NBA Power Rankings: Most intriguing games left for all 30 teams - ESPN

The calendar has flipped to March, which means the NBA playoffs start next month! But before we get there, there are plenty of things to be decided over the next six weeks.

The Oklahoma City Thunder became the first team to clinch a postseason berth with a win on Sunday. Their lead over the San Antonio Spurs is just three games, however, as the standings in the always-competitive Western Conference are tighter than ever. With four games currently separating the play-in teams and the No. 3 seed, and with plenty of high-profile games on the calendar, the standings are bound to change.

In the East, the Detroit Pistons have held on to their position as the conference's top team, but Jayson Tatum's potential return for the Boston Celtics could change the playoff outlook.

With the end of the season on the horizon, our NBA insiders took a look at the most important games in each team's remaining schedule in this week's Power Rankings.

Note: Team rankings are based on where members of our panel (ESPN's Anthony Slater, Dave McMenamin, Jamal Collier, Michael C. Wright, Bobby Marks, Tim Bontemps, Tim MacMahon, Vincent Goodwill and Zach Kram) think teams belong.

Previous rankings: Preseason | Oct. 29 | Nov. 5 | Nov. 12 | Nov. 19 | Nov. 26 | Dec. 3 | Dec. 10 | Dec. 17 | Dec. 24 | Dec. 31 | Jan. 7 | Jan. 14 | Jan. 21 | Jan. 28 | Feb. 4 | Feb. 11 | Feb. 24

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

2025-26 record: 48-15

Previous ranking: 1

Next games: @ NYK (March 4), vs. GS (March 7), vs. Denver (March 9)

The defending champs are about to step into a high-profile four-game homestand with the