NBA Power Rankings: Celtics, Lakers Open in Top 10, Pressure on Thunder & More

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Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers

The league swings back in action on Tuesday night, and that’s as good a reason to update the first NBA Power Rankings of the season, with a familiar pair of teams–the Thunder and the Spurs–at the top of the pile. There are some surprise teams nipping at their heels, most notably the Timberwolves, who are likely to be in boom-or-bust mode after making the trade to bring in LaMelo Ball. The Sixers, of course, are going to bring in ample attention with the addition of LaMelo Ball.

And it’s always worth seeing where the Celtics and Lakers will come in–this time around, they’re squeezing into the Top 10. Let’s get a better look.

NBA Power Rankings Top 10: One Shot for This Thunder Team

Team to watch: Oklahoma City Thunder

Quote that matters: “He’s a great defensive player. Obviously, I think he came into the league as just a very instinctive competitive guy and that won the day for him. That and his talent was able to get him on the court very early. And I think as time goes on, and they guard the same guys over and over again, and they learn the pictures and they have an understanding of how they’re getting attacked, then it starts to layer an additional awareness, understanding, wisdom.” –coach Mark Daigneault on Cason Wallace.

It’s worth highlighting Wallace here because the five-year, $209 million contract extension he just signed–though unsurprising–figures to be a critical inflection point for the franchise. The team now faces a payroll bill for 2027-28 season topping $450 million with luxury tax payments, which means the current iteration of the Thunder will be the final time we see this team together. The Thunder will need to dump salary again next summer, which adds a bit of pressure and drama to this season.

Clemente Almanza

@CAlmanza1007 · Follow

Mark Daigneault on Cason Wallace: “He’s a great defensive player. Obviously, I think he came into the league as just a very instinctive competitive guy and that won the day for him.”

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NBA Power Rankings No. 11-20: Magic Kingdom Under Fire

Team to watch: Orlando Magic

Quote that matters: “In general, we want to make sure that we are getting more shots and getting better shots than our opponent. And that has to do with the offensive side of the ball certainly, with our spacing, with our discipline, with our offensive rebounding, but it also has to do with our defense. And those two things work together. The better we play on offense, the better we play on defense; the better we play on defense, the better we play on offense.” — new Magic coach Sean Sweeney

The Magic invested so heavily in the 2025-26 season that, coming off the ruins of that disappointing year, they almost entirely stayed still this summer, not even investing in a contract extension for Anthony Black. The only substantive move was to bring in Sweeney as the coach, and there is much riding him on getting results that Jamahl Mosley could not. If this season falls flat like last year did, the Magic will be facing the second apron with a roster packed with overpaid and overlong deals, and may need to make some desperate moves to free up payroll space.

NBA Power Rankings No. 21-30: Bulls’ New Slate

Team to watch: Chicago Bulls

Quote that matters: “Hopefully everybody sees it as this team’s going to compete every night. We’re gonna bring the juice every night. We’re gonna try to do the right things and play the right way, and we’re going to develop. That’s a big part of this young team — see Caleb getting better, Matas (Buzelis) getting better, the whole roster getting better. This is big for us.” — new Bulls coach Tiago Splitter

Splitter’s ability as a player development guy will get a test this season as he has a potential superstar in rookie Caleb Williams and a potential third-year breakout guy in Matas Buzelis. The Bulls won’t be a playoff team but they should be a lot of fun to watch while also taking care of the very serious business of laying groundwork to contend within the next few years.