NBA Power Rankings, Week 7

The battle for No. 1 in the NBA Power Rankings is on.

The Golden State Warriors, winners of seven straight games, take their league-best 18-2 record into Tuesday night’s Western Conference showdown with the Phoenix Suns.

Phoenix, meanwhile, hasn’t lost in over a month and is one win shy of matching the franchise record of 17 straight victories.

Elsewhere in the NBA, the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks are looking like themselves again and have successfully broken out of the Eastern Conference play-in race. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks have won seven straight ahead of a Wednesday night meeting with LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are back to .500, the injury-riddled Denver Nuggets continue to slide in the West standings and the Memphis Grizzlies prepare for a stretch without star guard Ja Morant, who suffered a sprained left knee on Friday.

Where do all 30 teams stand in the final rankings of November?

Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Nick Friedell, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin and Ohm Youngmisuk) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing the best basketball now and which teams are looking most like title contenders.

1. Golden State Warriors
2021-22 record: 18-2
Previous ranking: 1

The Warriors are 18-2. Klay Thompson appears to be just a few more weeks away from returning. Stephen Curry is playing like he’s on track to win the third MVP award of his career. Draymond Green continues to play like he’s headed to another Defensive Player of the Year award. They have a chance to snap Phoenix’s 16-game winning streak on Tuesday and will see the Suns again on Friday night. Everything is looking up for Steve Kerr and his talented roster right now. — Friedell

This week: @PHX, PHX, SA

2. Phoenix Suns
2021-22 record: 17-3
Previous ranking: 2

With one more win, the Suns would tie their franchise record with 17 consecutive victories….