Thunder Stay on Top as ESPN Power Rankings Highlight Key Bench Players Across the League
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NEW YORK — Nov. 19, 2025 — The Oklahoma City Thunder remain No. 1 in ESPN’s weekly NBA Power Rankings for the fifth consecutive week, holding a league-best 14-1 record. The updated list, released Wednesday, also singles out a pivotal reserve on every roster, underscoring the growing impact of bench depth early in the 2025-26 season.
Top of the table
The Thunder’s hot start continues behind center Isaiah Hartenstein, whom ESPN insiders identified as the club’s most valuable role player. Hartenstein is averaging career highs in points (12.9), rebounds (10.9) and steals (1.5) while converting 84.9 percent of his attempts inside five feet. Oklahoma City hosts Sacramento tonight, travels to Utah on Nov. 21 and welcomes Portland on Nov. 23.
Denver (10-3) stays in second place. Newly signed guard Tim Hardaway Jr. is providing 11.4 points per game off the bench and is shooting 47.1 percent from three-point range. The Nuggets are scoring 129.6 points per 100 possessions when Hardaway shares the floor with reigning MVP Nikola Jokić, who already owns eight triple-doubles this season.
The surprise of the top tier is Detroit (13-2), which rides an 11-game winning streak—the franchise’s longest since 2008—into a road swing at Milwaukee on Nov. 22 and Indiana on Nov. 24. Rookie wing Ausar Thompson, praised for his defense and transition play, earned the role-player nod for the Pistons.
Rising Rockets, steady Cavaliers
Houston climbs to No. 4 with a 9-3 record, powered by a 35-point effort from Kevin Durant on Sunday. Rookie guard Reed Sheppard is shooting 47.8 percent from deep and averaging 15.7 points over his past six outings.
Cleveland rounds out the top five at 10-5. Veteran guard Lonzo Ball has filled multiple gaps while Darius Garland recovers from a toe injury, contributing playmaking and perimeter defense in 23 minutes a night.
Positions 6-10
• New York (8-5) lands at No. 6, with swingman Mikal Bridges adjusting seamlessly to coach Mike Brown’s offense.
• Los Angeles Lakers (11-4) move to seventh. Forward Jake LaRavia is averaging a career-best 10.2 points while appearing in all 15 contests.
• Minnesota (9-5) sits eighth; rookie guard Rob Dillingham remains a work in progress.
• Atlanta (9-6) jumps to ninth thanks to guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who is averaging 19.4 points since Trae Young sustained an MCL injury.
• Golden State (9-7) returns to the top 10. Guard Moses Moody recently drained seven threes in a single quarter and is hitting 45.3 percent from long range overall.
Notable storylines elsewhere
• The San Antonio Spurs (10-4, No. 11) are leaning on backup center Luke Kornet to anchor the paint when Victor Wembanyama rests.
• Milwaukee faces at least a week without Giannis Antetokounmpo due to a left groin strain; forward Kyle Kuzma becomes the Bucks’ primary scoring option in the interim.
• Injuries continue to plague the Indiana Pacers (1-13, No. 29), forcing veteran guard T.J. McConnell into a career-high 25 percent usage rate.
• The league-worst Washington Wizards (1-12) highlight forward Marvin Bagley III, who owns a personal-best player efficiency rating while shooting 66 percent from the field.
ESPN’s panel—Anthony Slater, Dave McMenamin, Jamal Collier, Kevin Pelton, Michael C. Wright, Ohm Youngmisuk, Tim Bontemps, Tim MacMahon, Vincent Goodwill and Zach Kram—will update the rankings each week throughout the regular season.
Source: ESPN.com
