It feels like it took forever for us to get here, but the NBA All-Star break is finally upon us.
With that being the case, now is a good time to take stock of where everyone is when it comes to the standings and just how well they’re playing.
The Bucks, Nuggets and Celtics feel like they’re in a class of their own. The 76ers aren’t far behind and the Phoenix Suns are almost certainly going to make a push once Kevin Durant gets healthy.
It’s an exciting time in the NBA where so many teams can legitimately win a championship this year. Who has the best shot? Find out in our latest power ranking.
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1
Bucks
The Bucks are the hottest team in the NBA by far right now after winning 12 straight, including a close win over a depleted Celtics team. They’re going to have a shot at the No. 1 seed in the East when it’s all said and done. Giannis Antetokounmpo is a legitimate MVP candidate, too. His wrist sprain is a major risk for Milwaukee and could take them down a notch, but they’re still playing the best basketball in the league right now.
2
Nuggets
Nikola Jokic has a pretty compelling case for his third straight MVP right now. The Nuggets are humming and he’s playing the best basketball of his career. Yes, seriously. The guy is legitimately averaging a triple-double and is as efficient as ever. This team has a real shot at winning a title.
3
Celtics
The Boston Celtics have been the best team in the league all season. Some of their competitors have started to catch up because of health — Marcus Smart has missed a ton of time recently plus Jaylen Brown has been in and out of the lineup. But when they’re healthy, it’s hard to see anyone actually beating this team.
4
76ers
Joel Embiid’s 76ers have been flying under the radar so far this season, but there’s absolutely no reason they can’t win the East. Embiid is one of the best two or three players on the planet. Harden is playing out of his mind right now. They’ve got shooting and elite shot creation. This team is scary and they’re only 3 games back of the No. 1 seed in the conference. Here they come.
5
Suns
The Suns just traded for what might be the best player in the NBA when healthy and they’re finally playing well again. Sorry, but they absolutely deserve to be this high.
6
Cavaliers
The Cavaliers are going to need to find some shooting when it’s all said and done. Kevin Love is gone, Dean Wade is injured and nobody else really plays that catch-and-shoot roll extremely well. But this team has two elite off-the-bounce shot creators and that could take them deep in the playoffs.
7
Grizzlies
The Grizzlies sorely miss Steven Adams. They’re 4-6 in their last 10 and have been thrown off their track a bit. By the power of Ja Morant, though, they’re still the 2 seed in the West.
8
Kings
The Kings have been incredibly impressive so far this year no matter what happens moving forward. We could see a bit of a dip once Kevin Durant returns to the Suns, but this is a playoff team. And that’s what matters more than anything else.
9
Clippers
There’s a great basketball team somewhere in there when it comes to the Clippers. Their 6-4 record over the last 10 games has come with a couple of close losses and could easily be 8-2. They need to get out of the “we need a point guard” business, though, and just go all out with their incredible wing depth.
10
Timberwolves
Anthony Edwards is making the leap this season and has become an All-Star. This team has managed to right itself and they’ve done it without Karl-Anthony Towns in the lineup. There will be an adjustment period once he gets back, but when he does that offense can be scary. Especially with Mike Conley Jr. at the helm now.
11
Knicks
This is the most fun Knicks basketball has been in quite some time. New York deserves to have a couple of All-Stars with both Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson playing out of their minds. If the Nets start to dip, watch out for the Knicks again as that plucky 5-seed.
12
Mavericks
Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic are an explosive pairing that has a ton of potential so long as nothing blows up off the court. They can’t defend, but these two will be hard to stop in a seven-game series.
13
Nets
The Nets will surely be lower here as the season goes by, but they’re still the 5th seed in the East today and Mikal Bridges looks fun. The vibes have been repaired and that can go a long way.
14
Heat
The Heat feel like a team that is just on the cusp of doing something great. Their 32-27 record isn’t indicative of how good they have been at times this year, but they just haven’t been able to stay healthy.
15
Raptors
The Raptors chose not to break up their team at the trade deadline. In fact, they chose to add with Jakob Poeltl. They’ve won two straight so far and look pretty awesome, so maybe the decision will pay off.
16
Thunder
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the best 10 or so players in the NBA this season. The Thunder have a crop of young, up-and-coming players from Jalen Williams (one of the best three rookies in the league) to Josh Giddey (maybe the best sophomore this season) and they also have Chet Holmgren on the way.
This year won’t be it in OKC, but next year will be scary.
17
Warriors
The Warriors are perfectly average so far this season and I’m not sure they can be any better. This is incredible.
Warriors will enter the All-Star break with a profile very representative of their play this season.
-Record: 29-29
-Points scored: 6,878
-Points against: 6,873
-Offensive ranking: 14th
-Defensive ranking: 15th
-Seed: 9th— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) February 15, 2023
This team just isn’t a championship contender right now. We don’t know when Steph Curry will return, but that probably isn’t changing when he does.
18
Pelicans
It feels unfair to judge this team without Zion Williamson considering the fact that they were at the top of the West just a month and a half ago. But they’re barely holding on to the No. 8 seed right now and Zion is going to be out a bit longer after re-aggravating his hamstring injury. It’s bleak in New Orleans.
19
Hawks
The Hawks have been hovering around .500 all year long. Trae Young and Dejounte Murray don’t seem like the greatest pairing and Nate McMillan doesn’t seem like the right fit to lead this team. They’re hoping for a post All-Star break run, but it’s hard to say they’ve got it in them when this team still can’t defend.
20
Wizards
The Wizards might be much better had they been able to stay healthy this season. This Delon Wright stat is incredible.
The Wizards are 18-10 this year when Delon Wright plays. That's a 52/53 win pace for a full 82 game season. He's been incredibly value to the Wizards #DCAboveAll
— Mavs/Magic Draft (@MavsDraft) February 15, 2023
They’ve been hot and cold for most of the season and are trying to get back on track. We’ll see how things roll.
21
Trail Blazers
The Trail Blazers are just directionless. It feels like Damian Lillard is dropping nearly 40 points per game nightly just for the Blazers to lose by four. Their 5-5 in their last 10 and are falling out of the playoff picture.
22
Jazz
Lauri Markkanen being an All-Star is the crown jewel of the Jazz’ season. They’ve stumbled upon a building block and are going from there. The Jazz are in the middle of a restructure and they’ll be bad this year. But moving forward, don’t expect them to be down for too long.
23
Lakers
The Lakers are the 13th seed in the West, but they’re hopeful things are looking up after the D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt trade. LeBron James just returned back to the lineup and the Lakers dominated the Pelicans. That’s a good sign of things to come. Maybe they’ll be a bit higher next time.
24
Bulls
It was shocking that the Bulls did absolutely nothing at the trade deadline. Here they are outside of the play-in tournament and losers of five straight games. This team is going nowhere.
25
Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are struggling, too. They’re one of the coldest teams in the league going 2-8 in their last 10 games. Missing Tyrese Haliburton for a while threw them off their playoff team track, but they’ll at least end the season with a solid lottery pick.
26
Magic
Are the Orlando Magic actually…good? OK. That’s certainly a stretch. But they’re playing .500 basketball since the turn of the calendar! They’re 11-11 with a net rating of -0.1 which is negligible. That’s a positive turn for a team that has seen so much negative over the last couple of seasons.
27
Hornets
The Hornets don’t feel like they’ve had much direction so far this season, but Lamelo Ball has been pretty incredible when he’s actually played. The problem is he’s been so in and out this season, it doesn’t really matter.
28
Pistons
You can’t help but feel that if the Pistons were actually healthy, they’d be a lot higher here. Having a good Cade Cunningham in year 2 may have worked wonders.
Still, though, there’s a lot to look forward to. Jaden Ivey has really found a solid, efficient stride over the last 10 games or so and Jalen Duren has turned in a 30-point, 20-rebound game. Those are good signs for the future.
29
Rockets
The Rockets are just kind of playing their way through the season still. They’re trying to stumble upon an identity and it’s actually starting to come together. Jalen Green still shoots entirely too much, but they team is playing off of Alperen Sengun and it’s been kind of fun to watch. They’re a sneaky good Scoot Henderson destination.
30
Spurs
The Spurs are currently on the longest losing streak in the league after dropping 14 straight games. If we did a reverse power ranking, they’d be at the top. And that’s exactly what the Spurs want.
