It’s almost time for another week of NBA 2K League action, and you know what that means: power rankings. In an attempt to make everyone angry sort through what should be a competitive season, we’ll be ranking each team based on a number of factors: results, quality of play, strength of schedule and so on. Results aren’t everything, otherwise we’d just copy and paste the league standings into here.
These are a composite ranking of our three writers’ own rankings, aggregated into one. Let’s get to it.
21. Pistons GT, (1-10 regular season record, 1-15 overall record), last week: 21
It’s been about as ugly as it can be for the Pistons in 2019, who’ve done nothing but struggle all year. Jaacko on the bench hasn’t helped matters.
20. Lakers Gaming (2-9, 3-12), LW: 20
The Lakers picked up a win in week 8, but it’s too little too late for Los Angeles’ expansion franchise. Assessing for next season is the new task at hand.
19. Wizards District Gaming (4-6, 5-9), LW: 18
The DIMER committee seems to be out on the Wizards, who have saved their season with a 4-2 stretch but continue to look inconsistent and uncertain.
18. Hawks Talon GC (4-6, 4-10), LW: 10
Tumbling go the Hawks after two weeks of losing. Shotz at the post scorer seemed to be working, but the team has gone away from it as of late.
17. Knicks Gaming (2-8, 7-11), LW: 19
Knicks Gaming, by contrast, gets a bit of a boost thanks to a remarkable run in the Ticket. Unfortunately, they’re still 2-8 in the regular season, with a < 1% chance of making the playoffs.
16. Grizz Gaming (5-6, 5-13), LW: 15
The Grizz have never won a tournament game. They’ve also got one of the most difficult schedules remaining, which doesn’t bode well for a team still looking for its first playoff appearance.
15. Heat Check Gaming (4-7, 8-11), LW: 14
While last year’s runners-up went on a good run in the Ticket, even upsetting top seed Blazer5 Gaming, they still need a lot of breaks to make the playoffs this time around.
14. Celtics Crossover Gaming (4-5, 10-8), LW: 13
The Celtics still have more wins than losses on the season, but the number of wins they can pick up in their remaining seven games will determine if their season was a success or failure.
13. T-Wolves Gaming (5-6, 10-9), LW: 17
Like the Celtics, T-Wolves Gaming has won more games than it has lost despite sitting below .500 in the regular season. Can BearDaBeast and JMoney ride momentum into the playoffs?
12. Jazz Gaming (5-5, 8-8), LW: 12
The Jazz are as consistent as inconsistency can get you, sitting 5-5 in the regular season and 8-8 on the year. Can they use the acquisition of Lotty to break the deadlock?
11. NetsGC (5-5, 7-8), LW: 9
It’s starting to feel like do-or-die time for the Nets, who’ve won games they should win but haven’t looked good against some of the most powerful teams in the league.
10. Raptors Uprising GC (5-6, 8-10), LW: 16
An impressive Ticket performance, with an upset of the Celtics and strong game against Warriors Gaming Squad, has the Raptors moving up these rankings. But they need to make it happen in their remaining 5 games to sniff the playoffs.
9. Bucks Gaming (6-5, 9-9), LW: 11
This might be a little low for the Bucks, but they struggled in the Ticket and still have major questions about their lineup. Arooks isn’t one of those, however; he’s good enough to answer a few of those questions himself.
8. Cavs Legion GC (7-5, 9-8), LW: 7
They’ve won four straight, primarily against teams much lower down in the standings, and they also collapsed against the Knicks at the Ticket. But the Cavs are also still really good and within reach of a playoff berth through a league-high 12 games.
7. Magic Gaming (6-5, 11-9), LW: 8
The Magic had a big tournament run (and should probably switch regular-season records with the Cavs, but it is what it is), and they’re a team in which the DIMER panel is pretty confident. The trade for ToXsiK has really worked out well, too.
6. Kings Guard Gaming (7-4, 8-8), LW: 6
Two weeks ago, the Kings were a confident 7-2. Now, they’ve lost three straight (two in the regular season) and are very much in need of a bounce-back week from BP and co.
5. Pacers Gaming (6-4, 12-6), LW: 5
The Pacers couldn’t quite capture the Ticket, but they’re very much strengthened by the deep run and Ramo’s move to the post scorer. Ensuring a playoff spot is the next order of business.
4. 76ers GC (7-4, 16-6), LW: 4
Their regular season has been fairly uncharacteristic of them, but 76ers GC still has 16 wins on the year and is one of the best and most dangerous teams in the league.
3. Mavs Gaming (10-1, 12-4), LW: 2
Doubt shouldn’t be creeping in for the Mavs, who are technically on a two-game losing streak and just gave up a bad one at the Ticket to the Knicks. They’re still one of the best teams in the league.
2. Warriors Gaming Squad (7-4, 16-5), LW: 3
The Warriors are No. 1 where it counts after becoming the first NBA 2K League team to take home consecutive tournament banners. But we’ll leave them here for another week because even the league’s winningest team should have extra bulletin board material.
1. Blazer5 Gaming (10-1, 11-4), LW: 1
It’s not panic time for the Blazers, who are still the best regular-season team in NBA 2K League history. But after being bounced in five consecutive first rounds, the Blazers know better than anyone that the top spot in the power rankings means absolutely nothing when it matters.
