NBA power rankings: LeBron reclaims his throne at No. 1

Kevin Durant and his Golden State Warriors put on one heck of a show against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night, but it wasn't enough for the Warriors to hold onto the No. 1 spot in our NBA power rankings.

The last time we did this — just before the start of the season — the major considerations were each team's chances to win the title and where we think they rank in the NBA's overall hierarchy. A little over one week in, it's more about on-court performance, with a little bit of leeway for injuries and bad bounces thrown in along the way.

Without further ado, here's our first in-season NBA power rankings of 2016-17.

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Sixers GM Bryan Colangelo said earlier this week that Philly won't be tanking this year, which is probably true! Instead, they'll lock in the NBA's worst record the old-fashioned way — by organically being awful.

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Dirk Nowitzki already has injury concerns, and Harrison Barnes looks like Finals-Harrison Barnes. (For those who forgot this past June, that is definitely not a good thing.) 2016-17 could be a long season for the Mavs.

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Anthony Davis is out here racking up 31.6 points, 12.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game, and the Pelicans are still winless on the young season. One wonders what The Brow has to do to help his team finally get over the hump.

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Those expecting Devin Booker to take a huge leap this season might be disappointed so far, but there's reason to have faith. The young Suns are starting to get on the same page. Now, if only Earl Watson would actually play the young guys for significant minutes.

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The good news for Orlando: Serge Ibaka is scoring a career-high 17.5 points per 36 minutes. The bad news: Ibaka's averaging fewer minutes per game than in any season since he became a full-time starter in 2011-12. That's not great.

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While coach Mike Malone strains to figure out his big-man rotation, Emmanuel Mudiay's continued struggles are my bigger concern. True, point guards can take longer to develop than other young players. At this point, I'm just not sure what Mudiay does to help you win basketball games. Patience remains a virtue, I suppose.

New coach, same Wizards? Scott Brooks hasn't come close to unlocking his underachieving team's potential. If Washington doesn't get things turned around quickly, the Wizards will undoubtedly have to put up with trade rumors for most of this season.

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The Wolves stumbled a little bit out of the gate, and an injury to Ricky Rubio won't help Minnesota's pursuit of a playoff berth. On the other hand, Karl-Anthony Towns looks like a world-devouring conqueror, which is pretty neat.

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Well, it took less than a week to confirm that the Knicks are not a superteam. Derrick Rose has looked pretty solid at times, though, so at least there's that. 

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Losing Jeremy Lin for a couple of weeks sucks, but Nets fans can console themselves with how good Brook Lopez played through the first week or so of this new season. A healthy Lopez would make me very happy, since he's one of the league's most overlooked players.

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The Lakers are a legitimate NBA team. No, really! I know, I know; I'll miss being able to poke fun at Los Angeles as much as anyone. All that's left to do is watch this young core play entertaining basketball and drink it all in.

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DeMarcus Cousins and Dave Joerger are apparently on the same page in Sacramento, which is all the Kings can ask for. Now just don't fire the head coach, and things should start to improve.

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All you need to know about the Bucks is this: Giannis Antetokounmpo threw down a dunk after taking one dribble from halfcourt, and no one on Twitter seemed all that surprised. Amazed, yes. Enthralled, yes. Surprised? Not a bit.

If you're an NBA diehard looking for a new sleeper team to watch, consider the Heat if for no other reason than Justise Winslow. The second-year stud just doesn't make mistakes; his decision-making (an underrated skill) already rates among the very best.

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When do you think Larry Bird realizes that Jeff Teague is a worse point guard than George Hill? The All-Star break? The offseason? Or has that sinking feeling already hit the Pacers?

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Benching your supposed franchise player is never a good thing. The Andre Drummond-Stan Van Gundy relationship seems to be unraveling, and can you really blame the Pistons coach if he's fed up?

Meet the NBA's newest 3-point assassin: Marc Gasol. The Grizzlies big man almost has as many 3s this season (seven) as the rest of his career (12) through just four games in 2016-17.

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Damian Lillard continues to stake his claim as the game's best point guard, non-Stephen Curry division. Just don't tell him that there's a qualifier to his status among the NBA's elite.

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As Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors recover from offseason injuries, Utah's newcomers are holding down the fort. George Hill in particular has been a revelation for the Jazz on both ends of the court. There's still plenty of room on this bandwagon (for now). Join us.

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Coach Mike D'Antoni said he wanted to see James Harden double his average from last season of 7.5 assists per game. The Beard won't reach that lofty height, but he has dished a preposterous 12.4 dimes per game in five contests to start the season. Harden and D'Antoni really are a match made in offensive heaven. 

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DeRozan, not Russell Westbrook, leads the league in scoring as of Friday, averaging 36.2 points on 55.4 percent shooting from the floor. Most astonishing: DeRozan only has one made 3 this season.

It's early, of course, but Kemba Walker is on pace for a career-best season — and maybe the first All-Star Game of his six-year career if he can keep it up. Thanks to Walker, the 4-1 Hornets are poised to repeat last year's top-10 performance in both offense and defense this season.

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I love Al Horford. You … might love Al Horford, or you might not pay much attention to him. Either way, in the early part of 2016-17, the Hawks truly seem to be a better team with Dwight Howard at center. The pieces simply fit better in Atlanta.

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No Al Horford (who's out with a concussion), no problem. Isaiah Thomas is more than capable of keeping Boston rolling until the big man makes his way back onto the court. Just ask the Bulls, who fell to Thomas and the Celtics on Thursday night.

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I'm not sure the Bulls can sustain their success through the end of the calendar year, let alone the rest of the season. On the other hand, you never know what wily veterans like Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo and Jimmy Butler might manage. The Bulls are smart enough to make up for their lack of 3-point shooting against all but the very best defenses.

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In a weird way, the Clippers' season mirrors the defending-champion Cavaliers: Don't get injured, keep doing your thing, and prepare for an anticipated playoff showdown with the Warriors.

The only difference: Cleveland doesn't have to worry about being derailed in the first two rounds of the postseason.

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When I first put these rankings together, I accidentally labeled this entry “Russell Westbrook” instead of “Oklahoma City Thunder.” Looking back, I think my subconscious mind was probably right to do so in the first place. The Thunder PG is averaging a ridiculous 34.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 10.0 assists in five games so far this season.

I feel sorry for anyone expecting the Warriors to “struggle” (and really, that's a relative term) for the rest of the season. They're figuring things out right now. Once they do, the rest of the association is in trouble.

If Kawhi Leonard is going to be this good on both ends of the floor, then maybe we need to reconsider automatically crowning the Warriors as the best team in the Western Conference. I know that's an overreaction, but it's just something to consider.

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The Cavs have all the talent in the world, and unlike the Warriors, they don't have to get their act together during the regular season. Cleveland could hold onto the top spot in these rankings for the foreseeable future, depending on how much LeBron wants to give his full effort in the early part of the year.

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