Warriors rise in power rankings has fans reminiscing of legendary Finals rivalry

It may be 2024 but you could easily be mistaken for thinking we're back to seven or eight years ago, such has been the dominance of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors to start the season.

The Cavaliers remain the only unbeaten team in the league, winning their 12th-straight with a 119-113 victory over the Chicago Bulls at United Center on Monday.

The Cavaliers and Warriors top the latest NBA power rankings

Cleveland have taken all before them so far, currently ranking first in offense, ninth in defense and third in overall net rating. While they may not be championship favorites or anything like that, the Cavaliers have deservedly risen to the top of the latest NBA.com power rankings.

Having made the playoffs in the past two seasons and with the key quartet of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, Cleveland were expected by most to be towards the top of the Eastern Conference again.

Their unbeaten start does certainly come with an element of surprise, yet perhaps not as much as the Warriors' bright opening that sees them as one of four teams in the league to have only lost two games.

While they did get blown out by the Cavs in Cleveland, Golden State did punctuate their road-trip with wins in Boston and Oklahoma City who are a combined 18-4. That did plenty to validate the Warriors' strong start, and also helped lift them above those two teams in the latest power rankings.

Golden State are fourth in offense, fourth in defense and second in overall net rating, having torched the Thunder's league-best defense in the second and third periods before surviving a fourth-quarter scare on Sunday.

The top two of the latest power rankings has fans reminiscing of last decade and the great rivalry between the two teams. For years Cleveland and Golden State dominated their respective conferences, meeting in four-straight NBA Finals in which the Warriors won three.

Can you imagine if the Cavaliers and Warriors were to meet again in the Finals some seven years after their last meeting? Cleveland are a completely different franchise since that point, but Golden State do have some rather notable pieces left over in the form of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney and head coach Steve Kerr.

It's still unlikely that either team makes it out of their respective conference let alone both reach the Finals, but there's no doubt that the Cavaliers and Warriors have significantly outplayed expectations to start the season.