PISTONS TOP THUNDER NBA POWER RANKINGS SECOND HALF 2026

Detroit's Stunning Rise Changes Everything

The Pistons, led by All-Stars Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren, have the best record in the NBA at 40-13. The Thunder's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks right before the All-Star break gave the Pistons the best record in the NBA. This is not about talent development anymore. This is about leverage, and Detroit suddenly has all of it.

Cade Cunningham averages 25.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 9.6 assists per game. They're a league-best 17-6 against teams who were at .500 or better. The comp is not the 2004 Pistons. The comp is the 2015 Warriors: a young core that figured it out faster than anyone expected.

They haven't been prone to any sort of real slide yet; they're 11-2 after a loss and are one of only three teams (Oklahoma City and San Antonio are the others) yet to have a losing streak of more than two games. The Pistons own the seventh-toughest strength of schedule for the second-half of the season and fourth-toughest in the Eastern Conference.

The Harden Trade Reshapes The East

The action began to ramp up on Tuesday, with the headliner being the Clippers' trade of James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Darius Garland and a second-round pick. Over the past 24 hours, as the trade materialized, the Cavaliers' odds to win the NBA title moved from 22-1 to 12-1 at DraftKings Sportsbook.

That the Cavaliers moved on from one of their "core four" players is a sharp departure from how they have operated the past few years, when they've constructed everything with the mindset of building around Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. They are all-in on 2026, which makes some sense considering they need Mitchell to sign an extension this summer and the East is perceived as being wide open.

Through Harden's first three games, his impact is evident. In his Cavalier debut against the Kings, he scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to help the Cavs complete the comeback. Harden had a similar impact in his second game as a Cav, scoring 22 points and helping the Cavs beat an NBA Finals-contender in the Denver Nuggets.

Thunder Face Championship Pressure

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander last played on February 3rd and missed the last five games for the Thunder with an abdominal injury. Oklahoma City went 2-3 in the last five games without SGA as Detroit overtook OKC for the best record in the NBA.

The Thunder rank first in defensive rating, first in real plus-minus (+11.7), third in points per game (119.7), and one of seven teams to record at least an 80% free-throw percentage. Oklahoma City is just as talented as last season, but it's well known they have a target on their back after winning a title and have the second-toughest strength of schedule in the second-half of the year (.541).

Posting 68 wins with elite defense and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earning MVP honors for the first time. Things haven't changed in 2025-26 as the team is on pace to win well over 60 games again. OKC has been even more dominant this season, and not only are they giving up the fewest points in the league (107.9), but they also lead the NBA in scoring (120.2).

The Counterpoint: Sample Size Concerns

Detroit's surge looks sustainable, but only four teams (all anomalies) — the 1994-95 Houston Rockets, 2003-04 Detroit Pistons, 2005-06 Miami Heat and 2020-21 Milwaukee Bucks — won a championship without meeting a 40-20 standard. The Pistons have met Phil Jackson's benchmark, but the schedule gets harder.

For Cleveland, this isn't breaking up a Cleveland team that was rolling like last season. The most likely outcome for the Cavaliers barring a trade was a loss within the first two rounds of the playoffs — the same as the previous three postseasons.

Final Verdict: Championship Windows Opening

Playoff basketball awaits in Detroit, and for the first time since 2008 there should be a Game 1 of a postseason series at home for the Pistons. Plenty of other teams — the Thunder, Boston, New York, San Antonio, Denver, Houston, Cleveland — are probably safe to call playoff locks at this point as well.

Detroit will finish with a top-2 seed in the East. Cleveland reaches the conference finals. Oklahoma City wins 65 games but faces the toughest playoff road. The second half belongs to teams that made their moves, not teams that stood pat.

Related Reading

- Converse Shai 001 Premium Ink Drops May 14 at $150
- JAMES HARDEN TRADED TO CAVALIERS FOR DARIUS GARLAND
- SGA OUT PAST ALL-STAR BREAK WITH ABDOMINAL STRAIN