The Oklahoma City Thunder took their first loss of the season and somehow look better than ever. Meanwhile, at the bottom of the standings, we have trade rumors and front office meltdowns leading headlines. But the most interesting part of the NBA season right now is the robust middle class — 18 teams just below the Thunder who are at or above 0.500, all of whom are in play for the postseason and a win on any given night.
This week, we’re ranking every team and breaking down who’s slipping, which lineups are clicking, and how Ajay Mitchell just leveled up.
NBA Power Rankings, Week 3
TEAM | RECORD | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|
1. Oklahoma City Thunder | 10-1 | 1 |
2. Denver Nuggets | 7-2 | 5 |
3. Detroit Pistons | 7-3 | 9 |
4. Houston Rockets | 6-3 | 4 |
5. San Antonio Spurs | 7-2 | 2 |
6. New York Knicks | 6-3 | 14 |
7. Los Angeles Lakers | 7-3 | 11 |
8. Cleveland Cavaliers | 7-3 | 13 |
9. Chicago Bulls | 6-3 | 7 |
10. Minnesota Timberwolves | 6-4 | 16 |
11. Miami Heat | 6-4 | 10 |
12. Philadelphia 76ers | 6-4 | 3 |
13. Milwaukee Bucks | 6-4 | 6 |
14. Portland Trail Blazers | 5-4 | 8 |
15. Golden State Warriors | 6-5 | 12 |
16. Toronto Raptors | 5-5 | 22 |
17. Boston Celtics | 5-6 | 15 |
18. Atlanta Hawks | 5-5 | 20 |
19. Orlando Magic | 4-6 | 19 |
20. Phoenix Suns | 5-5 | 21 |
21. Charlotte Hornets | 3-6 | 17 |
22. Los Angeles Clippers | 3-6 | 18 |
23. Sacramento Kings | 3-7 | 23 |
24. Memphis Grizzlies | 4-7 | 25 |
25. Utah Jazz | 3-6 | 24 |
26. Indiana Pacers | 1-9 | 26 |
27. Dallas Mavericks | 3-7 | 27 |
28. New Orleans Pelicans | 2-7 | 30 |
29. Brooklyn Nets | 1-9 | 29 |
30. Washington Wizards | 1-9 | 28 |
Who’s slipping fast in Week 3?
Philadelphia 76ers: Down 9 spots
The 76ers have lost three of their past four games — to the Bulls, Cavs and Pistons. Two of those three losses were by a single possession, and they sandwiched a 10-point win over the surprisingly competitive Toronto Raptors. VJ Edgecombe has crashed back to earth, even if Tyrese Maxey has continued his MVP run. Weigh that evidence, and you still have a very good 76ers team, but one that's in the middle of a pack of flawed Eastern Conference contenders, rather than sprinting out in front of it.
Milwaukee Bucks: Down 7 spots
The Bucks have split their past four games, but the cracks are starting to show a bit. They needed a dramatic game-winner from Giannis to beat the injury ravaged Pacers, and followed that up with an embarrassing 28-point loss to the Raptors. After that, they rolled the Bulls and lost a tough game to the Rockets. Milwaukee is still in the mix at the top of the East, and Giannis has been perhaps the best player in the league so far. But he can't play 48 minutes a night, and they're getting outscored by 10.3 points per 100 possessions whenever he sits. They're building something, but it might just be a house of cards.
Trail Blazers: Down 6 spots
The Blazers are still one of the most exciting and surprising teams so far this season, but I might have gotten a little out over my skis last week, moving them up to No. 8. They did hand the Thunder their first loss of the season — a huge notch in their belt — but they also lost to the Lakers and Heat. Deni Avdija and Jerami Grant have stayed hot, but their lack of shooting is cramping the floor. It would really help if Scoot Henderson can come back and give them a shot-creation lift, or if Shaedon Sharpe could make like any jumpers at all. They're still very good and probably a playoff team, but they're not ready to camp out in the top-10 just yet.
Best lineups in the NBA so far
Pour one out for the Jazz: Of the 23 lineups that have played at least 50 minutes so far this season, none has been more effective than the Jazz's unit of Keyonte George, Svi Mykhailiuk, Lauri Markkanen, Kyle Filipowski and Walker Kessler — outscoring opponents by an average of 30.7 points per 100 possessions. That group featured three 7-footers, all of whom could space the floor and hit 3-pointers. Unfortunately, we've already seen the last of this group, as Kessler is finished for the season because of shoulder surgery.
The big, bad Rockets: The Houston Rockets have been leveraging their size as well as any team in the league this year, and outscored opponents by 23.1 points per 100 possessions with Amen Thompson, Josh Okogie, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Şengün on the court together. Okogie was an unexpected fifth for this group but he's been perfect, hitting 50 percent of his 3s and providing solid defense, often on players smaller and quicker.
Don't sleep on the Timberwolves: The third most-effective lineup in the league this season so far has been Minnesota's Mike Conley, Donte DiVincenzo, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert, outscoring opponents by an average of 21.7 points per 100 possessions, Swap in Anthony Edwards for Conley and you have the fourth-most effective lineup, plus-21.2 points per 100 possessions. The core of this roster is rock solid, one of the reasons they jumped up six spots in the power rankings this week.
OKC’s depth keeps getting scarier
The Thunder won the title last season with a core of three elite stars — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren — surrounded by one of the deepest and most versatile supporting casts in recent memory. From Isaiah Hartenstein to Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace, everyone on this roster was ready to execute their high-pressure defensive scheme, hit open shots and protect the ball. The formula coming into this season was the same — three stars and 10 perfect role players.
After a 10-1 start, we have to redo the math because Ajay Mitchell might be a legit star.
The second-round pick from UC Santa Barbara played under 600 minutes last season as a rookie, and just 84 across the Thunder's 23-game championship run. It was a challenge breaking through this incredibly deep roster, but Mitchell was up for it. He exploded during Summer League and has been playing 28 minutes per game with Jalen Williams out of the lineup, averaging 17.2 points, 4.1 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game on a 57.5 true shooting percentage.
Mitchell undoubtedly benefits from the talent around him, but he's not just a complementary player. He's scoring in the 69th percentile as the ball-handler in the pick-and-roll, he's averaging more drives per game than James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Trae Young or Amen Thompson, and he's hitting 54.5 percent of his pull-up 3s. Right now, he's mostly working off the bench, but he's thriving as a primary creator and scorer with those lineups and, again, we're talking about a guy who still hasn't even played 1000 minutes as a pro.
The Thunder roster is an embarrassment of riches, and his emergence adds a lot of extra juice to their title defense. But it also gives them a lot more options with the inevitable financial juggling acts as they try to turn this team into a dynasty.