Nets climb up ESPN’s NBA Power Rankings
It didn’t take long for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to convince everyone the Brooklyn Nets are for real. ESPN has released its latest set of NBA power rankings — its first since the season began on December 22. While the reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers sit atop the league at No. 1 overall, Brooklyn is right on their heels, ranked the No. 2 team in the NBA by ESPN.
The Nets were previously fourth in ESPN’s power rankings, trailing the Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks. The Clippers remain the No. 3 team in the NBA according to ESPN, despite their embarrassing 124-73 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
Previously regarded as the team to beat in the Eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks are now No. 2 in the conference, No. 4 overall in the league.
Also, for all the disrespect the East still gets, six of ESPN’s top-10 NBA teams come from that side of the league: Brooklyn, Milwaukee, Miami (No. 5), Philadelphia (No. 6), Boston (No. 7) and Indiana (No. 10).
