NBA: Memphis Grizzlies at New Orleans Pelicans
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Welcome back to NBA Star Power Index: A weekly gauge of the players getting the most buzz around the league. Inclusion on this list isn't necessarily a good thing -- it simply means you're capturing the NBA world's attention. This is also not a ranking. The players listed here are in no particular order. This column will run every week throughout the regular season.

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Ja Morant
MEM • PG • #12
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Morant was electric in his 2023-24 debut after serving a 25-game suspension. He finished with 34 points -- an NBA record for a player returning from at least a 25-game absence -- and hit the game-winner as time expired, rallying Memphis past the Pelicans. 

Morant was a force throughout the second half. He became increasingly aggressive attacking the basket as he found his rhythm and tried, as best he could, to maintain his wind as he works his way into game shape. 

Once he started feeling it as a driver, he was unstoppable with an array of acrobatic finishes. The Grizzlies have struggled mightily to create offense without him, and without Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke to at least keep them afloat with offensive rebounding, Morant was needed back in the worst way. 

He delivered in every way, and the Grizzlies looked like an entirely different team. 

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Stephen Curry
GS • PG • #30
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Curry scored 13 points through the first three quarters against Boston on Tuesday. He scored 20 in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Warriors, who are trying to will themselves into some kind of positive momentum, pulled out a thrilling victory -- their third straight and sixth straight at home -- after trailing by 17 late in the third quarter. 

This gorgeous rainbow 3 was the dagger, after which Curry unleashed his signature "night-night" routine. 

This comes after Curry saw his streak of 268 consecutive games with at least one made 3-pointer, an NBA record by 111 games, come to an end on Sunday in Portland, where he finished 0 for 8 from deep. 

Curry's streak with at least one 3-pointer made lasted 1,842 days. Good grief. Now that Curry is back at one (he got back on the board with six 3-pointers against Boston), Damian Lillard is your new active leader with at least one 3-pointer made in 111 straight games. 

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James Harden
LAC • PG • #1
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Harden dropped 35 points in the Clippers' win -- their eighth straight -- over the Pacers on Monday. Even more impressive is the fact that those 21 fourth-quarter points came in over a four-minute stretch, during which Harden hit four increasingly difficult 3-pointers.

"That's vintage. That's vintage James right there," Paul George said of Harden's performance. "I remember the days of having to match up against that. Once he gets going, he's the best at creating space and creating off the dribble. Watching it on his side now, it's fun to watch."

Harden is shooting 49% from 3 during this win streak and 44% over his first 21 games with the Clippers, and the playmaking is cranking up as he plays more and more with the ball in his hands. Over the last three games, Harden has registered 36 assists, and he's averaging 9.5 during the win streak. 

"That's why we brought him here, to score the basketball and make plays for other guys, make it easier for Kawhi and PG [George]," Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said of Harden. "Some nights he takes five shots, some nights he takes 15, 16 shots. And all he cares about is the win."

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Chet Holmgren
OKC • PF • #7
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After recording eight blocks on Saturday in an OKC win over Denver, Holmgren blocked another seven shots in a win over the Grizzlies on Monday. That makes Holmgren the first rookie since Tim Duncan in 1998 to tally at least seven blocks in consecutive games. 

The 15 blocks ties Holmgren with Serge Ibaka for the most in Thunder history over a two-game stretch. This volleyball spike on Jaren Jackson Jr. made the social media rounds, and for good reason:

Holmgren ranks third in the league with 2.8 blocks per game. He's tied with Victor Wembanyama for second in total blocks (71). He's fifth in block percentage, per Cleaning the Glass, turning away 4.2 percent of all shots attempted while he's on the court. 

Inside of six feet, opponents are making just 50.6% of their shots when defended by Holmgren, per NBA tracking data. That's more than an 11% decline from the average conversion rate, and the stingiest mark in the league among all players who defend at least nine such shots per game. 

Holmgren has earned his status as a Rookie of the Year frontrunner, perhaps even the frontrunner ahead of San Antonio sensation Victor Wembanyama, and now he's shooting up Defensive Player of the Year boards -- where he slots behind only Rudy Gobert and Anthony Davis at multiple sportsbooks. 

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Giannis Antetokounmpo
MIL • PF • #34
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Giannis recorded a triple-double on Tuesday and his points were the lowest number on the ledger. You won't see that often. In fact, you might never see it again: 11 points, 14 rebounds, 16 assists. 

The 16 assists are a career high, and he did it in just about every way. 

Leading transition:

Drive-and-kick:

Finding shooters out of double teams:

Interior dimes as his penetration gravity leaves cutters unaccounted for:

Giannis' career-high assist night comes one week after his career-high scoring night, when he dropped 64 on the Pacers and then went hunting for his game ball. 

The Pacers swore they took the reserve game ball for their rookie, Oscar Tshiebwe, who had scored his first NBA point in the game, with the original game ball indeed going to Giannis. 

Giannis wasn't buying it. 

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Damian Lillard
MIL • PG
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Lillard went for 40 points in Milwaukee's win over San Antonio on Tuesday, and in doing so became the 51st player in history, and the 17th fastest, to reach 20K points for his career. 

That's 112 points for Lillard over his last three games on 57% shooting, including 53% from 3 (18 for 34). For the month of December, Lillard is hitting 51% of his 3s on nine attempts per game. It was only a matter of time.

Oh, and there's also this fairly exclusive club:

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Luka Doncic
DAL • PG • #77
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Doncic has scored at least 30 points in 11 straight games. Over that span, he's averaging 35.8 PPG. He continues to shoot a career high 38.5% from 3 on over 10 attempts per game. 

On Monday, Doncic had 28 points, six rebounds and five assists ... at halftime. The Mavericks lost to the Nuggets, but they've won five of their last seven and three of five without Kyrie Irving. They'll take that. 

Doncic is 78 points shy of hitting the 10K mark for his career. Don't rule it out happening in Dallas' next two games, but in the next three feels like a lock. If it takes him three, he will tie Bob McAdoo as the seventh-fastest to 10K career points in NBA history -- 10 games faster than LeBron James.