NBA Power Rankings: Post-Trade Deadline

There were many movers at the trade deadline, so assessing the NBA’s team rankings is no easy task. However, we can combine the unknown with trends that have been occurring in the league lately to provide rankings on who is currently in their best form and who is, well, falling in the standings. In these rankings, we will separate all 30 teams into tiers as we determine their strengths and weaknesses.

Tier 6: The Tank Commanders

30. San Antonio Spurs

29. Houston Rockets

28. Charlotte Hornets

27. Detroit Pistons

These teams are all trying to get a high draft pick next year with a clear focus on the consensus top prospect, Victor Wembanyama. However, they all have some good pieces.

The Spurs got younger at the trade deadline, the Rockets’ Alperen Sengun already looks like a great player to build around, the Hornets have the best player out of these four teams in LaMelo Ball, while the Pistons have two guards who were top-five draft picks from the last couple of drafts.

However, the Spurs are the most obvious tankers of the bunch, as they hardly care about winning games this season. The Miles Bridges fiasco led the Hornets into an identity crisis, and injuries haven’t helped, so they have struggled greatly. The Pistons and, more significantly, the Rockets have suffered due to poor coaching decisions.

Still, it’s hard to criticize any of these teams since they are so young and still trying to figure out the direction they want to take.

Tier 5: Young Play-In Hopefuls

26. Indiana Pacers

25. Orlando Magic

24. Utah Jazz

23. OKC Thunder

These four teams all looked like guarantees to struggle going into the season. But, surprisingly, they all got better and have a strong idea of where their team is headed in the next few years. They also all have multiple guys who have already proven that they are very good players and contribute to winning, as well as future stars.

The Jazz (post-trade deadline), Thunder, and Magic are fielding almost an entire team of under-25 players, while the Pacers’ mix of young players and vets have meshed together pretty well, even though the injury to Tyrese Haliburton severely hurt them. OKC gets the nod out of the foursome since they have the best coach in Mark Daigneault and the best star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Tier 4: Must-Make Playoffs

This tier features a mix of disappointing playoff hopefuls, teams that can turn it around after making key trades, and teams who need to work hard to get to the sixth seed to avoid the play-in.

22. Portland Trailblazers

21. Toronto Raptors

20. Washington Wizards

19. Chicago Bulls

18. Brooklyn Nets

17. LA Lakers

16. Atlanta Hawks

15. Minnesota Timberwolves

This is a tricky tier because all of these teams were looked at as playoff teams to some degree entering the season. Sure, you could argue that a few of them weren’t like the Wizards and Lakers, but both teams are now in the play-in discussion for different reasons.

The Wiz have won seven of their last 10, and the Lakers, who would’ve been last in this tier pre-deadline, made some moves that make them look like a play-in lock.

Many might say that the Nets should be here for posterity’s sake, but the truth is that they still have a team full of solid players, and they can definitely pull together enough wins to stay in the playoff picture.

The five remaining teams (Blazers, Raptors, Bulls, Hawks, T-Wolves) have all been disappointing, but they all have the star power to go on a crucial late-season win streak, even if none of them seem like legitimate threats to make it to the second round of the playoffs.

Tier 3: The Upstarts

14. New Orleans Pelicans

13. New York Knicks

12. Sacramento Kings

This is a smaller tier of teams that have separated themselves from those in the above tier. The Pelicans have struggled in the last month or so due to injuries, but they could be truly dangerous once Zion Williamson returns, and we saw that early this season.

The Knicks are much improved on both ends of the floor this year with the addition of Jalen Brunson and the improved play of Julius Randle. The Kings are this year’s biggest surprise team, and the duo of Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox have brought the team to another level. Still, these three teams lack the experience that the teams above do, so how well they will do in the playoffs is unknown.

Tier 2: Second Round is Certain

11. Memphis Grizzlies

10. Cleveland Cavaliers

9. Golden State Warriors

8. LA Clippers

7. Dallas Mavericks

6. Miami Heat

Since the Memphis Grizzlies are second in the West and the Cavs fourth in the East, it feels a little unfair to put them this low, but the Warriors and Clippers have struggled with health and consistency, and both teams will look scary heading into the playoffs (plus the Grizz have struggled as of late).

The Mavericks are the best out of this group because they were already playing well before the deadline, and they look scary offensively with the addition of Kyrie Irving.

The Heat top this group based on established postseason success and one of the best defenses in the league. Honestly, this whole tier is pretty much a toss-up, and you could argue for a different order, but I think any of these teams have an outsider’s chance at winning the championship, even if there have been certain factors that have prevented them from having their best-case-scenario season.

Tier 1: Championship Contenders

5. Denver Nuggets

4. Phoenix Suns

3. Philadelphia 76ers

2. Boston Celtics

1. Milwaukee Bucks

These are the five scariest teams in the league for a reason. All of these teams have multiple stars and lethal starting lineups. The Nuggets have the league’s MVP and the perfect complimentary pieces around him.

We haven’t seen the current version of the Suns on the court yet, but they’re 7-3 in their last 10, and none of those have featured Durant, so the sky is the limit when healthy.

The Celtics, 76ers, and Bucks are all so good that any of them could be in the running for the one seed based on how they’ve played this season.

The Bucks are the top dogs because of their current 10-game win streak that coincided with the return of Khris Middleton, and last year’s Eastern Conference champions, the Celtics, have fallen to second. The Sixers, who have had a sensational season, are third simply because of the lack of postseason success the other two have had.

And there you have it; the post-deadline power rankings are complete.

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