🔥 On ESPN, the latest NBA Power Rankings reveal a significant shakeup as the Los Angeles Lakers climb higher following their blockbuster deal for Deandre Ayton, while the Boston Celtics experience a sharp fall after a challenging free agency period.
The panel breaks down how Ayton’s addition makes the Lakers a scary title contender and what Celtics fans should expect moving forward. From roster changes to team chemistry and future outlooks, get all the expert insights on how these moves impact the Western and Eastern Conferences.
Keyword Tags (Inside Description): ESPN NBA power rankings, Lakers Ayton impact, Celtics free agency fallout, NBA team rankings 2025, NBA Western Conference contenders, Boston Celtics roster changes, Lakers title contender 2025, NBA offseason analysis, ESPN NBA update, NBA conference power shifts
00:00Such thing as way too early power rankings, not even two weeks removed from Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
00:07NBA writer Colin Ward-Henninger has his rankings up on CBSSports.com right now with trades, the draft, and free agency all factored in.
00:16And Colin joins us now on HQ.
00:19All right, Colin, the Thunder finished the season on top.
00:22You have them ranked number one right now going into next season.
00:25Maybe no surprise, but no additions, also no subtractions really for the defending champs.
00:31And so is this just built on last year's success?
00:35Yeah, absolutely.
00:36And the key phrase there is no subtractions.
00:38I mean, this team is built for long-term success.
00:41And if you talk about a team that just won the NBA title, this is the youngest team in the NBA.
00:46I mean, they were the second youngest team to ever win the NBA title.
00:49So it's not like, oh, no, they need to make some changes, bring in some new pieces.
00:52Like all these guys are getting better, right?
00:54Jalen Williams is an all-NBA player.
00:56He's only hitting the cusp of his prime.
00:59You've got a guy like Chet Holmgren who only has a handful of NBA games under his belt.
01:03He's only going to get better.
01:04And then, of course, you talk about the MVP, the league's leading scorer, the finals MVP,
01:09Shea Gildas Alexander.
01:10Oh, hey, guess what?
01:11He turns 27 next week.
01:13He's not even in prime yet.
01:14So this team is built for success.
01:17I don't think you really have to worry about anything in terms of, oh, no, they didn't change the roster.
01:22They have the formula.
01:23It's the all-world, all-historical defense that they have, coupled with Shea Gildas Alexander's absolute majesty on the offensive end.
01:33They have a system that's going to continue to win regular season NBA games.
01:37You want to talk about the playoffs?
01:38Okay, they were pushed to a game seven a couple times.
01:41Who knows what happens if Tyrese Halliburton doesn't get hurt.
01:44However, the regular season, this team is going to be an absolute juggernaut again.
01:48I don't think you have anything to worry about if you're an Oklahoma City fan.
01:51Yeah, scary thought for the rest of the NBA.
01:53And, Colin, so much of that Thunder roster built through the draft with an embarrassment of first-round picks that the franchise has acquired over the years.
02:02The Knicks got roasted pretty good in what seemed like a directionless search at times for their next head coach after firing Tom Thibodeau.
02:10Now they've hired former two-time NBA coach of the year Mike Brown.
02:13You have them third overall.
02:15That's up a couple of spots.
02:16What do you like about the Brown hire and, of course, maybe the addition of a guy like Jordan Clarkson?
02:22Yeah, I think, you know, Mike Brown, you mentioned the search, was kind of hilarious at times.
02:27They kept asking for permission to interview other teams' head coaches.
02:30And, of course, they were like, no, we're not doing that.
02:33But they ended up with Mike Brown, who, you know, I've spent a lot of time around Mike Brown.
02:37He was a Golden State assistant.
02:39I'm out here in the Bay Area.
02:40And then, of course, the head coach of the Sacramento Kings led that incredible turnaround where they made the playoffs for the first time in 16 years.
02:47It obviously went south after that.
02:49But, you know, I think a lot of people around the league think that the firing of Mike Brown was really unjust.
02:55So for the Knicks to get a guy like him, you talk about a 180 here.
02:59Tom Thibodeau is this doom and gloom kind of dark cloud walking into every room.
03:04Mike Brown's the exact opposite.
03:05You won't meet one person who has talked to this guy, have met this guy, who has one bad word to say about Mike Brown.
03:12Incredibly upbeat, incredibly positive.
03:14And I think that's kind of the change that the Knicks were looking for here.
03:17Clearly, the attitude, maybe he had lost that locker room a little bit and talking about Tom Thibodeau.
03:23So to bring in a guy who's kind of a player's coach, an upbeat guy, is maybe the change they're looking for.
03:28And then if you're talking about X's and O's, you mentioned Jordan Clarkson.
03:31They want a guy who's going to use their bench a little bit more.
03:33They also added Gershon Yabousale over the offseason.
03:37So those are two pieces, proven bench players who can come in and contribute.
03:41And I think Mike Brown will make a little bit better use of them.
03:44And also a little more creativity offensively.
03:47Mike Brown was the head coach of a team, a Sacramento Kings team, that had the best offense in the league a couple seasons ago.
03:53So not just Jalen Brunson pick and roll every single time.
03:56We're going to mix things up.
03:57We're going to have a little more player movement, a little more ball movement.
04:00So I think those are the reasons that they went with Mike Brown.
04:02And in terms of the Knicks being number three, it's really, you know, addition by subtraction.
04:07The Celtics are out of there.
04:08The Pacers are moving down because of injuries.
04:11So I think the Knicks, you know, number three spot is legit.
04:13But it's also because of some injuries in the Eastern Conference.
04:16Yeah, a couple of reasons right there why a lot of people are saying the East feels wide open.
04:20Although I know you have the Cavs one spot ahead of the Knicks in your power rankings.
04:25One of Mike Brown's former teams, the Lakers, made a move to fill a need at center by signing DeAndre Ayton this week.
04:31LeBron opted in.
04:32Luka is looking slim.
04:34But L.A. is sliding in these rankings.
04:36Why?
04:37Well, I mean, if you look at the teams around them and what they've done, the Houston Rockets added Kevin Durant, stole Dorian Finney-Smith from them, got a couple bench pieces.
04:47You look at a team like the Minnesota Timberwolves coming off another Western Conference Finals run.
04:51The Lakers are fine, but it was proven last offseason that they simply just didn't have enough pieces to compete in the playoffs.
05:00And when you look at what they've done this offseason, look, DeAndre Ayton, it depends on how you want to look at it, right?
05:05Glass half full, glass half empty.
05:07Former number one pick, a guy who was helpful on a Phoenix Suns team that went to the NBA Finals, but also a guy who basically got run out of town in Phoenix.
05:14A guy who the Portland Trailblazers just decided to pay to leave because they didn't want him around.
05:20He's kind of like, you know, one of those streaming shows that you watch and you watch the pilot and you're like, oh my God, this show's amazing.
05:26I love it.
05:26And then episode two is like, okay, it's not as good as the first one.
05:30And then by episode four, you're like, why am I still watching this?
05:33That's what DeAndre Ayton has been throughout his career.
05:35So I think the first 20 games are going to be great for the Lakers.
05:38You know, he's super athletic, totally skilled, but tends to lose that effort as the season goes on.
05:45So we'll see how that goes.
05:46And then, of course, there's the LeBron James thing that's just hanging over everything.
05:50He opted into that contract, that $52 million.
05:54He didn't extend.
05:55A lot of the Lakers moves, reportedly, they're operating.
05:58They're saying we don't want anything that's more than two years out.
06:01This team is building around Luka Doncic and LeBron James has never been in this situation in his career.
06:06He's never been on an expiring contract.
06:09He's always had extensions or long-term contracts.
06:12So word around the league is that there's a high likelihood that the Lakers are going to look around in terms of trades for LeBron James, which sounds crazy.
06:22But if they are building towards the future, if they looked around and said, look, the Western Conference has gotten better.
06:27We haven't been able to add any meaningful pieces.
06:30Maybe a LeBron James trade is really the only way to go here and build around the swimmer, Luka Doncic, for the future.
06:37Man, even age gets the greatest of the greats at one point or another.
06:41All right, Colin, the Celtics might look more different than any other playoff team from last season.
06:46Holiday and Porzingis are out.
06:48Anthony Simons is in.
06:50And, of course, Jason Tatum could miss all of next season with that Achilles injury.
06:53Where do you have Boston considering all of that and some apparent uncertainty with guys like Jalen Brown and Derek White?
07:01Yeah, it's crazy to see the Celtics drop.
07:03I mean, they're perennially number one or two in these power rankings for the last few years.
07:07And suddenly they're down in the teens just because not only Jason Tatum's injury, which obviously would have knocked them down a few pegs.
07:15But we thought the Celtics were going to make some moves, right?
07:18Maybe trade one of Drew Holiday or Chris Tapps.
07:20No, we're getting them both out of the door immediately.
07:22Luke Carnett's gone.
07:24Who knows what the future holds for Jalen Brown and Derek White?
07:28If those guys are on the team, they're still going to be really competitive.
07:31They're well coached.
07:32They're a really good team.
07:34But losing those pieces obviously takes them out of the top of the Eastern Conference in terms of contention.
07:40So that, you know, opens the door for teams like the Cavs, the Knicks, et cetera.
07:44So, you know, adding a guy like Anthony Simons, I think that's a good piece for them.
07:50I think he's a good player and might thrive in their system.
07:52But when you talk about the losses that they had in terms of Holiday, Porzingis, and possibly Tatum for the whole season, adding Anthony Simons, I just don't think it's going to be enough.
08:01Yeah, and I like Simons maybe more than others who just call him a gunner or a scorer.
08:05He's a really good young player.
08:07All right.
08:08And if there's one team that is ultimately banking on health being the big difference maker between 2024 and 2025, it may very well be the Sixers.
08:16And Philly is your biggest riser on this list.
08:20Well, they have to be.
08:21It's not fair.
08:22I have to do these power rankings, you know, guessing what's going to happen at the beginning of next season.
08:26Of course, if they're healthy, there's not much to say about the 76ers.
08:29You know, they have Joel Embiid, Paul George, Tyrese Maxey.
08:33They just added Vijay Edgecomb.
08:34They might have a healthy Jared McCain.
08:36If those guys are all on the court, they're going to be great.
08:38If not, it's going to be a lot of what we saw last season.
08:42So it's hard to gauge what the Sixers are.
08:44But you can't forget that if all those guys are healthy, if Joel Embiid can play 60 games and be healthy for the playoffs, they're going to be a really competitive team.
08:52Well, that's a big if, but it's a fun if, because you're right, Philly could be a real power in the East if fully healthy.
09:00All right, Colin, thank you so much.
09:01And you can find Colin's full NBA power rankings on CBSSports.com right now.
09:07Here's a look at the odds to win it all next Sunroker.
09:12In a line with what Colin says is the Thunder being the number one team in all the NBA at plus 260, followed by the Knicks.
09:21Nuggets made a lot of moves in this offseason already, as have the Rockets, both tied there at plus 850.
