NBA 2025-26 power rankings: Where Knicks stand among league’s best
NY Post
Nearly two weeks after Oklahoma City ascended to the NBA throne, a slew of big names have switched teams in trades and the first week of free agency to alter the landscape of the contenders chasing the Thunder in the league’s pecking order.
There also are zero head coaching openings after the Knicks hired Mike Brown this week, making this a good time to update The Post’s NBA power rankings, with more moves sure to follow over the rest of the summer.
OKC validated its 68-win regular season by capturing the franchise’s first title since relocating from Seattle in 2008. The Thunder have a strong chance to add more rings with a stellar core of league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Willians, Chet Holmgren and Lu Dort all 26 or younger.
Houston has improved from 22 to 41 to 52 wins in the first two seasons under Ime Udoka, and they went all-in by trading for Kevin Durant to attempt to challenge in the West after losing to the Warriors in the first round.
Kenny Atkinson earned Coach of the Year honors in Year 1 with a 64-18 campaign and the top seed in the East, but this group — fronted by Donovan Mitchell and DPOY Evan Mobley — still hasn’t gotten past the second round of the playoffs. This is their window with the drastically changing landscape in the East because of injuries.
The same goes for the Knicks after the team’s first trip to the conference finals since 2000. They are banking on Brown getting them there after firing Tom Thibodeau, and they’ve brought in a couple of needed bench pieces — Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele — behind All-Stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Not all borderline playoff teams are created equal. When it comes to spicing up the trade deadline, the Diamondbacks and Twins particularly stand out as pivot clubs that, if they turn to sellers in the next two weeks, could substantially deepen the quantity and quality of the market.
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