NBA Power Rankings: Nuggets, 76ers, Timberwolves All Challenging Celtics for Top Spot
What a week it's been in the NBA.
After starting with all kinds of good vibes and excitement generated by the inaugural In-Season Tournament championship game, the league saw Draymond Green clobber Jusuf Nurkić in the head. That led to an indefinite suspension. The next day, Giannis Antetokounmpo blew a fuse looking for the game ball after scoring a career-high 64 points on 20-of-28 shooting from the field and 24-of-32 from the free-throw line.
By Thursday, everyone had seemingly taken a collective breath, at least enough of one to set the stage for this week's power rankings.
Movement on this list isn't quite as wild as it was on NBA floors, but there are still some teams moving up and down.
And they're making those moves based on the same criteria that's guided us all season: championship chances, recent play, team and individual numbers and plenty of subjectivity.
30. Detroit Pistons (2-22)
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Previous Rank: 30
Net Rating: -10.1
After starting this season 2-1, the Detroit Pistons have now rattled off 21 straight losses.
For a team that some expected to at least be moderately competitive this season, things are pretty bleak.
And that outlook extends to 2021 No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham. After going 5-of-17 from the field in Wednesday's loss, Cunningham is now shooting 42.0 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from deep. Both marks are comfortably below average, and he still leads the league in turnovers per game, too.
29. San Antonio Spurs (3-20)
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Previous Rank: 29
Net Rating: -11.4
The San Antonio Spurs appear to be in something of a lose-off with the Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards.
After falling to the LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers in San Antonio on Wednesday, the Spurs have now dropped 18 straight and have the league's worst net rating.
In the end, another high draft pick to pair alongside Victor Wembanyama will have made this all worth it, but it has to be painful for the fans right now.
Of course, they do have a 7'4" silver lining (who's literally wearing silver) to ease the suffering. Over his past eight games, Wembanyama is averaging 20.6 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3.6 blocks, 2.6 assists and 1.9 steals.
The scoring efficiency still needs some work, but those numbers represent a kind of wide-ranging impact we haven't really seen since David Robinson was dominating for the Spurs in the 1990s.
28. Washington Wizards (3-20)
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Previous Rank: 28
Net Rating: -10.6
The Washington Wizards are the last of our fearless competitors for the league's worst record.
After getting blown out by the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, they've now lost six straight. That streak almost seems pedestrian when compared to those of the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs, but don't let a couple random wins sprinkled into the mix fool you.
And unlike the Pistons and Spurs, Washington doesn't have a No. 1 pick on the roster to soften the landing of any of these losses.
They do, however, have Bilal Coulibaly, the No. 7 pick in 2023 and a teammate of Victor Wembanyama's in France last season.
The rookie's playing time has gone way up recently, and he's averaging 13.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.6 steals in his past five games. In the same stretch, he's shooting 60.5 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from three.
He may not have shown enough yet to be considered a surefire future star, but the 6'6" wing with a 7'2" wingspan and plus athleticism looks like he'll at least be a three-and-D weapon.
27. Portland Trail Blazers (6-17)
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Previous Rank: 25
Net Rating: -7.0
The Portland Trail Blazers have lost five straight, and the most recent one was a blowout at the hands of the lottery-bound Utah Jazz.
Portland had both Shaedon Sharpe and Anfernee Simons available. Both have had their moments on offense this season, but they were a combined 4-of-20 from the field against Utah. That kind of inconsistency is perhaps to be expected from young guards.
Deandre Ayton, a seven-foot interior scorer in his sixth season, probably doesn't deserve the same leeway, and he's in the 43rd percentile in offensive estimated plus-minus (one of the most trusted catch-all metrics in NBA front offices).
Of course, none of this will feel too bad for Blazers fans if they get another top 3-5 pick out of it next summer, but it can be tough to suffer through in December.
26. Charlotte Hornets (7-15)
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Previous Rank: 26
Net Rating: -7.9
The Charlotte Hornets put together another losing week, but a few performances could signal good things for the long run.
In Wednesday's loss to the Miami Heat, Terry Rozier had 28 points on 10-of-14 shooting, handed out seven assists and had four steals. Gordon Hayward had 20 points and seven assists of his own.
If either or both turn into draft assets that could help the team down the road, great.
The more exciting development, though, has to be rookie Brandon Miller's ascension. He had 18 points against the Heat and is now averaging 14.8 points and 2.1 threes while shooting 40.2 percent from deep.
That kind of production from a 21-year-old, 6'9" wing is encouraging enough, but Miller is also showing some ability as a defender, too.
25. Utah Jazz (9-16)
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Previous Rank: 27
Net Rating: -7.7
It's been a relatively grim campaign for the Utah Jazz, especially when compared to the solid start they had to 2022-23.
In 2023-24, they've been bottom-10 on both ends of the floor throughout the season. And one of their lone bright spots, the playmaking and passing of Keyonte George, just got snuffed out (at least for now) by a foot injury.
They closed out the week with back-to-back wins over the New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers, but this team just isn't good.
It's the kind of squad most expected in the wake of the Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell trades. It just took a little longer than expected to get here (and needed the Mike Conley trade to surface).
24. Memphis Grizzlies (6-17)
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Previous Rank: 24
Net Rating: -6.2
The Memphis Grizzlies are on the verge of the end of Ja Morant's 25-game suspension. While additional injury-induced absences made this stretch much tougher than anticipated, the bottom of the West has been just bad enough to keep this team within striking distance of the play-in tournament.
To close that distance, they'll need Marcus Smart, Xavier Tillman Sr. and Luke Kennard to get healthy, but getting Morant back should be a massive boost in itself.
Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. have battled valiantly, but they're miscast as first and second options. The former is scoring at a barely-above-average rate, while the latter is comfortably below. Morant's presence will slot them into their more natural spots as Nos. 2 and 3 in this pecking order, and they should play better against less defensive attention.
23. Chicago Bulls (10-16)
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Previous Rank: 23
Net Rating: -4.1
After beating the Miami Heat on Thursday, the Chicago Bulls are now 5-2 since Zach LaVine left the rotation with an injury.
And while this stretch may not be doing much for LaVine's trade value, it's undoubtedly raised the stock of his replacement, Coby White.
In fact, his breakout may have actually started a little before LaVine went down. White had 26 points and 11 assists Thursday. And since November 20 (12 games), he's Chicago's leading scorer at 23.5 points per game.
22. Atlanta Hawks (9-14)
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Previous Rank: 21
Net Rating: -1.0
The Atlanta Hawks' slow slide down the Eastern Conference standings continued on Wednesday, when they surrendered 135 points to the Toronto Raptors.
They've now lost seven of their past eight games and have the fourth-worst defense in the NBA.
At this point, with the unofficial start of trade season upon us (dozens of players become trade-eligible on December 15), it may time for Atlanta to start seriously considering a shakeup.
Trae Young has proven an ability to engineer high-end offenses, but the Hawks clearly don't have the right defenders around him to make the team passable on that end. Perhaps it might even be time to consider moving Young himself.
21. Toronto Raptors (10-14)
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Previous Rank: 22
Net Rating: -1.5
The writing has seemingly been on the wall for most of this season, but this week, it made its way to the pages of The Athletic, where Shams Charania reported on the possibility of either or both of Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby being traded.
After two-plus years with the Toronto Raptors, it looks like the core of those two and Scottie Barnes isn't cutting out for much more than mediocrity. Win-later moves that would put Barnes in better position as a point forward wouldn't be hard to sell to the fanbase.
Still, there are moments of strength from this team that make you think it should at least make the playoffs. The Raptors dropped 135 points on the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, with Siakam, Anunoby and Barnes combining to score 82.
When those three are all on the floor this season, Toronto is outscoring its opponents.
20. Golden State Warriors (10-14)
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Previous Rank: 19
Net Rating: -0.1
Draymond Green's latest saga has drawn plenty of interest and analysis from all over the internet (including here at Bleacher Report).
Suffice to say, he's now suspended indefinitely after striking Jusuf Nurkić, his team has lost three straight and four of their past five and the formerly dynastic Golden State Warriors are in serious jeopardy of missing the playoffs.
Of course, the play-in tournament sort of changes that discussion, but Basketball Reference's Playoff Probabilities Report (based on 10,000 simulations of the remainder of the season) barely even has them finishing in the top 10 in the West.
For what may be the first time since this historic run started in 2014-15, Golden State might have to seriously consider shaking up the core to salvage this campaign.
19. Cleveland Cavaliers (13-12)
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Previous Rank: 17
Net Rating: -0.4
Seemingly every time it feels like the Cleveland Cavaliers deserve a boost out of this morass in the middle of the power rankings, they have a week like this one.
To the Cavs' credit, all four games were on the road, but 1-3 is 1-3. And in these subpar stretches, it continues to seem like something just isn't quite fitting right.
Whether it's starting two small guards or two more traditional bigs (or a little bit of both combos), the puzzle pieces aren't as flush as they were in 2022-23.
There hasn't been a ton of chatter about Cleveland as a participant in trade season, but there may be soon if it keeps hovering around .500.
18. New Orleans Pelicans (14-11)
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Previous Rank: 20
Net Rating: +0.9
The New Orleans Pelicans bounced back from their In-Season Tournament semifinal beatdown at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers with a 2-0 week that included a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
And it was Zion Williamson, whose diet and conditioning came under fire after that 44-point loss, who was undoubtedly the catalyst for the win over the West-leading Wolves.
Still in the wake of a First Take segment in which Stephen A. Smith said, "Every chef [in New Orleans] wants to meet him. ... The word out on Zion Williamson is that he'll eat the table," Zion dropped 36 points on 13-of-17 shooting against the best defense in the NBA.
It was a vivid reminder of the upside this team has at its best.
17. Brooklyn Nets (13-11)
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Previous Rank: 18
Net Rating: +2.0
The Brooklyn Nets were a heavy underdog in Thursday's road game against the defending-champion Denver Nuggets. Losing that one wasn't surprising.
But prior to that result, the Nets had quietly won seven of nine and are now within striking distance of a top-six seed in the East.
And they've done so with a three-point-heavy attack that has them in the top five in both makes per game and percentage.
On the season, Lonnie Walker IV, Dorian Finney-Smith, Cameron Johnson, Royce O'Neale, Mikal Bridges, Spencer Dinwiddie and Cam Thomas are all averaging more than two triples a contest.
16. Houston Rockets (12-9)
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Previous Rank: 16
Net Rating: +3.9
After closing out their week with a 117-104 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, the Houston Rockets have somewhat quietly put together the league's second-best home winning percentage.
Houston is now 11-1 in the Toyota Center, and they're beating teams there with balanced contributions from all over the roster.
While playing in Houston, Jalen Green (19.0), Alperen Şengün (17.8), Fred VanVleet (15.7), Jabari Smith Jr. (13.3), Dillon Brooks (12.4) and Taris Eason (10.5) are all consistently scoring in double figures.
15. Miami Heat (14-11)
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Previous Rank: 12
Net Rating: +1.3
Jaime Jaquez Jr.'s ascension has already been covered in this space on more than one occasion, but it's worth mentioning again. After scoring 22 off the bench in Wednesday's loss to the Chicago Bulls, the rookie forward is now averaging 17.4 points, 3.4 assists, and 1.5 threes, while shooting 47.4 percent from three over his past 12 games.
But unsurprisingly, the most important player for Miami is once again Jimmy Butler, who leads the team in wins over replacement player and juices its net rating more than any other Heat player.
In Wednesday's win over the Charlotte Hornets, he had 10 assists and eight field-goal attempts, proving once again that he can control a game in more than one way.
The strong play of those two forwards aside, though, Miami is just 4-6 in its past 10 games. And as some of the teams around the Heat start to surge, it's hard to keep them in the top 12.
14. New York Knicks (13-10)
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Previous Rank: 10
Net Rating: +3.3
The New York Knicks are in the middle of a 1-3 stretch that might be generating some mild concern for the defense.
In their past four games, they've surrendered 146 points to the Milwaukee Bucks, 133 to the Boston Celtics, 130 to the Toronto Raptors (the lone win) and 117 to a Utah Jazz team with a bottom-five offense.
On balance, though, New York still has a top-10 defense and is getting star-level play from Jalen Brunson (24.6 points, 5.7 assists and 2.9 threes with a 42.9 three-point percentage) and borderline star-level play from Julius Randle recently.
Since November 6 (a 17-game sample), Randle is averaging 25.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.8 threes, while shooting 51.0 percent from the field.
13. Sacramento Kings (14-9)
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Previous Rank: 15
Net Rating: -0.3
The Sacramento Kings have had sort of a slower march up the power rankings and standings than some of the West's other contenders, but they went 3-1 this week and are starting to look more like the team that finished third in the conference last season.
All three of those wins came against above-.500 teams, and one of them was on the road against the Phoenix Suns. Another came out of a contest in which De'Aaron Fox went toe-to-toe with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and came out on top.
The OKC superstar had 43 points, but Fox had 41 and got to his total with fewer field-goal attempts and fewer free-throw attempts. And most importantly, his Kings won and pulled to within a half-game of a top-four spot in the West.
12. Dallas Mavericks (15-9)
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Previous Rank: 14
Net Rating: +2.3
They ended their week with a convincing loss to the West's top-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves, but the Dallas Mavericks had won four straight prior to that.
It looks like they've settled into a rotational move that should maybe become permanent.
Dante Exum entered the starting five before Kyrie Irving went down with an injury, but his presence there has been more important since Irving hurt his heel.
Exum has now started Dallas' past five games, and he's averaging 16.8 points, 5.4 assists and 2.6 threes while shooting 56.5 percent from deep in that stretch. He's also a team-best plus-58 in those five contests.
With his size (6'5" with a 6'9" wingspan) and Luka Dončić's (6'7", 230 pounds), it's easy to justify playing both with Irving whenever he returns.
11. Indiana Pacers (13-9)
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Previous Rank: 11
Net Rating: +3.0
The Indiana Pacers followed up their loss in the In-Season Tournament championship game by putting up 131 points on the Detroit Pistons and 126 on the Milwaukee Bucks.
That second number came in a losing effort, but the point is that this offense doesn't appear to be slowing down any time soon.
Prior to 2023-24, the all-time high for points per game in a season was the 1981-82 Denver Nuggets' 126.5. The next three seasons on that list all ended in the 1960s. Indiana is currently averaging 128.4.
The defense may be a borderline disaster right now, but scoring at that rate almost guarantees a positive point differential.
10. Phoenix Suns (13-11)
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Previous Rank: 7
Net Rating: +2.0
The Brooklyn Nets spoiled the long-awaited debut of the Phoenix Suns' trio of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal on Wednesday, but there were still some clear positives for Suns fans to take away from the game.
When those three were on the floor for their 19 minutes (or 41 possessions) together, Phoenix outscored the Nets by 12 and put up 54 points with a 55.6 effective field-goal percentage.
For their very first run together, those are solid marks on both ends of the floor.
And while it may take some time to figure out a rotation that maximizes the minutes those three play together while also allowing the team to survive the rest of the minutes in a game, it's still pretty easy to imagine this squad developing into a Tier 1 contender over the course of the season.
9. Los Angeles Clippers (14-10)
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Previous Rank: 13
Net Rating: +5.0
James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers are figuring each other out. Heck, after a 4-0 week that brings their record to 11-3 in their past 14, it may be safe to switch to the past tense.
Harden has comfortably settled into a lower-usage role than any he's had since he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He looks content to be a third option whose job description includes making life easier for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
But he also still has the ability to gear up to previous versions of himself when needed. On Thursday when George was out, Harden had 28 points, 15 assists and four blocks in a win over the Golden State Warriors.
8. Los Angeles Lakers (15-10)
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Previous Rank: 9
Net Rating: +1.1
Fresh off winning the NBA's first In-Season Tournament trophy and medals, the Los Angeles Lakers had a 1-1 week in which Anthony Davis got a few reps in the alpha's spot.
AD scored 37 in each of L.A.'s contests, the second being a win over the San Antonio Spurs without LeBron James.
But as we head deeper into this campaign, it's becoming increasingly clear that somehow, in Year 21, it's still going to be largely about James.
7. Orlando Magic (16-7)
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Previous Rank: 8
Net Rating: +5.2
The Orlando Magic followed up a mini two-game losing streak with a 2-0 week and a return to the defensive form that has made them one of this season's best surprises.
They held the Detroit Pistons (yes, I know) and Cleveland Cavaliers to 91 and 94 points, respectively. And they're maintaining a top-three defense beyond the quarter mark of the season.
Twenty-three games into last season, they were 5-18.
6. Oklahoma City Thunder (15-8)
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Previous Rank: 5
Net Rating: +6.9
A furious rally on the road came up just short in Thursday's loss to the Sacramento Kings, but the Oklahoma City Thunder just authored another winning week, and they have a bona fide MVP candidate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo will understandably get the bulk of the attention for the award, but SGA is perhaps the most productive defender of those four, leads the league in Dunks and Threes' estimated plus-minus and is third in Basketball Reference's MVP Tracker.
He had 43 points in Thursday's loss, bringing his average up to 31.0.
5. Milwaukee Bucks (17-7)
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Previous Rank: 6
Net Rating: +3.6
It took a bit longer than expected, and they're still just barely inside the top 10 for net rating, but the Milwaukee Bucks appear to be rounding into title-contending form. And that's thanks in large part to an absurd scoring stretch from Giannis Antetokounmpo.
After a somewhat cold (by his standards) start to the season, Giannis is averaging 35.4 points on 65.9 percent shooting since November 9.
And the run got quite an exclamation point on Wednesday, when Antetokounmpo went 24-of-32 from the free-throw line on the way to a career-high 64 points.
Whatever balance Milwaukee was seeking between Giannis and new teammate Damian Lillard seems to have been struck. Even if there are still some lingering questions about the team's defense, it's now safe to classify this version of the Bucks as an offensive juggernaut, with Giannis in serious pursuit of a third MVP.
After his career night, he climbed to fourth on Basketball Reference's MVP Tracker, behind only Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
4. Denver Nuggets (17-9)
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Previous Rank: 4
Net Rating: +4.7
The difference between the Denver Nuggets' point differential when Nikola Jokić is on or off the floor is still pretty staggering, but the bench is showing more signs of life than it has in the past.
Denver has responded to a three-game losing streak with three straight wins, and the reserves have had a lot to do with the latter run. Julian Strawther scored 38 points and hit 8-of-16 three-point attempts over the first two wins. Peyton Watson had 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks in the last one. Reggie Jackson has been one of this season's most pleasant surprises (and should be a Sixth Man of the Year candidate). And Christian Braun's size and athleticism don't just come in handy on defense.
If that second unit continues to provide just enough punch to survive the non-Jokić minutes, Denver is going to be tough to beat in a seven-game series.
3. Philadelphia 76ers (16-7)
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Previous Rank: 3
Net Rating: +9.3
Joel Embiid is making the most of this soft portion of the schedule by absolutely bullying inferior frontcourts every time he takes the floor.
Over his past four games, he put up 50 on the Washington Wizards, 38 on the Atlanta Hawks, 34 on the Wizards and most recently, 41 on the reeling Detroit Pistons. In Wednesday's contest in Detroit, he had 30 in the first half of a blowout before taking his foot off the gas.
2. Minnesota Timberwolves (18-5)
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Previous Rank: 2
Net Rating: +6.8
Hesitance to include the Minnesota Timberwolves among the Tier 1 contenders is understandable.
It's still a relatively young team, at least in terms of its two leading scorers (Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns). And this group hasn't come close to winning a playoff series together.
But on top of the record and net rating, the Wolves have given us several "take us seriously" moments like Thursdays.
Facing Luka Dončić in Dallas, Minnesota trailed for much of the first half before tightening the screws on defense and completely stifling the Mavericks for two and a half quarters.
With their size, both inside and out, there's almost no space on the court the Wolves can't cover. And even on a night when Edwards was 3-of-19 from the field, they won on the road by 18.
1. Boston Celtics (18-5)
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Previous Rank: 1
Net Rating: +8.4
Another week, another ho-hum stretch through the schedule for the Boston Celtics.
They went 3-0, with two wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers and one over the New York Knicks. And while there are certainly moments when it seems like the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers or maybe even the Miami Heat might challenge them in a seven-game series, Boston continues to look like the clear favorite in the East.
With Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porziņģis, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford, the Celtics may well have the best top six in the league. And if Sam Hauser (45.7 percent from three this season) and Payton Pritchard (just under 40.0 percent over his past 11 games) continue to shoot well off the bench, their eight-man playoff rotation may be incomparable.
Stat of the Week
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A Google quirk that may not hold for too long: If you click on the first result for a search of "Draymond Green Spotrac," it takes you to his "Fines & Suspensions" page rather than "Contract Details," the typical top hit for players on that site.
The reason for increased traffic to that hyper-specific spot is obvious. In the wake of Draymond's indefinite suspension, fans are interested in how many times the league has forced him to step away for a game (or more).
But what's really interesting about that page is the fines. And Spotrac was nice enough to total them for us.
These are only regular-season numbers, and all of his nominal fines for technical fouls are included, but that dollar amount is up to $2,239,780 for Green's career. There are 112 players making less than that this season.
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