The 2026 NBA trade deadline is right around the corner (Feb. 5, 3 p.m. ET) and teams are hitting the midseason mark as the pace is starting to pick up around the league.<\/p>\n
The biggest name to kick off this trade season was Trae Young<\/a>, as the four-time All-Star is now a Washington Wizard after eight seasons with the Atlanta Hawks<\/a>. But the trade buzz doesn\u2019t stop there, as Ja Morant<\/a>, star guard for the Memphis Grizzlies<\/a>, is officially available as the team is entertaining trade offers, per ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania.<\/p>\n As for the actual standings, keep your eyes on the race for the top six seeds and the play-in in both conferences, as teams have just over 40 games left in the regular season and only a few clear runaways for the top spots.<\/p>\n With 23 days left until the trade deadline and just about three months left in the regular season, here are where our NBA insiders rank all 30 teams in this week\u2019s power rankings.<\/p>\n Note: Team rankings are based on where members of our panel (ESPN\u2019s Anthony Slater, Dave McMenamin, Jamal Collier, Kevin Pelton, Michael C. Wright, Bobby Marks, Tim Bontemps, Tim MacMahon, Vincent Goodwill and Zach Kram) think teams belong.<\/p>\n 1. Oklahoma City Thunder<\/p>\n Positive news: Nikola Topic<\/a>, the Serbian guard drafted No. 12 by the Thunder in 2024, announced that he\u2019s back on the court after completing a recent round of chemotherapy treatment. Topic was diagnosed with testicular cancer just before the regular season, stepping away from basketball right when it appeared his NBA career was about to begin. Topic sat out his rookie season rehabbing an ACL tear but had been cleared for his preseason debut in early October, scoring 10 points in 31 minutes. Days later, the cancer diagnosis was announced. — Anthony Slater<\/p>\n 2. Detroit Pistons<\/p>\n The injury bug has hit the Pistons. Cade Cunningham<\/a> has sat out the past two games, and Jalen Duren<\/a> and Tobias Harris<\/a> were out because of injuries. But Detroit is now riding a robust four straight days off to recover before playing Phoenix on Thursday. The Pistons\u2019 30-point beatdown of the Knicks sent shockwaves around the league about their postseason prospects. Important to note before the deadline: The Pistons have a $14 million trade exception they can use before it expires in July — they should be looking for shooting help and perhaps a secondary scorer next to Cunningham. If there\u2019s a short-term impact player they can acquire who can keep their books in order for the future, they will certainly explore it. — Vincent Goodwill<\/p>\n 3. San Antonio Spurs<\/p>\n The dog days of the NBA season have fallen upon San Antonio and its trio of guards in De\u2019Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle<\/a> and rookie Dylan Harper<\/a>, who have struggled in recent games. When the Spurs defeated Oklahoma City on Christmas Day, they had already traveled more than 13,000 miles (more than twice the leaguewide average at that point), spending 26 of 34 days on the road, only to start January with three consecutive back-to-back sets. San Antonio knows a break is on the horizon, but it must continue to fight to maintain its standing near the top of the West. — Michael C. Wright<\/p>\n 4. Denver Nuggets<\/p>\n Tim Hardaway Jr.<\/a> has been a tremendous bargain on a veteran\u2019s minimum deal, averaging 13.8 points while shooting career bests of 46.3% from the field and 41.4% from 3-point range. Hardaway has benefited from playing with NBA assists leader Nikola Jokic<\/a>, who has fed Hardaway on 18.7% of his buckets this season. But Hardaway has also been a huge factor in the Nuggets remaining competitive during Jokic\u2019s absence, averaging 16.7 points and shooting 42.6% on 3s since the three-time MVP injured his knee. — Tim MacMahon<\/p>\n 5. Minnesota Timberwolves<\/p>\n Rudy Gobert<\/a> is having a great season and is once again making himself a contender to finish high in Defensive Player of the Year voting. But Gobert sat out Tuesday night\u2019s game against the Bucks because of a one-game suspension for flagrant foul points, and will sit out more time this season for suspensions for every additional flagrant foul he accrues — something that could become a problem for a Minnesota team that relies on his defensive impact. — Tim Bontemps<\/p>\n 6. New York Knicks<\/p>\n The Knicks were relieved when they welcomed back Josh Hart<\/a> after he sat out eight games because of an ankle injury that occurred on Christmas Day. During his absence, the Knicks went 3-5 and sported the third-worst defensive rating. Hart\u2019s 18 points and six rebounds in their 123-114 win over Portland signaled a return to normalcy — somewhat. Owner James Dolan stated last week that he expects a Finals run with this roster. But over the past few weeks, sources say the Knicks are looking for a backup big and takers for free agent signing Guerschon Yabusele<\/a>. — Goodwill<\/p>\n 7. Boston Celtics<\/p>\n On Saturday, it was Jaylen Brown<\/a> expressing frustration with the referees after losing to the Spurs. On Monday, it was Joe Mazzulla just repeating \u201cillegal screen\u201d in response to every question after a close loss to the Pacers. The result, though, is the same. And now Boston has dropped three of its past four games and has gone from having a chance to secure second place in the East to being in third, with the Raptors and Sixers closing in quickly. — Bontemps<\/p>\n 8. Phoenix Suns<\/p>\n Phoenix guard Jalen Green<\/a>, who has been limited to only two games all season because of a right hamstring strain, is nearing a return. He announced as much while replying to Devin Booker<\/a>\u2019s Instagram story this week, writing \u201cwe right there\u201d in regard to his comeback. The Suns have been a Cinderella story so far, starting the season 24-15 (ESPN Bet set their over\/under win total at 31.5 in the preseason). — Dave McMenamin<\/p>\n 9. Houston Rockets<\/p>\n Rockets coach Ime Udoka made a salient point after a recent loss, pointing out the team\u2019s overreliance on superstar forward Kevin Durant<\/a>. \u201cYou take a 37-year-old out of the game for [three] minutes, and you lose a 13-point lead, 11-0 run. [We] don\u2019t play with any aggression or confidence. [We were] mentally weak.\u201d Call that Udoka\u2019s way of lighting a fire under supporting cast players such as Amen Thompson<\/a> and Alperen Sengun<\/a>, who is back in the lineup after a three-game absence, along with Reed Sheppard<\/a>. — Wright<\/p>\n 10. Toronto Raptors<\/p>\n Jamal Shead<\/a> and Collin Murray-Boyles<\/a> were the surprise standouts over the weekend in a comeback win over Philadelphia. But that victory was sandwiched between losses to Boston and Philadelphia — the two teams closest to Toronto in the standings — which helped reaffirm the Raptors\u2019 place in the Eastern Conference hierarchy. Barring an improvement before the trade deadline, they profile as fringe contenders but still a step below the conference\u2019s top teams. — Zach Kram<\/p>\n 11. Philadelphia 76ers<\/p>\n The next couple of weeks could be pivotal for the 76ers, who play nine of their next 10 games at home beginning Wednesday. Philadelphia will then have only 13 of its final 34 games at home after that, meaning this is an opportunity to try to pull into the top four in the East and is a necessary stretch to capitalize on before spending a lot of time away from home late in the season. — Bontemps<\/p>\n 12. Cleveland Cavaliers<\/p>\n The Cavs are coming off a disappointing loss to the Jazz at home, where De\u2019Andre Hunter, their prized acquisition from last year\u2019s trade deadline, was benched for the fourth quarter. He scored two points in 17 minutes, both season lows, and coach Kenny Atkinson said after the game that Hunter was going through a prolonged slump. It has resulted in one of the worst starts to a season in his seven-year career — averaging 13.9 points on 42.5% shooting, both his lowest marks since his rookie season, while shooting a career-worst 30% from 3. — Jamal Collier<\/p>\n 13. Los Angeles Lakers<\/p>\n With JJ Redick<\/a> declaring that Rui Hachimura<\/a> will come off the bench upon his return from a right Achilles issue, wading back into action on a minutes restriction, the question is whether he\u2019ll stay there. Jake LaRavia<\/a> has enjoyed his best month as a Laker in January with Hachimura out. In his first six games of 2026 — all as a starter — LaRavia averaged 13.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 51.7%, including 37.8% from 3. — McMenamin<\/p>\n 14. Golden State Warriors<\/p>\n Offseason signing De\u2019Anthony Melton is beginning to take a firm grip of the Warriors\u2019 shooting guard position. Melton sat out the first six weeks of the season while completing the later stages of his ACL rehab. He was on a strict 20-minute limit upon his return and hasn\u2019t been cleared for back-to-backs. But Steve Kerr recently bumped Melton\u2019s limit up to 25 minutes and has been regularly closing games with him on the court. Stephen Curry<\/a> recently called Melton a \u201cprototypical\u201d starting shooting guard after he had 22 bench points in a win. Kerr said the expectation is Melton will get cleared for 30-plus minutes and, once he does, Kerr said he planned to use all 30 — an indication that he will be the eventual starter. — Slater<\/p>\n 15. Orlando Magic<\/p>\n The Magic head to Berlin and London for a pair of games against Memphis, and although Berlin is 4,900 miles from Orlando, the game is essentially home for brothers Franz and Moritz Wagner<\/a>. After tearing his left ACL last December, Moritz returned in the team\u2019s win Sunday against New Orleans, scoring eight points. Meanwhile, after sitting out 16 games because of a sprained left ankle, Franz is nearing a return. With its loss to Philadelphia last week, Orlando is now 10-12 against teams above .500. — Bobby Marks<\/p>\n 16. Atlanta Hawks<\/p>\n Before losing Tuesday against the Lakers, the post-Trae Young<\/a> era had seen Atlanta win three straight games, including victories over Denver and Golden State on the road. The addition of CJ McCollum<\/a> and Corey Kispert<\/a> should help a roster that has been hit hard with injuries.<\/p>\n In the Lakers loss, the Hawks were without Kristaps Porzingis<\/a>, Luke Kennard<\/a>, Zaccharie Risacher<\/a> and had just 10 active players. An area of concern that could get addressed closer to the trade deadline is a lack of size in the frontcourt. Atlanta has allowed the eighth-most points in the paint and rank 25th in rebounding percentage. — Marks<\/p>\n 17. Miami Heat<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s win against Phoenix ended a three-game losing streak for Miami, and all three of those losses (Minnesota, Indiana, Oklahoma City) were by double digits. Before scoring 127 against the Suns, the Heat ranked second to last in offensive efficiency since Dec. 1. They ranked 13th in the first six weeks of the season. Bam Adebayo<\/a>\u2019s offensive production is worth watching. Since Dec. 1, Adebayo has ranked fifth on the team in scoring (14.5) and is shooting 28% on 3-pointers. — Marks<\/p>\n 18. Portland Trail Blazers<\/p>\n The Blazers\u2019 five-game winning streak, which was ended Sunday by the Knicks, was the team\u2019s second longest since February 2021. During the run, Portland produced impressive wins at San Antonio and back-to-back at home against Houston. The bigger loss Sunday was Deni Avdija<\/a>, who left late in the game because of back soreness and was sidelined Tuesday at Golden State. Avdija told reporters he was optimistic that he won\u2019t miss long after feeling his back \u201cgive up on me\u201d while landing on the rebound. On the plus side, Jrue Holiday<\/a> played Sunday for the first time since suffering a hamstring strain in mid-November. — Kevin Pelton<\/p>\n 19. LA Clippers<\/p>\n Don\u2019t look now, but the Clippers have won 10 out of 12 games since mid-December, including two against the East-leading Pistons. Third-year guard Jordan Miller<\/a>, a 2023 late second-round pick out of the University of Miami, has been a bright spot during that stretch. He has averaged 6.2 points on 55.1% shooting (45% from 3) in 14.2 minutes off the bench, giving the injury-riddled Clips a lift so Kawhi Leonard<\/a> and James Harden<\/a> don\u2019t have to do everything. — McMenamin<\/p>\n 20. Milwaukee Bucks<\/p>\n Since Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> returned from injury, the Bucks are 5-4, a solid but unspectacular mark for a team trying to dig itself out of a massive hole. Milwaukee still hasn\u2019t recorded a three-game winning streak this season, one of only six teams in the league (Pacers, Hornets, Kings, Wizards and Jazz) that have failed to do so, according to ESPN Research. And as a result, the Bucks still haven\u2019t gained any ground in the standings. They begin another week stuck in 11th place and outside of the play-in tournament. — Collier<\/p>\n 21. Chicago Bulls<\/p>\n Matas Buzelis<\/a> has proved to be Chicago\u2019s biggest bright spot so far this season. With Josh Giddey<\/a> injured and Coby White<\/a> playing in only two of the past six games, Buzelis has stepped into more of a scoring role and flourished. Since Dec. 31, Buzelis is averaging 19.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.8 blocks on 47.9% shooting. Chicago does have a favorable schedule over the next week, with games against Utah, Brooklyn (twice) and the Clippers. After their loss against the Rockets on Tuesday, the Bulls have now been 18-21 through 39 games for the fourth consecutive season. — Collier<\/p>\n 22. Memphis Grizzlies<\/p>\n Losers in six of their plast eight games, the Grizzlies are hoping recent news of their willingness to trade star guard Ja Morant<\/a> won\u2019t cause too much of a distraction. Memphis initiated a soft reset of the franchise last March when it fired longtime coach Taylor Jenkins and traded Desmond Bane<\/a> three months later to Orlando. And with the Grizzlies now entertaining potential offers for Morant, a full roster teardown could be on the menu with the team shifting its focus to developing younger players such as Jaylen Wells<\/a>, Zach Edey<\/a>, Cedric Coward<\/a> and Cam Spencer<\/a> to play alongside Jaren Jackson Jr.<\/a>. — Wright<\/p>\n 23. Charlotte Hornets<\/p>\n On Thursday, LaMelo Ball<\/a> came off the bench for the first time since his rookie season in the second game of a back-to-back and responded well, topping 30 points for only the third time all season. But Saturday\u2019s 55-point blowout win over the Jazz overshadowed that, as it was a historically lopsided outcome. Per the Dunc\u2019d On Daily Duncs, only three teams in NBA history have won by so many points in a season in which they won fewer than 36 games. The Hornets are on pace for 29 losses, though their minus-0.6 point differential is now better than the 24-14 Lakers. — Pelton<\/p>\n 24. Dallas Mavericks<\/p>\n Forward Naji Marshall<\/a> has been one of the bright spots of a difficult season in Dallas. He\u2019s averaging career bests of 13.6 points and 54% shooting, and his production has increased to 16.9 points on 58.6% shooting in his 17 starts. He has been especially productive attacking off the dribble, shooting 60.7% off of drives. According to NBA Advanced Stats, only Luka Doncic<\/a> and Austin Reaves<\/a> have a higher field goal percentage among the players who rank in the top 50 in points off of drives. — MacMahon<\/p>\n 25. Utah Jazz<\/p>\n Lauri Markkanen<\/a>\u2019s availability is a pretty strong indication of how competitive the Jazz will be on a night-to-night basis. Utah is 8-6 with its star in the lineup since Dec. 1, and Markkanen is averaging 27.9 points on .507\/.383\/.856 shooting splits in that span. The Jazz lost all six games that Markkanen sat out. — MacMahon<\/p>\n 26. Brooklyn Nets<\/p>\n All of the good vibes from December seem to have dissipated for the Nets, who have lost seven of eight since Dec. 29. After being the best defense in December, Brooklyn slipped to 26th in January (118.8 defensive rating). The rumors will continue to swirl around Michael Porter Jr\u2019s availability before February\u2019s trade deadline, but there\u2019s a bright spot amid the slide: Egor Demin<\/a> has been hot from 3-point range this month, shooting 53% on over six attempts a game. — Goodwill<\/p>\n 27. Sacramento Kings<\/p>\n After an extended stretch outside Doug Christie\u2019s rotation, reserve guard Malik Monk<\/a> has reappeared in the past three games and produced to a great degree. Monk played 26 and 32 minutes against the Rockets and Lakers, respectively, scoring 15 and 26 points in a pair of surprising upset wins. This is happening at a potentially useful time for Sacramento. The Kings explored Monk\u2019s trade market this past summer and offered him to the Warriors in a variety of constructions for Jonathan Kuminga<\/a>, league sources said. Golden State has continually declined. There\u2019s no indication that will change, but Monk is expected to remain available to the rest of the league in the lead-up to the deadline, and this recent mini-surge could provide a tiny boost to his value. — Slater<\/p>\n 28. Indiana Pacers<\/p>\n Last week was the best of Indiana\u2019s season so far, with wins over Charlotte, Miami (by 24 points) and Boston (holding them under 100 points for the first time this season). Andrew Nembhard<\/a> and Pascal Siakam<\/a> both averaged 21 points in that stretch, while youngsters Jarace Walker<\/a> and Johnny Furphy<\/a> also added positive contributions. Excellent 3-point shooting helped as well, as Indiana has made at least 40% of its 3s in six games in a row. — Kram<\/p>\n 29. Washington Wizards<\/p>\n Don\u2019t expect Trae Young<\/a> to play for Washington anytime soon, despite joining the Wizards in a trade last week. The four-time All-Star remains sidelined because of a leg injury, and ESPN\u2019s Marc Spears reported that the Wizards don\u2019t yet have a return timeline scheduled. Given that the Wizards have been surprisingly competitive of late — with a 7-8 record since a 3-20 start — and are focused on ensuring they keep their top-eight-protected pick in the 2026 draft, there\u2019s an incentive to keep Young out a while longer. — Kram<\/p>\n 30. New Orleans Pelicans<\/p>\n The Pelicans ended their second nine-game losing streak of the season Friday against a Washington team playing without newly acquired Trae Young<\/a>, getting 30-plus points from both Trey Murphy III<\/a> and Zion Williamson<\/a>, plus a triple-double from Derik Queen<\/a> against his hometown team. New Orleans was competitive again in a loss Sunday at Orlando but has still sunk to the bottom of the NBA standings with just nine wins at the midpoint of a schedule that has done the Pelicans no favors. The Wizards were the only team New Orleans has played since Christmas that is currently outside the play-in. — Pelton<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 NBA trade deadline is right around the corner (Feb. 5, 3 p.m. ET) and teams are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":523810,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3770],"tags":[8218,7,6,552,681,680,476,3820],"class_list":{"0":"post-536182","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-raptors","8":"tag-2025-26-nba-season","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-nba-power-rankings","12":"tag-raptors","13":"tag-toronto","14":"tag-toronto-raptors","15":"tag-torontoraptors"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115893971455096926","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=536182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536182\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/523810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=536182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=536182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=536182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}