NBA Power Rankings: Thunder, Knicks Stumble; Hornets Rise ...Middle East

Let’s get this out of the way immediately: the Oklahoma City Thunder are still the best team in the league.

However, it seems like other young, athletic teams — on the right night — have their number. Unfortunately for the Thunder, the second-best team in the West certainly applies to this rule. And it appears their quest for a 70-win season may be dead.

Here are our latest power rankings. I’ve changed things up a bit from Josh’s most recent rankings.

NBA Power Rankings: January 6, 2026

Starting 5

1. Oklahoma City Thunder (30-7)

2. San Antonio Spurs (25-10)

3. Detroit Pistons (27-9)

4. Houston Rockets (22-11)

5. Boston Celtics (23-12)

While the reigning champion Thunder, in a vacuum, remain the best team in the league, they’ve also looked shockingly mortal across the last month or so. Oklahoma City dropped all three of its encounters with the San Antonio Spurs in December, and finds itself on a rare two-game losing skid after a nailbiter 105-103 defeat to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday and a stunning 124-97 blowout loss against the… Charlotte Hornets on Monday.

The Hornets ended OKC’s 362-day win streak over Eastern Conference foes. And, shockingly, the Thunder have the same 6-5 record in their last 11 games as the… Washington Wizards.

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The Spurs are right in the thick of the hunt, though I have questions about Victor Wembanyama’s ability to stay healthy through (potentially) four playoff rounds. It is clear, however, that they have the Thunder’s number — which could prove valuable in a playoff series. San Antonio is loaded with ball-handling guards, but instead of a positional log-jam they have meshed together surprisingly well.

The Pistons have separated themselves from the pack in the Eastern Conference. Most recently, they blew the doors off the New York Knicks on Monday, 121-90, without their starting frontcourt of power forward Tobias Harris and likely All-Star center Jalen Duren.

Houston’s size and shooting have looked lethal of late. And this team is better than its record — with 37-year-old superstar forward Kevin Durant not getting any younger, the Rockets will likely need to offload injured point guard Fred VanVleet’s contract at the deadline for a win-now upgrade in the backcourt. Provided they do, they’re one of the best in the West.

The Boston Celtics are riding high on a four-game win streak. They boast the top point differential in the East. After they handled our Chicago Bulls on Monday, they leapfrogged New York to capture the No. 2 seed in the conference. The club has emerged as one of the best defensive squads in the league, and four-time All-Star wing Jaylen Brown is looking like an All-NBA First Teamer. Boston’s de facto best player, six-time All-Star forward Jayson Tatum, continues to seem poised for a late-season return. If he does, should we really bet against Boston in a weak East?

Dark Horses

6. Denver Nuggets (24-12)

7. Minnesota Timberwolves (23-13)

8. New York Knicks (23-13)

9. Los Angeles Lakers (22-11)

Denver survived the Philadelphia 76ers in overtime Monday while sitting everybody. That’s impressive, but fluky, and not necessarily indicative of the team’s depth. Injuries have slowly been catching up with a Nuggets club that has been through the playoff ringer a lot since 2019. Jamal Murray might make his first All-Star team this season, but has he actually taken a leap or just a bigger scoring burden in the wake of these absences? Denver clearly has a real shot to win it all if everyone can be healthy in time for the playoffs. But it feels like they could use a little creation help somewhere, and I don’t know if they have the horses to swing a big deal.

Minnesota and Los Angeles both feel a bit more desperate to make a trade. The Timberwolves obviously need to add more playmaking too, while the Lakers could use a big defensive wing — and maybe a long-term, rim-running solution at center.

The Knicks have looked weirdly overmatched during their current four-game losing streak. Worse than that, Jalen Brunson has regressed to the Tom Thibodeau offensive model a bit, trying to put it upon himself to score his way out of holes without involving his teammates enough. They have the talent to make the Eastern Conference Finals again, but do they trust each other enough?

Fringe Playoff and Play-In Contenders

10. Phoenix Suns (21-15)

11. Toronto Raptors (22-15)

12. Orlando Magic (20-16)

13. Philadelphia 76ers (18-14)

14. Miami Heat (20-16)

15. Cleveland Cavaliers (20-17)

16. Golden State Warriors (19-18)

17. Portland Trail Blazers (17-20)

18. Chicago Bulls (17-19)

19. Los Angeles Clippers (13-22)

20. Memphis Grizzlies (15-20)

The Suns have been sneaky-good of late, racking up a 7-3 record in their last 10 contests — including big wins against the Lakers and Thunder. Phoenix as currently comprised might be a tough playoff out, but it’s hard to see the club making much postseason noise. Still, the energy in the locker room seems to be a night-and-day change from a miserable, star-studded 2024-25 season. Maybe it’s best not to disrupt anything, and let the young guys develop before making any blockbuster deals?

Toronto and Portland have been rounding into form of late, leaning on their youth, athleticism and size to blitz the opposition. Chicago has been yawn-inducingly mid. The Clippers, meanwhile, are suddenly looking a lot better than their record. They’ve gone 7-3 across their last 10, including a six-game win streak. Kawhi Leonard is looking like Kawhi Leonard again, Brook Lopez is suddenly playable, and young pieces like Kobe Sanders and Jordan Miller might be legit rotation guys.

Frisky Lottery Teams?

21. Milwaukee Bucks (16-20)

22. Charlotte Hornets (13-23)

23. Atlanta Hawks (17-21)

24. Utah Jazz (12-23)

25. Dallas Mavericks (13-23)

The bottom of the East’s play-in tournament bracket is wide open as Chicago and Atlanta struggle with health and chemistry issues. The Bucks and the Hornets have a real shot at crashing the party. The Hornets have won two straight games and have gone 9-4 with their “Big Three” of LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel all available.

The Hawks have been in absolute freefall of late. The club was expecting that more growth out of All-Defensive Team guard Dyson Daniels and 2024 No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher, a healthy year from probable All-Star forward Jalen Johnson, and the offseason acquisitions of Kristaps Porzingis and Nickeil Alexander-Walker would help the club rise to a record worthy of homecourt advantage heading into this year’s playoffs.

Instead Atlanta has won just two of its last 10 contests, slipping to the East’s No. 10 seed with a middling 17-21 record on the year.

Former four-time All-Star Trae Young, meanwhile, has barely been healthy. When he has played, he’s been an elite distributor, but a streaky shooter and a horrific defender. In the 10 games he has played for the Hawks this year, the team has gone a paltry 2-8. Things have gotten so bad that Young, with a $49 million player option for 2026-27, is now negotiating a trade with Atlanta. Depending on the team’s return haul, a Young deal could actually help lift the Hawks.

Young is under contract for $46M and $49M.Next season is a player option. He is eligible to sign a 3 year extension if he were traded.The player option is removed with year 1 of the extension t.co/tO3DkOoqoX

Doomed Trash

26. Brooklyn Nets (11-22)

27. Washington Wizards (9-25)

28. New Orleans Pelicans (8-29)

29. Sacramento Kings (8-28)

30. Indiana Pacers (6-30)

Some might argue that Brooklyn belongs in the “Frisky Lottery Team” department. But beyond Michael Porter Jr., Cam Thomas and Nicolas Claxton, the Nets’ core pieces are so young it’s hard to trust them to string many wins together.

Sacramento is a terrible place for DeMar DeRozan to wrap up his career. Here’s hoping he can negotiate a buyout or get a trade to a pseudo-contender.

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