NBA Power Rankings: Thunder Buzz Building, Celtics Bounce Back to Take Top Spot
One of the perks of being 27–12 and the surprise story of the first half of the NBA season is that road trips—particularly ones through major markets—offer opportunities to lavish praise on the players who got you there. And so it was in Los Angeles, on the first of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s back-to-back games against the Lakers and Clippers, that Thunder coach Mark Daigneault spent the bulk of his 11-minute pregame media availability talking about the play of Chet Holmgren, the (sort of) first-year center who has emerged as an All-Star contender in his (kind of) first season.
First up, efficiency. Holmgren entered Monday night’s game against the Lakers averaging 17.9 points on an impressive 55.7% shooting, including 39.5% from three-point range.
“Yeah, he’s done a great job,” Daigneault said. “The whole team has. I think most of our players have been able to be pretty efficient and impactful inside of their games. And I think it’s a testament to how they play together, how they compete together. He’s certainly involved in that. He’s obviously got more distractions because of where he was drafted and sitting the year out than some of the other guys. And he’s done a great job of staying focused on the team and focused on being an efficient and impactful player.”
Holmgren is having an All-Star-caliber season with his efficiency and competitiveness.
Jim Rassol/USA TODAY Sports
Up next, expectations. Holmgren, who sat out all of last season with a foot injury, is an advanced rookie, having spent most of the last season dedicated to improving his strength and skills.
“I don’t really have any expectation for him,” Daigneault said. “I think his competitiveness and willing, he’s just, he’s a bottomless pit when it comes to learning the game. Those two things have been impressive, and I think have carried the day. He’s got a long way to go with technique and fundamentals, and he’s just seeing the pictures for the first time. So he’s just scraping the surface in some of those areas. Some of them are invisible, but he’s done a great job so far of just kind of learning from every experience, growing through the season and being the best player you can be on a given night and just stacking that up.
Finally, the competitiveness. Holmgren, Daigneault noted, is not afraid of failure. If he gets dunked on one play, he’s contesting the same shot on the next one. In the first quarter against the Lakers, Holmgren drew two early fouls defending Anthony Davis. When LeBron James drove at him in the second quarter, Holmgren met him at the rim to block his shot.
“When he was out last year, he was just crazy manic,” Daigneault said. “He’s just so used to hooping. He sleeps in sneakers and he’s done a great job now of channeling that inside the team. But he’s a high-level competitor. I mean, to be his frame and to do what he’s doing and to stick his nose, I love the plays he sticks his nose in. That’s my favorite thing about him.”
Despite Monday night’s loss to the Lakers, the buzz around Oklahoma City continues to build. They have a bona fide alpha (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), a sturdy defense and an efficient offense. If Holmgren continues to develop—and there’s no reason to believe he won’t—the Thunder will be well positioned to make some noise in the playoffs.
On to Sports Illustrated’s latest NBA power rankings.
1. Boston Celtics
The nationally televised pasting by Milwaukee last week was embarrassing—can’t recall seeing a time when TNT went away from a game like that—but the Celtics bookended that loss with a quality win over the Minnesota Timberwolves and a beatdown of the Houston Rockets in coach Ime Udoka’s return. The win over Houston improved Boston to 19–0 at home—a franchise record for home wins to start the season.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder
So, uh, maybe the Thunder don’t want to play the Lakers in the playoffs. Monday’s loss in L.A. was the second time in a month Oklahoma City has lost to James & Co. Still, the Thunder picked up quality wins over the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic, and put a 62-point pounding on the Portland Trail Blazers last week. That efficiency Daigneault was referencing with Holmgren is, in fact, a team-wide thing: Oklahoma City ranks top-three in the league in field goal percentage, free throw percentage and three-point percentage, the only team in the NBA in the top five in all three.
3. Denver Nuggets
If you wanted to know the answer to the question of what could two-time MVP Nikola Jokić do to surprise you, how about shooting 77.4%—77.4%—from the floor in January? The 64.7% Jokić connected on in last week’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans was his lowest percentage of the month. On Sunday, Jokić made 12 of 13 shots in a win over the Indiana Pacers. Just impressive efficiency.
4. Los Angeles Clippers
Shout-out to Russell Westbrook, who is having the most efficient season since his lone season with the Rockets and continues to evolve into a reliable option off the bench. Westbrook had a Westbrook-ian 12-point, 13-assist, eight-rebound effort in a loss to Minnesota on Monday, and Clippers coach Ty Lue has found success platooning Westbrook and James Harden. Meanwhile teammates have praised Westbrook’s positive attitude. This L.A. team continues to be the right fit.
5. Minnesota Timberwolves
Nice bounce-back week for ’Sota, picking up wins over the Magic and Clippers while nearly becoming the first team to upend Boston at home. Rudy Gobert, who continues to anchor the Timberwolves’ No. 1 defense, shook off early free-throw problems against the Clippers to make four clutch ones down the stretch. Minnesota’s offensive rating in January has ticked up, too.
6. Milwaukee Bucks
How big has Malik Beasley been for the Bucks? Beasley played 45 minutes in an overtime win over Sacramento on Sunday, racking up 23 points. He leads the NBA in three-point percentage (48.1%) and is connecting on 53.1% of his triples in January. Not bad for a guy on a one-year, $2.7 million deal.
7. New Orleans Pelicans
The Pels have some splashy offensive talent, but defense is where this team is getting it done. New Orleans is seventh in the NBA in defensive rating this season. The advanced stats are even better: The Pelicans are ranked in the top three in steals per game, top five in deflections and top three in isolation defensive points per possession. With a slew of long, versatile wing defenders, New Orleans has evolved into a stingy defensive unit.
8. Philadelphia 76ers
16—That’s the number of consecutive games Joel Embiid has scored at least 30 points and collected 10 rebounds, tying Embiid with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (who did it once) and trailing only Wilt Chamberlain (who did it a whole bunch of times). Embiid scored 41 in his return to the lineup against Houston on Monday and continues to be arguably the NBA’s most dominant two-way player.
9. Miami Heat
Is this the season Erik Spoelstra wins Coach of the Year? It’s worth asking in the aftermath of the Heat rewarding Spoelstra with a reported eight-year deal that could be worth as much as $120 million. Miami has been ravaged by injuries this season—just as Jimmy Butler returned to the Heat lineup, Jaime Jaquez Jr. went out—but keep finding ways to win. It’s a testament to the remarkable culture (yeah, there’s that word again) that Spoelstra has created.
10. Indiana Pacers
How bad do the Pacers miss Tyrese Haliburton? Indiana’s No. 1 ranked offense has fallen off a cliff since Haliburton went out with a hamstring injury, tumbling to 23rd in the last four games. The defense, leaky to begin with, was gouged in a blowout loss to Utah on Monday. Get well soon, Tyrese.
11. Dallas Mavericks
Who needs Luka Dončić? Kidding, of course, but Dallas has managed to stay afloat during Dončić’s absence, with Kyrie Irving (37.4 points per game over the last five) doing Kyrie things. The Tim Hardaway Jr. revival has been a welcome sight for the Mavericks: Hardaway is averaging 19.6 points and connecting on 41.5% of his threes in January.
12. New York Knicks
Monday’s home loss to Orlando was New York’s second in its last three, but the Knicks still have the NBA’s best defense since O.G. Anunoby came on board, and Jalen Brunson should return soon from a calf injury. With a home-heavy schedule the next few weeks—and one fairly light on contenders—the Knicks have a real chance to climb the standings before the All-Star break.
13. Phoenix Suns
The Suns are as predictable as a new cryptocurrency. Some days, like after a masterful performance against the Lakers, you want to go all in. Others, like in a blowout loss to the Clippers, you can’t wait to get out. Bradley Beal continues to improve—Beal is shooting 53% in January, including 44.1% from three—and Phoenix, which has played just two games since last Monday, is well rested heading into Tuesday’s home date against the Sacramento Kings, where we may finally answer the question: Does Grayson Allen really know Emma Stone?
14. Utah Jazz
Honestly—what is happening in Utah? The Jazz have been on fire since mid-December, climbing above .500 last week for the first time this season. They have had some scheduling luck—no Embiid in a win over Philly, no James against the Lakers, etc.—but this team looks for real. Will Hardy, fast becoming one of the NBA’s best coaches, made some nice adjustments (switching up the defenses, increasing the pace offensively), Lauri Markkanen is having another All-Star season and Collin Sexton continues to be one of the NBA’s biggest surprises. What does Danny Ainge do before the trade deadline?
15. Cleveland Cavaliers
It’s five games and it’s a soft schedule, but Cleveland’s defense has been terrific during this recent winning streak. The Cavs have an NBA-best defensive rating (101.6) and net rating (plus-18.5) during this stretch. Donovan Mitchell has been the offensive catalyst, bumping his three-point shooting to 38% this month. Cleveland is 10–3 without Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, with both expected to return sometime next month.
16. Sacramento Kings
Mike Brown gets points for creativity for bringing a laptop to show officiating inconsistencies at a postgame news conference last week, but the Kings’ defense is why Sacramento is 2–3 over its last five. The Kings, middle of the pack defensively for most of the season, have slipped to 23rd in January, with opponents shooting close to 50% against them in eight games this month.
17. Orlando Magic
The Franz Wagner–less Magic got a much-needed win in New York on Monday. We have not talked much about Jalen Suggs in this space, but the third-year guard—who gave off some bust-ish-like vibes last season—has been outstanding in this one, adding a reliable three-point shot (38.6%) to his game. Couple that with outstanding defense, and Suggs is a big reason the Magic are in the thick of the playoff race.
18. Chicago Bulls
Just a note here about the way (some) Chicago fans responded to a video honoring Jerry Krause, the former Bulls exec who was posthumously part of the team’s Ring of Honor celebration last week: The video of fans booing Krause, whose distraught widow, Thelma, was shown on-screen, was gross. More important, it was idiotic. Krause may have played a key role in dismantling the Bulls’ 1990s dynasty, but he was a huge reason there was one to begin with. He acquired Scottie Pippen in a draft-day trade, he drafted Horace Grant and he rolled the dice on Dennis Rodman. Put bluntly: The Bulls dynasty doesn’t happen without Jerry Krause.
19. Los Angeles Lakers
So how important is Rui Hachimura? Hachimura, who played a key role for the Lakers after coming over from Washington in the second half of last season, scored 29 points in his first two games back from injury, including 12 in a win over Oklahoma City on Monday. Coach Darvin Ham has argued the importance of L.A. getting back to full strength. Hachimura’s return, which comes in the middle of a critical home stretch, gets the Lakers closer to it.
20. Houston Rockets
Injuries to Dillon Brooks and Tari Eason have had a catastrophic impact on the Rockets’ defense, which has dipped into the bottom third of the NBA in efficiency in January. Brooks’s return couldn’t stop the Rockets from getting tattooed in Boston, and the Rockets were helpless against Embiid in a loss in Philadelphia. Houston is 4–8 since Christmas.
21. Memphis Grizzlies
Of course the Grizzlies respond to a string of season-plaguing injuries with four wins in the last six games. Second-year guard Vince Williams Jr. continues to make the most of extended minutes. Williams, 23, scored a season-high 24 points in Monday’s win over the Warriors and is averaging 13.3 points in January.
22. Toronto Raptors
The Raptors have lost four straight and five of the last six. Just trade Pascal Siakam already.
23. Golden State Warriors
Not even Draymond Green’s return on Monday could stop Golden State’s ugly skid, with the Warriors losing to a Ja Morant–less, Desmond Bane–less, Marcus Smart–less Grizzlies team that got 23 points off the bench from 19-year-old GG Jackson, the NBA’s youngest player. Said Green, “Until every guy takes pride in themselves, and wants to stop the guy in front of him, we’ll suck.”
24. Atlanta Hawks
There is a steady drumbeat of trade talks around Atlanta, which can’t play enough defense to string any kind of winning streak together. Dejounte Murray has drawn strong league-wide interest, rival executives say, but the Hawks, which traded three first-round picks for Murray in 2022, are believed to want a lot in exchange for him. Still, with this Atlanta team going nowhere expect a big roster shakeup before the trade deadline.
25. Brooklyn Nets
The Nets are 2–8 since Christmas and are nearly as bad offensively (17th) as they are defensively (21st). Ben Simmons is trending toward a return this month, but Brooklyn, which has looked largely lifeless since organizationally punting away a post-Christmas game against the Bucks, needs more to stay in the play-in mix.
26. Washington Wizards
Daniel Gafford has become a pretty solid player. Gafford is durable (36 games played), putting up strong numbers (10.4 points, 7.6 rebounds in 26 minutes per game) and is one of the NBA’s best shot-blockers. The Wizards may want to build around Gafford, who is owed just $28 million over the next two seasons. If not, a lot of teams could use a player with his skill set.
27. San Antonio Spurs
Is Victor Wembanyama a center? The Spurs resisted starting Wembanyama in the middle to start the season, but he has thrived in the role of late. In 15 games starting at center, Wembanyama’s scoring (20.5 points), rebounding (11.1) and shooting percentages (49.6/32.9) are up from his time at power forward. San Antonio has to worry about the physical toll of the stringy Wembanyama playing five, but it’s clearly a strong fit.
28. Charlotte Hornets
LaMelo Ball is back. The Hornets are still losing. It has to be killing Steve Clifford to coach a team with the NBA’s second-worst defensive rating.
29. Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers are 1–7 in the last eight games, and now Shaedon Sharpe will miss at least the next two weeks with a lower abdominal strain. An ugly season in Portland—which owns the Western Conference’s worst point differential (minus-9.8)—continues.
30. Detroit Pistons
The Pistons halted the latest losing streak at seven games with a win over Washington on Monday. Jalen Duren, Detroit’s 20-year-old big man, has been one of the Pistons’ few bright spots, with the kind of per-36 numbers (17.2 points, 14 rebounds) that make the case for more minutes.
