NBA's Biggest Winners and Losers from January
The fourth month of the NBA's calendar is nearing its conclusion. Christmas is behind us. The trade deadline and All-Star break are approaching. And it's once again time to take stock of the league through the tried and true "Winners and Losers" exercise.
Which stars and teams had the best January? Who had the worst? You'll find out through the slideshow below, but first, a note on that word, "loser."
No one (including NBA players, I'm sure) likes to be tagged with that classification. And in the case of today's exercise, it certainly doesn't mean a team or player is stuck there forever. Just last month, Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns were on that side of the ledger, and they've been one of the best teams in the league since.
Things can change quickly in the NBA. This is just a snapshot of one month of the 2023-24 season. But the focus is sharp, and January's biggest winners and losers are clear.
Winner: Fans of Scoring
1 of 20
This month alone, we've had a whopping 30 individual performances of at least 40 points, or one almost every night. We've had five games with 50-plus points, four with 60 and two with 70.
Yes, seventy.
On January 22, the same night Karl-Anthony Towns dropped 62 in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Joel Embiid scored a career-high and Philadelphia 76ers-record 70 on Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.
Four days later, on a night when Devin Booker scored 62 in a loss to the Indiana Pacers, Luka Dončić had 73 in a win over the Atlanta Hawks.
In all likelihood, that four-day stretch will be the peak of individual scoring in the league this season, but there's really no point in trying to put a ceiling on what these players are doing right now.
More than any other time in the NBA's history, most (if not all) players are expected to have a wide range of skills that includes handling the ball, shooting and passing (to at least keep defenses honest). And that general, leaguewide skill level is translating to both bonkers single-game performances and unprecedented season-long averages.
Embiid's 1.05 points per minute is the highest average in NBA history (yes, higher than Wilt Chamberlain's mark in 1961-62). A whopping 30 players in 2023-24 are averaging 20-plus points and five-plus assists, which would be a record for a single season.
Each of the top six, nine of the top 10 and 12 of the top 15 offenses in NBA history by points scored per 100 possessions are from this season.
If you like offense, scoring and long-range shooting, this is the campaign for you.
Loser: Fans of Defense
2 of 20
Of course, the other side of this coin is defense.
Each of the bottom four and 12 of the bottom 19 defenses in NBA history by points allowed per 100 possessions are from this season.
Again, the players themselves deserve a ton of credit for this. Skill level has skyrocketed at all five positions. Talent is now being sourced from all over the world. And seemingly every team has multiple dynamic scorers.
BUT...there's also no doubt that the evolution of the game to this point has included rule changes (or changes in interpretation of rules) that have typically favored offense over defense.
Thinking Basketball's Ben Taylor has an instructive breakdown on that.
Far too often, defenders are penalized for minimal contact or contact initiated entirely by the offensive player. Despite the introduction of the flopping technical foul, you're still likely to see some egregious examples go unpunished if you tune into a random NBA game. The league has probably gotten too lax on some specific moves, like the "gather step," "step back," "Eurostep," or, as Jerry West called it on Monday's Throw it Down with Bill Walton, "Euro-four-step."
"We're a little bit out of whack in the NBA right now," ESPN's Brian Windhorst said in the wake of Embiid and Luka's 70-point explosions. "And I do expect there to be changes in the rules over the next, into next season, that tries to bring this back a little bit, that gives the defense a little bit more of their rights back."
Luka himself has said it's easier to score in the NBA than in other leagues, and he would know, given his experience in the EuroLeague and in international competition.
Now, no one should be clamoring for the 1990s or early 2000s variety of the NBA, where teams often failed to get to 90 points and games sometimes looked more like rock fights than professional basketball.
But games ending with both teams in the 130s or 140s is almost as unrecognizable. Some of these contests look more like All-Star or exhibition games than something that affects the standings.
There has to be a happy medium somewhere between those two extremes.
Winner: OG Anunoby
3 of 20
Every game OG Anunoby has played as a New York Knick came in January. And after 14 appearances, he had 14 positive plus-minuses, 15.6 points, 1.8 threes, 1.8 steals, 1.1 blocks and a 39.1 three-point percentage.
Entering Tuesday, New York was 12-2 when Anunoby played, and his total plus-minus of plus-252 led the entire NBA in January.
The first and most obvious upgrades he brought to the team came in the form of defense and physicality. He's very much a Tom Thibodeau-like player, and his aggression on that end of the floor has had this team looking a bit like the '90s-variety Knicks at times.
But perhaps just as importantly, Anunoby's offense is a much better fit alongside Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle than RJ Barrett's was.
Anunoby doesn't need the ball to be effective on that end. He's a lower-usage player than Barrett who seems generally content to operate as an outlet for either of the scoring stars. He's also a timely cutter who can pull some defensive attention away from the perimeter.
A month after the deal went down, it's hard to imagine it looking much better for the Knicks.
Loser: Vets Stuck on Tankers
4 of 20
There's definitely some value in being traded on December 30 (as Anunoby was) or mid-January (as Terry Rozier was) as opposed to right before the deadline.
The Knicks forward has already had a full month to acclimate to his new team and surroundings. By the time the playoffs roll around, he'll seem about as much a part of the fabric of the team as anyone.
Several other veterans still on teams headed to the lottery won't have that luxury.
Bojan Bogdanović and Alec Burks for the Detroit Pistons, Kyle Kuzma and Tyus Jones on the Washington Wizards and Jerami Grant and Malcolm Brogdon on the Portland Trail Blazers are toiling away for teams generally getting blasted by the competition.
If any or all of them are moved on or close to February 8 (deadline day), their runways to get ready for the postseason won't be quite as long.
With as much talent as there is at the top of the league, an extra month of continuity could make a real difference in a playoff run.
Winner: Los Angeles Clippers
5 of 20
James Harden is another player who got his move out of the way early. The Philadelphia 76ers traded him all the way back in November. And while his first few games with the Los Angeles Clippers were rough, it's clear now that the move raised L.A.'s ceiling.
The Clippers are a red-hot 12-3 in January. There's an offensive balance between Harden's playmaking and bailout scoring, Kawhi Leonard's dominance and Paul George's jump shooting that some "big threes" never reach.
And that trio's supporting cast is figuring which gaps to fill on both ends of the floor and how to fill them.
The Clippers have three big bodies to throw at Nikola Jokić (Ivica Zubac, Mason Plumlee and Daniel Theis). Norman Powell's catch-and-shoot prowess is taking just enough attention away from the star trio. And even Russell Westbrook has bought into a change-of-pace role off the bench.
There may have been a few doubters left after December, but this month should have put L.A. in everyone's inner circle of contenders.
Loser: Golden State Warriors
6 of 20
This has been a rough campaign for the Golden State Warriors, and that obviously extends beyond the court.
On January 17, assistant coach Dejan Milojević died, causing the league to postpone two games and the team to play with heavy hearts upon their return.
Draymond Green missed half the month on the back end of his indefinite suspension.
The Warriors dropped a game of the year candidate to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, and they finished the month of January below .500.
The end of this team's dynasty has felt within reach at other times in recent years, but it's never felt more real than now.
Golden State is currently 12th in the West and has just a 19.3 percent chance to make the playoffs, according to Basketball Reference's Playoff Probabilities Report.
Winner: Victor Wembanyama
7 of 20
Early in the season, there was a decent argument for Chet Holmgren winning Rookie of the Year. He was (and still is) a meaningful contributor to a team in the hunt for the West's top seed. He's a dynamic rim protector and solid floor-spacer.
But over the month of January, it's become clear that Holmgren is much more of a complementary player than Victor Wembanyama, who's carrying his team with some absurd production since moving to center full-time.
This month, Wembanyama has put up 24.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 3.2 blocks and 1.6 threes.
His outside shot is still a little sporadic, but Wemby suddenly looks like one of the league's more unstoppable and inventive finishers around the rim. His go-go-gadget reach once he gets to the paint can be jaw-dropping.
And his range on the other end of the floor is as close to limitless as we've ever seen in the NBA.
Following this run, Wembanyama has become the odds-on favorite for Rookie of the Year. And given the development he's made in the first few months of his career, it's hard to imagine his grip on that award loosening.
Loser: Past and Future Lottery Teams That Missed out on Wembanyama
8 of 20
Everyone knew for a while that the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft had a chance to be legitimately fortune-changing.
And seeing Wembanyama in action this season has to have teams that barely missed out that summer (like the Portland Trail Blazers and Charlotte Hornets) or those that are in line for a top pick in 2024 (like the Toronto Raptors) thinking "what if?"
Publicly, front offices and coaching staffs probably have to put on a good face about players like Brandon Miller or Scoot Henderson, but it already seems abundantly clear that neither will come close to the same ceiling as Wemby.
The former has had his moments, especially lately (Miller is averaging 20.4 points, 2.7 assists and 2.6 threes while shooting 38.3 percent from deep over his last seven games), but he isn't likely to match the raw numbers Wembanyama just put up in January at any point in his career.
The latter is having one of the worst statistical campaigns of any rookie in NBA history. Among the 1,511 three-point-era rookies with at least 500 minutes, Henderson's minus-7.0 box plus/minus ranks 1,493rd. That number is in the Anthony Bennett, Rafael Araújo range. And Henderson's minus-5.5 in January is only marginally better than the season-long mark.
Meanwhile, those heading to the lottery in 2024, one year after Wemby, are scouting a class that's been described as "weak."
The 2023 draft was a once-in-a-generation chance, and those who missed getting the No. 1 pick could regret it for years.
Winner: Donovan Mitchell
9 of 20
Somehow, it feels like Donovan Mitchell's excellent 2023-24 campaign is flying way under the radar.
In January alone, the Cleveland Cavaliers are 10-2 with Mitchell in the lineup. And he's averaging 27.3 points, 7.6 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 3.3 threes and 2.1 steals in those contests.
Much of the attention paid to Eastern Conference guards this season has gone to Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Maxey, Jalen Brunson and Damian Lillard, but Haliburton is probably the only one who's definitively been better than Mitchell.
And as the Cavs' record starts to catch up to Mitchell's individual performance, Mitchell should be the subject of a lot more analysis.
With Darius Garland out, he's proved himself more than worthy of the lead playmaker's role on a good team. And he's doing that without sacrificing much as a scorer.
Loser: Adrian Griffin
10 of 20
We probably don't have to go much further than saying Adrian Griffin was fired this month to justify his spot here. Losing your job is tough, and this was Griffin's first shot to be a head coach. Losing the trust of a locker room within a few months is something that could follow him in job hunts for years to come.
Griffin had been a high-end assistant for years, but his approach obviously didn't mesh with the players. It ran longtime head coach Terry Stotts out of his assistant job with Milwaukee before the season even started. And it contributed to the Bucks being ninth in net rating and 19th in defensive rating, despite having two All-Star Game starters.
Of course, Griffin's contract runs through 2026-27, and Milwaukee is contractually obligated to pay him through then, whether he's coaching or hanging out at a resort somewhere watching League Pass. So, maybe we have Griffin on the wrong side of the imaginary winner-loser line.
Winner: Utah Jazz
11 of 20
They've slowed down a bit of late, but the Utah Jazz have a top-five winning percentage in January. And this month firmly put them in the hunt for a play-in spot for the second year in a row.
For a team that was supposed to implode following the 2022 trades of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, the last year-and-a-half couldn't have gone much better (missing out on Wembanyama in 2023, notwithstanding).
Lauri Markkanen, who came over in the Mitchell deal, is a bona fide star. Collin Sexton is suddenly on a similar trajectory. In January, he averaged 20.5 points and 6.1 assists in 25.5 minutes.
And Walker Kessler, who came over in the Gobert trade, looks like he could be one of the game's premier rim protectors for years to come.
Add that to the fact that Utah still has multiple first-rounders from both Cleveland and Minnesota over the next few years, and it's easy to get excited about its future.
Loser: Orlando Magic
12 of 20
The Orlando Magic were one of the league's most exciting young teams through December.
They had a top-10 winning percentage, one of the most intriguing forward combos in the NBA in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner and a swarming defense that looked like it would guarantee a playoff berth.
But Franz Wagner's ankle injury contributed to a loss of momentum that resulted in a bottom-10 winning percentage in January. Orlando is now firmly in the play-in mix (as opposed to the top six, where a postseason spot is assured).
And without his No. 2 option to relieve some pressure, Banchero's scoring efficiency plummeted. During the eight January games Wagner missed, Banchero shot 39.9 percent from the field and 23.5 percent from deep.
There's still plenty of time for the Magic to course correct, but it's clear they aren't quite done with organizational growing pains, particularly on offense.
Winner: Pascal Siakam
13 of 20
Like his former Raptors teammate, Pascal Siakam is now on a team that'll almost certainly make the playoffs. And he's looked like a hand-in-glove fit with the Indiana Pacers.
In six games with Indiana entering Tuesday, Siakam was averaging 21.3 points and 5.7 assists. The Pacers were 3-3 with him in the lineup, despite Tyrese Haliburton missing five of those contests.
Once he's back, we could see Siakam hit an even higher level. Haliburton is perhaps the game's best offensive engine. He'll engineer more wide-open looks for Siakam than perhaps he's ever experienced.
Plus, Siakam's own playmaking ability could take a little pressure off Haliburton and give Indiana a better offense when the All-Star point guard is off the floor.
And, again like Anunoby, Siakam made his move well in advance of the trade deadline. These few extra weeks with his new team and teammates should pay dividends in the playoffs.
Loser: Kyle Lowry
14 of 20
This may be a little premature. Between now and the playoffs, Kyle Lowry could be re-routed to a contender through a trade or buyout, but being moved from the Miami Heat to the Charlotte Hornets has to hurt in the short term.
Just this past summer, Lowry was in the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets. This season, he was shooting 38.5 percent from deep, and Miami's point differential was better with him on the floor.
But he also turns 38 in March and is posting his lowest scoring average (8.2 points) since 2008-09. The Heat were desperate for offensive help, and swapping Lowry for Terry Rozier (who's averaging 21.9 points) made sense.
That certainly doesn't lighten the sting for Lowry, who went from a rotation player on a contender (or fringe contender) to waiting for another move on one of the worst teams in the league.
Winner: Oklahoma City Thunder
15 of 20
The Oklahoma City Thunder weren't the best team in the league in January. They've had better months by winning percentage in 2023-24. But they still get this distinction for avoiding the letdowns that have plagued other young teams like the Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic.
As we move into February, OKC is still very much in the hunt for first place in the West. It has the West's best shot to win the title, according to Basketball Reference's Playoff Probabilities Report. And it has one of the league's best trios, despite its combined age being just 68.
In January alone, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 31.4 points and 6.5 assists, Jalen Williams has added 19.9 points and 5.4 assists and Chet Holmgren has pitched in 14.8 points, 3.1 assists and 2.3 blocks.
They still might need some playoff seasoning to be taken seriously by non-computer models as a title contender, but each passing month proves there's enough raw talent for a deep playoff run.
And over the next week and change, they could still flip some of their trade ammo (like Dāvis Bertāns' contract and a boatload of draft assets) for another difference-maker.
Loser: Atlanta Hawks
16 of 20
Coming into this season, it was easy to buy into the Atlanta Hawks as a potential bounce-back candidate.
The Trae Young-Dejounte Murray combo had a full year of experience together. After joining the team in the middle of 2022-23, Quin Snyder had a full offseason and training camp to implement his vision for 2023-24. And there were a number of supporting players, like Bogdan Bogdanović, Onyeka Okongwu and Jalen Johnson, who made plenty of theoretical sense around Young and Murray.
Fast-forward to February, and it now seems clear that this particular group doesn't have it. And when I say "it," I don't even mean the grit to compete for a title. At this point, this team is a long shot to make the postseason at all.
After another sub-.500 month in January, Atlanta might even be a seller at the trade deadline. Murray's name has certainly been in the rumor mill plenty this season, and it wouldn't be surprising to have Clint Capela and Bogdanović join him.
Winner: Nikola Jokić
17 of 20
The Denver Nuggets' first title defense hasn't been accompanied by a ton of fanfare. Their net rating has hovered outside the top five for much of the season. Joel Embiid has graced a lot more national headlines than Nikola Jokić. And Jamal Murray missed 13 games in the first couple months of the season.
But January offered a couple reminders.
The Denver Nuggets lost to Embiid and the 76ers in Philadelphia, but the reigning MVP missing the rematch in Denver played well for Jokić in a narrative sense. He and the Nuggets also dealt the Boston Celtics their first home loss of the season in January. And on Monday, they beat Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, despite Milwaukee making 12 more threes.
When the lights are brightest, Denver typically summons whatever moxie it had during its 16-4 run to the 2023 championship, and Jokić and Murray exemplify that as much as anyone.
In the win over the Bucks, Jokić had 25 points, 16 rebounds, 12 assists, three steals and two blocks, while Murray had 35 points, five assists and two steals.
And for the entire month of January, while Embiid was dealing with accusations of dodging Denver and Giannis Antetokounmpo was getting a new coach, Jokić is quietly averaging 26.6 points, 11.6 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks while shooting 66.5 percent from the field.
Loser: Detroit Pistons
18 of 20
This may seem a little too obvious. All the league's worst teams could've been swept up in one slide, but Detroit earned a specific mention for a couple reasons.
Along with the Washington Wizards, Detroit is one of two teams in the league that has yet to hit a double-figures win total, and the Pistons are three wins shy of Washington. They're on pace for the fifth-worst single-season winning percentage in NBA history.
And this month, they traded 24-year-old Marvin Bagley III in an apparent salary dump (less than two years after signing him to an extension). In his seven games since joining the Wizards, Bagley has averaged 16.3 points and 8.4 rebounds in 24.9 minutes.
In a vacuum, trading Bagley, a career under-achiever, is fine. But doing so a year and a half after signing him to a head-scratching extension and having him almost immediately start playing better for another team is a tough look.
Winner: Suns' Big Three (plus Two)
19 of 20
As the Phoenix Suns are finally starting to enjoy a little stretch of decent health, they've climbed up the standings and reminded everyone of what raw talent can mean in the NBA.
Phoenix has a top-five winning percentage in January, and Devin Booker, specifically, has come alive.
For the entire season, the Suns are now plus-17.5 points per 100 possessions when all three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal are on the floor, but they're not the only reason for the recent uptick.
In January, Grayson Allen is averaging 13.5 points, 3.1 threes and 2.9 assists while shooting 56.6 percent from deep, while Jusuf Nurkić is contributing 9.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists.
Health (or lack thereof) aside, production from this team's stars was almost a given. The Suns' ultimate upside was always going to depend on the rest of the team. And if Allen and Nurkić keep playing like this, Phoenix is a legitimate contender.
Loser: Non-Star Lakers
20 of 20
Throughout this season, Anthony Davis and LeBron James have played like top-10 players.
That has continued in January. Entering Tuesday, AD averaged 24.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.1 steals, and LeBron added 23.9 points, 8.5 assists, 7.5 rebounds and 1.9 threes.
This month, D'Angelo Russell came along for the ride too, with his own averages of 23.8 points, 6.1 assists and 4.2 threes.
But all those buckets from L.A.'s top three did little to change the season's fortunes. The Lakers are still hovering around .500 and are well outside the West's top six and a guaranteed playoff spot.
The obvious scapegoats are coach Darvin Ham (who seems intent on annoying Lakers fans by not starting Jarred Vanderbilt), general manager Rob Pelinka (who assembled this supporting cast) and role players like Austin Reaves, Taurean Prince, Rui Hachimura and others.
Without diving into what percentage of the blame pie each of the above deserves, it's at least fair to say Davis and LeBron are holding up their end of the bargain.
They need someone, whether it's the organization or teammates who are already on the team, to help them repeat last season's success.
