30. Washington Wizards (10-47)
Previous Week Ranking: 30th
The way the Wizards have been playing, it would not shock me if the fix was in to not let them get the #1 pick. They have been a true embarrassment, but it is clear at the trade deadline they made moves to bring in solid veterans that would be perfect to help guide Cooper Flagg in his NBA rookie year should they win the lottery.

29. Charlotte Hornets (14-42)
Previous Week Ranking: 27th
If the Wizards did not exist, the Hornets may get some more criticism. Charlotte seems to have avoided much of the criticism of the other bottom-dwellers and it is not clear why. Scoring 88 points in each of their last two games though is unfathomable in today’s NBA.

28. Utah Jazz (14-43)
Previous Week Ranking: 28th
Utah’s only professional big four sports team for years was the Jazz which is extremely unfortunate. Thankfully, the Utah Hockey Club has reinvigorated some sports excitement in the state. Next year when BYU has AJ Dybantsa, the Cougars might be a bigger draw than the Jazz.

27. Philadelphia 76ers (20-37)
Previous Week Ranking: 24th
If you want to debate that the Sixers are currently the worst team in the NBA right now, I would not argue with you. They are on an 8-game losing streak and the last time they won a game was 5 days BEFORE the Eagles won the Super Bowl! You read that right. Paul George is aging before our eyes and Joel Embiid is a shell of himself. To put a cherry on top, he continues to publicly discuss his knee injury and seems to be in direct opposition to the organization. At least they can preserve their 2025 first-round pick by tanking, right? What a joke.

26. New Orleans Pelicans (14-43)
Previous Week Ranking: 29th
It is clear that the Pelicans are not a good team this year, yet they have had arguably the hardest schedule recently. Nine of their last ten games have been against the Celtics, Nuggets, Kings, Thunder, and Mavericks. New Orleans has tried to stay competitive in these games and Big Z is a beast. They are just in a tough spot lately.

25. Toronto Raptors (18-39)
Previous Week Ranking: 26th
For a team that is one of the worst in the Eastern Conference, Toronto seems to potentially be on to something. The NBA is a copycat league and the most recent NBA Champions, the Boston Celtics, did it through an embarrassment of riches at the wing position. The Raptors have a plethora of young wings in Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Gradey Dick, and now Brandon Ingram.

24. Chicago Bulls (23-35)
Previous Week Ranking: 23rd
Trading away Zach LaVine was a necessary move for the Bulls. However, the result is taking away someone who accounts for a ton of the team’s offense. As this roster finds a new offensive identity, expect some turbulence. At least they got to beat up on the Sixers the other night.

23. Brooklyn Nets (21-36)
Previous Week Ranking: 25th
Last week the Nets were bumped up due to other teams playing very badly. Well don’t look now, but Brooklyn has now won 7 of their last 10 games and D-Lo seems to have injected some fun into this young roster. I do not expect much for this team, but they are creeping up to a potential League Pass watch.

22. San Antonio Spurs (24-31)
Previous Week Ranking: 22nd
How much can change in a week or two has never been more evident than in San Antonio. The headline news was the shutting down of superstar, Victor Wembanyama, for the season due to a blood clot issue. That is naturally extremely concerning for a young player, especially with his talent. It is impossible to not think of the early end to Chris Bosh’s NBA career. On top of that, Coach Pop is not expected to return to the bench this season either as he is still recovering from his stroke. Thoughts and prayers are up for the Spurs.

21. Miami Heat (26-30)
Previous Week Ranking: 19th
The departure of Jimmy Butler does not seem to have produced the expected results in Miami just yet. Clearly, Butler is a supreme talent, but it seemed inevitable that the locker room issues he caused were holding this team back. The Heat may need a few weeks to gain chemistry, although there is not much runway in the final stretch after the All-Star break.

20. Phoenix Suns (27-30)
Previous Week Ranking: 14th
If I had to pick one team that was the biggest disappointment this NBA season it would be the Phoenix Suns. It may seem like the Sixers should be an obvious pick, but Phoenix has had its’ stars (KD, Booker, and Beal) essentially healthy the entire year and is still a below .500 team. The vibes are clearly off in The Valley and there really does not seem to be a fix for a team that had Championship aspirations heading into the year.

19. Portland Trailblazers (25-33)
Previous Week Ranking: 20th
It may seem like an outrageous statement, yet Portland seems to have an actual shot at the Play-In. They currently sit in 13th, 4.5 games out of 10th, but the Suns, Spurs, and Kings are all going in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, there may not be enough games left for them to make a run. Still, they have impressed with the roster they have as the season dragged on.

18. Atlanta Hawks (27-31)
Previous Week Ranking: 18th
Trae Young continues to marvel and leads the league in assists with 11.5 per game, 1.1 more than Nikola Jokic, who gets talked about every single day. Young’s playmaking is next level and he is a showman when playing on the biggest stages. All we can hope for is a first-round matchup with the New York Knicks.

17. Orlando Magic (29-30)
Previous Week Ranking: 21st
Orlando might just be on the verge of turning back into the team we saw early in the season. Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero seem to have their mojo back and the Magic are now winners of 3 of their last 4 games. The one game they lost was to the Memphis Grizzlies, who are 3rd in the Western Conference, by just one point. Keep an eye on Orlando as the postseason approaches.

16. Sacramento Kings (29-28)
Previous Week Ranking: 17th
The Kings have had some viral highlight reels lately, which is a staple of Zach LaVine-led teams. The newly acquired guard has not been hesitant at all to get his shots up even with new teammates and is finding his rhythm again. The problem is even though Sacramento can be a fun watch, they are on the verge of sliding out of Play-In positioning. An early offseason is on the horizon in a stacked West.

15. LA Clippers (31-26)
Previous Week Ranking: 11th
As we get into the top half of the league, the competition heats up. The Clippers have looked good, generally speaking, since Kawhi’s return. However, they have now dropped three straight to Eastern Conference playoff teams, and questioning their toughness is more than fair.

14. Dallas Mavericks (31-27)
Previous Week Ranking: 16th
Kyrie Irving is a magician, and he of all people, has been the one to calm the storm in the craziness from the aftermath of the Luka Doncic trade. Anthony Davis should be back in a couple of weeks and this roster is still a top-tier competitive one at full health. The must-watch game of the week though is tonight as Luka and the Lakers will face the Mavericks in LA. Hammer every Luka over!

13. Golden State Warriors (30-27)
Previous Week Ranking: 15th
The Rankings is tempering the excitement surrounding the Bay Area. Golden State is 5-1 since acquiring Jimmy Butler and it is undeniable that Steph Curry and Draymond Curry look to be having more fun playing basketball. The Warriors are an intriguing team, hanging around the Play-In, but playing at this level will be key to seeing how high they can climb. If you watched Netflix’s Court of Gold, Curry in important games can be the greatest player on the floor.

12. Indiana Pacers (32-24)
Previous Week Ranking: 10th
Indiana sits tied for 4th in the Eastern Conference, and I believe that speaks more to the weakness of the Eastern Conference than the strength of this team. The Pacers have some quality wins and are much improved from earlier in the season. Would you take them in a playoff series against the rest of the teams atop the Eastern Conference though?

11. Houston Rockets (35-22)
Previous Week Ranking: 8th
Peaking too early seems to be the best way to describe this Rockets team. They have been among the league’s best record for most of the season. At the trade deadline, Houston stayed intact and was an outlier in the Western Conference, where many teams upgraded their rosters. A tough way to cap off the week is with a loss to the Utah Jazz, of all teams.

10. Detroit Pistons (32-26)
Previous Week Ranking: 13th
The Motor City is humming! The Pistons have won 7 straight games and are making everyone forget about the Lions’ dropping an egg in the NFL Playoffs. For real though, the turnaround Detroit has had in just one year is extremely rare. Cade Cunningham is quietly becoming one of the best guards in the East and has this team primed for a postseason run.

9. Milwaukee Bucks (32-24)
Previous Week Ranking: 12th
Another team streaking in the Eastern Conference is the Milwaukee Bucks. Winners of four straight, all single-digit wins, have proven this team has a toughness and grit to them that has been doubted at times. There are teams with better records in the East, but outside of Boston, is there a team you would pick to win a 7-game series against Dame and Giannis when it matters the most?

8. New York Knicks (37-20)
Previous Week Ranking: 4th
If this seems like a big drop for the Knicks this week, continue reading for why it is justified. Last week the Knicks lost at Cleveland by 37 points and then at Boston by 13 points. As a result of those losses, New York is now 0-7 versus the Celtics, Cavaliers, and Thunder. In addition, their two stars, Brunson and KAT are bottom five in their respective positions defensively. The cherry on top is under a defensive-minded coach, the Knicks are 29th out of 30 NBA teams against the top-10 teams in the league. There are some serious issues when the Knicks face good teams.

7. Memphis Grizzlies (37-20)
Previous Week Ranking: 5th
Memphis is showing similar concerns as the Knicks. Since the last Rankings, they have lost to all teams that are currently in a playoff position, besides the Orlando Magic. And to be fair they won that game with more than a bit of luck.

6. Minnesota Timberwolves (32-27)
Previous Week Ranking: 9th
Over the last couple of games, Anthony Edwards has been carrying Minnesota by himself. Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, and Donte DiVincenzo. In three of their last four games, the Timberwolves have played the league-leading, Oklahoma City Thunder, and they won two of those matchups. When it matters most, Edwards balls out and you can see the competitive juices flowing. Just last night he blocked a shot by SGA to win the game in overtime. This is exactly why when the postseason comes around, teams should fear Minnesota.

5. Los Angeles Lakers (34-21)
Previous Week Ranking: 6th
The Lakers do not have a big man. LeBron James is too old. Luka is still too fat. This team as constructed cannot win an NBA title. All of those statements might be true. But if you rolled out a basketball and LeBron and Luka were on the same team, is there anyone you would say they cannot beat? I am not saying to buy into the media hype or overreact. It is a simple question, is there a team that would not fear seeing those two on the other side of center court?

4. Denver Nuggets (38-20)
Previous Week Ranking: 7th
The top 5 teams in The Rankings have all won 8 or 9 of their last 10 games. It is packed at the top! Denver’s only loss came in a beatdown by the Lakers who had lost their last 9 games against the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic followed that loss up with a career-high 19-assist night in a strong win over the Pacers. The stars know this stretch run is short before the playoffs and we are seeing the best rise.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers (47-10)
Previous Week Ranking: 3rd
Cleveland has won 7-straight games by an average of 16 points per game. They have been re-establishing themselves in the best team conversation and have overtaken OKC for the best record again. Do you know who their last loss came to 8 games ago though? The Boston Celtics. Cleveland can continue to run up their win total, but they will not be favored anywhere against the reigning champs.

2. Boston Celtics (41-16)
Previous Week Ranking: 2nd
There are arguably seven players on this Boston roster that could go for 20 points on any given night. That is not an exaggeration. The Celtics are the deepest team in the league and have turned it on recently after a midseason lull where they appeared bored. Jayson Tatum’s name is conveniently being left out of the MVP discussion as if that man needed any more motivation this year.

1. Oklahoma City Thunder (46-11)
Previous Week Ranking: 1st
The Thunder have looked like a train all year just rolling teams. They are still that team, but their youth should cause some hesitation. Anthony Edwards exposed some weaknesses that previously went under the radar. Still, OKC leads the league in defensive rating, opponent’s points per game, opponent’s field goal percentage, opponent’s 3-point percentage, opponent’s turnovers, and opponent’s paint points per game. That is ELITE and undeniable! The Thunder reign supreme for yet another week.