Why Stephen A. doubts Spurs can win a championship this season (2:47)Stephen A. Smith believes the Spurs will win a championship eventually, but explains why they could run into trouble come playoff time this season. (2:47)
NBA InsidersMultiple AuthorsFeb 24, 2026, 07:00 AM ET
The NBA All-Star break is behind us, and teams are back to work with a little under two months left in the regular season.
The race for the postseason is heating up in the East and the West, as the battle for the No. 1 seed remains highly contentious between the league’s top teams.
In the East, the Detroit Pistons have reclaimed their “Bad Boys” reputation especially after their recent run-in with the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.
The Spurs will first have to make it through the Western Conference gauntlet, as they are neck and neck with the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who have held the No. 1 spot for a majority of the season.
However, things could catch up to the Thunder, who are without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and other stars from their championship roster because of injuries.
Check out where our NBA insiders ranked all 30 teams as they zero in on the end of the regular season.
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.
Will shooter Kevin Huerter find some playing time? He hasn’t played since the All-Star break, and if he can contribute, the Pistons certainly need more from beyond the arc as they are 22nd in the league in 3-point percentage. — Vincent Goodwill
If it wasn’t clear before, it’s clear now. Mike Brown made the obvious declaration Saturday night before their comeback victory over Houston that Jalen Brunson eats first, then Karl-Anthony Towns. Perhaps it was to alleviate the criticism Towns gets for not producing enough. Towns told ESPN later that evening, “It’s something different in my career.”
The Nuggets are only 4-6 since Nikola Jokic’s return from a monthlong absence due to a knee injury, primarily due to uncharacteristic struggles closing games. During the stretch of contests without Jokic, Denver was 1-5 in clutch games. In clutch games since Jokic’s return on Jan. 30, the Nuggets have been outscored by 19 points in 31 minutes, shooting just 37.5% from the floor, including 7-of-28 from 3-point range. — Tim MacMahon
Toronto keeps taking care of business against sub-.500 teams, with wins against Chicago and Milwaukee coming out of the break. But the Raptors keep dropping games against the league’s best teams after a loss against the injury-depleted Thunder on Tuesday. Toronto is 11-17 against teams with winning records, versus 23-7 against losing clubs. — Zach Kram
Phoenix hit a rough patch just when it finally got a lift from Jalen Green, who had missed months with a hamstring injury. Green’s buzzer-beating 3 to dismiss the Magic in double overtime Saturday coincided with Dillon Brooks suffering a fractured left hand, which will sideline him for four to six weeks. The team also announced that Devin Booker will be out at least a week with a right hip strain. — McMenamin
For as well as Joel Embiid has played this season, his recent absences with knee and shin soreness are a consistent reminder of the sharp edge this 76ers season is sitting on. With Embiid on the court, Philadelphia has a real chance to make noise in a wide-open Eastern Conference playoffs. Without him, though, it will be a challenge for the 76ers to get out of the play-in mix and into the postseason at all, especially with the Heat and Magic closing in on them in the standings. — Bontemps
If the Heat are not a play-in team for the first time since 2022, it likely comes because of Tyler Herro’s health and play. In his first game since Jan. 15, Herro scored 24 points in only 23 minutes. He scored 14 points the next night in a win against Memphis. Those were only the second set of back-to-back games Herro has played this season. The Heat began a five-game stretch against teams below .500 on Tuesday. — Marks
Maybe the addition of Jonathan Kuminga is the spark Atlanta needed. In his first game since being acquired from Golden State at the trade deadline, Kuminga scored a season-high 27 points and was a plus-17 while on the court. More impressive were the seven rebounds, four assists and two steals in only 24 minutes. Before the Washington win, Kuminga only had four games this season of at least four assists. — Marks
The Bucks have looked more competent without superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo during his most recent absence. They are 7-5 since Antetokounmpo injured his right calf on Jan. 23, which has kept them within striking distance of the postseason. Antetokounmpo’s return is close. The Bucks hope Antetokounmpo can participate in a 5-on-5 practice session this week before he is cleared to return to games. — Collier
Khris Middleton, the veteran forward acquired from Washington in the Anthony Davis trade, scored 25 points to lead the Mavs to a win over the Pacers on Sunday to snap a 10-game losing streak. It was Middleton’s highest-scoring performance since Jan. 22, 2024, when he was with the Bucks. The Mavericks finished their six-game road trip, where they went 2-4 against another bottom-dwelling team Tuesday, defeating the Nets 123-114. — MacMahon
With Keyonte George nursing a sprained ankle, second-year guard Isaiah Collier has seen an increase in minutes this month and is taking advantage of it. Collier has averaged 18.0 points and 10.0 assists in February, shooting 48.3% from the floor. His jumper continues to be his biggest weakness, however. Collier has shot 23.1% from 3-point range this month, slightly below his career norm of 26.0%. — MacMahon
The past two seasons were the worst in franchise history: The Wizards went 15-67 in 2023-24 and 18-64 last season. But with back-to-back wins against the Pacers after the All-Star break, Washington is already at 16 wins this season. Despite their best efforts to secure a strong draft position, the Wizards are on track to win more games than in either of their past two misbegotten campaigns. — Kram
For long-term strategic purposes, no Kings’ win is necessarily a useful one in the next two months. They’re playing for a lottery position and sit in the prime spot, two wins (13) behind the Nets and Pacers for the worst record. But the players on the ground level needed the Monday night pick-me-up in Memphis, beating the Grizzlies to snap a franchise-record 16-game losing streak. Rookie center Maxime Raynaud continues to impress: He has four double-doubles in his past five games. — Slater
Sunday afternoon was arguably the most impressive of the Thunder’s 45 wins this season. They handled a hot Cleveland Cavaliers team despite missing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso and Ajay Mitchell. Their playoff ceiling is reliant on SGA returning from an oblique injury to MVP form and Williams finding his health, but those types of role player-led wins boost confidence. Isaiah Joe hit six 3s and had five steals while Cason Wallace had 20 points and 10 assists. Chet Holmgren put up 17 points, 15 rebounds and walled off the paint. — Anthony Slater
According to veteran Harrison Barnes, the Spurs entered the season with the goal of winning 40 games before 20 losses. Mission accomplished. San Antonio currently rides its longest winning streak of the season (nine games), coming off a victory Monday in Detroit against a physical Pistons squad. Opponents learned earlier in the season that they could use physicality to throw off star center Victor Wembanyama, but the 22-year-old has figured out workarounds for those tactics. The Spurs have won five games against teams with the NBA’s best record (four against the Thunder and one against the Pistons), according to ESPN Research. — Michael C. Wright
Jaylen Brown might believe he deserves more recognition in the NBA’s MVP race, but the facts say otherwise. In the history of my MVP straw poll, which dates to 2017, Brown had received only three fifth-place votes in his career before this season. Last week, he was unveiled in sixth place, with five third-place votes. However, he’s not in bad company, sitting behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Cade Cunningham, Victor Wembanyama and Luka Doncic, but ahead of Jalen Brunson and Donovan Mitchell. — Tim Bontemps
The James Harden era is off to a fantastic start for Cleveland. The Cavs are 6-1 with Harden in the lineup, and Harden’s passing ability has helped unlock Cleveland’s offense. Harden is averaging 18.7 points and 8.7 assists while shooting 50% since joining the Cavs, and the team ranks third in the NBA in offensive efficiency since the trade deadline. A pair of matchups against the top-seeded Pistons (at Detroit on Friday and in Cleveland on Tuesday) should be a good test for where the Cavs stack up with the top teams in the conference. — Jamal Collier
Turnovers have been a seasonlong issue, and if it isn’t corrected soon, you can expect an early postseason exit for the Rockets. Houston committed nine turnovers — the most in any quarter all season — as the Knicks overcame an 18-point deficit in the final frame to win Monday, marking the 11th time this season the Rockets have blown a fourth-quarter lead. Fred VanVleet’s season-ending injury before the start of camp might prove to be too much for Houston to overcome. Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard have shown growth. But time is running out for the young guards to reach the level the Rockets will need in the playoffs. — Wright
Coming into Tuesday’s game against the Orlando Magic, the Lakers were the only team out of the top eight in either conference with a negative point differential on the season. Also concerning: L.A.’s 11-14 record against teams with above .500 records. The Lakers’ past five losses to those winning opponents came by an average of 20.2 points. Marcus Smart said there is still time to improve, however. “We’re hanging in there,” he said. “The objective of it, for everybody in this league, is coming around at the right time.” — Dave McMenamin