There weren’t a lot of games to go through in the half week back from the All-Star break, which makes this a perfect time to check in with this season’s rookies. (Notice I said the rookies and not the players from the 2023 draft, because we need to make sure we fit Chet Holmgren into this check-in.)
Some guys are struggling to find their way early on, and some guys are showing they’re the future of their respective organizations and maybe even the league. But we’ll make sure to hit all of the first-round guys from 2023 (and Holmgren) and the second-round guys who apply to the conversation. And, of course, we’ll rank all 30 teams flawlessly.
Reminder: The Power Rankings don’t just rank the 30 teams. We divide these teams into tiers, which teams can move in and out of. We currently have the tiers broken into seven new categories:
Incomprehensibly bad – These guys are historically inept right now.
Not tanking but maybe someday — They haven’t started tanking yet, but it’s on the table this season.
Looking to make the Play-In — They’ve been rebuilding/retooling and think they can crack the top 10 in their respective conference.
Play-In Tournament teams or better — They should be in the mix unless something disastrous happens.
Playoff teams — Probably don’t have to worry about dropping down to the Play-In Tournament.
On the brink of contention — A piece away from us believing they can win the title.
Contenders — They are contending for the championship, barring a massive injury.
As always, I am sure we will all agree on the placement of all 30 teams, especially your favorite team.
Here’s how the Power Rankings work:
It’s up to my discretion how the rankings shake out. For some teams, they’ll be hit in the short term. Others will be given the benefit for the long term. Yes, it is entirely subjective.
If I have a team ahead of another team, there’s no reason to ask why they’re ranked above the team you like. The answer is pretty simple: I think that team is set up better for success.
Yes, I watch the games. And yes, I watch your favorite team.
This is supposed to be fun, so let’s have fun.
With all that said, let’s dive into Week 19 of The Athletic’s NBA Power Rankings. Stats and records are through Monday’s action.
Conference Eastern Western
Tier Tier 1 – The Contenders Tier 2 – Brink of Contention Tier 3 – Playoff Teams Tier 4 – Play-In Tournament Teams Or Better Tier 5 – Looking to make the Play-In Tier 6 – Not tanking yet but maybe someday Tier 7 – Incomprehensibly bad
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Tier 1 – The Contenders
Did the draft serve them well? Jordan Walsh | 38th pick
The Celtics only have second-round pick Walsh from the 2023 draft, and he’s barely played. Their first-round pick was sent to the Pacers in the Malcolm Brogdon deal, and Brogdon was eventually flipped for Jrue Holiday last year. Obviously, that has worked out quite nicely. The youngest guy in the Celtics’ rotation is Jayson Tatum (25 years old), so I’d say they’re in a good spot with the young guys they’re playing.
Offensive Rating
121.2 (1st)
Defensive Rating
110.7 (3rd)
Eastern
Tier 1 – The Contenders
Did the draft serve them well? Chet Holmgren | second pick (2022)
We could go a lot of different directions with this Thunder squad because Cason Wallace (10th pick) has looked excellent off the bench. But we’ve got to highlight redshirt rookie Holmgren. The shooting and shot blocking get the most attention, and those are two aspects of his game that make him special. But I just love seeing his feel for the game on the court. He knows when to flare to the perimeter or find the gaps on the interior as a reliable passing option. He competes on the perimeter defensively and rarely sells his team out with gambling. Without Victor Wembanyama existing, Holmgren would be a no-brainer Rookie of the Year pick.
Offensive Rating
119.6 (3rd)
Defensive Rating
111.4 (4th)
Western
Tier 1 – The Contenders
Did the draft serve them well? Julian Strawther | 29th pick
The Nuggets have a few rookies on the roster, but Strawther has been the most productive and the most used. Hunter Tyson and Jalen Pickett could find themselves some action during the final stretch of the season, but Strawther has been in the rotation much more. However, he hasn’t played much the last two months due to a knee injury. I like his long-term prospects in the rotation. I’m just not sure if he’ll be someone the Nuggets use in the playoff run.
Offensive Rating
117.5 (9th tied)
Defensive Rating
113.4 (10th)
Western
Tier 1 – The Contenders
Did the draft serve them well? Leonard Miller | 33rd pick
We haven’t really seen anything from Leonard Miller in the NBA so far, and that’s a good thing for the Wolves. Their big man trio of Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid have been good and healthy. It’s given Miller time to get in more work at the G League level (it’s his second year in the G League after playing for the Ignite last season). Minnesota grabbed him knowing it had time to work with him, and we’ve seen a nice 3-point shot development so far. Miller has only played 26 minutes at the NBA level.
Offensive Rating
114.8 (17th)
Defensive Rating
107.9 (1st)
Western
Tier 1 – The Contenders
Did the draft serve them well? Kobe Brown | 30th pick
We haven’t seen much from the last pick of the first round, nor should we need to with this Clippers team. Brown developing into someone who can consistently compete on the perimeter will be the key to his NBA involvement. He needs to develop an outside shot and be comfortable defending the arc. But the Clippers have been so good and relatively healthy. They don’t need Brown to be involved as a rookie. Amir Coffey has improved so much and become a great part of their rotation. They have interior depth. Brown just needs to take advantage of the G League opportunities as much as possible.
Offensive Rating
119.1 (4th)
Defensive Rating
114.6 (13th tied)
Western
Tier 1 – The Contenders
Tier 2 – Brink of Contention
Did the draft serve them well? Craig Porter Jr. | Undrafted
Yes, the Cavaliers have Emoni Bates as the more intriguing prospect moving forward, but Porter emerged in summer league and has stuck around. Porter did a great job filling in when Darius Garland was out, and he hasn’t been used much since Garland’s return. That’s understandable, but it feels like Cleveland has a very cost-effective and capable backup guard in case of emergency. Porter probably won’t play much in the postseason, but he was a great find by the front office.
Offensive Rating
115.9 (15th)
Defensive Rating
110.4 (2nd)
Eastern
Tier 2 – Brink of Contention
Did the draft serve them well? Andre Jackson Jr. | 36th pick
We’ve actually seen Jackson play quite a bit, and he’s even started eight games for the Bucks. Most of that happened under the previous coaching regime, and we haven’t seen much of Jackson this past month, but he looked pretty comfortable on the floor. He gives them good length on the perimeter, and he’s shot well on limited attempts. I think he’s a rotation keeper for the future.
Offensive Rating
118.9 (5th)
Defensive Rating
115.5 (17th)
Eastern
Tier 2 – Brink of Contention
Did the draft serve them well? Dereck Lively II | 12th pick
I’m glad the Mavericks got some interior depth with the Daniel Gafford trade, but it’s not because of a lack of ability or impact by Lively. He’s been way more than what is reasonable to expect for a rookie big man, essentially manning the middle by himself for most of the season. Now, the Mavs don’t have to worry too much about taxing him, and there’s less pressure on him to be perfect. His defensive instincts are impressive, and he’s been excellent stretching the floor vertically on pick-and-roll action.
Offensive Rating
117.5 (9th tied)
Defensive Rating
116.4 (21st)
Western
Tier 2 – Brink of Contention
Did the draft serve them well? Toumani Camara | 52nd pick
That’s right! He’s a player on the Blazers! He was used in the trade to bring Jusuf Nurkić and Grayson Allen to Phoenix, as Camara and Deandre Ayton were sent to Portland. Other than that, David Roddy – a second-year player – was acquired at the deadline. The Suns don’t have these young guys on the roster from the draft. Maybe you want to talk about Bol Bol for how he played Sunday against the Lakers? This is his fifth season.
Offensive Rating
117.7 (7th tied)
Defensive Rating
114.6 (13th tied)
Western
Tier 2 – Brink of Contention
Tier 3 – Playoff Teams
Did the draft serve them well? Jacob Toppin | Undrafted
The Knicks sent out their first-round pick (23rd) in the Josh Hart trade, and Portland ended up grabbing Kris Murray with it. The Knicks didn’t have any draft picks from 2023, but they do have undrafted rookie Jacob Toppin – brother of former Knick Obi Toppin – on the squad. He’s barely seen action on the court, but he did get robbed of a 50 score on his first dunk in this year’s dunk contest at All-Star Weekend. I would’ve rather seen him in the final over Jaylen Brown anyday.
Offensive Rating
117.9 (6th)
Defensive Rating
113.3 (9th)
Eastern
Tier 3 – Playoff Teams
Did the draft serve them well? Jaime Jaquez Jr. | 18th pick
Jaquez is arguably THE steal of the draft. He has been great for them from day one, and Erik Spoelstra completely trusts him to execute the game plan on both ends. Jaquez is another example of teams passing on veteran college players and regretting it when they need someone to contribute right away. At least seven or eight teams must be kicking themselves for not grabbing Jaquez earlier, and he’ll be the next embodiment of Heat Culture.
Offensive Rating
113.4 (22nd)
Defensive Rating
112.7 (7th)
Eastern
Tier 3 – Playoff Teams
Did the draft serve them well? Jordan Hawkins | 14th pick
Hawkins was great for the Pelicans in January, but we haven’t seen much consistency in shot making outside of that. It’s surprising because he’s one of the best shooters in the draft. He’s struggled a lot making shots inside the arc. I would expect his role to increase again a bit with Dyson Daniels out. And I think Hawkins can help down the stretch. He’s still a threat to make shots and could have plenty of importance in those minutes if paired with Zion Williamson for floor spacing.
Offensive Rating
116.7 (14th)
Defensive Rating
112.4 (6th)
Western
Tier 3 – Playoff Teams
Did the draft serve them well? Colby Jones | 34th pick
The Kings used their first-round pick for a little salary-dump action on draft night when they sent Richaun Holmes with the pick to Dallas. They ended up with Colby Jones as a rookie from the draft, and he hasn’t really played much this season. They do have rookie Sasha Vezenkov, the former EuroLeague MVP who is already 28 years old. He’s shot the ball well but hasn’t been a major, consistent part of this rotation as expected. Jones is unlikely to get much run the rest of the season with Sacramento’s depth on the wing.
Offensive Rating
116.9 (13th)
Defensive Rating
116.3 (20th)
Western
Tier 3 – Playoff Teams
Did the draft serve them well? Anthony Black | sixth pick
The Magic had two picks in the lottery with Anthony Black and Jett Howard (11th pick). We’re going to focus on Black here because he’s actually played for them and has been good. He’s been a much better shooter than most of us assumed he’d be right away. His playmaking shows some glimpses of why people believe he can be a tall lead guard. His defense has been solid in this great team concept and execution. The Magic just can’t give him a ton of time because of what they need Jalen Suggs, Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony to do each night.
Offensive Rating
113.0 (23rd)
Defensive Rating
112.2 (5th)
Eastern
Tier 3 – Playoff Teams
Tier 4 – Play-In Tournament Teams Or Better
Did the draft serve them well? Jarace Walker | eighth pick
We really haven’t seen Walker much in his rookie season. He seemed like he’d be the rare rookie who comes in right away and can make an impact defensively. That didn’t happen in the few moments he’s had on the court, and he mostly looks steps behind out there. The Pacers being as good as they are also probably eliminated letting him play through some of the speedbumps. This is a legitimate playoff team, and you can’t waste too much time on rookies in that case. I still like him for the future.
Offensive Rating
120.6 (2nd)
Defensive Rating
118.9 (26th)
Eastern
Tier 4 – Play-In Tournament Teams Or Better
Did the draft serve them well? Brandin Podziemski | 19th pick
This was one of the best picks of the draft, and you can argue whether Podziemski or Jaquez is the ultimate steal. Podziemsk was given more opportunities with the struggles of Klay Thompson throughout the season, and he made it impossible for Steve Kerr to keep him out of the rotation. He’s competitive defensively and sacrifices his body, and he’s smart with the ball on offense. He doesn’t really have any deficiencies in his game.
Offensive Rating
117.5 (9th tied)
Defensive Rating
116.0 (18th)
Western
Tier 4 – Play-In Tournament Teams Or Better
Did the draft serve them well? Ricky Council IV | Undrafted
The 76ers had the 28th pick in the draft, but it was sent out some time ago in the James Harden trade. It eventually ended up in Utah, where Brice Sensabaugh was taken. One player the Sixers ended up getting on draft night was undrafted wing Ricky Council IV. He hasn’t played much this season but has shown some decent production and ability during this past month. He could be a real pest defensively when he gets his feet wet, and he’s very athletic going to the hoop. But he’ll have to shoot well and tighten up that handle.
Offensive Rating
117.7 (7th tied)
Defensive Rating
114.0 (12th)
Eastern
Tier 4 – Play-In Tournament Teams Or Better
Did the draft serve them well? Jalen Hood-Schifino | 17th pick
It’s way too early to have any definitive opinion on what Hood-Schifino could be because he hasn’t had an opportunity (102 minutes in 18 games) to be on the court for this team fighting for its Play-In life. But considering Jaquez (UCLA alum) was taken right after Hood-Schifino, that’s a pretty big miss with the early returns. We have seen 2022 35th pick Max Christie get some run in the rotation, and I do like his long-term prospects quite a bit. But I doubt we see much of Hood-Schifino unless major injuries hit.
Offensive Rating
114.5 (18th)
Defensive Rating
115.1 (15th tied)
Western
Tier 4 – Play-In Tournament Teams Or Better
Tier 5 – Looking to make the Play-In
Did the draft serve them well? Julian Phillips | 35th pick
You’ll remember the Bulls sent out their first-round pick for 2023 to the Magic in the Nikola Vučević deal, and Vuc is still very much a part of this team. That would’ve been the 11th pick, and Chicago didn’t acquire another first-round pick. The Bulls did, however, get Phillips in the second round on draft night. He’s appeared in 30-plus games but hasn’t seen a lot of time on the court. He could project to be a nice wing in the rotation, but the Bulls don’t have a ton to show for young prospects on the roster.
Offensive Rating
113.5 (21st)
Defensive Rating
115.1 (15th tied)
Eastern
Tier 5 – Looking to make the Play-In
Did the draft serve them well? Amen Thompson | fourth pick
After a slow start to his rookie season, we’ve seen Thompson have a great January and February. The jumper isn’t there, and much like his twin brother, Ausar, he’s mostly just getting by on athleticism right now. But we’ve seen solid playmaking, defense and instincts of moving without the ball. Houston has a bit of a logjam on the perimeter, so it’s been nice to see Amen get a lot of run over this past month. He can play one through three on the court on both ends of the floor, so the versatility will help keep him in the mix.
Offensive Rating
112.8 (24th)
Defensive Rating
112.8 (8th)
Western
Tier 5 – Looking to make the Play-In
Did the draft serve them well? Keyonte George | 16th pick
We’ve seen the same shot-making problems for George in his rookie season as we saw at Baylor. But his feel for the game and his potential as a lead guard is why Will Hardy trusts him with heavy minutes. George is very active on both ends, and you can’t really take advantage of mismatches with him the way you can with most rookie guards. He can create with the dribble, and the shots will eventually fall with that kind of talent.
Offensive Rating
115.7 (16th)
Defensive Rating
118.4 (25th)
Western
Tier 5 – Looking to make the Play-In
Did the draft serve them well? Gradey Dick | 13th pick
Dick’s rookie campaign has been very disappointing. However, since the trades up to the deadline, we’ve seen the Raptors rookie start to put together a pretty good month of February. Over his last 17 games, Dick has averaged 9.6 points in 19.6 minutes of action. That’s decent production. The real good part of this is he’s shooting 53.4 percent from the field and 48.4 percent from deep. Would love to see him keep up this sharpshooting for the rest of the season, regardless of role.
Offensive Rating
114.3 (19th)
Defensive Rating
117.2 (22nd tied)
Eastern
Tier 5 – Looking to make the Play-In
Did the draft serve them well? Kobe Bufkin | 15th pick
An injured thumb sidelined Bufkin early in his rookie campaign, although I’m not sure how much he would’ve played in the first place. We’ve only seen Bufkin play in five NBA games this season, but the Hawks can feel good about the Michigan product lighting up the G League. He’s had a nice season there, shot the ball pretty well and put up some pretty good all-around numbers with 23.6 points, 5.9 assists and 5.4 rebounds. Bufkin won’t get much run without injuries for the Hawks as long as they have Trae Young, Dejounte Murray and Bogdan Bogdanović on the squad. With Young out for the next four weeks, let’s see if Bufkin finds his way into the rotation.
Offensive Rating
117.5 (9th tied)
Defensive Rating
119.6 (28th)
Eastern
Tier 5 – Looking to make the Play-In
Did the draft serve them well? Noah Clowney | 21st pick
Brooklyn had back-to-back picks with Clowney at No. 21 and Dariq Whitehead at No. 22 this past June, and neither player has really been on the court. They haven’t even combined for 100 minutes on the floor this season. Clowney has had a solid showing in the G League. We haven’t seen the same from Whitehead (and he’s now out for the season). Eventually, you’d like to see Clowney be the depth behind Nic Claxton. Maybe Kevin Ollie will try it out with the Nets falling away from Play-In contention.
Offensive Rating
113.7 (20th)
Defensive Rating
116.1 (19th)
Eastern
Tier 5 – Looking to make the Play-In
Tier 6 – Not tanking yet but maybe someday
Did the draft serve them well? GG Jackson | 45th pick
The Grizzlies’ first-round pick was used in the trade that landed Marcus Smart. And we don’t need to rehash what a disaster this season has been for Memphis. However, part of that disaster has allowed the emergence of second-round pick Jackson. He hasn’t done much other than score, but we’re seeing 13.9 points on 44.9 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from downtown over his last 19 games. Jackson was always a first-round talent who just didn’t progress at the college level the way many hoped to see. We’re seeing Memphis extract that potential now, though.
Offensive Rating
107.3 (30th)
Defensive Rating
113.5 (11th)
Western
Tier 6 – Not tanking yet but maybe someday
Tier 7 – Incomprehensibly bad
Did the draft serve them well? Brandon Miller | second pick
Miller was kind of the forgotten prospect going into the draft because everybody was so focused on Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson. But the No. 2 overall pick last year has given a great performance during his rookie campaign. He’s been a little quieter with playmaking than I expected him to be, but that’s more nitpicking than anything. He’s shot the ball well and is creating good shots for himself. And we’re seeing some encouraging defense for the future. Great pick by the Hornets.
Offensive Rating
108.9 (28th)
Defensive Rating
119.1 (27th)
Eastern
Tier 7 – Incomprehensibly bad
Did the draft serve them well? Victor Wembanyama | first pick
What else can you say? He’s already a superstar, and he’s putting up unreasonable numbers/production while being on a soft minutes restriction for a good chunk of this season. He just had consecutive games of five blocks and five steals, the first time that’s been done since Michael Jordan. He just had the youngest 5×5 (at least five points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in a game) in NBA history. And I’ll remind you, this is the worst he’s going to be for about 15 years. We undersold the historic hype.
Offensive Rating
109.1 (27th)
Defensive Rating
117.6 (24th)
Western
Tier 7 – Incomprehensibly bad
Did the draft serve them well? Ausar Thompson | fifth pick
We saw Thompson cool off from his great start, and Monty Williams has been perplexing people all year long with his rotations. But I love what we’ve seen from Thompson. His defense is above what’s reasonable to expect from a rookie wing. He hasn’t shown much of a jumper, but he’s still able to utilize his absurd athleticism to make plays on both ends. He’s also a walking poster dunk on anybody not meeting his body outside the paint.
Offensive Rating
111.1 (25th)
Defensive Rating
119.8 (30th)
Eastern
Tier 7 – Incomprehensibly bad
Did the draft serve them well? Scoot Henderson | third pick
I see a lot of positive flashes with Henderson, but at the same time, we haven’t seen much evidence of consistent shot making. He’ll need that to pair with all of his other gifts to become what the hype was telling us he’s going to be. I’m not too worried about his long-term prospects and still think he can become one of the best point guards in the league. It would be a lot easier to feel that way if he could make 45 percent of his shots the rest of the season and build that confidence and momentum.
Offensive Rating
108.2 (29th)
Defensive Rating
117.2 (22nd tied)
Western
Tier 7 – Incomprehensibly bad
Did the draft serve them well? Bilal Coulibaly | seventh pick
The latest news of Jordan Poole getting moved out of the starting lineup should mean good things for the Wizards rookie. Coulibaly has only started a few games this season, but we’ve mostly seen good results when he’s on the court. He’s still extremely raw for a wing at the NBA level, but he’s had some solid shot making. I also think he could end up being a good playmaker at this level. Right now, making shots in the middle of the floor is a problem, but he was one of my favorite prospects in the draft. He’ll have a great end to his rookie campaign.
Offensive Rating
110.5 (26th)
Defensive Rating
119.7 (29th)
Eastern
Tier 7 – Incomprehensibly bad
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(Top photo of Chet Holmgren and Jaime Jaquez Jr.: Jim Rassol / USA Today)
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