NBA Power Rankings: Lakers, Warriors steamrolling toward playoffs, Cavs on fire ... again, Bucks on the rise
Published 6 March 2025
There's a storm brewing in the Western Conference. The Oklahoma City Thunder are the favorites, deservedly so, but underneath them the power structure is shifting rapidly. Fading are the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets, who have been so great all season, and rising are two California powerhouses bolstered by their star trade deadline acquisitions -- the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors.
Luka Dončić and the Lakers are on a rampage, winning seven games in a row and boasting the league's best defensive rating since Feb. 1. LeBron James has turned back the clock to the point that he was named the Western Conference Player of the Month for February, and his stats have boomed since Dončić came aboard. The Lakers have gone from a fringe playoff team to the No. 2 seed in a matter of six weeks.
The Warriors have experienced a similar resurrection, though they haven't climbed quite that high. They looked dead in the water, on the outside looking in at the Play-In when the calendar flipped to February. They've gone 9-2 since adding Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline, however, and are now sitting above the Play-In line at No. 6. Stephen Curry looks as rejuvenated as LeBron, averaging 29 points and seven assists on 51/43/89 shooting splits since the trade.
At this point, the Lakers and Warriors appear as formidable as any team in the West besides OKC.
And, of course, the only NBA team that can claim to be better than the Thunder are the Cavs, who stay in the top spot this week as their latest winning streak hits 12 games. The first team to clinch a playoff spot, they can beat you in so many ways it's not even fair, and they've passed virtually every test against top teams this season. They're the second team in NBA history to record three separate 12-game winning streaks in a single season, joining the 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks.