Tracking the Power Rankings

[scott]

Look out now, but despite everyone's theories about how the league and the media hate us... folks are taking notice and we might even be the new darlings.

Thought it would be good to have a thread to post all the various power ranking updates.

The first one is out and NBA.com has us jumping from #15 to #8 (please note, the NetRtg, ORtg, DRtg and Pace definitions at the bottom of this post, so that everyone is on the same page)

Power Rankings, Week 2: Warriors, Spurs, Lakers rise up

The Thunder stay in the lead, but the Warriors, Lakers and Pistons are all rising to open 2025-26.

www.nba.com

Last Week:15↑
Record: 3-0

OffRtg: 120.2 (4) DefRtg: 104.7 (2) NetRtg: +15.5 (1) Pace: 97.1 (28)

The Spurs were one of just two 3-0 teams in Week 1, thrashing the Mavs before holding on for clutch wins against New Orleans and Brooklyn. Victor Wembanyama is a new man, and he averaged 33.3 points, 13.3 rebounds and six blocks over the three wins.

Three takeaways

• Wembanyama’s offensive aggression has carried over from the preseason, with 40 (62%) of his 65 shots having come in the paint, up from a rate of just 37% last season. Through his first two seasons, Wembanyama had one game with at least seven dunks. He had seven in both of the Spurs’ first two games this year, adding three more on Sunday.
• Dylan Harper scored at least 13 points off the bench in all three games and came up huge in the win over the Nets on Sunday afternoon, registering 20 points, six rebounds, eight assists (with zero turnovers) and two steals. All eight of his buckets came in the paint, with three big drives down the stretch after the Spurs blew a 26-point, third-quarter lead. They closed with Harper and Keldon Johnson on the floor instead of starters Julian Champagnie and Harrison Barnes.
• Over the three games, the score in the restricted area was Spurs 154, opponents 72. Those opponents shot 12-for-26 (46%) at the rim when Wembanyama was there to protect it.

Coming up: Amazingly, the Spurs have never started a season with five straight wins. They’re 60% of the way there as their win over Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon began a stretch where they’re playing 10 of 13 games at home. Wembanyama’s recognition of double-teams could be critical against the Raptors’ aggressive defense on Monday night.

Week 2: vs. TOR, vs. MIA, @ PHX

---

OffRtg: Points scored per 100 possessions (League Rank)
DefRtg: Points allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank)
NetRtg: Point differential per 100 possessions (League Rank)
Pace: Possessions per 48 minutes (League Rank)

 

[Neuromancer]

The NBA media is definitely lubed up with cheeks spread for Victor. All he has to do is do what he's been doing and Spurs will get a lot love and he will be in the MVP discussion. DPOY is a given for him as long as he plays 65 games

 

[SpursFan86]

Yeah, the days of us being ignored by the media are over. Wemby highlights and posts are continuously getting insane amount of views on social media and the league has to recognize that he's the biggest thing to happen since LeBron.

We should enjoy this period, tbh. We're probably not far off from the time where things flip and suddenly everyone is hyper-critical and wanting to hate on Wemby. Right now he's everyone's darling but it won't be long before people are questioning his ability to carry a team, his conditioning, etc etc.

 

[inagra]

clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/2025-26-nba-power-rankings-week-1-spurs-rise-mavericks-crumble
Spurs jumped from 13 to 3

nytimes.com/athletic/6753888/2025/10/27/nba-power-rankings-knicks-warriors-lakers/
Spurs jumped from 17 to 12

okcthunderwire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/thunder/2025/10/27/nba-power-rankings-thunder-host-ring-night-wemby-looks-unstoppable/86916288007/
Spurs open at 2

 

[TimmyBuckets]

Honestly we should be top 3 in the league not top 5 in the west lol

 

[RC_Drunkford]

Yeah, the days of us being ignored by the media are over. Wemby highlights and posts are continuously getting insane amount of views on social media and the league has to recognize that he's the biggest thing to happen since LeBron.

We should enjoy this period, tbh. We're probably not far off from the time where things flip and suddenly everyone is hyper-critical and wanting to hate on Wemby. Right now he's everyone's darling but it won't be long before people are questioning his ability to carry a team, his conditioning, etc etc.

they will start to hate him once we win 2 chips in a row and there's no one there to stop him from a threepeat

 

[ambchang]

We are likely a bit overrated now. Weak competition out of the gates made us look better than we really are.

Issues handling wemby double teams, spacing, passing, 3 pt defence. A well prepared and disciplined team will make short work of us.

 

[Dbreiden83080]

We are likely a bit overrated now. Weak competition out of the gates made us look better than we really are.

Issues handling wemby double teams, spacing, passing, 3 pt defence. A well prepared and disciplined team will make short work of us.

So I guess going 74-8 is off the table?

In truth all around the horn this will be a season growing pains for the players and the HC.. But this is fun so far..

 

[NotoriousHOP]

ESPN has the Spurs jumping from 16 to 6.

NBA Power Rankings: Where all 30 teams land after one week of regular-season play

Hot starts or early burnouts? Where all 30 teams rank after one week of the 2025-26 NBA regular season.

www.espn.com

 

[couchman]

I’ll reserve judgement until we play some better teams, but this looks like a playoff team and perhaps even a top 5 team in the league. So far we have crushed teams we should beat. That is tremendous progress.
We still have a lot of things to improve. Our defense falls apart if we don’t have Kornet and/or Wemby on the floor. The turnovers remain really bad. We need to shoot FT’s better. We don’t have a good PF.

 

[NotoriousHOP]

Yahoo Sports puts the Spurs at 3 in their new power rankings.

NBA Power Rankings: Best and worst teams after Week 1?

Week 1 of the 2025-26 NBA season is in the books. What better time to unfurl our power rankings.

sports.yahoo.com

3. San Antonio Spurs (4-0)

Keldon Johnson, channeling what we were all thinking about Victor Wembanyama’s 40-point, 15-rebound opener: “Honest question. Have you ever seen some s*** like that in your life?” And Wemby, more frighteningly: “I feel like it’s time to take the next step. We’re all tired of losing

 

[Sec24Row7]

You can’t control your schedule, but to be fair, the teams we are 4-0 against have a combined record of 3-16. I would love to continue to be world beaters, but hopefully our young players are taking this 1 game at a time.

 

[O_V]

Remember Fox is coming back. This team reminds me of the 03 team that was super talented and hugely inconsistent.

 

[Exstatic]

Remember Fox is coming back. This team reminds me of the 03 team that was super talented and hugely inconsistent.

Most of that talent either was on the down slope (DRob), or yet to be realized (Tony,Manu). Stephen Jackson might have been the second best player on that team.

 

[Fireball]

I think with this charmin soft schedule so far being #6 is ok ... Top 5 would be a bit too much

 

[Amuseddaysleeper]

When is the last time we were #1 in Power Rankings? 2017? 2016?

 

[O_V]

Most of that talent either was on the down slope (DRob), or yet to be realized (Tony,Manu). Stephen Jackson might have been the second best player on that team.

Agree. The talent that was older had really good experience and the younger talent was really talented. Dave was still pretty good, and guys like Smitty and Kerr and Kevin Willis could still contribute.

 

[O_V]

When is the last time we were #1 in Power Rankings? 2017? 2016?

Yeah the overrated 67 win team probably.

 

[NotoriousHOP]

Despite the lackluster effort against the Suns, NBA.com only dropped the Spurs one spot to 9th.

Power Rankings, Week 3: Rockets, Bucks soar; OKC still leads way

Milwaukee and Houston move into the Top 10, while unbeaten Oklahoma City remains an easy choice at No. 1.

www.nba.com

San Antonio Spurs

Last Week:8↓
Record: 5-1

OffRtg: 117.0 (9) DefRtg: 108.2 (2) NetRtg: +8.8 (4) Pace: 98.8 (27)

The Spurs got off to the first 5-0 start in franchise history, but the party came to an end on Sunday, when they trailed by as many as 31 points in Phoenix.

Three takeaways

The Spurs continue to dominate inside and on the glass. They’re the only team that ranks in the top five in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage, having ranked in the bottom 10 in both last season. Several Spurs have contributed on the offensive glass, but Victor Wembanyama has more than twice as many defensive boards as any of his teammates.
They’ve also outscored their opponents by more than 20 points in the restricted area in four of their six games. That includes their game in Phoenix on Sunday, when the score at the basket couldn’t make up for the difference on the perimeter. The Suns shot 19-for-33 (58%) from 3-point range, outscoring the Spurs by 27 points from beyond the arc.
De’Aaron Fox should be getting close to his season debut, but the Spurs lost Dylan Harper to a calf injury on Sunday. Fox’s eventual return should have the biggest effect on Stephon Castle, who ranks 12th in the league in time of possession at 6.3 minutes per game. The reigning Rookie of the Year has shot much better both inside the arc and from beyond, while also registering a free-throw rate of 62.2 attempts per 100 shots from the field, fifth highest among 137 players with at least 50 field goal attempts and up from 34.8 per 100 last season.
Coming up: After visiting the Lakers on Wednesday, the Spurs will play seven of their next eight games at home. They’ll open NBA Emirates Cup action with a huge matchup against the Rockets on Friday, having scored just 105.1 points per 100 possessions (their second-worst mark vs. any opponent) against Houston last season.

Week 3: @ LAL, vs. HOU, vs. NOP

 

[NotoriousHOP]

Dang! NBC has us at #2 AFTER the Suns loss. Sean Elliott, is that you?

NBA power rankings 2025-26: Spurs, Rockets Lakers move up but Thunder still on top

Denver also remains highly ranked, while the preseason predicted top teams in the East have stumbled to start the season.

www.nbcsports.com

2. San Antonio Spurs
(5-1, last week No. 6)
We’re moving the Spurs up despite the ugly loss Sunday to the Suns (but that did give us pause). The injury to Dylan Harper’s calf is just bad luck after he has gotten off to an impressive start — 14 points, four rebounds, 3.8 assists a game off the bench — and now it appears he will miss at least some time. Victor Wembanyama’s play continues to be the talk of the league, and the biggest difference has been that he got stronger this offseason and is no longer bailing teams out by taking 3-pointers. This season, he’s averaging 3.5 attempts from beyond the arc per night (19.1% of his shots), down from 8.8 attempts (47% of his shots) last season. Instead, he is 35.5% of his shots within 3 feet of the rim (averaging 3.7 dunks a game), way up from 20% of his shots at the rim last season (and less than two dunks a game

 

[scott]

Putting the Spurs at #2 even BEFORE the loss to the Suns would make me question someone's sobriety, tbh

 

[NotoriousHOP]

Current Rankings

ESPN - 6 down from 2 at some point

NBA Power Rankings: Giannis dominates for Bucks, Pistons take the East

NBA insiders break down this week's power rankings and where all 30 teams stack up after an exciting stretch of games.

www.espn.com

NBA com - 7 up from 9

Power Rankings, Week 4: Cavs, Knicks surge; Pistons crack Top 10

The top 2 spots remain unchanged as Detroit, New York, Cleveland and Houston are among the teams moving about in the Top 10.

www.nba.com

CBS - 3 up from 8

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-power-rankings-spurs-pistons-eastern-conference/

Yahoo - Holding even at 3

NBA Power Rankings: Thunder keep winning, but other contenders are holding strong

Every night is a slugfest in this NBA. Who's showing fight? Who's falling back to Earth?

sports.yahoo.com

 

[scott]

3 seems way too high to me, but I think somewhere in the 8-12 range is about right. I think we certainly should be in the hunt for a direct seeding in the playoffs and maybe even home court in the first round as a stretch goal if we can get our shit together.

 

[NotoriousHOP]

I agree that 8-12 is more where we belong than 3. We've had a very easy schedule and several teams have been missing their top players. Lakers missing James and Reeves, Bulls missing Giddey and White, Pelicans missing Williamson, Poole and Murray, and even the Suns missing Green and Brooks. If all teams, including ourselves, were at full strength, I don't think we're sitting at 8-3 right now.

 

[O_V]

I want them feeling disrespected. Forever.