Power Rankings: Thunder rule By Marc Stein | ESPN.com

Monday, Dec. 17

Select One Preseason 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Team: Select One Atlanta Boston Brooklyn Charlotte Chicago Cleveland Dallas Denver Detroit Golden State Houston Indiana LA Clippers LA Lakers Memphis Miami Milwaukee Minnesota New Orleans New York Oklahoma City Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Portland Sacramento San Antonio Toronto Utah Washington Week:Team:

Don't worry, America.

John Hollinger has left ESPN.com for Graceland and the Memphis Grizzlies, but the daily NBA power rankings on your favorite website, automated via the special formula Professor Hollinger hatched back in 2007, aren't going anywhere.

And yours truly, of course, will continue to be here every Monday with the weekly "human" rankings. I'll be here even when a 10-hour power outage strikes Stein Line HQ, as it did Sunday night right in the heart of our not-so-professorial calculation process.

Oklahoma City's run of 10 consecutive victories -- only four short of the longest unbeaten run ever witnessed by the franchise in its four decades in Seattle -- has combined with the first semblance of a blip in San Antonio to move the committee (of one) to unveil a new No. 1 for the first time in three weeks. The Thunder and the Los Angeles Clippers have moved into the top two spots, with the Carmelo Anthony-less New York Knicks holding firm at No. 3 and the Spurs falling back to No. 4, where they began the season in late September.

Golden State, meanwhile, has risen to a stunning No. 7 thanks to its 6-1 swing through the Eastern Conference that was headlined by big wins in Miami and Atlanta. And Denver has climbed to No. 9, just behind the Hawks, after a four-week absence from the top 10.

The rankings were compiled with the usual Ricky Rubio-esque dishing from ESPN Stats & Information and the Elias Sports Bureau. Click here to rank the teams yourself.

Also, check out John Hollinger's daily Power Rankings.