2018-19 NBA Power Rankings: 76ers, Clippers surge in Week 6

In Week 6 of NBA Power Rankings, the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers are surging. Meanwhile, it’s a bit more challenging than normal to choose a new team at No. 1.

Will the real No. 1 team please stand up? In Week 6 of the 2018-19 season, it’s hard to tell who deserves to claim the top spot in the latest batch of NBA Power Rankings.

The Golden State Warriors are the league’s best team, but they’re not healthy and they’re reeling from an internal spat between Kevin Durant and Draymond Green. The Toronto Raptors have the NBA’s best record, but they’ve lost three of their last four games.

The Portland Trail Blazers are suddenly the No. 1 seed in the West, but somehow stumbled into that position after a 1-2 week. The Memphis Grizzlies, Philadelphia 76ers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers all got off to mundane starts, but are surging now.

At this point in the season, all it takes is one win streak to vault to the near the top of the list (like the Dallas Mavericks and Thunder). Similarly, all it takes is one skid to rapidly drop down the rankings (like the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets).

This is one of the most volatile times of year for NBA Power Rankings, but that just makes it all the more interesting to weigh preseason expectations and early results against increasingly larger sizes, injuries, strength of schedule and a myriad of other factors that go into ranking teams.

Bearing all this in mind, here’s a look at how the NBA ladder shakes out in Week 6.