CBS Sports design

Pretty much all season long, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been the top team in the league -- that is, if you consider net rating to be the ultimate judge. Even when the Cleveland Cavaliers had a better record, the numbers consistently said that the Thunder outscored opponents by more points per 100 possessions than any other team in the league.

Finally, as of Thursday morning, the record matches the analytics, as OKC takes over the No. 1 spot in this week's NBA Power Rankings after eclipsing the Cavs for the league's best mark at 57-12. That's due to a rare three-game losing streak by Cleveland, while the Thunder keep powering along despite the absence of key players virtually every night. It really is a well-oiled machine Mark Daigneault is running out there.

Speaking of machines, the Houston Rockets are surging toward the top of the rankings thanks to an eight-game winning streak that has them all the way back in the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference. Another deep team in the mold of the Thunder, the Rockets survived without Fred VanVleet for a month and now have been making do without Amen Thompson, thanks in large part to Tari Eason, who's been excellent as a fill-in starter.

While the Thunder and Rockets are thriving without their stars, the New York Knicks are counting the days until Jalen Brunson returns from his ankle injury. He's expected to be out at least through March, and the Knicks have gone 3-3 without him so far, including a bad loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. It's no secret that the Knicks rely heavily on Bruson and the rest of their starters, so it will be interesting to see how they fare over the next couple of weeks.

As the postseason inches closer and closer, here are this week's NBA Power Rankings.

Biggest Movers
3 Rockets
2 Knicks
Rk
Teams
  
Chg
Rcrd
1 Thunder The Thunder are so deep and so disciplined, it doesn't even seem to matter when one or more of their top players misses a game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sits out? Here comes Isaiah Joe with 21 points. No Jalen Williams? Don't worry, Aaron Wiggins is ready with a 26-point game. Isaiah Hartenstein needs a day off? How about Jaylin Williams coming through with a 19-17-11 triple-double? The Thunder have won four straight and nine of 10, and now have the best record in the NBA. A well earned move back to the No. 1 spot of the Power Rankings. 1 57-12
2 Cavaliers Well, if you're going to rack up all those winning streaks, you're bound to lose a few in a row at some point. This is just the second three-game losing streak of the season for the Cavs, but if you have to pick a reason for concern it's got to be the defense, which has allowed almost 124 points per 100 possessions during the skid. 1 56-13
3 Celtics Kristaps Porzingis is back in the fold after missing significant time with a mysterious illness. He certainly looks like he's fully recovered, averaging 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and two blocks on 62% shooting in two games since returning. -- 50-19
4 Rockets Shame on anyone who counted out the Rockets, who have now won eight straight games to forge their way back into the second seed out West. When Houston's clicking offensively, they're incredibly difficult to beat because they always bring it on the defensive end. During the eight-game streak, they're fifth in the NBA with 122 points per 100 possessions. 3 45-25
5 Grizzlies Owners of the No. 2 seed on Feb. 27, the Grizzlies now sit in fifth thanks to three losses in four games and the logjam in the West behind the Thunder. Memphis is 15-12 without Ja Morant this season, a far cry from the 20-5 record they posted without him in 2021-22 that was the subject of so much conversation. 1 43-27
6 Nuggets One of the Nuggets' worst losses of the year (to the Wizards ... again) was followed up by a galvanizing win at Golden State without the services of Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray and Christian Braun. They didn't fare quite as well on Wednesday with Jokić and Murray out again, but not for lack of effort from Aaron Gordon, who's averaged 32 points and 8.5 rebounds in the two games without their stars. -- 44-26
7 Knicks It's one thing to lose a game or two without your superstar point guard, but it's quite another to allow 34 points in 19 minutes to Sandro Mamukelashvili in a blowout loss to the Spurs without Wemby or De'Aaron Fox. Whew. The Knicks have now scored 105 points or fewer in three of the six games since Jalen Brunson's ankle injury. 2 43-26
8 Lakers Three wins in a row have proven that the Lakers are capable of getting the job done without LeBron James, particularly when Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves combine to average 55 points and 17 assists per game. The Lakers are keeping pace in the top half of the West with James on the shelf, which is all they can hope for. -- 43-25
9 Warriors Golden State followed one of its worst losses of the season -- a sound defeat by the Nuggets without Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray -- with a gritty victory over the Bucks while Steph Curry watched from the sideline. The loss to Denver probably put the No. 3 seed out of reach, but they're right in the mix for No. 4 as the good vibes continue in the Bay. 1 40-29
10 Timberwolves Sure the Wolves have lost consecutive games to the Pacers and Pelicans, but they're still playing well overall having won eight of their last 10. The pairing of Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle has been incredibly effective of late, with a net rating of plus-19 in 89 minutes over the last six games. 1 40-31
11 Clippers The white-hot Clippers have won four straight and seven of their last eight, putting up an impressive 123 points per 100 possessions over that span. For the season, the Clippers have posted a plus-11 net rating with Kawhi Leonard and James Harden on the floor. 2 39-30
12 Pistons Losing to the Wizards is not ideal when you're chasing a top-four seed (it's not ideal anytime, really), but Cade Cunningham helped get the ball rolling again with a game-winner to beat Miami on Wednesday. Detroit has a plus-10 net rating over the last 10 games despite going just 6-4. 1 39-31
13 Bucks Doc Rivers reportedly held an "open forum" for Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo to share their thoughts on how to pull out of a rut that's seen Milwaukee lose five of its last seven games. During those five losses, the offense has put up just 107 points per 100 possessions, compared to the Bucks' season average of 114. 1 38-30
14 Pacers Indiana continues to cling to the No. 4 seed, and recently they've had to do it without Tyrese Haliburton, who's missed five of the last eight games. Obi Toppin had an overtime period for the ages to help pick up a huge win in Minnesota, going 4 for 4 from 3-point range in the frame en route to a season-high 34 points. -- 39-29
15 Kings Two huge wins for the Kings, taking down the Grizzlies and Cavs in consecutive games to maintain their distance over the Suns for the No. 9 spot. Wednesday's win over the Cavs came without Domantas Sabonis, who injured his ankle in just his second game back from a hamstring issue. -- 35-33
16 Suns Two straight badly needed wins have the Suns clinging to the final Play-In spot in the West, as Devin Booker has averaged 26.5 points, 7.5 assists and five rebounds over his last eight games on 38% 3-point shooting. 3 33-37
17 Mavericks The Mavs want to tank, understandably, but Anthony Davis wants to play ... understandably. Therein lies the crossroads for a team whose fortunes have basically fallen down a bottomless pit since making the Finals a year ago. No matter whether we see Davis again or not before the end of the season, there probably won't be many wins along the way. 1 33-37
18 Magic The Magic picked up a big road win to end Cleveland's streak, but overall they're still mired in mediocrity. Paolo Banchero has been hot lately, averaging 31 points, eight rebounds and five assists over his last 10 games on 51/4082 splits. Unfortunately Orlando has gone 3-7 in those games. -- 32-38
19 Hawks Dyson Daniels (aka the Great Barrier Thief) now has 194 steals on the season, and the next-highest competitor has 117. That's the same gap as between No. 2 and No. 173! This is not a joke. The last player to register at least 200 steals in a season was Chris Paul in 2009. 2 33-36
20 Trail Blazers So you're telling me there's a chance! With three straight wins, the Blazers are now two games out of the final Play-In spot -- certainly attainable given the volatility of the Mavericks and Suns ahead of them. Anfernee Simons and Deni Avdija have each averaged over 21 points during the streak. 1 31-39
21 Bulls The Bulls had occupied the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference for every single day of 2025 ... until Monday, that is, when they passed the Heat to reach the uncharted territory of the ninth spot. Who knows if it will last, but that would mean hosting the 9/10 game, which is at least some kind of accomplishment ... right? 1 29-40
22 Heat Falling over 10 games below .500 just makes your record look so ugly, aesthetically. It's also been ugly on the court, where Miami has been outscored by 12 points per 100 possessions during their nine-game losing streak. Fortunately it's going to take a miracle winning streak from the Raptors, Nets or 76ers for the Heat to fall out of the Play-In. Don't hold your breath. 2 29-40
23 Spurs The Spurs haven't had a lot of positive stories since Victor Wembanyama went down for the year, but apparently Sandro Mamukelashvili is ready for his close-up. The fourth-year big man better known as Mamu destroyed the Knicks on Wednesday to the tune of 34 points and nine rebounds in just 19(!) minutes. This man went 13 for 14 from the field, 7 from 7 from 3-point range and set an NBA record for the most points scored in fewer than 20 minutes. Take a bow. -- 29-39
24 Raptors Toronto's run of six wins in seven games was followed up with consecutive losses, the most recent by 40(!) points to the Suns. Darko Rajakovic has been spreading the wealth in terms of playing time, with players like Orlando Robinson, Colin Castleton and A.J. Lawson getting a runway to showcase their talents. -- 24-45
25 76ers Once upon a time the New York Knicks were reluctant to part ways with Quentin Grimes in any potential blockbuster deals, and now you see why. Since March 1, the fourth-year wing has averaged 28.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists on 41% 3-point shooting. We'll see what it looks like when the games actually mean something, but the Sixers are in no position to be underselling positive developments. -- 23-46
26 Nets The Nets may not have traded Cam Johnson before the deadline, but they could certainly revisit offers during the offseason. The sharpshooting forward is averaging 20 points, six rebounds and five assists over his last seven games on highly efficient 50/41/81 shooting splits. -- 23-46
27 Pelicans Just when you think the season can't get any worse, Trey Murphy III goes down for the year with a torn labrum. That wraps up a breakout season from the fourth-year forward in which he averaged 21 points, five rebounds and 3.5 assists on 36% 3-point shooting, often times operating as the No. 1 offensive option. -- 19-51
28 Hornets The end of an era. As of Thursday morning, LaMelo Ball no longer leads the NBA in field goal attempts per game, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has edged him out by the slimmest of margins. With likely limited opportunities left before the end of the season, Ball needs to make sure to get 'em up in order to regain the lead. -- 18-51
29 Jazz The Jazz got busted for their tanking practices, and have since started playing their regulars a bit more. It hasn't made much of a difference, though they did put some distance between themselves and the league-worst Wizards by beating them in the Capture the Flagg Showdown on Wednesday. -- 16-54
30 Wizards How about No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr? He put up a career-best 34 points in Saturday's shocking win in Denver (thanks, Jordan Poole) and has averaged 24 points, six rebounds and two blocks over his last four games. -- 15-53