NBA Power Rankings Week 1: Grizzlies Jump 22 Spots, Team Yaxel vs. Luka

RIB-10-25-2026 === Jose: [00:00:00] Week one of the 2026-27 NBA season is over, which means it's time to run it back. This is Run It Back, NBA Week in Review. I'm Jose Salviati, editor at thePeachBasket.net, and this is the show where we recap the week that was in the NBA by sharing the only objective NBA power rankings anywhere. The stats stand out, that's the best to do it by average in the week that was. And then we take a look at viral news in the NBA in a segment we call Full Court Press. Finally, we highlight the marquee matchup for the week to come. And we start with the only objective overall top 10 NBA power rankings anywhere. You can read more about how we get to these rankings and see the entire list at thePeachBasket.net. Let's take a look at the top 10 at the conclusion of week one. Now, we're going to start by evaluating where ~teams land, ~where they compare to the preseason. ~So their preseason ranking is taken into effect here, or taken into account.~ Let's start at number 10, where we find the Atlanta Hawks. They [00:01:00] start out two and one. Nice start for Atlanta. They are up four spots because, again, in the preseason, we were looking at them at about 14. So good start for Atlanta. Portland Trail Blazers start at two and O. Good start for the guard-heavy Blazers, and they jump up eight spots from their expected preseason position. Boston is one and one, one drop from where they were expected. ~I think Boston's going to be okay.~ Toronto is two and O, up six spots from where we expected them to be at the preseason. Now, the biggest jump, and undeniably the biggest surprise at the start of the NBA season, are the Memphis Grizzlies. They are two and O, led by Ty Jerome, who we're gonna talk about a little bit later today. They're up 22 spots. Preseason number 28 starts this season after week number one at number six. Good for Memphis. Does this have staying power? [00:02:00] I don't think so. But still a nice start to the season for them and good to see. Houston comes in at number five. They start at three and O. Philly, also three and O. They come in at number four. Minnesota is two and O and take the number three spot. Detroit is two and O and takes the number two spot. And the number one team after week number one are no strangers to number one. They are the Oklahoma City Thunder. They are your top team at the end of week one. Congratulations to Oklahoma City. It's a long season, but they are the num- the number one team at the start. ~Let's move now to ~That's the objective top 10 list for week number one. If you want to see again where all 30 teams land this week, please visit thePeachBasket.net. Now let's shift our focus to the players. These are the best to do it by average in week number one of the 2026-27 NBA season. These are the best by average in shooting, rebounds, assists, blocks, [00:03:00] steals, points, and game score. All right, we talked about this before. The Lead. The leading points maker in the NBA in week number one is Ty Jerome. 36.5 points per game in the two games played. He is off to a phenomenal start, and he's been great for his Memphis Grizzlies. Again, we'll see if they're staying power there, but very nice to see Ty Jerome, who's really been a journeyman the bulk of his career having a really great start. And, we may not see 36.5 the rest of the season, but I do expect him to continue to score, 'cause he's gonna have to for this team. Anthony Edwards was the top three-point maker at 5.5, and Ty Jerome was the top field goal maker at 14. Let's shift to rebounds. Domantas Sabonis was the top rebounder, pulling down 18.5 point 18.5 rebounds over his two games played. Chet [00:04:00] Holmgren was the top offensive rebounder at 6.5, and Domantas Sabonis again the top defensive rebounder at 14.5. The top assists guy was Trae Young, 11.3 to lead everybody over his three games played. Now, blocks was a, a crowded category after week one. Three bigs, Walker Kessler, Chet Holmgren, and Victor Wembanyama all averaged four shots returned to start the season. Dyson Daniels, no stranger to this category, led everyone in steals at 4.3 over his three games played. And the top game score goes to Ty Jerome. No big surprise there, 28.2. Very respectable all-around game for Ty Jerome. Looking ahead to week number two, the best game, there's a couple, but I went with the East, where the defending champion New York Knicks traveled to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers. The Sixers spoiled ring night for the Knicks, and while it's still [00:05:00] early, New York does not wanna go down O-2 to the Sixers or any team. So this is gonna be a really good early season matchup. Now, there's another interesting game in week two. We'll talk about that one here in just a bit. ~And we're gonna end this section or ~we're gonna end with a segment we call Full Court Press. This is where I just like to take a look and see what the viral news is in the NBA, what people are talking about, and I'll chime in and give you my two cents. And listen, the biggest news to start week one has gotta be Yaxel versus Luka you heard it. I'm gonna read to you what he said, Yaxel said of Luka after guarding him. "I had a lot of respect for him because I didn't really watch the NBA much. I just watched highlights, and I've seen him kill people. But being in it firsthand and seeing all the whining and complaining, I lost all respect." Harsh words, man. Harsh words. Never ever meet your hero, right? Listen, I'll be straight. I'm Team Yaxel. I appreciate the message. I appreciate the confidence that [00:06:00] it took to s- to say it. Now you could say immaturity. You could say he's a rook. He doesn't deserve that platform. I get all of that. But man if he's speaking the truth, and I don't think anybody is going to stand up and say, "Listen Luka doesn't whine. Luka doesn't complain." We're talking facts. Because of that, I'm Team Yaxel. Now, there's two ways to look at this. On one hand, right message, wrong messenger. That's something Steve Purciello called out in a podcast recently here on the Peach Basket network of shows. But on the other, again, who cares where the message came from if it's factual? But here's the reality of it. Luka is gonna take this personal. He will make it his mission to destroy not only Yaxel, but the Warriors, and probably anyone who ever played for the Warriors or anyone who's ever visited San Francisco. Professional athletes are that petty. And I'm here for it. I [00:07:00] get it. I understand it. Everyone is chiming in on this. Naji Marshall, a former Luka teammate, said "80. 80 ball next time they play." Which could happen. It could happen. A, a western executive said, "Oh man, JJ absolutely is gonna love that. He owes Yaxel a, a steak dinner," again, for motivating Luka. A- as if they don't have enough motivation these players. But again, they can be that petty. And again, I get it. I understand it. Now, after having a little bit of time to cool off, Yaxel tempered his statements a little bit. He did say, "Listen, I'm not afraid to talk to nobody." He's not Michael Jordan, speaking of Luka. But then he did say, "Listen, I feel like I did kinda take it overboard in the media, but it is what it is." He's trying to turn down the temperature a little bit. I get it because, again, there is a target on his back now. But I think it's kinda cool. I think it's, it- I think it's [00:08:00] interesting and makes the start of the season fun. I've zero problem with it, and again, I am firmly Team Yaxel. At the end of the day, this will be a fun side story that felt important at the start of the 2026-27 NBA season. But right now it's, it- it's fun. It's a storyline that has legs. It'll last at least until the next Lakers versus Warriors game, which, this is what we hinted at earlier we don't have to wait too long for. The two teams match up on Halloween Eve, Friday, October 30th, in San Francisco. Circle that one on your calendar. It's gonna be an interesting game. That's it. Week one of the 2026-27 NBA season is in the books. Join us again next week after week number two when we once again run it back