The NBA season is dwindling down but the matchups are heating up, including the Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo scoring 83 points — the second most in a game in NBA history — on Tuesday.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, coming off a convincing win over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night, and the San Antonio Spurs continue to rule the Western Conference, while the Boston Celtics, following Jayson Tatum’s return, are eyeing a move up the Eastern Conference.
The Detroit Pistons’ recent struggles have cast some doubts on their hold on the East, while the Western Conference standings, outside of the top two, continue to fluctuate daily as teams jockey for position ahead of next month’s playoffs.
With a little over a month to go ahead of the play-in tournament, here are this week’s NBA Power Rankings.
Note: Team rankings are based on where members of our panel (ESPN’s Anthony Slater, Dave McMenamin, Jamal Collier, Michael C. Wright, Bobby Marks, Tim Bontemps, Tim MacMahon, Vincent Goodwill and Zach Kram) think teams belong.
Previous rankings: Preseason | Oct. 29 | Nov. 5 | Nov. 12 | Nov. 19 | Nov. 26 | Dec. 3 | Dec. 10 | Dec. 17 | Dec. 24 | Dec. 31 | Jan. 7 | Jan. 14 | Jan. 21 | Jan. 28 | Feb. 4 | Feb. 11 | Feb. 24 | March 4
Jump to a team:
ATL | BOS | BKN | CHA | CHI | CLE
DAL | DEN | DET | GS | HOU | IND
LAC | LAL | MEM | MIA | MIL | MIN
NO | NY | OKC | ORL | PHI | PHX
POR | SAC | SA | TOR | UTAH | WAS
0:21
SGA ties Wilt Chamberlain’s record streak of 20-point games
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander joins Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to score at least 20 points in 126 consecutive games.
The return of Ajay Mitchell was lost in the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fireworks show on Monday night against the Nuggets.
Mitchell had missed 20 games because of both oblique and ankle injuries, but looked every bit himself in 29 productive bench minutes, scoring 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting with an array of slick drives and self-created pull-ups.
Mitchell could be one of the most important reserves in the next few months, especially as Jalen Williams tries to ease back into the lineup after a recurring hamstring problem. — Anthony Slater
2025-26 record: 48-17
Previous ranking: 4
Next games: vs. DEN (March 12), vs. CHA (March 14), @ LAC (March 16), @ SAC (March 17)
The Spurs wanted to test themselves on their longest homestand of the season against a variety of contending teams with different styles and personnel as they transition into playoff preparation mode.
So far, San Antonio is passing with flying colors with a win over Detroit, a 25-point comeback victory over the LA Clippers and a 25-point trouncing of in-state rival Houston.
The tests continue after a big win on Tuesday over the Boston Celtics, as the Spurs close out their homestand this week hosting the Denver Nuggets on Thursday before a Saturday matchup against the surging Charlotte Hornets. — Michael C. Wright
Jayson Tatum is back, and his first two games couldn’t have gone better. Not only did the Celtics pick up a pair of victories with Tatum back in action, but he — quite remarkably — looked like he hadn’t missed any time at all, outside of his shot being a bit off. He shot a combined 12-of-32 in Boston’s wins over the Mavericks and Cavaliers.
Tatum’s return has only reinforced the notion that Boston is, once again, the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. — Tim Bontemps
2025-26 record: 48-18
Previous ranking: 3
Next games: vs. PHI (March 12), vs. MEM (March 13), @ TOR (March 15), @ WAS (March 17)
Adversity, meet the Pistons. Even with Cade Cunningham getting a night off and missing Ausar Thompson with a right ankle sprain, Detroit shouldn’t have given away 107-105 loss to the Brooklyn Nets, but they rebounded with a 138-100 win over the very same Nets on Tuesday.
Thompson’s ankle should have him out around a week, sources tell ESPN, but the Pistons want to be sure he’s OK before allowing him to play. He’s their most versatile defender, and his perimeter defense in particular was sorely missing in their loss to Miami on Sunday.
For a team that creates offense with its defense, any small slippage shows exponentially, and that’s where the Pistons are. — Vincent Goodwill
2025-26 record: 41-25
Previous ranking: 6
Next games: @ UTAH (March 11), @ IND (March 13), vs. GS (March 15), vs. IND (March 17)
It might not be time to panic after a weekend in Los Angeles, but losing to the Lakers and Clippers on back-to-back days following one of their most impressive wins of the season — an utter beatdown in Denver against the rarely-whole Nuggets — isn’t ideal.
Mikal Bridges often gets lost in the offense and went nearly six quarters over the weekend without a bucket. They need him engaged on both ends to keep their defense at the level it’s been the last two months. Going scoreless against the Lakers and scoring just seven against the Clippers raised some eyebrows. — Goodwill
2025-26 record: 40-25
Previous ranking: 7
Next games: @ LAC (March 11), @ GS (March 13), @ OKC (March 15), vs. PHX (March 17)
The last 10 games entering Tuesday night’s showdown with the Lakers fairly perfectly encapsulate Minnesota’s season.
The Timberwolves went 8-2 in that stretch, including an impressive win over the Nuggets. But in the two losses, the Wolves lost to a pair of mid-tier East teams — Philadelphia, which was playing without guys on the second night of a back-to-back, and Orlando — by 27 points each.
That underscores the volatility surrounding the Wolves on a nightly basis, and why they remain so confounding in determining where they sit in the West pecking order. — Bontemps
1:05
Toronto Raptors vs. Houston Rockets: Game Highlights
Toronto Raptors vs. Houston Rockets: Game Highlights
Houston’s inconsistency showed up in a major way Sunday as the Rockets suffered their largest defeat of the season against the San Antonio Spurs — just the team’s second 25-point loss over the last two seasons. The Rockets allowed 25 points off turnovers and struggled to contain San Antonio guards De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle, who combined for 43 points, at the point of attack.
Center Alperen Sengun ranks as the Rockets’ second-leading scorer (20.4 PPG) behind Kevin Durant, but he’s been inconsistent in March with his scoring average dropping by nearly six points from last month. — Wright
2025-26 record: 40-25
Previous ranking: 8
Next games: @ ORL (March 11), @ DAL (March 13), vs. DAL (March 15), @ MIL (March 17)
The top four teams in the East have created some distance between themselves and the rest of the conference, which sets the final month of the season up as a playoff seeding battle.
Cleveland sits at the No.4 seed, but the Cavs are only .5 game back from the No. 3 seed, which could be the difference in a second-round matchup with Detroit or Boston.
Which side of the bracket they prefer to land on could present an interesting dilemma for the Cavs, especially with such a light schedule coming up. Following Wednesday’s game against the red-hot Magic, the Cavs play the Mavericks twice before games with the Bucks, Bulls and Pelicans. — Jamal Collier
2025-26 record: 39-26
Previous ranking: 3
Next games: vs. HOU (March 11), @ SAS (March 12), @ LAL (March 14), vs. PHI (March 17)
The Nuggets have lost both games since Aaron Gordon’s return from a hamstring strain, but his performance in Oklahoma City was encouraging.
Gordon scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 28 minutes in the loss to the defending champion Thunder. And wing Peyton Watson is close to returning from his hamstring strain, potentially by the end of the week, sources said. — Tim MacMahon
Luke Kennard has scored in double digits in four of the Lakers past six games coming into Tuesday’s matchup against Minnesota – all of them wins – and L.A.’s trade deadline pickup is chasing history, too.
Only six players in history have ever finished a season shooting 50% or better from 3 for an entire season, and Kennard has a shot at doing so, shooting 50% from deep so far. He just missed the cut in 2022-23, finishing that season at 49.4%. — Dave McMenamin
Bam Adebayo’s 83-point performance on Tuesday aside — which is a big aside — the offense in Miami has been a case study of inconsistency.
In the first 15 games of the season, the Heat ranked eighth in the offense before they plummeted to the bottom-10 over their next 30 games. Since the All-Star break, the Heat are 8-2 and rank first in offense and points per game as they moved into a tie for sixth place in the East heading into Wednesday’s games.
In those 10 games, Tyler Herro has averaged 22.2 PPG, while shooting 50.3 FG% and 45 3P%, as the Heat are one three unbeaten teams in March — Bobby Marks
2025-26 record: 38-27
Previous ranking: 13
Next games: @ IND (March 12), @ TOR (March 13), @ BOS (March 16), @ MIN (March 17)
Phoenix won four out of five before starting a season-long six-game road trip Tuesday in Milwaukee, which the Suns won 129-114.
Devin Booker’s usage rate is at 33.8% in March — his highest in any month this season — as the five-time All-Star has fully taken the reins for the Suns while Dillon Brooks is out with a fractured left hand. They enter Wednesday 1.5 games out of the No. 6 spot in the West. — McMenamin
2025-26 record: 35-28
Previous ranking: 16
Next games: vs. CLE (March 11), vs. WAS (March 12), @ MIA (March 14), @ ATL (March 16), vs. OKC (March 17)
The month of March has been kind to the Magic: Orlando is 4-1 and recently defeated Minnesota on the road by 27 points.
In the past five games, Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane have combined to average 48 ppg as a duo with both players shooting greater than 50% from the field. As a result of their 7-3 record since the All-Star break, the Magic are seventh in the Eastern Conference but only .5 games out of fifth. Their defense ranks second since the break, a crucial factor as they try to hold on to the playoff spot in the East. — Marks
Since last week, Toronto’s odds of landing a top-six seed have fallen from nearly 70% to just 57%, as of Tuesday morning.
That’s not necessarily Toronto’s fault, but rather a reflection of simultaneous winning streaks from Miami and Orlando. The Raptors need to string together some wins of their own to keep pace, however, and they haven’t won more than two games in a row since January — they have a 7-8 record since that last winning streak ended. — Zach Kram
1:14
Dallas Mavericks vs. Atlanta Hawks: Game Highlights
Dallas Mavericks vs. Atlanta Hawks: Game Highlights
The Hawks and “defense” have not been linked together in prior seasons. But since the All-Star break, Atlanta is 9-1 and has the best defensive rating in the league. Over that stretch heading into Tuesday, the Hawks rank fourth in points off turnovers and fast break points. In the eight wins opponents have turned the ball over, on average, 16.6 times per game. — Marks
2025-26 record: 32-32
Previous ranking: 18
Next games: vs. MIN (March 11), vs. CHI (March 13), vs. SAC (March 14), vs. SAS (March 16)
This Clippers team clearly has no quit in them, reaching .500 this week at 32-32 for the first time since they started the season 3-3. They’ve won five out of their last six games — with the only loss in that stretch coming to the San Antonio Spurs by four.
The 34-year-old Kawhi Leonard is averaging 27.9 points – the highest scoring average of his 15-year career. — McMenamin
The good news for Charlotte is that the 11th-place Bucks’ struggles since Giannis Antetokounmpo’s return mean the Hornets are a near-lock to at least reach the play-in tournament.
The bad news? Consecutive losses against Miami and Phoenix — at the same time that Miami, Orlando and Atlanta were on winning streaks — have reduced Charlotte’s odds of climbing out of the 9 vs. 10 play-in game to the 7 vs. 8 game, or even a top-six seed. — Kram
2025-26 record: 35-30
Previous ranking: 12
Next games: @ DET (March 12), vs. BKN (March 14), vs. POR (March 15), @ DEN (March 17)
The injuries continue to pile up for Philadelphia, which is now without Joel Embiid (oblique), Tyrese Maxey (finger) and VJ Edgecombe (back) in addition to Paul George remaining out due to suspension.
As a result, the 76ers are now firmly in the play-in mix in the Eastern Conference standings — they sit at No. 8 ahead of a game at Detroit on March 12 — and have the potential to slide even further as long as these absences continue to linger. — Bontemps
It’s going to be difficult for the Warriors to hold off the surging Clippers for the eighth seed.
The Clippers have won five of six and have six of their next eight games against lottery teams. The Warriors, meanwhile, are about to go on a six-game road trip that includes games against the Knicks, Pistons and Celtics.
If it comes down to the final week, the Warriors and Clippers meet on the regular season’s final day — April 12 in Los Angeles. — Slater
It’s been a difficult third season for former No. 3 overall pick Scoot Henderson. He missed a majority of it because of a serious preseason hamstring injury.
In his 13 games since returning, Henderson has made only 39% of his shots and 25% of his 3s. He did flash a glimpse this past weekend, however, scoring 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting. His ability to get his development back on track and improve his efficiency will partially determine whether this mid-tier Blazers team can level up heading into next season. — Slater
2025-26 record: 27-37
Previous ranking: 21
Next games: @ MIA (March 12), @ ATL (March 14), vs. IND (March 15), vs. CLE (March 17)
Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged 23.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 26 minutes in his first three games back after returning from injury … and the Bucks dropped three of their first four games after his return — he missed a game due to his previously injured calf — often by large margins.
Milwaukee lost by 39 points to Orlando on Sunday (the game Antetokounmpo missed), 18 points to Atlanta and 27 points to Boston before that. The blowout losses are far from the level Milwaukee needs to play at for a team with aspirations of still making the postseason.
The Bucks will face Miami and Atlanta, a pair of teams ahead of them in the play-in tournament, on the road this weekend. — Collier
The Bulls lost to the Sacramento Kings, the team with the league’s worst record, this week as they continue their downward spiral post trade deadline.
But Josh Giddey did finish with his 16th career triple double in that game, breaking a tie with Scottie Pippen for the second most triple doubles in franchise history. He now trails only Michael Jordan, who has the team record with 28. A small bright spot during Chicago’s second half of the season. — Collier
The Grizzlies had racked up six losing streaks this season of four-plus games after suffering just two such skids last season. They added a seventh straight loss on Tuesday.
Memphis general manager Zach Kleiman has said the team’s current rebuild isn’t going to turn into a long, “drawn out five-year process,” however. Star guard Ja Morant wants to be a part of it despite the team listening to offers at the trade deadline for the two-time All-Star.
In his first comments since January, Morant recently said he hopes to remain with the Grizzlies beyond this season but it’s unclear whether we’ll see him play again this season. The team announced on March 6 it would re-evaluate Morant’s injured left elbow in two weeks. — Wright
1:13
Washington Wizards vs. New Orleans Pelicans: Game Highlights
Washington Wizards vs. New Orleans Pelicans: Game Highlights
Zion Williamson bounced back quickly from his ankle injury and has now played in four consecutive games for a New Orleans team that has won two of its last three.
Point guard Dejounte Murray has said he’d like to see the Pelicans push for a berth in the play-in tournament but that won’t be easy, considering New Orleans’ 13th-place standing in the West.
Interim coach James Borrego wants to remain at the helm beyond this season but needs to impress the brass with a strong finish. Four of the Pels’ next five games feature opponents currently at .500 or better. — Wright
2025-26 record: 21-44
Previous ranking: 24
Next games: @ MEM (March 12), vs. CLE (March 13), @ CLE (March 15), @ NO (March 16)
Improving the shooting around Cooper Flagg will be one of the Mavs’ priorities as they build around the prized rookie, who has already proven to be a dynamic driver despite the team’s spacing problems.
The Mavs rank second to last in the league in 3-pointers made (10.6 per game) and 28th in 3-point percentage (33.9). — MacMahon
Utah improved to 3-20 in games missed by forward Lauri Markkanen this season after Monday’s home win over the Warriors. Markkanen has missed the last seven games after injuring his hip in practice and there is no firm timetable for his return.
The Jazz previously shut down Jaren Jackson Jr. for the season due to knee surgery on Feb. 17. — MacMahon
Don’t look now but the streaking, red-hot Brooklyn Nets must be reckoned with. … But seriously, the Nets walking down the Cade-less Pistons in Detroit after falling behind by 20-plus on Saturday — while ending a 10-game losing streak — was a story of resilience.
They followed it up with a game they perhaps didn’t care to truly win, a 126-115 win over a similarly-lottery bound Memphis Grizzlies team. Ziaire Williams is on one of his best stretches recently, averaging 16.3 points on 53%t from 3 in his last four games. — Goodwill
2025-26 record: 16-48
Previous ranking: 27
Next games: @ ORL (March 12), @ BOS (March 14), vs. GS (March 16), vs. DET (March 17)
Trae Young made his Wizards debut last week, but his new team is still approaching the All-Star’s return conservatively.
In his first two games as a Wizard, Young played just 37 total minutes, averaging 14.5 points and 7.0 assists on 53% shooting (40% on 3s). The Wizards lost both games, including against Utah in a matchup of teams with top-eight-protected draft picks. — Kram
2025-26 record: 15-50
Previous ranking: 29
Next games: vs. PHX (March 12), vs. NYK (March 13), @ MIL (March 15), @ NYK (March 17)
The Pacers’ starting lineup is healthier than it’s been in a while after Pascal Siakam and Aaron Nesmith returned. And yet, the big losses haven’t stopped: As of Tuesday, the Pacers had lost nine games in a row — the last six by double-digits — and their last eight opponents had scored at least 125 points in every game.
That’s one way to attempt to retain their top-four-protected pick in the upcoming draft. — Kram
2025-26 record: 16-50
Previous ranking: 30
Next games: vs. CHA (March 11), @ LAC (March 14), vs. UTAH (March 15), vs. SAS (March 17)
Rookie center Maxime Raynaud remains one of the few bright spots in what profiles as a deep rebuild for the Kings.
The second-rounder has double-doubles in seven of his past 11 games, putting up 26 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in a recent win over the Bulls. If the Kings move Domantas Sabonis this summer as part of a youth movement, there is a decent chance Raynaud could open next season as Sacramento’s starting center. — Slater
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