Here's 2026 in the NBA up to the All-Star Break

It has been an eventful 2026.... so far.

While the league’s stars take center stage on the West Coast this weekend, this piece looks back at everything that’s happened across the NBA leading up to the All-Star break.

• Did the cheerful holiday vibes carry over into January and February?

• Which teams surged up the standings, and which ones hit rough patches?

• How did the trade deadline shake out and why has tanking suddenly reemerged as one of the league’s biggest talking points?

All that, and more, will be answered as I take a deeper dive into the NBA at the All-Star break.

Risers and Fallers

These are the teams whose stock rose - or plummeted - between the New Year and the All-Star break. There was plenty of strong basketball played in 2026, which made identifying the risers difficult. The fallers, on the other hand, made themselves quite clear.

Let’s start with the good.

Risers

• Cleveland Cavaliers

  • From January 21st to the break, the Cavs won 10 of 11 games, 7 of which came on the road. They picked up big wins against surging Western Conference teams in the Lakers, Trail Blazers, and Nuggets.

  • Donovan Mitchell was the engine during this timeframe. Across 19 games, he averaged 27.8 points, 6.6 assists, 1.6 steals, and shot 47.8% from the floor. The deadline acquisition of James Harden only strengthened the roster. The Harden–Mitchell pairing should keep Cleveland firmly in the hunt for a top-four seed in the East.

• San Antonio Spurs

  • Victor Wembanyama is playing some of the best basketball of his career. Alongside contributors like Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and De'Aaron Fox, the Spurs posted a 14–7 record highlighted by a 6-game winning streak that took them into the break.

  • Wemby played in 19 games and averaged 24.5 points on 49.5% shooting from the field in just 28.2 minutes per game over that stretch.

  • The Spurs are three games back of the Thunder for the top seed in the Western Conference.

• Detroit Pistons

  • This team is really good and enjoyed a solid month and a half of high-level basketball. The Pistons went 15-5 and ranked in the top-10 in field goal percentage from the New Year to the break. They are led by All-Pro Cade Cunningham, who continues to impress on both sides of the court. Over that month-and-a-half span, Cunningham averaged 23.3 points and 9.9 assists per game. He was also a defensive hound, averaging 1+ blocks and steals per game. There’s a reason Detroit sits atop the Eastern Conference.

• Honorable Mentions: Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks

Fallers

• Sacramento Kings

  • When we all thought it couldn't get worse for the Kings, well, it did. They won just four games over a 23-game stretch leading into the break. They are 12-44, going nowhere, and in prime position to secure the No.1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft.

  • After a brief 4-game winning streak in mid-January, which included wins over the Rockets, Lakers, and Knicks, they proceeded to lose 14 straight games, carrying that skid all the way into the break.

• Memphis Grizzlies

  • Memphis made its intentions clear at the trade deadline by sending Jaren Jackson Jr. to Utah. Since then, the Grizzlies have dropped four straight games.

  • There is still no timetable for Ja Morant's return, and young guys like GG Jackson, Jaylen Wells, and Cam Spencer are getting extended run on a nightly basis. A 5–15 record over this stretch tells the story: Memphis is in full rebuild mode.

• Brooklyn Nets

  • I'm not just saying this as a Knicks fan, but I still believe the Nets are one of the worst teams in the league. They have a lot of young talent and potential for the near future, but right now, they are still in the mix as a top lottery team.

  • Brooklyn lost 18 games in the six weeks leading into the break, including separate 5- and 7-game losing streaks in January. Michael Porter Jr. is a piece worth building around, but this marks a third straight sub-.500 season.

• Dishonorable Mentions: Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards

Wildcard

• Charlotte Hornets

  • Man, a mix of Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, Lamelo Ball, and Miles Bridges is a recipe for many future years of success. They won 10 of their last 11 games leading into the break, tallying wins against the Rockets and Spurs along the way. This team is cooking with fire and just added Coby White at the deadline to help bolster an already confident group looking to make a playoff push for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

  • Charlotte ranked top-10 in points scored and three-point percentage during this stretch, and led the league from the charity stripe shooting 84%. This team is built on their scoring prowess and head coach Charles Lee has them moving in the right direction.

What else happened?

The trade deadline delivered fireworks, and tanking once again dominated headlines.

James Harden, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Anthony Davis all found new homes with each trade surprising in it's own way.

• Harden: The Clippers were rolling and had one of the best records in the league in January. It was surprising to see Harden on the move. What's more surprising is that the Clippers took a risk and swapped Harden for the talented, but oft-injured, Darius Garland.

• JJJ: There were rumors of Jackson Jr. to the Knicks. That all changed when Utah acquired him for basically Walter Clayton Jr. and three first round picks. The funny thing, though not actually funny because injuries suck, is that he is now out for the season to get a growth removed from his knee. He played in 3 games for the Jazz.

• Davis: This was the least surprising trade, as rumors swirled around him for awhile leading up to his Dallas departure. However, the surprising aspect of this is that he was traded to the Wizards. The Wizards?! The still rebuilding for the last eight seasons Wizards? Now, Davis joins Trae Young, CJ McCollum, and a cadre of young guys that will try and build some real momentum as a potential contender in the East.

Tanking also returned to center stage this winter. On February 12th, the league hit the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers with $500K and $100K fines, respectively. In both cases, stars were held out from playing in pivotal moments or from games altogether. The Jazz benched Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. during the fourth quarter of two separate games in February, and the Pacers kept Pascal Siakam out of a game on February 3rd. All players were deemed healthy enough to play and the league came down with swift fines for each team.

Tanking erodes the integrity of the game and the trust built between teams and fanbases. The Pacers, for example, are without star point guard Tyrese Haliburton for the season and have one of the worst records in the league. They have every incentive to tank this year for a top lottery pick because they know they will be right back in the fold as a contender in the East next season. Until the league addresses it structurally rather than reactively, tanking will continue to remain a recurring problem. Rant over.

Final Thoughts

That’s the league at the break. There’s plenty of great basketball left, and once the All-Star festivities wrap, it’s full speed ahead toward the playoffs.

I’ll be here when the dust settles, ready to recap it all at season’s end.