NBA power rankings 2024-25: Thunder, Celtics pulling away from everyone, Lakers re-enter top 10

Cleveland has won 4-of-5, reached 60 wins on the season, will be the No. 1 seed in the East, but it feels like they are at least half a step behind Boston and OKC, the way the top two are playing right now.

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1. Oklahoma City Thunder (63-12, Last Week No. 1). The Thunder are 28-1 against the Eastern Conference this season, which sets a new high water mark for best record every against the other conference (the previous best was the 2000 Shaq/Kobe Lakers and the 2007 Dirk Nowtizki Mavericks, both of whom were 27-3). The Thunder also have 48 double-digit wins this season, just two off the record (50 by the Wilt Chamberlain/Jerry West 1971-72 Lakers; the Thunder have tied the 2017 Warriors and already in double-digit wins and passed both Kareem’s 1971 Bucks and Jordan’s 96 Bulls). Worth noting that all those other teams won the NBA title.

2. Boston Celtics (56-19, LW 2). Boston is hitting its stride at just the right time — the Celtics just recorded the first 6-0 road trip in franchise history (it's kind of shocking that the Bill Russell Celtics didn’t pull that off). Part of what is driving that is improved playmaking from Jayson Tatum, who averaged 5.6 assists a game before the All-Star break and is averaging 7.1 a night after. Tatum is having his best season, playing with more edge than ever, and is a First Team All-NBA lock.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers (60-15, LW 3). If you're looking for reasons to feel good about the Cavaliers — outside of them reaching 60 wins for just the third time in franchise history — then think back to Sunday's win over the Clippers. Jarrett Allen got his revenge on Ivica Zubac with 25 points and 12 rebounds, and the Cavaliers had a balanced attack with Donovan Mitchell (24 points), Evan Mobley (22), and Darius Garland (19). That's the energy this team needs to take into the playoffs.

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4. Golden State Warriors (44-31, LW 6). The Warriors are now 19-5 since the Jimmy Butler trade and their defense is the reason. The Warriors have the seventh-ranked defense in the NBA this season and, in what is a good sign for the playoffs, the fourth-best clutch defense in the league. It also helps when Stephen Curry does this.

5. Denver Nuggets (47-29, LW 4). Denver went 2-3 without Nikola Jokic, but he didn't miss a beat when he returned. He looked like his MVP self. Did you see the 61-point triple-double against Minnesota on Tuesday? Jamal Murray missed that game (his second in a row) with a hamstring issue — if Denver is going to make any kind of postseason run it will need a fully healthy, aggressive Murray. We've only seen that Murray sporadically this season.

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