NBA power rankings: Rockets, Magic, Hawks surge, and some emerging youngsters deserve to a highlightTim CatoMon, December 1, 2025 at 5:13 PM UTC·19 min readThis week’s NBA power rankings features the same team you’d expect on top. Beneath the Oklahoma City Thunder, though, there are changes and surprises from the past two weeks of this 2025-26 NBA season.
Note that the net ratings, offensive ratings, and defensive ratings you see below come from Cleaningtheglass.com, which excludes garbage time and will differ slightly from other sources.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement1. Oklahoma City Thunder (20-1)
Three stats: 17.0 net rating (1st), 121.0 offensive rating (4th), 104.0 defensive rating (1st)
Two-sentence summary: This team’s on pace to win 78 games and, in one random Tankathon spin I did just now, was just awarded the No. 7 overall pick in next year’s draft. It’s hard to find flaws in, well, just about anything that the Thunder are doing these days.
One-person spotlight: Jalen Williams made his season debut last Friday, scoring 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting, and he improved upon that on Sunday with 16 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the floor. Of his 30 shots thus far, only six of them have come outside of the paint. Ajay Mitchell held up admirably well as the team’s secondary ball handler in Williams’ absence, but there were occasional moments where the Thunder’s offense looked to be missing some thrust. Williams, in two games, has already offered up a reminder how he can provide it.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement2. Denver Nuggets (14-5)
Three stats: 9.8 net rating (3rd), 118.9 offensive rating (1st), 103.6 defensive rating (16th)
Two-sentence summary: Denver’s defense has slipped without an injured Aaron Gordon, which is to be expected when you realize, for the season, that the Nuggets have been allowing 16 more points per 100 possessions whenever he’s sat. All that lauded offseason depth now has its chance to shine without him and with Christian Braun still sidelined, but make no mistake: This team’s still built to be the Thunder’s primary contender, and it’s just a matter of getting there.
One-play spotlight: It’s criminal this didn’t go down as an assist.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement3. Houston Rockets (13-4)
Three stats: 12.9 net rating (2nd), 123.7 offensive rating (2nd), 110.8 defensive rating (2nd)
Two-sentence summary: Houston has been smashing teams, winning eight of the last nine, with an offense that has been defined by its extremes. With eight wins in their last nine games, Houston would have earned the nod behind Oklahoma City for how nonplussed they’ve responded to various injuries — except for the fact that their one loss was to Denver.
One-player spotlight: In Las Vegas this summer, despite dissecting half-court defenses and finding pull-up jumpers with ease, Reed Sheppard could not make shots. It almost made me panic; Sheppard was one of my favorite draft prospects from the 2024 class, but he needed to be a game-breaking shooter to smooth over his deficiencies. Despite shooting 52 percent from 3 during his lone season at Kentucky, Sheppard didn’t take as many as you might expect (4.4 per game). Had an overly cautious shot selection disguised the fact that his jump shot, pretty as they get, wasn’t as versatile as it seemed?
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNow Sheppard’s shooting 46.4 percent on pull-up 3s this season, taking nearly two per game, and I’ve stopped having those doubts. Sheppard’s great, and there’s plenty more room for him to grow this season.
4. Detroit Pistons (16-4)
Three stats: 6.9 net rating (5th), 118.3 offensive rating (9th), 111.5 defensive rating (4th)
Two-sentence summary: Detroit has proven it’s for real this season. This team’s question is quickly becoming one about whether they should go for it this season and spend what’s needed to make roster upgrades, or whether this team’s got enough room to keep improving on its own.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOne-person spotlight: Jalen Duren is fifth among centers in unassisted 2s. Some of that, certainly, is his offensive rebounding prowess combined with Detroit’s downhill attack. But Duren’s confidence in his Herculean muscles and his newfound shiftiness with a live dribble has turned him into someone who can score on his own. These two plays stood out to me:
For most big men, a bobbled ball or slight mishandle results in an automatic reset. Instead, Duren scores these and makes it look easy.
5. New York Knicks (13-6)
Three stats: 8.0 net rating (4th), 122.6 offensive rating (3rd), 114.6 defensive rating (14th)
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTwo-sentence summary: New York looks a whole lot like the Knicks we saw last season, albeit with a lot more Mitchell Robinson early in the season. There are still questions, but they’re right there with the Pistons as the East’s most notable foes.
6. Los Angeles Lakers (15-4)
Two-sentence summary: LeBron James has fit back into this team rather seamlessly. By the numbers, the Lakers are still running a touch hotter than we might expect, but James’ return should allow this team to bolster its impressive record with even better play.
One-person spotlight: Austin Reaves, who is still averaging 28.8 points and 6.8 this season, is also stopping fast breaks by himself in the final minute of a game that’s already been decided.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWho’s having more fun than him?
7. Toronto Raptors (14-7)
Three stats: 6.4 net rating (5th), 118.1 offensive rating (10th), 111.7 defensive rating (5th)
Two-sentence summary: Toronto has surprised everyone, and they must forgive me if I’m still slightly cautious to put them any higher just yet. But Brandon Ingram’s shotmaking, a balance starting five, and Sandro Mamukelashvili being the league’s best backup center have all combined in a lovely way this year.
8. Minnesota Timberwolves (12-8)
Three stats: 6.2 net rating (7th), 119.6 offensive rating (6th), 113.4 defensive rating (8th)
Two-sentence summary: Minnesota’s big picture questions remain: Do they still need a point guard? Where would they acquire one? Is the defense too reliant on Rudy Gobert? But they keep chugging along in the Western Conference tallying up wins along the way, which is what we’ve come to expect from them over the past two seasons.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOne-person spotlight: Gobert as a one-man defense, even at age 33, remains as real as ever. Without him on the court, the Timberwolves concede about 22 more points per 100 possessions. It’s the second-largest gap on that end in the league.
9. Orlando Magic (12-8)
Three stats: 3.7 net rating (12th), 117.7 offensive rating (12th), 114.0 defensive rating (10th)
Two-sentence summary: Orlando’s hit that seemingly yearly dilemma where the team thrives when Paolo Banchero misses time with an injury. But while there may be some truth to that, the better framing would be to highlight Jalen Suggs’ importance to this team.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOne-person spotlight: Anthony Black has always had the small stuff: connective passing; solo fast break generation; lockdown defensive highlights; those trendy deceleration layups we love from Gen Z. But it’s all coming together now; he’s averaging almost 16 over the past nine with some pull-up 3s that just ooze the confidence he feels. I’d welcome it.
10. San Antonio Spurs (13-6)
Three stats: 4.0 net rating (10th), 118.4 offensive rating (8th), 114.3 defensive rating (12th)
Two-sentence summary: We’re all waiting for Victor Wembanyama’s return, but the guards have provided fascinating sideshows in the meantime. Dylan Harper, specifically, looks ready to explode.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOne-person spotlight: Here are the players who shoot most in the restricted area (per 100 possessions, minimum 50 attempts):
Giannis Antetokounmpo (15.0)
Jalen Duren (12.2)
Domantas Sabonis (10.0)
Zion Williamson (9.4)
Isaiah Jackson (9.4)
Harper, if he qualified, would be third. He attempts 10.7 shots at the rim for every 100 possessions; he’s the only guard with this type of sheer rim insistence. (The guards nearest to him are Gary Payton II and the Thompson twins, who all often operate out of the dunker’s spot as pseudo-bigs.) We’ll see whether Harper can maintain these levels now that he’s just recently returned from his three-week injury absence. If he does, the rim would have a legal right to start charging rent.
11. Miami Heat (13-7)
Three stats: 5.8 net rating (8th), 117.0 offensive rating (13th), 111.2 defensive rating (3rd)
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTwo-sentence summary: Since Tyler Herro has returned, we’ve seen the occasional pick-and-roll mixed in his direction. While Miami’s strange-feeling offense has taken the main stage for them this season, it’s the defensive stoutness that has really carried them.
One-person spotlight: I once wondered, as Christian Wood was headed out of the league, if Miami would give a spin at redeeming his talent amidst their obnoxious-but-real Heat Culture. It felt similar to what Miami had once tried, and failed, with Hassan Whiteside. Kel’el Ware feels like Miami’s third evolution: An undeniably talented big man, riddled with some work ethic and motor concerns in his pre-draft process, who has begun to fully emerge.
Ware’s averaging 4.5 offensive rebounds and hitting 45 percent of his 3s over his past 11 games. Miami wins the minutes with him and with Bam Adebayo, separately, but are about dead even when those two play together. That’s the big picture for Miami going forward, because Ware’s arrival feels wholly real.
12. Phoenix Suns (12-9)
Three stats: 3.8 net rating (11th), 118.0 offensive rating (11th), 114.2 defensive rating (11th)
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTwo-sentence summary: Someone is going to see that Phoenix has lost three of its last four and think something entirely incorrect about that stretch given that the losses came against the West’s three best teams. Playing Oklahoma City that tightly, to lose by just four, was proof of what the Suns have been about this season.
13. Atlanta Hawks (13-8)
Three stats: 1.7 net rating (15th), 116.2 offensive rating (1th), 114.5 defensive rating (13th)
Two-sentence summary: The Hawks have gone nuclear since Trae Young’s injury, winning nine of the past 12. How they reintegrate him this season, and whether this is the team’s future, is a very real question.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOne-player spotlight: Vit Krejčí is outperforming his expected shot quality more than any player not named Nikola Jokić or AJ Green so far this season. He’s been an utter flamethrower through a sizable bench role, proving that even when Atlanta trades away Bogdan Bogdanović, it can just spawn another from thin air.
14. Cleveland Cavaliers (12-9)
Three stats: 3.0 net rating (14th), 116.4 offensive rating (14th), 113.5 defensive rating (9th)
Two-sentence summary: I can’t yet quit the Cavaliers, who remain as talented as anyone in the East if they can put it together. But watching them these days really tests you.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOne-player spotlight: Evan Mobley has jumped almost 300 more times than any other single player in the NBA this season. This isn’t important, doesn’t matter, and is a really silly thing to highlight, but it’s true.
15. Golden State Warriors (11-10)
Three stats: 0.9 net rating (16th), 114.2 offensive rating (22nd), 113.2 defensive rating (7th)
Two-sentence summary: The Warriors almost had us going once again, but Golden State just isn’t a complete enough team, certainly not when Stephen Curry misses time. We’ll see if, upon his return, they can find more answers.
16. Boston Celtics (11-9)
Three stats: 3.6 net rating (13th), 119.5 offensive rating (7th), 115.9 defensive rating (17th)
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTwo-sentence summary: Boston can punch far above its weight, including Payton Pritchard 40-pieces. This team still feels too experimental, for all the understandable reasons, compared to the heavyweight versions we’ve known the past two years.
One-person spotlight: That Gobert statistic above, how his presence holds the second-largest swing for any team’s defensive unit? Neemias Queta is first; without him, Boston’s defense comes totally and completely unglued. This isn’t how the Most Improved Player award works, but Queta should be considered. He’s gone from fringe NBAer to the least replaceable player for Boston when he’s off the court.
17. Milwaukee Bucks (9-12)
Three stats: minus-1.9 net rating (18th), 115.4 offensive rating (17th), 117.3 defensive rating (20th)
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTwo-sentence summary: Milwaukee’s roster, which looked more competent than expected to start this year with Giannis Antetokounmpo, couldn’t survive his absence. He’s back now, but the Bucks lost seven straight in the five games he missed.
18. Philadelphia 76ers (10-9)
Three stats: minus-0.9 net rating (17th), 115.8 offensive rating (16th), 116.7 defensive rating (19th)
Two-sentence summary: Tyrese Maxey remains a one-man show worth tuning into any night he’s playing. Unfortunately, it’s been too much of a one-man show of late.
19. Chicago Bulls (9-10)
Three stats: minus-2.7 net rating (19th), 114.8 offensive rating (19th), 117.5 defensive rating (21st)
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTwo-sentence summary: That early season start just wasn’t what it seemed, unfortunately. I don’t think Matas Buzelis should be playing fewer than 20 minutes whatever the context, though, which Billy Donovan did in consecutive games two weeks ago.
20. Portland Trail Blazers (8-12)
Three stats: minus-3.4 net rating (20th), 114.5 offensive rating (21st), 117.9 defensive rating (23rd)
Two-sentence summary: Portland’s feisty, fun, but not quite yet serious as a roster. Where has Toumani Camara’s defense gone this season?
21. Memphis Grizzlies (9-12)
Three stats: minus-3.6 net rating (21st), 112.1 offensive rating (24th), 115.7 defensive rating (15th)
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTwo-sentence summary: Memphis’ roster is awkwardly stuck between its future and the winning team that it was. But between Zach Edey and Cedric Coward, the Grizzlies at least have some young excitement going forward.
One-person spotlight: Edey’s stabilization has been noted, and Memphis is starting to come out of its tailspin. He’s a plus-78 thus far, while the Grizzlies remain minus-66 this season.
22. Dallas Mavericks (6-15)
Three stats: minus-5.7 net rating (23rd), 106.9 offensive rating (30th), 112.6 defensive rating (6th)
Two-sentence summary: This roster competes, tries hard, pukes its guts out nearly every single game even when half the team’s missing. It’s still not very good, unfortunately, despite Cooper Flagg’s best efforts.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOne-person spotlight: Cooper Flagg isn’t a polished player. There is simply so much room for improvement, seemingly an endless amount so, which he has showcased throughout a season from hell, one which is typical of a first overall selection but nothing near what he was promised within a team whose general manager, now fired, swore it was ready to win now.
The players who have scored 35-plus points in an NBA game before turning 19 are as follows:
LeBron James (37 points)
LeBron James (36)
Cooper Flagg (35)
Flagg has several more weeks to outdo basketball’s best ever player.
23. Charlotte Hornets (6-14)
Three stats: minus-4.8 net rating (22nd), 115.2 offensive rating (18th), 120.0 defensive rating (24th)
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTwo-sentence summary: Charlotte has more to be excited about than ever before, but they’re just about the same team we’ve come to expect from them. LaMelo Ball denied that he’s interested in a trade, despite reports, but who would even consider it right now until his shooting percentage (37.9 percent from the field) gets right?
One-person spotlight: Here’s the current 3-point record for rookies:
Keegan Murray (206)
Donovan Mitchell (187)
Damian Lillard (185)
Brandon Miller (184)
Saddiq Bey (175)
Kon Knueppel, right now, is on pace to hit 287. If that held, it would be the 13th-most prolific 3-point season of all time, ahead of Stephen Curry’s 2014-15 campaign (286). We’ll obviously continue to see 3-point records broken in this new era, but Knueppel is shattering even my best expectations. And don’t think he’s just an off-ball threat alone: He’s shooting 32-of-59 thus far when taking at least three dribbles.
24. Utah Jazz (6-13)
Three stats: minus-7.8 net rating (25th), 113.0 offensive rating (23rd), 120.7 defensive rating (25th)
Two-sentence summary: Utah isn’t good enough to be a serious team despite being serious enough to earn some wins. It’s the same story as the past two seasons, but hopefully with a more decisive dive aimed at a lottery selection that could finally change this franchise’s future.
One-person spotlight: Keyonte George’s breaking out this season, but he’s doing it in a curious manner: Of his 349 shot attempts, just 32 of them (plus nine fouls drawn) have come directly at the rim. In his first two seasons, just over seven percent of his shots came directly at the basket; this season, it’s down under six percent. He makes it work thanks to his floater game, where he’s 51-of-100 on the rest of his non-layup shots in the paint.
The guards around him are players like Luka Dončić, Reed Sheppard, Payton Pritchard, and Derrick White. It can work, but it usually requires a better outside shot — or an acceptance of a combo guard approach — than what George has shown thus far.
25. L.A. Clippers (5-15)
Three stats: minus-6.9 net rating (24th), 114.7 offensive rating (20th), 121.6 defensive rating (28th)
Two-sentence summary: I was dead wrong about the Clippers, and it can’t just be Norm Powell’s absence. But with no other absences, it’s really hard to lay the blame at anyone but that understandable-but-unfortunate decision to move off their only other dynamic guard from last season.
One-player spotlight: 36-year-old James Harden leads the entire league in “blowby” drives; he’s flown past his defender 104 times already, which stands out even more considering just four other players have more than 70. It’s dismal to imagine how much worse the Clippers would be without Harden’s renaissance. He’s averaging almost 28 points and nine assists this year, fighting against that dying light.
26. Indiana Pacers (4-16)
Three stats: minus-9.9 net rating (26th), 107.7 offensive rating (29th), 117.6 defensive rating (22nd)
Two-sentence summary: The Pacers, gradually growing healthy, have won a couple games in a row. They’re better than their record — and still, very clearly, best suited for their season to be an unintended tank.
One-person spotlight: Jay Huff has officially become the league’s leading blocker thanks to the brief pause on Victor Wembanyama’s reign of paint terror. But help me make any sense of this: The Pacers’ defense allows about 21 points per 100 possessions more when Huff’s off the court. Like, it can barely stand his absence. But the Pacers score about 16 points per 100 more without him, a trend that has unfortunately carried over to the past five games even as Indiana grows healthier.
27. New Orleans Pelicans (3-18)
Three stats: minus-10.5 net rating (27th), 110.6 offensive rating (26th), 121.1 defensive rating (26th)
Two-sentence summary: New Orleans, which traded away its first-round pick next season with insistence this season was about winning now, started the following lineup on Sunday: Jeremiah Fears, Derik Queen, Yves Messi, Bryce McGowens, and Saddiq Bey. You can’t be surprised to learn they once again lost.
28. Sacramento Kings (5-16)
Three stats: minus-11.3 net rating (28th), 109.9 offensive rating (27th), 121.2 defensive rating (27th)
Two-sentence summary: Big minutes from Keegan Murray, who’s played just five games, might be this roster’s last hope at the connective glue they need. But the likelier outcome is that the Kings are the exact mess we thought.
One-person spotlight: Devin Carter has created a steal or block on 5.8 percent of his on-court possessions. Unfortunately, that’s only been 65 minutes; the 2024 lottery pick hasn’t come any closer to cracking Sacramento’s rotation. If it stays that way, I’m at least curious about him as a buy-low trade candidate for a bottom-half team that needs defensive activity on the perimeter.
29. Brooklyn Nets (3-16)
Three stats: minus-13.6 net rating (29th), 111.6 offensive rating (25th), 125.2 defensive rating (30th)
Two-sentence summary: The Nets are terrible, but they at least have an artistic collection of fascinating rookies suitable for any Bushwickian hoops nerd. You should be able to log Nets games on Letterboxd.
One-person spotlight: You don’t stick in the NBA on passes like this alone, but Egor Demin’s ability to spray the ball around the court at his size is what Brooklyn bet on when drafting him.
Demin needed eight games to reach three made 2s, but he’s converted three shots inside the arc in three of his past four games. That’s … a reminder he’s a very raw prospect. But the tools can be seen.
30. Washington Wizards (2-16)
Three stats: minus-14.6 net rating (30th), 108.5 offensive rating (28th), 123.1 defensive rating (29th)
Two-sentence summary: The Wizards stink. I don’t even have another sentence, that’s it.
One-person spotlight: Kyshawn George has emerged, in my eyes, as Washington’s most intriguing prospect even throughout Alex Sarr’s emergence. George has been the team’s most dynamic defender; sometimes, he just swallows up overmatched guards with his strength and length.
George’s pre-draft concern was his non-explosive athleticism; he has just 15 dunks in more than 2,300 career minutes. But this sport’s increasingly played on the horizontal plane more than the vertical one, and George’s defense has popped throughout this season. Add in his 44 percent 3-point shooting, and he’s been the Wizards’ brightest spot in a dull season.
Tim Cato is ALLCITY’s national NBA writer currently based in Dallas. He can be reached at [email protected] or on X at @tim_cato.
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