The Patriots lead the AFC East, they’ve won four straight, their QB is playing like an MVP, and their upcoming schedule is soft. New England’s ceiling this season is getting higher by the week.

The defending champs always start the season on top of these NBA Power Rankings (unless someone goes full Mark Cuban and blows up a champ for no good reason), but it almost feels like the Thunder should be on their own tier to start this campaign. It’s OKC and everyone else is chasing. Let’s break it all down by tiers.