{"id":594331,"date":"2026-02-10T10:19:51","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T10:19:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/594331\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T10:19:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T10:19:51","slug":"nba-power-rankings-new-york-knicks-rise-to-top-5-after-trade-deadline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/594331\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA power rankings: New York Knicks rise to top 5 after trade deadline"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NBA trading deadline has come and gone and a handful of teams improved their positioning for the back half of the 2025-26 NBA season.<\/p>\n

And with the NBA All-Star break coming up at the end of the week, it will offer teams a bit of a respite and chance to recharge before the grind continues.<\/p>\n

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The most fascinating teams to watch are the ones who bought before the deadline \u2014 the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets, for example \u2014 to see whether their moves can lead to tangible gains in the future.<\/p>\n

Here are\u00a0USA TODAY Sports<\/a>\u2019 NBA power rankings after Week 15 of the 2025-26 regular season:<\/p>\n

1 \/ 8<\/p>\n

Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents<\/p>\n

Oct. 26: The Dallas Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg dunks the ball past the Toronto Raptors’ Sandro Mamukelashvili at the American Airlines Center.<\/p>\n

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1 \/ 8<\/p>\n

Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents<\/p>\n

Oct. 26: The Dallas Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg dunks the ball past the Toronto Raptors’ Sandro Mamukelashvili at the American Airlines Center.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

2 \/ 8<\/p>\n

Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents<\/p>\n

Oct. 26: The Washington Wizards’ Cam Whitmore dunks the ball against the Charlotte Hornets at Capital One Arena.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

3 \/ 8<\/p>\n

Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents<\/p>\n

Oct. 26: The Brooklyn Nets’ Michael Porter Jr. dunks in front of the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama at Frost Bank Center.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

4 \/ 8<\/p>\n

Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents<\/p>\n

Oct. 25: The Denver Nuggets’ Christian Braun dunks the ball against the Phoenix Suns’ Grayson Allen at Ball Arena.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

5 \/ 8<\/p>\n

Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents<\/p>\n

Oct. 24: The Memphis Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr. dunks against the Miami Heat at FedExForum.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

6 \/ 8<\/p>\n

Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents<\/p>\n

Oct. 24: The Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo dunks over the Memphis Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr. at FedExForum.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

7 \/ 8<\/p>\n

Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents<\/p>\n

Oct. 22: The New York Knicks’ OG Anunoby goes up for a reverse dunk against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

8 \/ 8<\/p>\n

Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents<\/p>\n

Oct. 22: The Utah Jazz’s Lauri Markkanen dunks against the Los Angeles Clippers at Delta Center.<\/p>\n

USA TODAY Sports NBA power rankings<\/p>\n

Note:\u00a0Records and stats through Feb. 8. Parentheses show movement from\u00a0last week\u2019s rankings<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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NBA Week 16 power rankings: Top 10<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Detroit Pistons<\/a>, 38-13 (\u2014)<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a>, 40-13 (\u2014)<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0San Antonio Spurs<\/a>, 36-16 (+1)<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0New York Knicks<\/a>, 34-19 (+5)<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0Boston Celtics<\/a>, 34-19 (\u2014)<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0Denver Nuggets<\/a>, 34-19 (-3)<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0Houston Rockets<\/a>, 32-19 (\u2014)<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>, 32-19 (\u2014)<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a>, 32-21 (+1)<\/p>\n

10.\u00a0Toronto Raptors<\/a>, 32-22 (-4)<\/p>\n

The Thunder continue to show vulnerabilities, especially now that reigning Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is set to miss time. Oklahoma City has lost five of its last eight games, including the last two without Gilgeous-Alexander. The Knicks have posted massive victories against the Raptors, Lakers, Nuggets and Celtics over the last week, so they move up, but a loss against Detroit shows why the Pistons remain at the top.<\/p>\n

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And the Cavaliers, with their fascinating trade for James Harden, now have to back up their decision to go all-in on this build; the Cavs have won eight of their last nine, though the competition hasn\u2019t necessarily been that impressive.<\/p>\n

NBA Week 16 power rankings: Nos. 11-20<\/p>\n

11.\u00a0Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a>, 32-22 (+1)<\/p>\n

12.\u00a0Phoenix Suns<\/a>, 31-22 (+1)<\/p>\n

13.\u00a0Philadelphia 76ers<\/a>, 30-22 (+1)<\/p>\n

14.\u00a0Golden State Warriors<\/a>, 28-25 (-3)<\/p>\n

15.\u00a0Orlando Magic<\/a>, 27-24 (+4)<\/p>\n

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16.\u00a0Los Angeles Clippers<\/a>, 25-27 (+2)<\/p>\n

17.\u00a0Miami Heat<\/a>, 28-26 (-2)<\/p>\n

18.\u00a0Charlotte Hornets<\/a>, 25-28 (+4)<\/p>\n

19.\u00a0Atlanta Hawks<\/a>, 26-28 (+1)<\/p>\n

20.\u00a0Portland Trail Blazers<\/a>, 25-28 (-3)<\/p>\n

The Timberwolves have lost three of their last four, but they move up a spot mostly because the teams below them haven\u2019t necessarily capitalized. Still, defense is a massive concern, as Minnesota ranks 29th in defensive rating (125.5) over its last four games.<\/p>\n

The middle of the Eastern Conference is seemingly a group of teams \u2014 the Magic, Heat and Hawks \u2014 rotating in and out. But it\u2019s the hottest team in the NBA, the Charlotte Hornets, who have won nine consecutive games, who are big risers. Charlotte ranks first in offensive rating (120.8) and second in net rating (13.2) over the last nine games.<\/p>\n

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NBA Week 16 power rankings: Nos. 21-30<\/p>\n

21.\u00a0Chicago Bulls<\/a>, 24-29 (-5)<\/p>\n

22.\u00a0Milwaukee Bucks<\/a>, 21-29 (+2)<\/p>\n

23.\u00a0Memphis Grizzlies<\/a>, 20-31 (\u2014)<\/p>\n

24.\u00a0Dallas Mavericks<\/a>, 19-33 (-3)<\/p>\n

25.\u00a0Utah Jazz<\/a>, 16-37 (\u2014)<\/p>\n

26.\u00a0New Orleans Pelicans<\/a>, 14-40 (\u2014)<\/p>\n

27.\u00a0Brooklyn Nets<\/a>, 14-37 (\u2014)<\/p>\n

28.\u00a0 Washington Wizards<\/a>, 14-38 (+2)<\/p>\n

29.\u00a0Indiana Pacers<\/a>, 13-40 (-1)<\/p>\n

30.\u00a0Sacramento Kings<\/a>, 12-42 (-1)<\/p>\n

The Mavericks have gotten excellent performances from Cooper Flagg, but the trade of Anthony Davis signals that rebuild is fully in action. The Bucks got a big win by staying patient in the trading deadline, and the addition of Cam Thomas should bolster scoring. But can the Bucks make a tangible push for the playoffs once Giannis Antetokounmpo returns?<\/p>\n

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And the poor Kings are in absolute free fall, losers of 12 consecutive games. They struggle to defend, made a head-scratching move before the deadline and simply don\u2019t have a tangible direction for their future.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA power rankings: Pistons remain in top spot as Knicks make jump<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NBA trading deadline has come and gone and a handful of teams improved their positioning for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":594332,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3768],"tags":[495,208,7,75,247,959,473,329,193,225,149,187,188,123,164,194,126,560,304,135,150,177,189,121,152,6,2840,470,1136,191,3810,3806,475,179,76,207,472,471,10831,477,474,209,476,427,468],"class_list":{"0":"post-594331","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-knicks","8":"tag-anthony-davis","9":"tag-atlanta-hawks","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-boston-celtics","12":"tag-brooklyn-nets","13":"tag-cam-thomas","14":"tag-charlotte-hornets","15":"tag-chicago-bulls","16":"tag-cleveland-cavaliers","17":"tag-cooper-flagg","18":"tag-dallas-mavericks","19":"tag-denver-nuggets","20":"tag-detroit-pistons","21":"tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","22":"tag-golden-state-warriors","23":"tag-houston-rockets","24":"tag-indiana-pacers","25":"tag-james-harden","26":"tag-knicks","27":"tag-los-angeles-clippers","28":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","29":"tag-memphis-grizzlies","30":"tag-miami-heat","31":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","32":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","33":"tag-nba","34":"tag-nba-season","35":"tag-new-orleans-pelicans","36":"tag-new-york","37":"tag-new-york-knicks","38":"tag-newyork","39":"tag-newyorkknicks","40":"tag-oklahoma-city","41":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","42":"tag-orlando-magic","43":"tag-philadelphia-76ers","44":"tag-phoenix-suns","45":"tag-portland-trail-blazers","46":"tag-power-rankings","47":"tag-sacramento-kings","48":"tag-san-antonio-spurs","49":"tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","50":"tag-toronto-raptors","51":"tag-utah-jazz","52":"tag-washington-wizards"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594331","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=594331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594331\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/594332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=594331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=594331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=594331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}