It's an NBA Power Rankings Tuesday!
The Committee (of One), founded way back in the 2002-03 season, has assessed and sorted the league's 1-to-30 landscape for the third time this season
The Oklahoma City Thunder have conclusively established themselves as one of the top five teams in today’s NBA.
The second-youngest team in the league (only San Antonio was younger than OKC on Opening Night) is right there with the East-leading Boston Celtics, in fact, on this maiden Power Rankings Tuesday of 2024.
Oklahoma City’s recent wins over Denver (two in Denver) and Minnesota (by 23 points at home) vaulted the Thunder into our top two ahead of the Timberwolves and Nuggets as well as Eastern Conference powers Philadelphia and Milwaukee. The Celtics narrowly retained the top spot, but there’s a very solid top seven heading up our list now thanks to the 11-2 December emergence of the LA Clippers.
As laid out in our previous edition of the rankings on Nov. 28 and established back in our maiden season on this platform in 2021-22, our rhythm here calls for publishing rankings on a monthly basis. These are broader, periodic looks at the league as opposed to our old weekly pulse takes at ESPN.
Yet the overall mission remains unchanged: Establish an order separate from the standings that measures big-picture potential and expectations alongside short-term results. Injuries and other off-court developments, positive and negative, are factored in as well — with a dash of Committee whim mixed in.
The goal is to publish an updated 1-to-30 ladder around the same time each month throughout the regular season.
We ask, as always, that you register your questions, quibbles or any other pertinent thoughts in the comments section below so we can respond and expound upon our thinking.
PS — Rankings posts, remember, are incredibly long. So click on the headline to get the web or app version instantly if it proves too unwieldy to consume as an email.
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1️⃣ Boston Celtics
Has anyone trademarked Best Top Six In The NBA yet? The Celtics continue to endure the occasional crunch-time meltdown, but it's hard to quibble when they're so dominant in so many other areas. Boston sports a top-three offense and defense — no other team can make that claim — as well as that unblemished 16-0 record at home to complement its unrivaled 15-4 mark against teams at .500-or-better. If Kristaps Porziņģis is healthy in the playoffs ...
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 1
2️⃣ Oklahoma City Thunder
Chet Holmgren has a huge advantage over Victor Wembanyama in the Rookie of the Year race because the Thunder have so much more of a fully formed team around him. Not that anyone should expect any apologies from Holmgren after injury cost him his entire originally scheduled rookie season in 2022-23. How well-rounded are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co.? The Thunder entered Tuesday's play ranked sixth in the league in offensive rating and second in defensive rating. They also have those two victories in Denver and that rout of Minnesota on their resume as part of a recent 11-3 surge since back-to-back losses to the Sixers and Wolves.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 5
3️⃣ Minnesota Timberwolves
The Committee is already ready to proclaim this to be the second-best team that the Timberwolves have ever fielded … behind only the 2003-04 Wolves that amazingly still rank as the only team in Wolves history to get past Round 1 in the playoffs. Even though we're not quite halfway through the season just yet, this Minnesota squad makes you think that way with its gaudy 14-1 home record, its top-ranked team defense and a glittering 15-6 record against .500-or-better teams. The Wolves have held the top spot in the West for 46 consecutive days.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 3
4️⃣ Denver Nuggets
Have you noticed that the defending champions have very quietly joined the short list of teams (along with Boston, Philadelphia, Oklahoma City and the LA Clippers) that rank in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency? The Nuggets, leaving behind the calendar year that finally saw them celebrate a championship for the first time in 47 NBA seasons, are ranked seventh in both categories and — let's face it — still the favorites to come out of the West because they're proven in the postseason (unlike high-flying Oklahoma City and Minnesota).
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 4
5️⃣ Philadelphia 76ers
The ankle sprain that sidelined Joel Embiid for Philadelphia's final four games of 2023 brought a muted end to the calendar year for the previously rampaging Sixers, but Embiid is due back this week and still boasts more points scored (874) that minutes played (854) on his resume for the season. The last NBA player to do that for an entire season (minimum 1,000 points) was Wilt Chamberlain way back in 1961-62. Embiid, mind you, can only miss 10 of Philadelphia's remaining 50 games to remain eligible for a second straight MVP award.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 2
6️⃣ Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks went a tidy 11-2 in December and averaged 131.5 points per game, ranking second in league history for a full month behind only Denver in November 1988 (132.5) according to my fellow Substacker Justin Kubatko. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, learning more and more about their respective games, are increasingly clicking as a duo to counter the Bucks’ ongoing defensive concerns. Khris Middleton is starting to shake off the rust, too, while Antetokoumpo bids to become the first player in league history to average at least 30 points per game while shooting at least 60% from the floor. Not even Wilt Chamberlain, amazingly, has achieved that.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 7
7️⃣ LA Clippers
What a difference a month makes. The Clippers were so good in December — before a hip injury that finally sidelined Kawhi Leonard after he played in LA's first 27 games this season — that the James Harden trade on Halloween suddenly has the lock of a blockbuster that helped both teams. The Clippers, however, can’t dodge this reality even though they’re suddenly on a 50-win pace at 20-12 and sport both a top-10 offense and defense: Leonard's return to monster form, as much as Harden's floor game, was a key driver in fueling LA's recent nine-game winning streak. Keeping Kawhi on the floor is central to keeping the Clippers' momentum going.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 19
8️⃣ New York Knicks
The Knicks entered their first game after acquiring OG Anunoby with the league's 20th-ranked defense, which is a big reason why Anunoby's arrival surely thrills New York's defense-addicted coach Tom Thibodeau as much as anyone in Gotham. For all the talk about the next star that the Knicks will target in trades, furthermore, Jalen Brunson's star only grows. As the first Knick to be averaging at least 25 points and five assists per game since Richie Guerin way back in 1961-62, Brunson is widely regarded as a lock to make his All-Star breakthrough in February. (He’s also shooting a heady 43.1% from deep.)
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 11
9️⃣ Sacramento Kings
The first things we check when someone brings up the Kings is where they rank in offensive and defensive efficiency. Are they still well shy of last season's No. 1 ranking offensively? (Sacramento awoke on this Rankings Tuesday at No. 12 despite a better-than-ever De'Aaron Fox.) Are the Kings league average at the other end? (They're still in the bottom 10 at No. 21). We must note, though, that Domantas Sabonis had a monster December under the radar, amassing five triple-doubles and averaging 20.3 points, 13.1 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game while shooting 59.8% from the field.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 9
🔟 New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans are 8-4 this season with the floor-spacing Trey Murphy III in the lineup after Murphy’s September knee surgery and X-factor Larry Nance Jr. has likewise returned from a persistent rib injury. Closer to full health than we’ve seen this team in some time, New Orleans has responded very well to the 44-point pounding it absorbed from the Los Angeles Lakers in the In-Season Tournament semifinals by going 7-3 in the wake of that rout … including a 20-point home victory over the Lakers to close out 2023. Stay tuned, though. The Pelicans face the league’s toughest January schedule in terms of opponent winning percentage (according to NBA.com’s John Schuhmann). Let’s see how they cope.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 14
1️⃣1️⃣ Orlando Magic
Maybe we shouldn't be treating Orlando like such a surprise team anymore. We know, we know: The Magic entered this season having managed only one winning record and two trips to the playoffs since 2011-12. Yet they were 29-28 last season after a 5-20 start, so the truth is that the Jamahl Mosley-coached, Paolo Banchero-and-Franz Wagner-powered Magic have been a tough out for months now. Orlando also continues to field a top-five defense to drown out at some of the concerns about its 21st-ranked offense.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 8
1️⃣2️⃣ Miami Heat
The Heat have edged away from a frustrating offseason by displaying their usual on-court resilience, hovering in range of a top-four seed in the East despite needing 18 different starting lineups already thanks to a flurry of injuries. Jaime Jaquez Jr. has been one of the rookie revelations of the season — No. 18 last June might be a top-five pick if the draft was redone now — but the Heat had to be shaken (more than they would ever admit) to lose franchise fulcrum Jimmy Butler for four games to a calf injury ... and then lose Butler to a more worrisome foot injury in his first game back at Utah.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 10
1️⃣3️⃣ Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers are a plucky 6-3 without Donovan Mitchell in the lineup and have been generally sturdy in the face of losing both Darius Garland and Evan Mobley to (reasonably) long-term injuries. There is a clear delineation now between the East's top eight and its bottom seven and Cleveland has indeed seized a spot in the upper half despite its injuries and a defense that still ranks 11th in the league compared to last season’s No. 1. The question: Has management, which expected another 50-win season, adjusted those expectations because of the manpower issues?
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 13
1️⃣4️⃣ Indiana Pacers
We spent months decrying all the ways that the In-Season Tournament is actually not like the European soccer cups it is purportedly modeled after ... but then Tyrese Haliburton and his Pacers became national darlings by making a good old-fashioned Cup run in the inaugural IST. Indiana likewise seems to have worked its way out of an initial 2-6 IST hangover with four straight wins — including an impressive triumph Monday night on the road over their old friends from Milwaukee on the strength of a Haliburton near-triple-double. Leave it to our pal Kubatko to point out that Haliburton, who averaged 21.4 points and 14.0 assists per game in December, is the first NBA player to hit 14 assists per game for a month since Rajon Rondo in April 2012.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 18
1️⃣5️⃣ Dallas Mavericks
Not sure Dallas could ask Luka Dončić to do any more than he did in December: No. 77 averaged 37.5 points, 8.9 rebounds and 11.1 assists per game for the month. It's just the second 35/8/10 month in league history to join Oscar Robertson (December 1960) and it enabled the Mavericks to go 8-8 despite Kyrie Irving missing 12 games with a heel contusion and amid Mark Cuban’s stunning sale of a majority stake in the franchise. Adding to Luka’s load: Off-season signee Grant Williams and the recently extended Josh Green have been supplanted in the rotation by minimum-contract signees Dante Exum and Derrick Jones Jr.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 16
1️⃣6️⃣ Phoenix Suns
The Committee's preference in this space would be to focus on the Suns’ four-game winning streak since a Christmas Day pratfall at home against Dallas and how much we liked Devin Booker's Shattered Backboard-inspired sneaks that he wore Sunday night in a crucial home win over Orlando (since you’ve surely deduced by now that we also consider those Buffalo Braves-inspired sneaks). The problem: Phoenix isn’t doing consistently well enough (and still certainly isn’t healthy enough) for us to be so frivolous. The Suns have had Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal on the floor together for just 3 1/2 games so far. How long do we have to wait in 2024 to get a real read on this supposed Superteam trio?
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 6
1️⃣7️⃣ Houston Rockets
I was not convinced back in July and August that the Rockets, even after a slew of radical offseason changes, could improve this much under new coach Ime Udoka. Although their team defense has predictably slid some, from the heights of a top-three defensive rating leaguewide to a still rather impressive No. 6, Houston has become the defending champions' bogey team (Denver is 1-3 against the Rockets) and is also developing Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason quite nicely in support of new franchise focal point Alperen Şengün. (The question, mind you, persists: What does that all mean for Jalen Green?)
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 12
1️⃣8️⃣ Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers' two In-Season Tournament games in Las Vegas landed in the midst of a road-heavy stretch of schedule, resulting in a run that afforded them just three home games (out of 15) from Nov. 25 until Christmas. Scheduling challenges alone, though, can't fully explain the Lakers' own IST hangover. They're 3-8 since winning the inaugural event, struggling mightily yet again on the offensive end and, unlike Indiana, haven't shown signs lately of working themselves out of it ... even with LeBron James turning back the clock as the NBA's only 39-year-old. Maybe the most worrisome part of the Lakers’ slide to 17-17: Anthony Davis has missed only two games and LeBron has missed only three.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 15
1️⃣9️⃣ Golden State Warriors
The Michael Jordan-era Bulls won six titles in Jordan's final eight seasons in Chicago and the job had become so draining by Year 8 that Phil Jackson (as a certain docuseries explained so well) pre-emptively dubbed it The Last Dance. The Showtime Lakers were essentially a force for the entire 1980s but their dynastic run also inevitably dribbled out of steam. This is Year 10 of the Warriors' run if you start the clock with their first championship season (2014-15) and actually Year 12 for Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green as teammates. Don’t forget, furthermore, that as bumpy as last season was, Golden State fell just two wins shy of a trip to the conference finals. So if you're prone to ask if the Warriors' dynasty is finally over now, our inevitable response would be: Are dynasties ever supposed to last this long? (You still, of course, have to feel for Curry when he’s playing so well just two months and change shy of his 36th birthday.)
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 17
2️⃣0️⃣ Chicago Bulls
The Bulls are 10-5 since Zach LaVine was shelved with a foot injury and Coby White's most productive stretch in the NBA is a big reason why. White averaged 22.6 points, 6.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game in December while shooting 40.2% on 3-pointers ... and he's had The Committee hooked the whole time because we were working the Pelicans' Bally Sports New Orleans broadcast on Dec. 2 when White, to tip off the surge, drained a decisive eight 3s in a win over the visiting Pels. The fear for the Bulls, as we keep saying, is that their improved play without LaVine — they were 5-14 before he went to the sideline — doesn't make their job any easier when it comes to finding a trade partner for their $215 million swingman.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 26
2️⃣1️⃣ Utah Jazz
Moving Collin Sexton into the starting lineup has helped spark an unforeseen 8-3 surge for the Jazz. It also made the Jazz even more interesting before the trade deadline now that they've been winning again and with a slew of veterans (most notably Jordan Clarkson, Kelly Olynyk, John Collins) presumed to be available between now and the Feb. 8 buzzer. Will Utah be more or less inclined to trade some of those players? Has the trade bar for those players been raised? The key for the Jazz going forward might be keeping us away from their games; Utah is 0-2 this season with road losses of 32 (Lakers) and 50 points (Mavericks) when The Committee is in attendance.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 23
2️⃣2️⃣ Toronto Raptors
The Raptors will play 13 of their next 19 games on the road after acquiring RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley and beating Cleveland in their shared debut (after a humbling loss in Detroit with a depleted roster on the day of the trade). Quite a find from statistician extraordinaire Keerthika Uthayakumar as you track the two teams that just did trade business: Did you know that the Raptors and their pals from Gotham haven't both made the playoffs in the same season since 2000-01? Not helping this Toronto team's cause: Its 0-9 record against fellow Atlantic Division foes. No other team in the league in winless in its division.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 22
2️⃣3️⃣ Brooklyn Nets
The Nets have a glamorous European trip to look forward to soon thanks to a Jan. 11 date in Paris against Cleveland. The wait for Ben Simmons' return, however, continues indefinitely for the Nets, who have dipped below .500 at 15-18 and last had Simmons (back) in the lineup on Nov. 6. The other primary source of Brooklyn-related curiosity these days: Will a contender (or should we say which contender) aggressively pursue a trade for Dorian Finney-Smith or Royce O'Neale given how in-demand wings are leaguewide these days.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 21
2️⃣4️⃣ Atlanta Hawks
Fast-improving swingman Jalen Johnson is back and the Hawks naturally want to believe that his injury absence was the root cause of a 4-10 nosedive without him that has thrust Atlanta to the upper reaches of the league's Most Disappointing Teams list. Trae Young matched Luka Dončić with nine 30-point, 10-assist games in December — only Tiny Archibald, with 11 in November 1972 and 10 in December 1972, has ever had more in a single month according to Professor Kubatko. Yet those gaudy numbers can't mask the reality that the Hawks, even with Quin Snyder getting a full training camp with his new team, remain a bottom-five team defensively to frequently neutralize the impact of their fifth-ranked offense.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 20
2️⃣5️⃣ Memphis Grizzlies
The Committee's initial reaction, when Ja Morant first returned from his 25-game suspension, was to agree with the supposition that Memphis' 6-19 record while waiting for Morant’s return would prove too deep a hole for the Grizzlies to dig out of to make a playoff bid. Especially with Brandon Clarke (recovering from Achilles surgery) still likely sidelined until mid-February and Steven Adams (knee) lost for the season. Morant's Player of the Week award after just a few games back naturally forced a rethink, but the climb back still looks awfully steep. While the Grizz have certainly separated themselves quickly from the Hornets/Spurs/Wizards/Pistons zone, they'll still need a 31-19 finish just to get back to .500.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 28
2️⃣6️⃣ Portland Trail Blazers
Probably not the answer that Blazermaniacs will want to hear, but the truth is that The Committee will have a better feel for Portland's rebuild after the Blazers' two games in a row this week in Dallas on Wednesday and Friday. What we do know: Anfernee Simons appears to be getting gradually more comfortable with his step into the Damian Lillard void. And Scoot Henderson — if not yet a factor in the Rookie of the Year race — is starting to show flashes. The Pacific Northwest's demanding fans, most of all, seem to be accepting of the circumstances because the Blazers consistently play hard. (And we repeat: Dame’s Jan. 31 return is fast approaching.)
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 25
2️⃣7️⃣ San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs will forever remember 2023 as the year they won the NBA Draft Lottery for the third time in franchise history and the corresponding right to draft Victor Wembanyama. Yet they will also be forced to remember 2023 as the calendar year that they sustained an NBA-record-tying 12 losses by at least 30 points (matching Portland’s unwanted league record established in 2022 per Professor Kubatko). That includes a 134-101 shellacking inflicted by the Celtics in the Spurs’ final game before 2024 that also came with the reminder that they realistically should have gotten more from Boston in the Derrick White trade. The Committee, though, indeed remains prone to place this team a few spots higher than you might find them elsewhere because, no matter what, they do have Wemby.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 27
2️⃣8️⃣ Washington Wizards
The Wizards appeared to have a shot at their first winning streak of the season in their final game of 2023 … only to squander a 13-point cushion against visiting Atlanta. The aforementioned John Schuhmann of NBA.com informs us that Washington has won just 5 of the 13 games this season in which it has built a double-digit lead. Kyle Kuzma is averaging a team-best 23.1 points per game — nearly six points higher than Jordan Poole for those of you who bought into the training camp talk about Poole making a run at the scoring title — but the most significant basketball story in the nation’s capital these days concerns the Wizards’ polarizing plans to leave downtown and move to Northern Virginia.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 29
2️⃣9️⃣ Charlotte Hornets
Apologies if you've heard this speech from The Committee before, but the fact that we saw Mark Williams play once in college for Duke against our beloved Cal State Fullerton (and flourish) has made us Mark Williams fans who like to pretend that we were way ahead of the curve in projecting him as an impactful NBA player. In related news: Charlotte has lost 11 consecutive games and Williams has missed them all through injury. The Hornets have also been trying to cope without LaMelo Ball (out for the past 16 games) and, not surprisingly, have plummeted to No. 30 overall in defensive rating despite Coach Steve Clifford's devotion to that side of the ball. The Hornets’ 1-12 record in December was tied with Detroit’s for the league’s worst.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 24
3️⃣0️⃣ Detroit Pistons
The Committee wrote many, many words here after the Pistons lost 27 in a row. I'm not sure where calling them the Very Bad Boys originated, but we went with the Superbad Pistons in that piece before the recent home win over Toronto to finally bring a halt to the historic skid. However you want to describe the situation, what we can agree on is that the Pistons are still recovering — more than six months later — from the Victor Wembanyama-sized hangover that resulted from slipping all the way fifth in the draft lottery last May. And the Pistons, don't forget, need to manufacture seven more wins in their remaining 59 games to avoid further infamy.
Last ranking (Nov. 28): 30
Hi Marc, apologies for not asking about basketball (my inner fan is still just squeeing about everything Wembanyama does), but do you have any thoughts about the platform Substack is providing to other writers who are at least tied to hateful movements and ideas? I love your writing and the community you’re building here, but am having trouble with providing money and traffic to Substack. It’s not a simple situation, and I’d understand if you don’t have an answer/position/plan at this time, but hope you can address it at some point.