G League Power Rankings: Regular Season Week 7

All-Star festivities have finally arrived. Before they officially get underway, it’s time for another installment of G League Power Rankings!

While there is some shuffling to take note of, things remain relatively the same at the top. Long Island is still sitting comfortably at the top while Memphis, Stockton, Delaware, and Mexico City once again round out the top five. In addition, Salt Lake City makes its debut in the rankings while Fort Wayne returns after both looked pretty strong entering the break.

Take a look at where everything currently stands at the moment.

1. Long Island Nets

Record: 17-3 (2-0 this week)
Previous ranking: 1

Long Island is hotter than fish grease, which might even be understating it. It’s now an 11-game winning streak for this squad, as it's been over a month since they last suffered a loss on Jan. 11. They still own by far the best defensive rating in the G at 101.0, a full eight points better than second-place Delaware. To put that in perspective, eight points is also the difference between Delaware and 27th-ranked Salt Lake City. These Nets continue to absolutely smother teams on that end of the court, and it’s the biggest reason why they’re firmly entrenched as the East’s top seed to this point.

2. Memphis Hustle

Record: 14-5 (3-0 this week)
Previous ranking: 4

Memphis now finds themselves with a half-game lead for the top seed in the West after winning four in a row. Just as he has for the large majority of the season, Kenneth Lofton Jr. has led the way with at least 20 points and 12 rebounds in four of his last five outings. Meanwhile, fellow rookie Jake LaRavia (20.0 PTS, 5.4 REB, 41.9% 3PT) continues to provide key contributions while Dakota Mathias has been lights out from deep with six-straight games of two or more made threes. 

3. Stockton Kings

Record: 14-6 (2-2 this week)
Previous ranking: 2

The only team with top-six rankings in both offensive and defensive rating, Stockton is about as balanced a team as there is in the G. They also rank in the top five in numerous other categories, including true shooting percentage, effective field goal percentage, three-point shooting percentage, and rebounding percentage. Big man Neemias Queta, the pride of Portugal, remains the clear-cut leader of this team as their top scorer (17.0 PTS) and rebounder (8.4) with a Next Up Game appearance right around the corner.

4. Delaware Blue Coats

Record: 13-5 (2-0 this week)
Previous ranking: 5

Delaware continues to rise up the rankings following a pair of dominant victories this past week that extended their winning streak to five. Against Wisconsin on Feb. 11, they dropped a franchise-record 166 points in regulation, shooting 62% from the field and over 52% from three-point range in the process. They followed that up by dropping 130 points on over 57% shooting in a blowout win against College Park. While the offense has (deservedly) received most of the attention, the Blue Coats have also sneakily climbed up to second in the G in defensive rating (109.0). This is a team that has all the makings of a legitimate threat moving forward. 

5. Mexico City Capitanes

Record: 13-6 (0-1 this week)
Previous ranking: 3

Following the departure of Shabazz Napier, Rigoberto Mendoza will surely be looked upon to provide even more contributions to this Mexico City squad. He’s more than delivered, most recently dropping a career-high 29 points to go along with 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals at home against Memphis. With Mason Jones (25.5 PTS, 5.3 AST, 1.6 STL) maintaining his high-scoring ways and Gary Clark (19.9 PTS, 8.6 REB) providing effective supplemental scoring, Mendoza will be a key piece for the Capitanes as they look to remain in solid playoff positioning.

6. South Bay Lakers

Record: 12-7 (3-1 this week)
Previous ranking: 6

South Bay continues to lurk just outside of the top three in the West after another week of very strong performances. While they’re currently sitting steady at second in offensive rating, their defense shouldn’t be discounted by any means. They’re third in opponent field goal percentage (45.8%) and allow the second-fewest points in the paint in the G. They also lead the league in blocks per game (8.2), with big man Jay Huff still posting otherworldly block numbers as he leads the league in that category (3.6 BLK) by a wide margin.

7. Maine Celtics

Record: 13-7 (2-0 this week)
Previous ranking: 9

The league’s number-one offense has gotten right back on track, as Maine has reeled off five-straight victories over the past week and a half. Logging the most made threes (15.6) and fourth-most points (119.9) per game in the G, these Celtics have been mainly led by Marial Shayok and Luka Samanic over this current stretch. While Shayok has posted around 22 points, 5 rebounds and a steal per game, Samanic has added a little over 20 points and 8 rebounds of his own. With plenty of offensive firepower to go around, this team is not to be taken lightly.

8. Fort Wayne Mad Ants

Record: 12-8 (2-2 this week)
Previous ranking: N/R

Fort Wayne’s three-headed scoring monster of Gabe York, Justin Anderson and Trevelin Queen continue to stuff the stat sheet seemingly every game for this squad. All are logging 22 or more points per contest, with both York (23.8 PTS) and Anderson (22.7 PTS) among the ten leading eligible scorers in the entire G. With that trio at the helm, Fort Wayne has been the second-highest scoring team in the G (124.0 PPG) while also logging the most assists per game (29.7) and ranking second in team field goal percentage (50.4%).  

9. Salt Lake City Stars

Record: 12-9 (3-1 this week)
Previous ranking: N/R

Winners of seven of their last eight, Salt Lake City enters the All-Star break very much in playoff contention in the Western Conference. This is thanks in large part to a high-powered offense that ranks fourth in offensive rating (117.1), third in offensive rebounds per game (14.1), and fourth in second-chance points per game (17.7). Tyler Cook, in particular, has stepped up in a big way of late for this team, averaging a double-double over his last four games (23.3 PTS, 11.0 REB) and recording at least 20 points and 7 rebounds in each of them. 

10. Ontario Clippers

Record: 11-9 (1-1 this week)
Previous ranking: 10

Setting new career benchmarks has become almost a daily occurrence for Xavier Moon (he plays among the stars). Not even a week after dropping 36 points, the most he had ever scored in a game to that point, on South Bay, all he did was exceed that mark with a 44-point effort against the very same Lakers squad. His backcourt mate Nate Darling also had himself a career-day with 38 points on seven made threes to go along with 5 rebounds. Although it’s their top-three defense that has gotten them to this point, Ontario still has more than enough scoring punch between Moon and Darling to remain competitive.