The 2023-24 NBA campaign is officially in full swing, and in the first two weeks, we’ve seen some surprises and a few teams struggling out the gate.
The 4-0 Denver Nuggets continue to dominate as one of the few undefeated teams left in the league, along with the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics, both 3-0. And in the highly competitive Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers sit squarely at .500, as they continue to find their rhythm in managing LeBron James’ minutes.
The Philadelphia 76ers remain in the top 10 despite the drama surrounding James Harden that came to a head on Tuesday, as Harden was traded to the LA Clippers.
And although it’s early, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Houston Rockets have yet to find their groove as the only teams without a win.
Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (Kendra Andrews, Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin and Ohm Youngmisuk) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing the best basketball now and which teams are looking most like title contenders.
Previous rankings: Post-Finals | Week 1
Jump to a team:
ATL | BOS | BKN | CHA | CHI | CLE
DAL | DEN | DET | GS | HOU | IND
LAC | LAL | MEM | MIA | MIL | MIN
NO | NY | OKC | ORL | PHI | PHX
POR | SAC | SA | TOR | UTAH | WAS
, who seems primed for a third MVP, but they boast the best starting five. Jokic, Jamal Murray & Co. have been dominant at times, as they showed against Oklahoma City, but they’ve also been unflappable when the game is on the line, like they were at Memphis. Once Michael Malone’s second unit begins to mesh, the Nuggets will be a real terror. — Ohm Youngmisuk
immediately get comfortable in his new surroundings. Plus, the combo of Kristaps Porzingis get a piece of it. Naturally, the head-scratching play went viral. In three games, the Wizards have surrendered 143 points and 126 in their two losses and their best big man, , is already injured. It’s going to be a long season in D.C. — Youngmisuk
had 58 points, 27 rebounds and 20 assists during the Rockets’ 0-3 start, joining Nikola Jokic (three times) and as the only centers since the ABA-NBA merger to put up those numbers in the first three games of a season. But Houston has been outscored by 16 points in Sengun’s 102 minutes. — MacMahon
