We’re about a month away from the 2024 NBA trade deadline (Feb. 8, 3 p.m. ET), and things are starting to heat up around the league.
The Minnesota Timberwolves remain at the top of a competitive Western Conference, but the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets are hot on their tails.
The Los Angeles Lakers have taken a tumble in our rankings after an in-season tournament spree, and the Golden State Warriors will look to find their rhythm with the anticipated return of Draymond Green.
As trade deadline rumblings start to get louder throughout the month, we’ll keep you up to date with what’s happening around the league. Can the Boston Celtics be dethroned? Will the Milwaukee Bucks fix their issues? And which teams will fulfill their New Year’s resolutions? Let’s take a look at this week’s Power Rankings.
Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (Kendra Andrews, Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin and Ohm Youngmisuk) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing the best basketball and which teams are looking most like title contenders.
Previous rankings: Post-Finals | Nov. 1 | Nov. 8 | Nov. 15 | Nov. 22 | Nov. 29 | Dec. 6 | Dec. 13 | Dec. 20 | Dec. 27 | Jan. 3 |
Jump to a team:
ATL | BOS | BKN | CHA | CHI | CLE
DAL | DEN | DET | GS | HOU | IND
LAC | LAL | MEM | MIA | MIL | MIN
NO | NY | OKC | ORL | PHI | PHX
POR | SAC | SA | TOR | UTAH | WAS
1. Boston Celtics
2023-24 record: 28-8
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Previous ranking: 1
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Next games: vs. MIN (Jan. 10), @ MIL (Jan. 11), vs. HOU (Jan. 13), @ TOR (Jan. 15)
Even after a couple of close losses to the Thunder and Pacers in the past two weeks, Boston still ranks second in the league in offense and defense and has a healthy lead in net rating at plus-10.4 points per 100 possessions. All the while, the Celtics have had a rotating cast of characters in and out of the lineup because of injuries. The next week sees Boston host its counterparts atop the West in the Timberwolves, as well as the return of former coach Ime Udoka with the Rockets on Saturday. — Bontemps
2. Denver Nuggets
2023-24 record: 26-12
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Previous ranking: 5
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Next games: @ UTAH (Jan. 10), vs. NO (Jan. 12), vs. IND (Jan. 14), @ PHI (Jan. 16)
When Nikola Jokic does something eye-popping, it’s typically some statistical feat that hasn’t been done since Wilt Chamberlain‘s playing days. On Sunday, Jokic took just three shots and scored only four points but had 16 assists and five blocks,…
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