective, but not biased. There are no agendas in the Power Rankings, and we strive for an inclusive meritocracy
• The one quality that these rankings possess: “Ruthless aggression.”
• Enjoy the games, and enjoy the rankings, please!

For Week 19 of The Athletic NBA Power Rankings, we will explore post-All-Star break first impressions for each team. Win-loss records and other statistical data are through Sunday’s action.

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Tier 1: Top Contenders

1. Detroit Pistons (42-13)

Last ranking: 1
In the last week: W at NY, W at CHI
Offensive rating: 116.8 (ninth place)
Defensive rating: 108.3 (second place)

Post All-Star break: The Pistons still had Jalen Duren suspended and Isaiah Stewart super-suspended when they came back from All-Star break. And they still demolished the Knicks to sweep their season series. Duren is back, but Paul Reed has been excellent in February, and he needs to be a part of the rotation somehow when Stewart returns.

2. San Antonio Spurs (40-16)

Last ranking: 2
In the last week: W vs PHO, W vs SAC
Offensive rating: 117.3 (sixth place)
Defensive rating: 110.7 (third place)

Post All-Star break: We have a third 40 before 20 team! And it is the Spurs, a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since the pandemic. The Spurs defense was on point against the Phoenix Suns, and then Victor Wembanyama lit up the Kings.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder (44-14)

Last ranking: 3
In the last week: W vs BRK, W vs CLE
Offensive rating: 117.7 (fourth place)
Defensive rating: 106.1 (first place)

Post All-Star break: The Thunder showed a lot in building a big lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers and having enough left in the tank (can you still say that?) to run through the tape after losing the 23-point advantage entirely. And they did it without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. It’s great to see Nikola Topić on the floor while the Thunder stars (as well as Alex Caruso and Ajay Mitchell) are out after Topić had to recover from surgeries to address an ACL injury and testicular cancer.

4. Boston Celtics (37-19)

Last ranking: 5
In the last week: W at GS, W at LAL
Offensive rating: 120.1 (second place)
Defensive rating: 112.2 (seventh place)

Post All-Star break: The Celtics are still 40 before 20 eligible, and they started their West trip by slamming the Warriors and Lakers. Boston doesn’t just win games; it wins them handily. Only the Thunder have more wins by at least 20 points this season than the 11 games the Celtics have won by that margin, with the latest coming in Los Angeles to spoil the Pat Riley statue celebration. They’re keeping Jayson Tatum’s status relevant.

5. New York Knicks (37-21)

Last ranking: 4
In the last week: L vs DET, W vs HOU, W at CHI
Offensive rating: 118.5 (third place)
Defensive rating: 112.7 (11th place)

Post All-Star break: The Knicks have spent this whole decade getting bypassed by some team in the East. The Hawks in 2021. The Celtics in 2022. The Heat in 2023. The Pacers in 2024 and 2025. New York has been the Susan Lucci of the East, and it’s the Pistons bypassing them for now. But the Knicks showed last year, when they couldn’t beat any of the “contenders” in the regular season, that you just need to have Mikal Bridges steal some playoff games and go from there. New York’s comeback win against the Rockets should serve as the kind of boost that should scare the few teams with stronger contender cases; the Knicks continue to be resourceful about finding contributors, and as nice as it was to see Tyler Kolek play well earlier in the season, Jose Alvarado provides an upgrade as a playmaker on both ends of the floor.

Tier 2: In a Good Place

6. Cleveland Cavaliers (36-22)

Last ranking: 6
In the last week: W vs BRK, W at CHA, L at OKC
Offensive rating: 117.6 (fifth place)
Defensive rating: 113.2 (12th place)

Post All-Star break: Well, they weren’t meant to win them all. James Harden has lost nine of his last 10 games against the Thunder, including six in a row. The Cavaliers were in a deep hole while on the other side of live-ball turnovers and an avalanche of 3s, which was about the only way that version of the Thunder would be able to compete with this version of the Cavaliers. Even in defeat, though, the Cavaliers showed some mettle in getting back into that game.

7. Houston Rockets (34-21)

Last ranking: 8
In the last week: W at CHA, L at NY
Offensive rating: 116.8 (eighth place)
Defensive rating: 112.0 (sixth place)

Post All-Star break: The Rockets have some nasty losses this season where their offense simply can’t do what it needs to do. Saturday in New York was the seventh time this season that the Rockets were outscored by more than 10 points in the fourth quarter. The Rockets have unsurprisingly lost six of those games, and the six losses all saw the Rockets fail to break 40 percent shooting from the field in the final quarter. Houston had a 2:9 assist-turnover ratio in the fourth quarter in New York as well. The Rockets are a great net rating team, but their offense can’t be taken seriously, like most Kevin Durant teams with suspect or nonexistent point guard play.

8. Denver Nuggets (36-22)

Last ranking: 7
In the last week: L at LAC, W at POR, L at GS
Offensive rating: 120.9 (first place)
Defensive rating: 116.3 (22nd place)

Post All-Star break: I seriously considered putting the Nuggets into the next tier. Their offense is obviously powerful with Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray, and they reasserted that dominance by treating the Trail Blazers like it was 2023. But the Nuggets have a vulnerable defense, and the NBA schedule isn’t going to stop for Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson to get over their respective hamstring injuries. In Gordon’s case, there shouldn’t be any kind of safe assumption that the Nuggets are going to stay fully healthy this spring. The ceiling is high with the Nuggets, but their defense is bad, and Gordon, one of the most important defenders, has the kind of injury that is going to be a factor for the entire spring.

Tier 3: The Bubble

9. Minnesota Timberwolves (35-23)

Last ranking: 10
In the last week: W vs DAL, L vs PHI
Offensive rating: 116.7 (10th place)
Defensive rating: 112.6 (ninth place)

Post All-Star break: There are a lot of Timberwolves fans who feel like their team is disrespected. On one hand, Minnesota is the one team in the West that has made back-to-back conference finals appearances this decade. On the other hand, the Timberwolves can’t go two weeks without doing something silly. Rudy Gobert got himself suspended for flagrant fouls, and then the Timberwolves got themselves blown out at home on another Sunday, this time to a Philadelphia 76ers team that had spent the previous two weeks getting blown out. If this team winds up playing Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals on the road, they’ll have plenty of games to look back on in regret.

10. Toronto Raptors (34-23)

Last ranking: 11
In the last week: W at CHI, W at MIL
Offensive rating: 113.8 (16th place)
Defensive rating: 111.7 (fifth place)

Post All-Star break: Jakob Poeltl just played more than 20 minutes in a game for the first time in two months Sunday at Milwaukee, as part of a decisive victory without Scottie Barnes in the lineup. The Raptors need Poeltl’s role-player size to soak up minutes, and his ability to start helps Toronto’s second unit featuring Sandro Mamukelashvili and lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles get back to smashing foes like they were to begin the season.

11. Phoenix Suns (33-25)

Last ranking: 12
In the last week: L at SA, W vs ORL, L vs POR
Offensive rating: 113.4 (18th place)
Defensive rating: 112.5 (eighth place)

Post All-Star break: The injury bug is starting to really hit the desert. Devin Booker injured his hip and is questionable to play this upcoming week. But the injury that really hurts is to Dillon Brooks, who broke his non-shooting hand against the Magic. In the short term, Brooks’ injury robs the people of another confrontation with LeBron James. But in the long term, the Suns are missing a 30-minute, 20-point scorer who has arguably been the biggest driver of culture shift on the floor. The Suns were fortunate to survive a brick fest against the Magic thanks to a Jalen Green buzzer-beater in double overtime, but they had nothing left for a Trail Blazers team that will be among the three teams praying for Phoenix’s downfall in March.

12. Los Angeles Lakers (34-22)

Last ranking: 9
In the last week: W vs LAC, L vs BOS
Offensive rating: 116.0 (11th place)
Defensive rating: 116.7 (24th place)

Post All-Star break: I am dropping the Lakers out of the top 10 until they can re-establish some serious performances. I previewed the LeBron portion of the season by saying that a full-strength Lakers team does not guarantee that it is the best version of the Lakers. I previewed the post-All-Star break portion of the season by pumping the brakes on the Lakers getting fully healthy, since they’re the rare 60 percent win team that is getting outscored this deep into the season. And now the Lakers have played 12 games with all three of James, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves on the floor together, and Los Angeles has only won the minutes with that trio sharing the floor four times. You can increase the sample size, but the Lakers continue to be less than the sum of their parts.

13. Miami Heat (31-27)

Last ranking: 15
In the last week: W at ATL, W vs MEM
Offensive rating: 114.1 (15th place)
Defensive rating: 111.3 (fourth place)

Post All-Star break: Tyler Herro is back! And the 2022 Sixth Man of the Year might be getting his Payton Pritchard on, as Herro came off the Miami bench back-to-back nights as a part of Heat blowout wins. Obviously, Herro is a very good player and could easily start. But fit matters, and Norman Powell is the All-Star in a contract year while Herro has yet to play more than five straight games this season. We’ll have to see how long the arrangement lasts, but the four-man lineup of Powell, Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins and wing Pelle Larsson has outscored opponents by 78 points in 225 minutes this season.

14. Philadelphia 76ers (31-26)

Last ranking: 13
In the last week: L vs ATL, L at NO, W at MIN
Offensive rating: 114.8 (13th place)
Defensive rating: 114.4 (15th place)

Post All-Star break: The Sixers have played some disturbing basketball, which is par the course for this team in terms of alternating strong stretches of play with disappointing weeks. They badly needed a game like Sunday in Minnesota, Philadelphia’s first win by more than 20 points in more than six weeks. Joel Embiid hasn’t played the last five games, his longest injury absence since Thanksgiving.

15. Golden State Warriors (30-27)

Last ranking: 14
In the last week: L vs BOS, W vs DEN
Offensive rating: 114.4 (14th place)
Defensive rating: 112.6 (10th place)

Post All-Star break: Stephen Curry won’t be eligible for postseason awards as he deals with a right knee injury. Jimmy Butler III is out for the season. And new trade acquisition Kristaps Porziņģis lasted only one game before his illness became a factor in missing time again. Al Horford tied his career-high with six made 3s against the Nuggets on Sunday, so that was a much-needed boost to provide Golden State with an upset home win. But the Warriors are quite vulnerable.

16. Orlando Magic (30-26)

Last ranking: 17
In the last week: W at SAC, L at PHO, W at LAC
Offensive rating: 113.7 (17th place)
Defensive rating: 113.4 (13th place)

Post All-Star break: The Magic bounced back from a heartbreaking defeat at Phoenix with a resilient win at LA while short-handed and playing in a different time zone following a double-overtime loss. Not having a respectable amount of games (13) and minutes (148) for the trio of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs has kept the Magic from meeting expectations this season, but they’re just going to have to deal with it and find a way to be better with the team they have. Fortunately for them, Desmond Bane has shown up every night and has been outstanding in February.

17. Charlotte Hornets (27-31)

Last ranking: 16
In the last week: L vs HOU, L vs CLE, W at WAS
Offensive rating: 117.1 (seventh place)
Defensive rating: 115.1 (17th place)

Post All-Star break: Tough schedule for the undermanned Hornets coming out of All-Star break, and they lost clutch-time games to the Rockets and Cavaliers. The Hornets got back to their blowout ways with a visit to Washington, featuring 10 3s from LaMelo Ball and 10 more 3s from Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel. The dream of reaching .500 will have to wait until March, but their schedule lightens up as well. Perhaps Coby White can also make his Hornets debut soon while Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabaté return from suspension.

Tier 4: Not the Tier to Fear

18. LA Clippers (27-30)

Last ranking: 18
In the last week: W vs DEN, L at LAL, L vs ORL
Offensive rating: 115.3 (12th place)
Defensive rating: 115.7 (20th place)

Post All-Star break: The Clippers have played four straight games that have come down to the final possession. They split those coin-flip games, with officiating being a factor in losses at Los Angeles and against the Magic. It outlines how slim LA’s margin of error is, even with Kawhi Leonard playing at an extremely high level and Bennedict Mathurin showing that he can be a strong complementary scorer. The Clippers badly need the firepower and facilitation that Darius Garland theoretically brings. No team has made or attempted fewer 3s this month than the Clippers.

19. Portland Trail Blazers (28-30)

Last ranking: 19
In the last week: L vs DEN, W at PHO
Offensive rating: 112.9 (23rd place)
Defensive rating: 115.5 (18th place)

Post All-Star break: The Trail Blazers got a very angry Nuggets team in their building, and the result was being on the wrong end of 157 points. And then Portland reflected that ferociousness and held Phoenix to 77 points. Both of Portland’s games featured a rest advantage for the Trail Blazers, but they have their own logistics concerns going forward. Shaedon Sharpe has been out because of a calf injury, while Deni Avdija has started to have recurring back issues. The good news is that Scoot Henderson is going to get up to speed and is needed while Avdija and Sharpe nurse maladies.

20. Atlanta Hawks (28-31)

Last ranking: 21
In the last week: W at PHI, L vs MIA, W vs BRK
Offensive rating: 113.3 (20th place)
Defensive rating: 114.7 (16th place)

Post All-Star break: The Hawks brought 2024 No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher off the bench for the first time all season Sunday and only the third time in his career. It wasn’t great for Risacher, but the Hawks aren’t good enough to keep playing Risacher and Dyson Daniels together. In 848 minutes, Atlanta has been outscored by 75 points this season with Risacher and Daniels sharing the floor. CJ McCollum is something of a necessity, not a luxury, and it looks like Atlanta’s playoff push will come with Risacher as a reserve for the time being.

21. Milwaukee Bucks (24-31)

Last ranking: 20
In the last week: W at NO, L vs TOR
Offensive rating: 113.2 (21st place)
Defensive rating: 116.5 (23rd place)

Post All-Star break: The Bucks stretched their wins out to six in seven games after winning in New Orleans before reality reappeared against the Raptors for their worst loss in three weeks. Milwaukee has the same number of losses as the Hawks and Hornets, two teams against which the Bucks have a 4-1 record. It will be interesting to see how the minutes go if and when Giannis Antetokounmpo returns.

22. Memphis Grizzlies (21-34)

Last ranking: 22
In the last week: W vs UTA, L at MIA
Offensive rating: 113.1 (22nd place)
Defensive rating: 115.5 (19th place)

Post All-Star break: We have reached the Silver Zone, where teams have started to obviously pivot from putting their best teams on the floor. Both Ty Jerome and Scotty Pippen Jr. are back from their injuries, but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is done for the season after surgery on his shooting hand. The Grizzlies are rolling out starting lineups that have names such as Jahmai Mashack, Lawson Lovering and Olivier-Maxence Prosper.

23. Dallas Mavericks (20-36)

Last ranking: 24
In the last week: L at MIN, W at IND
Offensive rating: 110.3 (26th place)
Defensive rating: 113.6 (14th place)

Post All-Star break: Someone had to win the Rick Carlisle Bowl, and so the Mavericks’ losing streak ends at 10 games behind one of the strongest Khris Middleton games in a while. Cooper Flagg is nursing a foot injury, and while he is out, expect more touches for players such as Middleton, Max Christie, Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington.

24. Chicago Bulls (24-34)

Last ranking: 23
In the last week: L vs TOR, L vs DET, L vs NY
Offensive rating: 112.8 (24th place)
Defensive rating: 117.2 (25th place)

Post All-Star break: The Bulls competed in a loss to the Knicks on Sunday, but that’s nine straight defeats for Chicago. Jaden Ivey has been put on ice for a couple of weeks because of a left knee injury, so that takes one guard out of a crowded rotation that still has Josh Giddey, Tre Jones, Collin Sexton and Rob Dillingham. Guerschon Yabusele and Nick Richards will have to hold it down at center with Nikola Vučević traded and Zach Collins out for the season.

25. New Orleans Pelicans (16-42)

Last ranking: 28
In the last week: L vs MIL, W vs PHI
Offensive rating: 112.5 (25th place)
Defensive rating: 118.1 (27th place)

Post All-Star break: Jordan Poole has been freed! New Orleans decided to give top offseason trade acquisition Poole some rotation minutes after the All-Star break. Poole looked like himself while hitting five 3s against the 76ers, and he did not turn the ball over this week.

Tier 5: Basement Floor

26. Washington Wizards (16-40)

Last ranking: 29
In the last week: W vs IND, W vs IND, L vs CHA
Offensive rating: 109.6 (28th place)
Defensive rating: 120.0 (28th place)

Post All-Star break: Anytime a team in this tier wins a game, it appears to be against its own will. And that’s what the Washington miniseries against the Pacers looked like. The fact that two-way contract Sharife Cooper and 10-day contract Alondes Williams were arguably the standouts in wins against the Pacers conveys what this portion of this season has turned into.

27. Utah Jazz (18-39)

Last ranking: 27
In the last week: L at MEM
Offensive rating: 113.4 (19th place)
Defensive rating: 120.8 (30th place)

Post All-Star break: The Jazz were the only team to play once this week. It was conveniently a game in Memphis, where John Konchar was able to make a rare start in a return visit alongside four Jazz players who were drafted in 2024 or 2025. Even the Jazz bench had their three two-way contracts enter the game first.

28. Brooklyn Nets (15-41)

Last ranking: 26
In the last week: L at CLE, L at OKC, L at ATL
Offensive rating: 109.6 (27th place)
Defensive rating: 117.4 (26th place)

Post All-Star break: Michael Porter Jr. actually played all three games this week for the Nets. Brooklyn is fully healthy, so not playing certain players requires some creativity. It’s all about the rookies right now, as the Nets are playing four of their five first-round picks in the rotation. Ben Saraf is the exception.

29. Indiana Pacers (15-43)

Last ranking: 25
In the last week: L at WAS, L at WAS, L vs DAL
Offensive rating: 108.7 (30th place)
Defensive rating: 116.1 (21st place)

Post All-Star break: The Pacers came out of the All-Star break and have allowed an increasing amount of points in three straight games. Rookie combo guard Kam Jones is getting his opportunity to play now as Indiana tries to limit its ceiling of competitiveness. Kobe Brown has made 8 of 14 3s with the Pacers after making only 13 of 49 (26.5 percent).

30. Sacramento Kings (12-46)

Last ranking: 30
In the last week: L vs ORL, L at SA
Offensive rating: 109.4 (29th place)
Defensive rating: 120.1 (29th place)

Post All-Star break: The Kings are on pace for being their franchise’s worst team ever. Trade acquisition De’Andre Hunter (eye) joins Domantas Sabonis (knee) and Zach LaVine (hand) on season-ending injured reserve. The Kings’ losing streak has reached 16 games, and they have three more losses than the next-worst NBA team.