2023-24 NBA Power Rankings: Nuggets recover the throne from Celtics

To be the king, you have to beat the king. Which is why there is a brand-new however familiar No. 1 group in the FOX Sports’ NBA Power Rankings. The old king.

The safeguarding champ Denver Nuggets, apparently material to invest the muchbetter part of the season proving their champion nerve just now and then, are now letting everybody understand any group looking to take this year’s crown will have to go through them to get it. The Nuggets recovered their perch on the strength of an 8-1 record consideringthat the All-Star break that consistsof a convincing win over the group that hasactually inhabited that area for the last coupleof weeks and the muchbetter of the season, the Boston Celtics. The now No. 2 Celtics.

Denver’s one loss consideringthat the break was to the Phoenix Suns in overtime, legitimizing the latter as a possible danger come playoff time. But for now, no group hasactually been, general, as dominant or effective as the Nuggets in current weeks.

Also putting the league on notification last week that they are rounding into the postseason type that got them to the Western Conference finals last year were the Los Angeles Lakers, who took down 3 top-five ranked groups in the Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks. That flex turbo-boosted the Lakers into the leading 7 this week, the greatest they’ve been all season. The next mostsignificant dive was by the New Orleans Pelicans, who swept a three-game roadway swing convincingly, albeit versus skill you’d anticipate them to beat.

Other than that, there was verylittle motion, mostly because every group in the league had an up-and-down week; even the Lakers’ revealing was silenced by a double-digit loss to the Sacramento Kings. Despite the loss to the Lakers, the Thunder held onto the 3rd area by going 3-1. Other top-ranked groups continual even more unexpected losses without damage to their ranking.

The fourth-ranked Milwaukee Bucks beat the fifth-ranked LA Clippers twotimes — when with Giannis Antetokounmpo resting a aching Achilles tendon — however in inbetween, lost to the Lakers and Golden State Warriors. The Clippers, when they weren’t losing to Milwaukee, were whipping Chicago and Houston. The No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves lost to both the Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers (in OT) however handled to put away the Portland Trail Blazers and Indiana Pacers.

NBA Power Rankings

1. Denver Nuggets: +1
2. Boston Celtics: -1
3. Oklahoma City Thunder: =
4. Milwaukee Bucks: =
5. LA Clippers: =
6. Minnesota Timberwolves: =
7. Los Angeles Lakers: +7
8. Orlando Magic: -1
9. Miami Heat: -1
10. Dallas Mavericks: -1
11. Phoenix Suns: +4
12. New Orleans Pelicans: +5
13. Indiana Pacers: +3
14. New York Knicks: -4
15. Cleveland Cavaliers: -4
16. Sacramento Kings: -4
17. Golden State Warriors: -4
18. Philadelphia 76ers: =
19. Chicago Bulls: =
20. Atlanta Hawks: =
21. Houston Rockets: =
22. Utah Jazz: =
23. San Antonio Spurs: +2
24. Brooklyn Nets: -1
25. Portland Trail Blazers: -1
26. Toronto Raptors: -2
27. Charlotte Hornets: =
28. Memphis Grizzlies: =
29. Washington Wizards: +1
30. Detroit Pistons: -1

Ric Bucher is an NBA author for FOX Sports. He formerly composed for Bleacher Report, ESPN The Magazine and The Washington Post and hasactually composed 2 books, “Rebound,” on NBA forward Brian Grant’s fight with young start Parkinson’s, and “Yao: A Life In Two Worlds.” He likewise has a day-to-day podcast, “On The Ball with Ric Bucher.” Follow him on Twitter @RicBucher.