Pistons begin where they left off: No. 1
They're back! Not just the players. Marc Stein's Power Rankings, too.
With teams ending their summer vacations Monday, ESPN.com's NBA Power Rankings make their long-awaited return with this Training Camp Edition, rating every team from 1 through 30.
For the purposes of review, this initial set of rankings serves as a barometer of each team's standing heading into camp, based on Stein's special formula.
That formula? It gauges how good a team is along with how good their summer was ... with a dash of totally subjective whim factored in.
The next set of rankings will appear on Monday, Nov. 1 on the eve of Opening Night, after giving all 30 teams a month to impress us. The rankings will then continue every Monday through the regular season, with a weekly column running with it once the games start counting. Click here to comment on the first batch of rankings.
Editor's note: Last Week and Record categories are from the final Power Rankings of the 2003-04 season.