NBA power rankings 2026: Pistons take No. 1, Hornets keep rising, Bulls tumble further

Last week, I made an argument for why the NBA should shorten the season: It might help tanking. The shorter season concept isn’t novel; many of my peers have argued extensively for the league to seriously consider this as a proposal. It would be a complicated procedure with plenty to solve. But as the tanking conversation has swelled and the league has indicated sweeping changes coming next season, it’s worth noting why tanking has became such an enormous topic. It’s because, at this point of the season, there’s very little left to learn about the league’s teams in the regular season. The standings typically remain the same, the players you expect to see are often absent from rotations, and the excitement is largely put on hold until April.

If we were 40 games into a 62-game season, rather than 62 games into an 82-game one, that would be different. At the 40-game mark, we had identified the best teams and the narratives surrounding them but weren’t yet quite sure whether we trusted the surprise teams not to fade. The overwhelming reason to shorten the season is to increase player health, of course, but it shouldn’t be understated how March and April basketball really does feel like a waiting game for the postseason to start. (Also, it seems like half of our questions are injury related.) There’s great basketball on every night, don’t get me wrong. But what big picture questions are left?

Well, let’s try to come up with some for every team. Obviously, the further away we get from the contenders, the less specific and detailed these will make sense to be. Since the only big picture questions, if we’re being truthful, is where that team will end up picking in the coming lottery.

TIER ONE: Genuine, unquestioned contenders

1. Detroit Pistons (42-13)

Against top-10 opponents: 11-4, plus-4.5 point differential (1st)

Remaining questions: The Pistons now hold the league’s best record and, with that, have displaced Oklahoma City atop our rankings. They’re also inspiration for this ranking’s format: What more could they prove about this incredible season between now and the postseason? Detroit’s half-court offense ranks 19th. The team has the third-lowest 3-point rate and ranks 19th in percentage. It hasn’t slowed them even for a second. Might it in the postseason? I don’t know, but we’re still a long way from finding out.

Instead, we’re left with smaller questions shaped more by narrative than on-court play: Will Detroit end up with the league’s best record? How much play does Cade Cunningham get in the MVP race? Does Kevin Huerter, recently out of the rotation, find his way back in? All those questions matter. They just aren’t as interesting as the ones we’ll have to wait on.

2. Oklahoma City Thunder (44-14)

Against top-10 opponents: 7-8, plus-1.4 point differential (4th)

Remaining questions: There are injury-related questions: When do Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Ajay Mitchell return? More specifically, what happens to the rotation when they’re back? Mitchell has been massively important as the team’s third-best initiator. Given the absences, Isaiah Joe and Jared McCain have been filling in admirably. I’m curious which one has the longer leash once the Thunder are right.

3. San Antonio Spurs (40-16)

Against top-10 opponents: 11-6, plus-1.3 point differential (5th)

Remaining questions: Will Victor Wembanyama be eligible for regular season awards? He can only miss one more game before he falls below the 65-game threshold. And does he find his 3 again? He’s shooting below 30 percent in the past 13 games. Does Devin Vassell stick in the starting lineup? San Antonio continues to be a machine since moving Harrison Barnes to the bench last month. The only other team with double-digit wins against top-10 opponents is the Pistons. We’ll find out in the postseason whether San Antonio needs one more year of seasoning, but this has continued to be a juggernaut.

4. Denver Nuggets (36-22)

Against top-10 opponents: 7-9, minus-2.1 point differential (9th)

Remaining questions: It’s been so long since the Nuggets were whole, but can Denver muster up better defensive efforts than these even with Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson still sidelined? Gordon has been the team’s defensive identity; we know his presence will elevate everyone around him. It’s increasingly hard to imagine him averaging 39 minutes like he did in the first round last playoffs even with an on-time return from his latest hamstring injury and a clean bill of health going into the postseason. This is the perfect time for the Nuggets to figure out how to better guard without him.

TIER TWO: Show us a little more

5. Cleveland Cavaliers (36-22)

Against top-10 opponents: 7-10, minus-0.9 point differential (6th)

Remaining questions: Does Max Strus ever return? I’m seriously worried about him. Does Evan Mobley integrate with James Harden as easily as we anticipate he will? And do the Cavaliers, who are tied with Detroit for the league’s best record since 2026 began, continue to give us reasons to believe that this team has recaptured the same verve that drove them to the conference’s top seed last season? I believe in them. I still want to see more, and we all know that James Harden can’t disprove any prior notions about himself until the postseason begins.

6. Boston Celtics (37-19)

Against top-10 opponents: 8-9, minus-0.9 point differential (7th)

Remaining questions: Hah, I think we all know this one. It feels more when than if, but even that brings questions about what Jayson Tatum actually looks like on the court.

7. Minnesota Timberwolves (35-23)

Against top-10 opponents: 9-8, plus-2.5 point differential (2nd)

Remaining questions: Can the Timberwolves stop messing around with bad teams like they have been? But, more importantly, does it matter if they toy around with the Mavericks or lose to the Pelicans when they’re still this good against the league’s best?

8. New York Knicks (37-21)

Against top-10 opponents: 9-8, minus-1.5 point differential (8th)

Remaining questions: Karl-Anthony Towns receives torrents of criticism for … being a really good basketball player who sometimes makes bad plays, like every other really good basketball player. Does that even itself out or worsen from now until the season’s end? Does Ben Stiller decide to legally adopt Jose Alvarado as his own child? Does the Jeremy Sochan experiment continue despite Mohamed Diawara showing signs of development in recent weeks?

TIER THREE: Only eight teams win a round

9. Houston Rockets (34-21)

Against top-10 opponents: 8-9, plus-1.9 point differential (3rd)

Remaining questions: Does Ime Udoka have any other offensive ideas beyond this? Because while his hands are tied — neither Amen Thompson nor Reed Sheppard are true point guards — this offense becomes particularly horrific down the stretch of close games. Surely there has to be something more than Thompson dribbling around a Kevin Durant screen and throwing it back to him for an isolation every time, right?

10. Toronto Raptors (34-23)

Against top-10 opponents: 6-11, minus-4.0 point differential (11th)

Remaining questions: The Raptors look poised to make someone sweat in the first round. No one expects them to win, and the team’s record against the league’s best, while better than some teams we’re about to get to, feels like it confirms that. How much more does Collin Murray-Boyles add to his game in the season’s stretch run?

11. Los Angeles Lakers (34-22)

Against top-10 opponents: 5-10, minus-12.2 point differential (27th)

Remaining questions: The Sacramento Kings have more wins against the league’s top-10 teams than the Lakers do this season. Will LeBron James’ 3 come back? This has been his worst 3-point shooting season since his rookie year. That won’t fix the Lakers, but it might at least stabilize the team’s appalling shooting numbers — 18th in percentage, 25th in attempts — which are nearly unbelievable for a Luka Dončić-led team.

12. Phoenix Suns (33-25)

Against top-10 opponents: 9-13, minus-7.5 point differential (18th)

Remaining questions: Phoenix has been hit hard with injuries, which has finally slowed down this surprisingly wonderful season we’ve been enjoying from them. As seen from the team’s success against the league’s best teams, or more specifically the relative lack of it, Phoenix is the rare team where the final two months were poised to be joyful. That Suns fans, surely, didn’t want this to end. Can this roster get healthy and bring back these fun times before the year ends?

13. Charlotte Hornets (27-31)

Against top-10 opponents: 5-13, minus-6.9 point differential (16th)

Remaining questions: Can the Hornets rise higher still in the standings? Should they want to? Selfishly, I like them in the No. 9 or 10 seed to set up what should be one of the best first-round series against Detroit. Charlotte has the league’s sixth-best record since 2026 began and played two teams above them, Cleveland and Houston, to the wire despite reaching deep into the team’s bench due to suspensions and injuries. What Coby White looks like with them when he debuts is another question worth noting, of course.

14. Philadelphia 76ers (31-26)

Against top-10 opponents: 5-11, minus-7.5 point differential (17th)

Remaining questions: Was Philadelphia’s January real? Was there actual magic in that rare stretch the Sixers were actually healthy, fully manned, and rolling along like a more serious threat than they’ve been since Paul George’s suspension and Joel Embiid’s post-All-Star-break injury? I feel like so many of these “questions for the rest of the regular season” are ones about health. But that’s the norm for Philadelphia, unfortunately.

15. Miami Heat (31-27)

Against top-10 opponents: 6-12, minus-5.1 point differential (12th)

Remaining questions: Miami has a top-10 point differential since the calendar switched to 2026. Kasparas Jakucionis has emerged as a genuine difference maker for a team that needed something more. That’s the main question around South Beach: Does he change the equation for this roster from another Play-In appearance to anything remotely more exciting than that?

16. Orlando Magic (30-26)

Remaining questions: Does Franz Wagner’s eventual return change anything about this Magic team that’s still underperforming, still not a serious threat in its conference, but has at least established a competent baseline floor that might be enough to sneak into a top-six seed? He’s been their best player for some time now, which I think people are finally catching onto.

TIER FOUR: Winding down the clock

17. Golden State Warriors (30-27)

Remaining questions: Is it even worth Stephen Curry coming back?

18. LA Clippers (27-30)

Remaining questions: The Clippers remain pretty competent despite moving two starters. Do we fall for the Benedict Mathurin heater stretch again, or is this the place where he actually can develop into a player with more consistency?

19. Portland Trail Blazers (28-30)

Remaining questions: Do we think Portland’s front office, deep down, is secretly hoping for the Blazers to lose in the Play-In Tournament to retain the team’s first-round pick, which has top-14 protections?

20. Atlanta Hawks (28-31)

Remaining questions: Are there any remaining signs of life for Zaccharie Risacher left in this season? What a disappointing second season from a player that was never meant to be a first overall selection. And what’s the gaudiest triple-double Jalen Johnson drops between now and the season’s end?

21. Memphis Grizzlies (21-34)

Remaining questions: What more can GG Jackson do this time around with his extended leash? How contested would a shot have to be for Ty Jerome not to have a chance to hit it?

22. Milwaukee Bucks (24-31)

Remaining questions: Does it turn out Cam Thomas just needed to go to a team that literally can’t score to finally be appreicated?

23. Dallas Mavericks (20-36)

Remaining questions: Are enough people noticing that Marvin Bagley has turned into a competent backup big? (‘When does Cooper Flagg get back’ is my real question. I would like to watch Flagg play basketball again.)

24. New Orleans Pelicans (16-42)

Remaining questions: Have we cooled on the ‘Derik Queen might actually prove New Orleans right for that trade’ topics? He’s still had a solid rookie season, but the defense is miles away from being adequate and his impact stats have fallen through the floor.

TIER FIVE: Adam Silver meant y’all

25. Chicago Bulls (24-34)

Remaining questions: I’m sorry, CHGO, this hurts me, too. After not cracking the rotation, Jaden Ivey has been shut down for a few weeks. Anfernee Simons and Collin Sexton are playing more minutes than Rob Dillingham even though Dillingham is the only one of the three who could have a future in Chicago. It would seem, with Chicago resetting around a quasi-rebuild, that this would be the perfect time to see what Chicago has in its players with untapped potential. (Leonard Miller, too, could be fun to see for a few real minutes.) Instead, it’s a different semi-veteran core that has led the Bulls to eight straight losses.

26. Utah Jazz (18-39)

Remaining questions: Does Kevin Love really need to be playing five minutes for this team? Let that man go be the GAP model he’s meant to be.

27. Indiana Pacers (15-43)

Remaining questions: How many more reverse dunks does Jay Huff need to throw down before we acknowledge this is literally one of the best signature moves in the NBA?

28. Washington Wizards (16-40)

Remaining questions: Is Washington secretly glad it has no healthy eligible candidates — well, ‘healthy’ — for the Player Participation Policy to duck the fines that were levied against Indiana and Utah?

29. Brooklyn Nets (15-41)

Remaining questions: How much more development can we see from Egor Demin and Nolan Traore in what continues to be a development season for the Nets?

30. Sacramento Kings (12-46)

Remaining questions: Any more season-ending injuries or has Sacramento about ran out of those?

Tim Cato is ALLCITY’s national NBA writer currently based in Dallas. He can be reached at tcato@alldlls.com or on X at @tim_cato.