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There is so much new about the NBA this season, from stars changing teams, to a lottery system that incentivizes actual competition. The first week of NBA action was riddled with injuries, blowouts and some excellent basketball in between.
For our NBA first power rankings of 2026-27, we tried to strike a balance between long-term projection and immediate execution.
Sunday was a horrible day for NBA injuries, with OKC's Jalen Williams suffering the worst of all — a gruesome ankle dislocation reminiscent of Gordon Hayward's career-altering injury in Boston all those years ago. OKC still has the deepest team in the NBA, with a proven formula besides. That said, Williams' absence was extremely consequential in the Western Conference Finals this past summer. If there's a soft spot on the OKC depth chart, it's their wing rotation, which is almost nonexistent.
Minnesota has recorded three straight blowouts to open the season. LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards are a vibe — and the Wolves are riding on a wave of positive energy right now. Ball transformed Charlotte into the most dangerous offense in the NBA for long stretches last season. Now, he's on a much better team, with a superstar running mate and a four-time DPOY anchoring the middle.
The Pistons must weather the absences of Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson, but Detroit is designed for such turbulence. This team is chock full of gutsy defenders who apply their physicality in liberal doses. Paul Reed is one of the best backup centers in the NBA. So long as Cade Cunningham is there to set the table on offense, it appears that the Pistons are once again operating with an extremely high baseline.
Houston has completely flipped the switch compared to last season, aided by the return of Fred VanVleet. He's so critical to making all the pieces fit offensively. It's early, but Alperen Şengün looks so much more confident and dynamic after a down year. Kevin Durant is on a heater; meanwhile, flying under the radar is Jabari Smith Jr., who's teasing a long-overdue breakout. The Rockets' shooting will regress eventually, but their defense should also solidify.
Luka Dončić exploded for 52 points and 10 assists against the Jazz on Sunday after a messy start to the season. Los Angeles is going to generate a lot of easy offense, and role players like Matisse Thybulle are far exceeding expectations. The defense is a predictably mixed bag and it's still hard to fully trust L.A.'s depth, but Dončić is a singular engine who can drive a lot of success on his own.
We've seen the highest of highs and the lowest of lows for the new-look 76ers. A monster 29-point comeback against Cleveland in their home opener showed that Philadelphia can overwhelm teams with their speed and activity level on defense, which leads to transition offense. There won't be a better fast break team in the NBA. That said, the halfcourt offense has very few go-tos beyond dumping the rock to Joel Embiid. That's a solid fulcrum, but Nick Nurse needs to get Philadelphia in motion, attacking with advantages. This team also has zero depth, and emptying the tank every night is not a viable long-term strategy.
Toronto has all the ingredients for the best defense in the NBA. Sunday's loss to Minnesota was a wake-up call, as is Kawhi Leonard's mysterious "knee swelling," which could portend injury problems for the Raptors' aging superstar. That said, Toronto's ability to guard should create a fairly high competitive floor.
Boston blew a huge lead in Detroit on opening day, then almost let another fourth-quarter lead slip away against the Knicks. We know the Celtics are designed to mathball their way to wins in the regular season. Paul George fits like a glove and Jayson Tatum responded to his opening day stinker with a proper superstar display in game two. That said, Boston really struggles to pressure the rim and create easy shots in crunch time. It's what sent them home in the playoffs, and it could prove more troublesome in a stronger Eastern Conference.
Dyson Daniels has 13 steals through three games so far, spearheading a swarming Hawks defense with his unbelieveable freneticism. Jalen Johnson is also averaging a 21-point triple double. Atlanta finished incredibly strong last season and appears ready to pick right back up where it left off. The Hawks are going to apply constant speed and pressure to simply out-hustle a lot of teams.
Ty Jerome is your newest All-Star point guard, it seems. He is averaging 34.7 points and 5.7 assists on 68.9 percent true shooting. That is not sustainable, but the overall process is. Jerome is one of the most scalable and efficient shot-makers in the NBA. Cameron Boozer has popped, predictably, with his lightspeed processing and well-rounded skill set. Zach Edey looks otherworldly on a minutes restriction. If he can get to a point where he's playing real starter minutes, the Grizzlies could rise shockingly high in the West.
Tyrese Haliburton has not required a lengthy adjustment period coming back from his Achilles tear. Indiana as a whole is not fully up to speed, but this team can crank up the tempo and produce some beautiful possessions offensively. The defense has lagged behind, with Ivica Zubac looking particularly rough (he also hurt his ankle on Sunday, which is a worrying omen). So long as Indiana can find their connectivity on that end, however, this should be a rousing comeback tour for the Pacers.
Portland looks like the best offensive team in the NBA through two games, both against subpar opponents. It's hard to get a proper read on such a small sample size, but the Ja Morant-Damian Lillard backcourt is electric. Portland's depth has allowed head coach Micah Nori to manage minutes and mix-and-match lineups situationally. Deni Avdija should benefit a ton from the pressure Portland's array of ball-handlers can apply.
Denver looked apathetic for seven straight quarters, until a remarkable fourth quarter plus overtime comeback against the Pelicans in their home opener. The ceiling for this Nuggets team remains quite high; Nikola Jokić is the best player in basketball and Denver's core group has workshopped its chemistry for years. That said, the Nuggets need to turn up the volume on defense. This team cannot coast through a regular season like it has in the past.
The Spurs' three-guard lineup is, predictably, a mess. There is a lot of time left for San Antonio to figure out the offensive hierarchy, but there's an alarming lack of spacing and the halfcourt offense is a slog. Even the defense has underperformed so far, although there's less reason for consternation on that front. There's a reason Dylan Harper came off the bench last season. If ego management necessitates his presence in the starting lineup, somebody will need to scale back.
The Cavs blew a 29-point lead in Philly for their season debut, then let the Nets pile up 41 fourth-quarter points in the home opener, turning a blowout into a narrow victory. Cleveland has to show a backbone. This is the same team that built a 22-point lead on New York in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, only to self-implode. James Harden needs to secure the basketball. Peyton Watson needs to find his niche and hit shots. The Cavs should be a fine regular season team, but the East is much too strong for lollygagging in crunch time.
It's much too early for the Knicks to panic over three losses to three potential playoff teams, but the reigning champs are immediately on their back foot. Jalen Brunson has struggled to find breathing room offensively, while the second unit is a completely nonfactor — a stark change from last season, when the Knicks' bench mob lit a fire in the playoffs. The Andre Drummond experience soured almost instantly. Between him and James Wiseman, New York may find that replacing Mitchell Robinson is more difficult than expected.
Washington has not passed a real test yet, and Anthony Davis has fallen back to earth quickly after a dominant 34-point, 12-rebound display on opening night. Still, the Wizards are ripe with talent. There's a ton of length and versatility to this group, and Trae Young's playmaking has proven quite effective, even as he struggles to score efficiently. The return of No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa's could infuse this group with some much-needed halfcourt shot creation.
Cooper Flagg hurt his shoulder in just the second game of the season, but it does not appear to be a serious ailment. When healthy, the Mavs are going to muscle up on defense, with a head coach who knows how to weaponize size and strength mismatches in Dusty May. Kyrie Irving looks extremely comfortable in his return. Irving's shot-making will be incredibly important to this group — perhaps a little too important — but at full strength, Dallas is a real threat.
The Jazz are struggling to rebound and defend in lieu of Walker Kessler, which was entirely predictable. The Jusuf Nurkić injury has really exposed their poor center depth. Still, it's hard not to believe in a team with so much firepower. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen will pop off eventually. Ace Bailey has taken to the small things on both ends in a really encouraging way. Keyonte George continues to generate easy offense, which is incredibly valuable given Darryn Peterson's slow start.
Charlotte is worse than its record. Brandon Miller is in over his head as the Hornets' primary offensive engine, while the early absence of Kon Knueppel and Coby White has proven difficult to overcome. The Hornets are dead last in offensive rating at the moment. The LaMelo Ball trade was always about building a more sustainable future, but his departure has sucked all the life out of this team.
Orlando is already dealing with injuries to Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs, so "better injury luck" isn't something the Magic can depend on. New head coach Sean Sweeney has a strong defensive ethos and Franz Wagner is very capable in the driver's seat during Banchero's absence, but once again, it's unclear if Orlando can hit enough 3s to produce clean halfcourt offense.
The Suns suffered an all-time blowout loss to Portland on opening night. Phoenix was granted the opportunity to beat up on a shorthanded Warriors squad in their second game — and Devin Booker beat 'em up — but the Suns are in for dramatic regression this season. Jalen Green and Miles Bridges are negative players who soak up far too much of the offensive spotlight. Phoenix needs to tweak its rotation sooner than later.
Ty Lue is a wizard when it comes to getting undermanned teams to play above their means. Darius Garland, Kris Dunn and Keaton Wagler appears to be quite the backcourt trio, while L.A.'s energy on defense is palpable. A couple more games of vintage Brook Lopez could move the Clippers further up these rankings.
The Warriors are dead upon arrival, folks. This team feels incomplete without Kristaps Porzingis, whose absence has left a wide-open lane to the rim for opposing offenses. Stephen Curry is still Stephen Curry, but Draymond Green is not the Draymond Green of old. Golden State just is not going to survive until Jimmy Butler's projected return date in January. Yaxel Lendeborg is positioned for a productive rookie campaign — and entertaining, both on and off the floor — but the Warriors are down for the count.
The Heat are, statistically, the worst team in the NBA right now (-16.3 Net Rating). Giannis Antetokounmpo has put up numbers, but the team around him is woefully shallow. Sound familiar? We can project defensive improvement for a team with Giannis and Bam Adebayo in the frontcourt, but the lack of playable guys around them is concerning. The Klay Thompson signing was a total dud. Andrew Wiggins is a ghost right now. Adebayo's offensive role is unclear. The Heat need to tap into their reserves (see: Ryan Conwell) to find some edge.
This has been a spirited week of losses for the Pelicans. The offense is going to have big nights. Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray and Trey Murphy III have all produced, with Derik Queen continuing to shake and bake off the bench. Jeremiah Fears will come around eventually, too. Unfortunately, the Pelicans are loaded with bucket-getters and short on viable defenders. This roster does not cohere on a functional level. A fun but critically flawed group.
Caleb Wilson is extremely fun to watch, even if he's doing way too much right now. That is the story of the Bulls, with Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis and the rest of Chicago's so-called core stuck in mud. Chicago is playing extremely fast, which is to be expected, but their halfcourt execution is abysmal. The Bulls' length and activity level has not translated to impactful defense either.
If you're wondering what happened to Miami's depth, look no further than Milwaukee, where the Heat's former supporting cast is off to a mostly positive start. The Bucks are not going to win many games this season — that was a foregone conclusion — but this team had eight double-digit scorers in a hard-fought loss to Philadelphia over the weekend. Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakučionis look especially comfortable in their expanded roles.
Julius Randle and Michael Porter Jr. will put up numbers, and Egor Dëmin is an increasingly fun watch, but the Nets are otherwise lacking any sort of tangible depth or dynamism. Mikel Brown Jr. should grow into a more central role as the season progresses, but the Nets' young core is otherwise in dire straits. The gears are turning much too slow offensively, which is in large part of the result of giving Randle and Porter far too much improvisational freedom to commandeer possessions.
Darius Acuff Jr. is chucking shots like there's no tomorrow, and perhaps there is no tomorrow on this Kings squad. Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine look fine, honestly, so Sacramento's best hope is to rebuild their trade value and cash in at the deadline. Otherwise, Acuff needs to learn how to pick his spots more effectively and elevate his teammates.
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