NBA Power Rankings: Week 17
Week 17 of the NBA Power Rankings,the trade deadline is over. It was one of if not the best trade deadline of all time. Star players moved, some teams stood pat, and some teams didn’t do dick.
1 - Oklahoma City Thunder
The rich get richer. Chet Holgren is back and the Thunder are getting stronger atop the Western Conference. They really just need to stay healthy and figure out their rotations and they should ease into the top spot in the west.
2 - Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers made a decent size move for De'Andre Hunter from the Hawks. He should just add to the Cavs already historic offense. The Cavs offense has been so good, that when they are leading at the end of the first quarter, they have lost just once all year.
3 - Boston Celtics
The Celtics should cruise to the 2nd seed in the East. They had a dud against the Mavericks, but came back with wins against the Cavs and Knicks. Those two teams are their biggest threat from making another run to the NBA Finals.
4 - Denver Nuggets
To be honest, I don’t love putting the Nuggets this high. Their defense is still not great, but they have won six straight. Russell Westbrook and Michael Porter Jr have missed some time recently, but you have the best player in the world.
5 - New York Knicks
Don’t the Knicks feel like a one and done playoff team? I think they can get past the first round, but they continue to struggle against top tier teams. They are 0-5 against the Thunder, Cavs, and Celtics.
6 - Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies are very similar to the Knicks, in regard to having a great season but don’t feel like a real contender. They are one of the teams with the worst record against the other top teams in the West. They are the 2nd seed, but are closer to the Clippers then the Thunder in the standings.
7 - Los Angeles Lakers
Well Lakers fans it is real. Luka made his debut last night against the lowly Jazz. He looked rusty after not playing since Christmas, but man you can see the potential of this team. The Lakers have also added a center in Alex Len in the buyout market. Oh and they have won 12 out of their last 14.
8 - Houston Rockets
The Rockets didn’t do anything at the trade deadline, then they lost 6 in a row and dropped to 5th in the West. They rebounded to get a win against the Raptors, but the Rockets have started to slip after their hot start. They have to play elite defense or the offense can’t keep up.
9 - Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves are fighting to get into the top 6 of the West. Currently that would land them a first round match up with the Nuggets. Naz Reid has stepped into the starting lineup when Julius Randle is injured, and the Wolves have been better for it. I am still not sure what to think of this team.
10 - Indiana Pacers
The Pacers were never going to keep that hot pace they were on when 2025 started. Indiana went 2-2 over their last 4, including getting beat by the Lakers without Lebron or Luka. The Pacers are a slow starting team, their offense can catch up but if they get into too big of a hole the defense just can’t make stops.
11 - Dallas Mavericks
Dallas fans, I am sorry. I really am. Anthony Davis is hurt already, he has played all of 31 minutes before going down for at least a month. This team just can’t stay healthy, P.J. Washington also left the AD debut game with an injury. But hey, Kyrie is an all-star replacement for AD.
12 - Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers made some marginal moves at the deadline to grab Bogdan Bogdanović to add some shooting to their backcourt. Similar to some of the other teams in this part of the rankings, the Clippers are great defensively, but I am not sure if they can score enough.
13 - Milwaukee Bucks
Giannis is out until the all-star break with a hamstring injury, Khris Middleton is in Washington and Kyle Kuzma is a Milwaukee Buck. Kuzma is coming into Wisconsin with the worst offensive year of his career. But a rest over the all-star break, and healthy Giannis I expect this team to take a leap forward.
14 - Detroit Pistons
Everyone had the Detroit Pistons as a top 6 team in the East the week leading up to the all-star break right? Well as I write this Detroit is a game over .500 and sit sixth in the East. While this is a great turnaround for a team that was awful last year, what does this say about the rest of the East?
15 - Golden State Warriors
Jimmy Butler is a Golden State Warrior and Andrew Wiggins is in Miami. This trade was super confusing, so I won’t be breaking it all down. Did Jimmy get himself to a better situation? The Warriors are 10th in the West with Kevin Durant and the Suns breathing down their neck.
P.S. I am only doing the top 15 teams, if you want me to talk about you; be better, it’s that simple.