Atlanta Hawks vault to top of ESPN Power Rankings

The Atlanta Hawks are riding a wave of positivity right now, and as of Monday, that extends to the worldwide leader in sports. Marc Stein of ESPN released his weekly NBA power rankings on Monday afternoon, and the team from Georgia has vaulted to the top spot for the first time in a (very) long time.

Here is what Stein had to say about the Hawks:

"This is the latest in a season that the Hawks — on pace to win a franchise-record 62 games — have topped the East since this committee (of one) started covering the NBA in 1993-94. The same season, as noted last week, when the Hawks stunningly dealt Dominque Wilkins for Danny Manning on deadline day."

With their solid road victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday evening, the Atlanta Hawks maintain a 1.5-game lead over the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls for the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Still, this is a considerable leap from an ESPN representative considering that the Golden State Warriors have been playing incredibly well all season long.

Mike Budenholzer and his team finish up a West Coast road trip on Monday night with a date against the Los Angeles Clippers. That is, admittedly, a very difficult spot for this squad, but regardless of result, the national perception of the Atlanta Hawks is changing for the better.