There was a time not so long ago in NBA history when teams believed that they could simply assemble two or three of the top 20 players in the NBA and waltz their way to an NBA championship. Not anymore.
Just consider how the last handful of NBA champions have fared in our annual ranking of the top 100 players in the league:
- All five starters from the 2025-26 New York Knicks, plus backup center Mitchell Robinson, were ranked as top 100 players a year ago.
- Six members of the 2024-25 Oklahoma City Thunder were selected two seasons ago.
- All five starters on the 2023-24 Boston Celtics ranked within the top 62 of that year's list.
- The 2022-23 Denver Nuggets placed four players within the top 75.
Your inclination will almost certainly be to focus on the beginning of the list. Who's No. 1? Who's rising into superstardom? What older players are starting to slip? But winning a championship in the 2020s means having players scattered throughout the entire list. You need your superstars, of course, but you need your Josh Harts and your Alex Carusos and your Al Horfords just as badly. Six CBS sports analysts submitted ballots for this year's list: Brad Botkin, John Gonzalez, Robby Kaland, Jack Maloney, Sam Quinn and Cameron Salerno. The players were ranked on how we expect them to fare in the 2026-27 season, meaning injuries factored in both for players returning from lengthy absences (like Kyrie Irving and Tyrese Haliburton) and ones who will miss time to open the season (like Jimmy Butler). So, with all of that in mind, let's dive into our ranking of the 100 best players in the NBA entering the 2026-27 season, which tips off in one week.
NBA Top 100 Player Rankings: 2026-27
No. 100-91: Veteran scorers, young promise and the next Draymond?
Cam Boozer is one of two rookies on our top 100 list this year. Getty Images 100 
Toumani Camara Portland Trail Blazers SF Last season's rank: 97. Two years ago, Toumani Camara made All-Defense. Last season, Camara took over seven 3s per game and took real steps as an off-ball offensive player. He was still very good defensively a year ago, and his offense was better than most realized during his All-Defense season. But if Camara can combine the best parts of those two seasons, we have the ideal 3-and-D wing, a turnover-causing machine perfectly suited to supporting higher-wattage shot-creators offensively. Camara has a chance to be one of the very best role players in basketball. -- Sam Quinn
99 
Jalen Suggs Orlando Magic SG Last season's rank: 60. Suggs' defense, physicality and playmaking are crucial for this Magic team that has underperformed expectations the last few seasons in part due to his inability to stay on the floor. Multiple injuries limited him to 57 games last season, and that was actually the second-most games he's played in his career. How many games the Magic and new coach Sean Sweeney get out of Suggs this season will go a long way toward determining how they fare in a crowded Eastern Conference. -- Jack Maloney98 
CJ McCollum Atlanta Hawks PG Last season's rank: NR. There are players on this list who can only truly be appreciated through extensive film study and blurbs much longer than a single paragraph. CJ McCollum is not one of those players. He's conveniently simple: CJ gets buckets. Atlanta sorely needed someone to do that without hoarding usage, and getting McCollum mid-season proved to be transformative for the Hawks last season. He's going into his age-35 season, clearly in the back nine and not nearly as effective as he was at his Portland peak. But McCollum was the only scorer who truly made the Knicks sweat en route to their championship. You're not getting too much else here, but you're still getting a scorer who can make tough shots and rack up points without getting in anyone else's way. -- Quinn
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Onyeka Okongwu Atlanta Hawks C Last season's rank: NR. There are centers who can shoot, and then there are shooting centers. Last season, at least, Okongwu was the latter. The only center to take more 3s per game and shoot a higher percentage on 3s than Okongwu last season was Myles Turner. Think about the existential questions teams like Detroit and Houston face as they grapple with building around the non-shooting Thompson twins in perimeter roles. Atlanta has a similar such player in Dyson Daniels and gets away with it because Okongwu can function as a wing offensively and a center defensively. He's by no means an elite rim-protector or rebounder, but he's solid enough and very capable on the perimeter. The individual numbers aren't spectacular, but there are a dozen teams that would kill for a center like this. -- Quinn
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Jaime Jaquez Jr. Milwaukee Bucks SF Last season's rank: NR. Jaquez's first three seasons in the league have been a bit of a roller coaster, but he was terrific last season when his versatility shined and he put up career-highs across the board in a runner-up finish for Sixth Man of the Year. In fact, he was so productive that the Bucks made him one of their targets in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, and based on the preseason rotations, it appears he'll be a full-time starter for the first time in his career. Like Tyler Herro, who also came over from Miami in the blockbuster deal, Jaquez will hope to convince his new club that he deserves an extension. -- Maloney95 
Cameron Boozer Memphis Grizzlies PF Last season's rank: NR. Boozer is the most NBA-ready player in the 2026 draft class. The reigning Naismith National Player of the Year had one of the most dominant one-and-done seasons in college history. What makes Boozer such a good player and prospect is his basketball IQ and passing. He's an elite processor of the game and can facilitate out of the low and high post. Boozer is also a bruiser on both ends of the floor. The pairing of Boozer and Zach Edey has the potential to become the best rebounding frontcourt in the NBA. -- Cameron Salerno94 
Alex Sarr Washington Wizards C Last season's rank: NR. For the past two years, Alex Sarr has mostly been a collection of tools. We don't see this many bigs with his combination of size, hops and mobility. There's real upside as both a shooter and an individual creator, at least by center standards. But it's been two years and, through no fault of his own, he hasn't really had the chance to play serious basketball yet. That's about to change on a Wizards team that's ready to try to win games, and the dependent nature of almost any big man's offensive game suggests he's really going to benefit. Say what you will about the Trae Young contract, but the player himself is going to be a great resource for Sarr after two years of running pick-and-roll with fellow youngsters. If all of those tools come together on a real team, Sarr has a chance to make a big leap this season. -- Quinn
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Collin Murray-Boyles Toronto Raptors PF Last season's rank: NR. We've spent a decade looking for the next Draymond Green. Murray-Boyles is as close as we've come yet. We may never see another defender match Green's singular brilliance and processing speed, but the template of an extremely versatile, high-motor forward who's tough enough to guard centers and quick enough to switch onto guards certainly exists here. He's neither a Green-level playmaker (few are) nor as reliable a shooter as Green was earlier in his career, but there's plenty of promise on both fronts, and he's already the better interior scorer. It's still very early, and he's not even a starter yet, but the outline of a truly special two-way supporting player exists here. -- Quinn92 
Fred VanVleet Houston Rockets PG Last season's rank: NR. After tearing his ACL and meniscus right before the start of the 2025-26 season, VanVleet appears to be ready to return. He was missed dearly throughout last season by Houston. The Rockets' lack of a true point guard was glaring at times in the regular season and in the playoffs against the Lakers. If VanVleet is healthy, it will raise the ceiling of a Houston roster that finished with 52 wins and finished fifth in the West. -- Salerno91 
Dyson Daniels Atlanta Hawks SG Last season's rank: 67. Daniels is a terror defensively and has steadily grown into being a solid offensive point guard in spite of his shooting woes. Daniels had his most efficient shooting season overall in 2025-26, even while shooting 18.8% from 3-point range, and the Hawks have started to crack the code for how to build an offense around his unique skillset (and weaknesses). Atlanta firmly believes Daniels has even more upside to his game, and if he proves it, he will climb in these rankings again in 2027. -- Robby KallandNo. 90-81: Morant, Herro trying to rebuild their stock
Ja Morant has a new team and a new role in the 2026-27 season. Getty Images 90 
AJ Dybantsa Washington Wizards SF Last season's rank: NR. Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, enters the league with a tremendous amount of hype. The former BYU star is joining a Washington roster that could compete right away, with veteran pieces such as Anthony Davis and Trae Young set to return after missing large chunks of last season. At BYU, Dybantsa's superpower was his bendy frame that could find open spots in the lane to either get to the rim or draw contact. Dybantsa won't be asked to be "the guy" right away, which should benefit him in the long term. -- Salerno89 
Tyler Herro Milwaukee Bucks PG Last season's rank: 55. After playing a career-low 33 games last season due to multiple injuries, Herro was traded to his hometown Bucks this summer as part of the Giannis Antetokounmpo deal. In Milwaukee, Herro will have a chance to be the face of a franchise as the Bucks enter this strange post-Giannis era in which they have no incentive to tank. Herro, who has averaged at least 20 points in five consecutive seasons, will hope to make this Bucks team more competitive than anyone expects and convince the franchise to give him the big extension he's eligible for. -- Maloney88 
Andrew Nembhard Indiana Pacers PG Last season's rank: 68. Anyone who watched Nembhard on Indiana's run to the 2025 Finals knew he was a stud in waiting. His bigger opportunity came under unfortunate circumstances as Tyrese Haliburton missed all of last year with a torn Achilles, but Nembhard nonetheless rose to the occasion by increasing his scoring (16.9 PPG) and assist (7.7) averages by 70% and 54%, respectively. He did this without compromising efficiency and with the best assist-to-turnover ratio among the top-15 per-game assist men in the league, on top of being an elite on-ball defender. The Pacers are poised to jump right back into the mix for Eastern Conference supremacy, and Nembhard is a big reason why. -- Brad Botkin
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Ja Morant Portland Trail Blazers PG Last season's rank: 32. Oof. The biggest year-over-year drop on our list. The last few seasons have not done much for Morant's career or reputation. He went from appointment viewing to a guy who was rarely available. He's appeared in just 79 games over the past three seasons. Just as concerning: he's a high-usage player who hasn't developed his game and seems uninterested in adding anything resembling a reliable outside shot. As a result, Memphis dangled him at the trade deadline and found no takers. This offseason, the Blazers bit and took him off the Grizzlies' hands for next to nothing. Between Deni Avdija, Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday and others, there are a lot of players in Portland who will want the ball in their hands. Add Morant to that list -- but considering how far he's fallen and how little he's shown over the last several seasons, it's fair to wonder if he deserves it. -- John Gonzalez
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Ajay Mitchell Oklahoma City Thunder PG Last season's rank: NR. The rich get richer. Sam Presti and the Thunder have an innate ability to identify overlooked assets and maximize their potential. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander blossomed in OKC after leaving Los Angeles. Jalen Williams was the 12th overall pick out of Santa Clara. They landed Alex Caruso straight up for Josh Giddey, no picks required. Jared McCain was an afterthought in Philly, then got quality minutes and became a key contributor in OKC. Same goes for Mitchell. In just his second full season, he emerged as the latest impressive find for Presti, a player who can score on multiple levels and run the offense with the second unit or as needed when SGA needs a breather. If he comes off the bench, he'll be leading a Sixth Man of the Year candidate, though it's possible he forces Mark Daigenault's hand and becomes a regular starter. -- Gonzalez85 
Devin Vassell San Antonio Spurs SG Last season's rank: NR. San Antonio's version of Mikal Bridges, Vassell's numbers won't wow you but that's only because he has accepted a reduced role on a championship-caliber team. Vassell could score 20 a game like Nikeil Alexander-Walker for another team, no question. But he conserves that ability in San Antonio so he can release it at the most crucial points. Few players truly want big shots more than Vassell. Even if he's not his team's first, second, or even third option, he hunts high-leverage looks, and at 38% on over six 3s per game, the Spurs are never going to discourage that confidence. Vassell, who led the Spurs in postseason minutes, is the definition of an unsung hero. He's overshadowed by his more commercial teammates, but anyone paying attention knows how many massive shots he made during San Antonio's run to the Finals. Vassell defends, creates for himself when called upon and brings full-tilt energy on both ends. Any team would love to have him for less than $25 million this season. -- Botkin
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Peyton Watson Cleveland Cavaliers SF Last season's rank: NR. Watson's first three seasons in the league were underwhelming to say the least. He mostly languished on the bench in Denver. Then he stepped up in a big way for the Nuggets last season when they suffered injuries to most of their starting lineup. In the absences of Christian Braun, Cam Johnson and Aaron Gordon, Watson thrived at both ends of the floor and looked like the rangy, 3-and-D wing that the Nuggets and every other team in the league sorely needed. Then, after protracted contract negotiations, Denver shipped him to the Cavs this offseason in a sign-and-trade. He should slot in nicely as the fifth starter in Cleveland. -- Gonzalez83 
Norman Powell Chicago Bulls SG Last season's rank: 77. Powell has put together the best seasons of his career the last two years in his early 30s, which is not typically when we see players reach a new level. He's gone from a useful role player to a leading option offensively -- and done so on two different teams. Now he heads to a third in Chicago, and if he can maintain his productivity and efficiency from the last two years, this might be too low a ranking. -- Kalland82 
Josh Giddey Chicago Bulls PG Last season's rank: 80. A true stat-sheet stuffer, Giddey was the only player other than Nikola Jokić last season to average at least 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. He's always been a gifted passer with the height to see lanes closed to others, but it's the shooting leap he's made that has lifted him into borderline All-Star territory. Giddey is far from a true marksman, but he'll walk into runways, spot up in transition and make you pay for leaving him open. Last season, he attempted 111 "unguarded" 3-point attempts and made 47% of them, per Synergy. That's enough to demand respect, which is all he needs to unlock his full creative toolbox. -- Botkin
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RJ Barrett Toronto Raptors SG Last season's rank: 78. Barrett was a revelation last season, scoring just under 20 a game with by far the highest efficiency of his career. He proved to be much more well-rounded than suspected, toggling between straight-line driver, facilitator and passable floor spacer as a 37% 3-point shooter off the catch. He was sensational in the playoffs, putting 24 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists on the Cavaliers as Toronto nearly pulled the seven-game upset. Barrett is an interesting case this season: Is he a malleable enough third option behind Kawhi Leonard and Scottie Barnes given his sketchy shooting? Or might he find his way onto the trade block in the final year of his current contract as Toronto is about to get very expensive? -- BotkinNo. 80-71: Agitators and aging All-Stars
Dillon Brooks (No. 72) checks in seven spots ahead of Draymond Green (No. 79) on this year's Top 100. Getty Images 80 
Naz Reid Charlotte Hornets C Last season's rank: 74. Reid became one of the most popular players in Timberwolves history during his seven seasons in Minnesota, but will begin a new chapter this season after he was traded to the Hornets as part of the LaMelo Ball deal. One of the best shooting big men in the league, Reid has made a living as a perennial Sixth Man of the Year contender, but is expected to be a starter in Charlotte. Can he be as effective playing 32-33 minutes as he was playing 25-26? -- Maloney79 
Draymond Green Golden State Warriors PF Last season's rank: 48. Draymond is still one of the best, most unique defenders in the NBA, even at 36 years old. The Warriors believe he still has plenty left in the tank after giving him a fresh contract this summer, and if they're going to have any chance of a playoff run in 2026-27, Green will need to hit that All-Defense level once again. -- Kalland78 
Ivica Zubac Indiana Pacers C Last season's rank: 47. The Pacers are about to conduct one of the most interesting experiments of the pace-and-space era. They built a specific, "whole is greater than the sum of its parts" identity in their 2025 Finals run around everyone being able to shoot. Well, Myles Turner was a great shooting big. Ivica Zubac doesn't shoot 3s. He just does, well, everything else better than Turner does. He's a better interior scorer, a better defender, a much better rebounder and passer and screener. He's going to open so many doors for a team that was already really only 45 or so healthy minutes away from winning a championship. Unless shooting is more valuable than we can even imagine, there is plenty of reason to believe that Zubac's presence makes the Pacers a better team than they were when they reached the Finals. -- Quinn77 
Isaiah Hartenstein Oklahoma City Thunder C Last season's rank: 66. Sure, we could talk about the rim-protection. The passing, the offensive rebounding and the screening are nice, too. Hartenstein does all of the little things a center needs to do to be valuable in the 2026 NBA. But come on, you're not here for dirty work. You're here for the gravity-defying floater. Unless you have an anomalous, 3-point shooting big man like Karl-Anthony Towns, Hartenstein's floater might be the single most dangerous weapon that any opposing center in the entire NBA has against Victor Wembanyama. It completely vexed him for stretches of the Western Conference Finals, perhaps the only shot in all of basketball he can't block. The dirty work may be what gets Hartenstein onto this list, but it's that little, extra flourish the floater provides that ensures he won't be leaving it any time soon. -- Quinn76 
Brandon Ingram Los Angeles Clippers SF Last season's rank: 63. Ingram's health situation is concerning, as he had offseason heel surgery that revealed a partially torn Achilles. There's no timetable for his return to the floor to make his debut with the Clippers, but once he's out there we can safely assume he'll be a 20-24 ppg scorer on solid efficiency. Ingram figures to fill the Kawhi Leonard role of a wing creator who can create and make tough shots. He had one of his best seasons last year in Toronto, which made the heel injury to end his year so frustrating, but health-pending, he's still a high-end wing scorer in the NBA. -- Kalland75 
Cason Wallace Oklahoma City Thunder PG Last season's rank: 84. Wallace doesn't post eye-popping stats, but he is as impactful as almost any player on the Thunder. Wallace is a true two-way player ready to take on a full-time starting role this season. He is also entering a contract year, and he could be a restricted free agent next summer if he can't reach a long-term agreement with OKC. If Wallace hits free agency, teams should be lining up to sign him to an offer sheet. -- Salerno74 
Julius Randle Brooklyn Nets PF Last season's rank: 44. While Randle has had challenges in the postseason, he's an incredibly consistent regular-season performer who will help raise the Nets' floor after being shipped out of Minnesota after two up-and-down years. If he's given a similar green light to Michael Porter Jr., we could very well see a return to the kind of production that earned him All-Star nods with the Knicks. -- Kalland73 
Jrue Holiday Portland Trail Blazers PG Last season's rank: 79. Holiday's willingness and ability to do whatever the team needs from him is one of his best qualities, and why he's such a beloved locker room figure wherever he goes. He was the ultimate role player in Boston, then stepped into a much bigger role in his first season in Portland, when he put up his best numbers since 2023. Now, he'll have to adjust again as Damian Lillard's return and Ja Morant's arrival will turn him into a reserve for the first time in over a decade. -- Maloney72 
Dillon Brooks Phoenix Suns SF Last season's rank: NR. One of the great hate-watch players in the league, Brooks has forced even his staunchest critics to reckon with the fact that he is a flat-out player. Brooks averaged a career-high 20.2 PPG last year, and though number nerds hate his midrange-rich shot diet and subpar efficiency, there's just no denying his impact in Phoenix as a legit go-to bucket getter. This guy takes and makes a ton of tough, largely self-created bully shots, and you know the defense and energy will be there every night. Is he overtasked as a No. 2 option? Of course. Is he going to back down from that challenge? Absolutely not. -- Botkin
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Payton Pritchard Boston Celtics PG Last season's rank: 89. Pritchard just keeps getting better year after year. After winning Sixth Man of the Year in 2025, he stepped into a starting role for 50 games with Jayson Tatum sidelined last season and put up career-highs across the board. He's increased his scoring average in each of the last three seasons, and though that streak will likely end as he moves back into a sixth man role, he remains a key figure for the Celtics and, quietly, one of the best isolation scorers in the league. -- MaloneyNo. 70-61: Essential role players, plus fresh starts for PG and Dame
Paul George is entering his 17th NBA season ... and his first in Boston. Getty Images 70 
Alex Caruso Oklahoma City Thunder PG Last season's rank: 57. You know the Thunder are taking an opponent seriously when Caruso's minutes start to tick up. He crossed 25 minutes just four times last regular season... overtime wins over the Rockets, Nuggets and Pistons along with a separate loss to Houston. He crossed that threshold just once in the first two rounds of the playoffs, but did so four times in the Western Conference Finals, including playing nearly 39 minutes in their season-ending Game 7 loss to the Spurs. Oklahoma City load-manages Caruso as aggressively as just about anyone in the NBA, but the Thunder show you just how valuable he is when the games start to count. He's the NBA's most versatile defender, a killer connecting passer, and for whatever reason, he just never misses his 3s in the biggest games. There are players who see the court twice as much who don't do as many things to impact winning as Caruso does. -- Quinn69 
Darius Garland Los Angeles Clippers PG Last season's rank: 36. A toe injury limited Garland to 45 games last season in Cleveland and L.A., but he says he's fully healthy and ready to go in 2026-27. When he was on the court, he was quite good, and he'll be tasked with carrying a significant offensive load for the Clippers this year, especially early on with Brandon Ingram out after offseason surgery. That will give him the opportunity to prove he's still an All-Star caliber guard. -- Kalland68 
Domantas Sabonis Sacramento Kings C Last season's rank: 42. Sabonis had stayed relatively healthy throughout his tenure with the Kings until last season, when he appeared in just 19 games due to a meniscus tear. Sabonis is one of the best floor raisers in the NBA due to his rebounding, passing and screening. The Kings are nowhere near ready to contend, which means a fresh start for Sabonis elsewhere could be on the horizon. Sacramento reportedly shopped Sabonis at last year's deadline and in the offseason when the franchise tried to work out a deal for restricted free agent Jalen Duren. -- Salerno67 
Paul George Boston Celtics SF Last season's rank: 43. Like so many other veterans on this list, the question with George is not about talent, but availability. He played 37 games last season, in part due to a 25-game suspension for violating the league's anti-drug policy, and has reached the 60-game mark just once since 2019. What reason is there to expect that trend to change now that he's 36 and entering Year 17? Whenever he is healthy, though, he should be a great fit next to Jayson Tatum after arriving in Boston in exchange for Jaylen Brown. He's not as good as Brown at this stage of his career, but he's a better spot-up shooter and defender, and has already made it clear that he's "here to help JT, and he's the guy." -- Maloney66 
Walker Kessler Los Angeles Lakers C Last season's rank: NR. Kessler played just five games last season. He's missed 101 games over the last two seasons combined. And yet despite that he vaulted from being unranked a year ago to No. 66 in this season's rankings. A lot of that has to do with skill set and opportunity. When he's on the floor, the 25-year-old is a top-notch rim-protector and rebounder — two things the Lakers valued enough to trade multiple first-round picks and swaps to the Jazz in order to pry him away from Utah and set him up as the starting center in Los Angeles. On paper, he's the perfect fit alongside Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. -- Gonzalez65 
Michael Porter Jr. Brooklyn Nets SF Last season's rank: 98. Porter Jr. might have the greenest light in the league in Brooklyn, which is extremely entertaining to watch. After playing in the rigidity of the Denver offense alongside Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray, he's now freed up to embrace his volume-shooting instincts. The unsurprising result of that is more raw production and less efficiency from Porter Jr. He did impress as the lead option with the Nets as his efficiency dipped but didn't fall off a cliff, and another year like that will have contenders sniffing around him in trade rumors. -- Kalland64 
Jarrett Allen Cleveland Cavaliers C Last season's rank: 56. Allen remains a quality defender, lob threat and rebounder. On a team with plenty of stars, he is the kind of high-end role player needed in Cleveland. Unfortunately for Allen, he is perhaps best known at this point for his "lights were brighter than expected" quote from his first playoff series with the Cavs, which pops up every spring when they are getting bounced.
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Aaron Gordon Denver Nuggets PF Last season's rank: 49. The good news? Gordon has more or less cemented himself as a strong 3-point shooter at this point. We now have a two-year sample of Gordon as a 41% 3-point shooter, and that was really the only hole in his game. A high-level, multi-positional defender that rebounds, shoots and is also among the NBA's best cutters? That's the ideal Nikola Jokić teammate, and frankly, a player who should probably be 20 slots higher on this list. But Gordon just hasn't been able to stay on the floor over the past few years. These muscle injuries are piling up at a time in NBA history in which they've never been more common. Healthy Gordon is easily a top-50 player. Let's hope that's the version of him we get this season. -- Quinn62 
Josh Hart New York Knicks SF Last season's rank: 94. I mean, he said it himself, didn't he? Josh Hart gets rebounds that break teams. Just about everything Hart does winds up becoming back-breaking to opponents. Defenses build entire gameplans around letting him shoot 3s. Well, he made over 41% of his triples last season. He's the second-best playmaker on a team that never runs plays for him, which is how so many of those game-breaking offensive rebounds turn into game-ending shots for teammates. He'll defend anyone, play any position, do whatever the Knicks need him to do in order to win. There's nothing glamorous about Hart's hustle, but it breaks teams all the same. -- Quinn61 
Damian Lillard Portland Trail Blazers PG Last season's rank: NR. After blowing out his Achilles and ending his disappointing stint in Milwaukee, Lillard is back in Portland and on the top 100 list. His talent has never been in question. When he's been healthy, Lillard is one of the best shooting guards in the NBA. He's a career 37% shooter from deep, and in his final season with the Bucks — which didn't exactly go swimmingly for anyone — he still averaged 24.9 points and 7.1 assists. He's 36 now and coming off a tough injury, but even an approximation of the old Dame would be a huge boost to the Blazers on the court and in the locker room, and a welcome sight for fans who never wanted him to leave Portland in the first place. -- GonzalezNo. 60-51: Trae, Zion and Fox tumble
Zion Williamson appeared in 62 games for the Pelicans last season. What does 2026-27 have in store? Getty Images 60 
VJ Edgecombe Philadelphia 76ers SG Last season's rank: NR. While Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel battled it out for Rookie of the Year honors, Edgecombe had a quality first season of his own in Philadelphia. Edgecombe's undeniable athleticism won him a starting job, but he proved to be more than just someone who can jump out of the gym and throw down highlight reel dunks. Edgecombe averaged 16 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists while knocking down a respectable 35% from 3. He also showed consistent effort on defense. And maybe best of all, he was pretty much always available, playing 75 games and averaging 35 minutes. Even with a stacked starting lineup in Philly, the hopes are high for Edgecombe going forward. -- Gonzalez59 
Ausar Thompson Detroit Pistons SF Last season's rank: 75. How did the Cavaliers win Game 7 of their second-round series against the Pistons? "I do think the tactical adjustment we made was avoiding Thompson," Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson explained. He didn't have much of a choice. Donovan Mitchell and James Harden combined to shoot 5 of 28 against Thompson as their primary defender in the series. That's Thompson's calling card. He is the best non-center defender in the NBA, and even that doesn't do him justice. There hasn't been a perimeter player this disruptive since Kawhi Leonard at his peak. He was the best man-defender and rim-protector on the No. 2 defense a season ago. No, he can't shoot. His offense needs to grow beyond transition and offensive rebounding, and he needs to foul less. But beyond Victor Wembanyama, there may not be a single player who affects games more defensively than Thompson. -- Quinn58 
Nickeil Alexander-Walker Atlanta Hawks SG Last season's rank: 100. NAW was a super scaler in 2025-26, more than doubling his scoring from under 10 PPG in his final season with Minnesota to 20.8 in Atlanta. That earned him Most Improved Player, but he still feels more optimally suited for a slightly pared-back role. Take Mikal Bridges, for instance. He exploded as a scorer with Brooklyn, but has ultimately been a better player as a 3-and-D guy with secondary-scorer chops in New York. That's NAW's lane. He doubled his 3-point volume last season to eight per game and shot 40%, but the D part of the equation wasn't quite as intense as it was with the Wolves. Hopefully he can reestablish that consistent ball-pressure tenacity this season. -- Botkin
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Keyonte George Utah Jazz SG Last season's rank: NR. The 22-year-old didn't sniff the top 100 last season, then took a massive leap in his third year in the league. George didn't clear the NBA's 65-game threshold for awards due to injury (and selective tank-related load management), but if he had he would have been on the short list for Most Improved Player after averaging 23.6 points and 6.1 assists per game, both of which were career highs. George also got to the line significantly more, shooting seven free throws per game and knocking down a robust 89.2%. With the Jazz hoping to compete this year and the addition of second-overall pick Darryn Peterson, George's usage rate might take a hit, but his talent is evident. -- Gonzalez56 
Zion Williamson New Orleans Pelicans PF Last season's rank: 38. Williamson's career has been complicated. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft hasn't played more than 70 games in any of his first six seasons due to injuries. The 62 games Williamson appeared in last year marked the second most of his career. But the 21 points and 5.7 rebounds the Pelicans forward averaged last season both marked career lows. Still just 26 years old, Williamson is on a Pelicans roster that is talented, but doesn't make much sense on paper. -- Salerno55 
Desmond Bane Orlando Magic SG Last season's rank: 45. There's a reason the Magic traded four first-round picks for Desmond Bane. He fills a hyper-specific yet extremely valuable NBA niche. He's an elite shooter that doesn't hurt you defensively, can create good shots for teammates, yet doesn't command overwhelming usage. Really think about how many other players check all four of those boxes outside of the superstars. It's a very, very short list, and a Magic team that desperately needed to improve its offense without taking the ball away from Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner was willing to mortgage its future to do it. Ironically, Bane more than held up his end of the bargain. After a slow shooting start, he was pretty much exactly who he's always been for the Magic. The rest of Orlando's roster wasn't good enough to make the trade worthwhile, but in the right context, he's essentially the ideal No. 3 option. -- Quinn
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Trae Young Washington Wizards PG Last season's rank: 25. Young played a career-low 15 games last season due to an array of injuries, and his value around the league was so low that the Hawks could only get CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert in return when they traded him to the Wizards. And yet, the Wizards, for reasons that remain unclear, handed Young a four-year, $212 million max extension this summer. Young has no problem putting up stats when he's healthy -- he averaged at least 20 points and 10 assists in three consecutive seasons -- but to what end? We'll find out in D.C. this season as Young teams up with Anthony Davis and AJ Dybantsa. -- Maloney53 
Mikal Bridges New York Knicks SG Last season's rank: 51. Nobody in New York gives a damn about those draft picks after the way Bridges showed up on the championship stage. He fits any lineup as a two-way wing who returned to his early career defensive ways. Bridges is a prototype support scorer who can space the floor and attack shifting defenses, and dare I say he's starting to resemble a poor man's Kevin Durant in the midrange with his high release and natural fade. One of the league's most overqualified role players, Bridges has legitimate spots and knows how and when to get to them without getting in anyone's way. -- Botkin
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De'Aaron Fox San Antonio Spurs PG Last season's rank: 31. Fox's stock took a hit due to his performance in the NBA Finals. But Fox's veteran presence at the point guard position helped the Spurs finish with the second-best record in the league during the regular season. One storyline to monitor is when/if the Spurs elect to go to a three-guard lineup of Fox with Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper. With Harper's rise to becoming already one of the best young players in the league, it's going to be hard to keep him on the bench. -- Salerno51 
Brandon Miller Charlotte Hornets SG Last season's rank: 73. When Charlotte traded away LaMelo Ball this offseason, it signaled the franchise was ready to go all in on its young core of Miller and Kon Knueppel. Miller, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, is eligible for a multi-year extension that could see him get north of $200 million. When Miller is on the floor, his talent is undeniable. However, he played just 27 games during the 2024-25 season due to injury before logging 65 this past season. -- Salerno50-41: LaMelo moves up, Magic duo drops
Magic teammates Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero have both fallen out of the top 40. Getty Images 50 
Trey Murphy III New Orleans Pelicans SF Last season's rank: 54. Murphy remains one of the most intriguing wing talents in the league. The problem is he's on one of the worst teams in the league that is rudderless and lacking any sense of direction. Murphy's name pops up in trade rumors every winter, but he remains in New Orleans where he has scratched out back-to-back seasons averaging just over 21 points per game on strong efficiency and seems destined for a third similar season in NBA purgatory. -- Kalland49 
Jaden McDaniels Minnesota Timberwolves SF Last season's rank: 69. For a long time, McDaniels was a bit of an open secret in the NBA. Real ball knowers were fully aware of his outsized, if overlooked, abilities -- particularly on defense. Now everyone is clued in. At this point, even casuals should know how good he is, particularly after he showed out for an undermanned Wolves squad in the playoffs and helped eliminate the Nuggets in the first round with a massive performance in Game 6. McDaniels has always been a defensive darling, but he improved greatly at the other end last season, posting career highs in points and assists per game, as well as from beyond the arc where he shot 41%. And somehow, he's still only 25. -- Gonzalez48 
Kon Knueppel Charlotte Hornets SF Last season's rank: NR. Knueppel obliterated the NBA rookie record for the most 3-pointers made, knocking down 273 triples last season. He connected on 42.5% of his 7.9 attempts per night from beyond the arc. Knueppel was in the driver's seat to win Rookie of the Year until a late surge from his former Duke teammate Cooper Flagg resulted in him finishing second in the voting. -- Salerno47 
James Harden Cleveland Cavaliers PG Last season's rank: 27. Harden is like a car that gets great gas mileage on a long trip (like the regular season), but if you're in a short race (like the playoffs), he's just not the engine you want under your hood. In 26 regular-season games with the Cavs last season, Harden averaged north of 20 points and 7 assists on 43% 3-point shooting. In the playoffs, he dipped to 19 and 5 on 29% 3-point shooting with his typical, shall we say, cavalier defense. He authored seven playoff games with more turnovers than made field goals, bringing his career total to 48 such stinkers. Somehow, he keeps getting huge contracts despite little evidence that he drives postseason winning, the latest being a three-year, $97 million deal that will run through his age-39 season. -- Botkin
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Rudy Gobert Minnesota Timberwolves C Last season's rank: 50. Gobert made his ninth All-Defensive team last season, led the league in field goal percentage (68.2%) and averaged a double-double for the 10th consecutive season -- a streak no other current player can match. He's also played fewer than 66 games just once over the last decade. Does he have his weaknesses? Of course. Do they get amplified in the playoffs? Sure. But he shows up every night and provides a high level of rim protection, rebounding and physicality. The big question for the Timberwolves is whether he can continue to do so as he hits his mid-30s, especially now that Karl-Anthony Towns, Julius Randle and Naz Reid are all gone. -- Maloney45 
Paolo Banchero Orlando Magic PF Last season's rank: 18. Banchero is entering the first season of his five-year, $239 million rookie scale extension he signed last summer. Orlando has big money tied long-term to its core of Bachero, Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane and Jalen Suggs. Banchero scored 45 points in Game 5 and 38 in Game 7 in the first round of the playoffs against Detroit, but Orlando ultimately blew a 3-1 lead. -- Salerno44 
Franz Wagner Orlando Magic PF Last season's rank: 33. The 2026-27 campaign feels hugely important for Wagner, Paolo Banchero and the Magic. Injuries have derailed the last two years, and the progress they showed as one of the league's most exciting young duos has stalled. There's still a question of whether they can coexist offensively given neither is a legitimate 3-point threat -- although Wagner showed some improvement last year -- and this season might be a make-or-break season for that duo in Orlando. -- Kalland43 
Kyrie Irving Dallas Mavericks PG Last season's rank: 64. No one was quite sure when Irving might return from an ACL injury last season, hence his deflated rank a year ago. The answer turned out to be never. The dysfunctional Mavericks decided to punt on the season, trade Anthony Davis to Washington, empower Cooper Flagg, and let Irving convalesce while Dallas optimized its draft odds. Now Irving is back after missing a full season and once again ready to terrorize overmatched defenders. When he's right, there are few players in the league who are as mesmerizing and dynamic as Irving. He can hit everything from deep 3s to circus shots in the lane, and his handle is the stuff of legend. -- Gonzalez42 
Lauri Markkanen Utah Jazz PF Last season's rank: 41. What's Lauri Markkanen look like on a team trying to win? That's what we'll find out this year after the Jazz have actively tanked through the early years of Markkanen's prime. A combination of actual injuries and tanking-related absences have kept him from playing in more than 55 games in the last three seasons, but he's continued to show glimpses of the brilliance that earned him an All-Star nod in his first season in Utah. Last year, he averaged close to 27 points per game, albeit in just 42 starts, But if he can be an elite offensive hub again, the Jazz can perhaps achieve their goal of crashing the postseason party in the West. -- Kalland41 
LaMelo Ball Minnesota Timberwolves PG Last season's rank: 53. The lowly Hornets had the NBA's best offense from Dec. 6 on last season, and while there's plenty of credit to go around, the catalyst was undeniably Ball. Just look at how his teammates fared without him. As a team, Charlotte scored roughly 13 fewer points per 100 possessions with Ball on the floor than without him in that stretch, a downright Jokić-ian figure. Kon Knueppel and Miles Bridges both saw their true shooting dip at least eight percentage points when playing without Ball last season, and even Brandon Miller fell by a more modest four percentage points. Defense and durability are question marks. Frankly, decision-making can be as well. But Ball's playmaking and pull-up shooting make him one of the NBA's most underrated generators of team offense. -- Quinn40-31: Spurs supporting cast levels up, while Embiid and AD face questions
Neither Stephon Castle nor Dylan Harper were in the Top 100 last year. They're both top-40 players this season. Getty Images 40 
Stephon Castle San Antonio Spurs PG Last season's rank: NR. Castle took a big step forward last season, particularly in the playoffs, where he shot better from the line and from 3-point range than he did during the regular season. The 21-year-old is already a tenacious defender who gives opposing guards and smaller players fits with his athleticism and physicality. Cutting down on turnovers when he's the primary ballhandler and upping his shooting efficiency could vault him into elite guard status. -- Gonzalez39 
Anthony Davis Washington Wizards C Last season's rank: 12. Davis, now 33 years old, is still a walking double-double and high-level rim protector when he plays. But that's been the key qualifier for Davis for going on a decade. He played just 20 games last season with the Mavericks before they traded him to the Wizards, and has reached the 60-game mark twice since 2018. Over the last eight seasons, he's appeared in 397 of a possible 635 regular-season games (62.5%). If he can stay healthy this season, he'll help Trae Young and AJ Dybantsa make the Wizards more competitive than they've been in a long time, but that's always a big "if." -- Maloney38 
Dylan Harper San Antonio Spurs PG Last season's rank: NR. Harper is perhaps the most naturally gifted rim-finishing guard to reach the NBA in decades. His balance is downright supernatural. Every layup, even the contested ones, feels easy. His combination of size and feel as a driver is going to make him one of the most dangerous offensive players in the NBA in the very near future ... and that's before we even consider the shooting and playmaking bumps that are inevitably coming. There's an MVP candidate in here, and MVP candidate guards almost never defend the way that he does. The sky is truly the limit for Harper. The Spurs may still be going through the charade of pretending he doesn't need to start, but if he played almost anywhere else, the entire organization would be built in his image. -- Quinn37 
Joel Embiid Philadelphia 76ers C Last season's rank: 26. Embiid dropping in the rankings yet again has nothing to do with his talent. After suffering yet another unfortunate and ill-timed health setback that had him miss part of the first-round playoff series against the Celtics (this time it was an uncooperative appendix), he returned to remind everyone that he's one of the best and most unstoppable players in the NBA. When he's healthy. Therein lies the rub. Embiid has missed a whopping 150 games over the last three seasons. He's never played more than 68 games in a single campaign. But when he's on the floor, even at 32 with all his injury issues, he's a serious problem for the opposition. -- Gonzalez36 
Jaren Jackson Jr. Utah Jazz PF Last season's rank: 20. Last year was effectively a wash for Jackson, who played just three games after being traded to Utah. The Jazz expect to take a huge leap forward this year, and much of their optimism comes from the belief that Jackson can serve as an anchor on defense and provide them with offensive versatility in a unique frontcourt. If he can tap back into the two-way form from a few years ago in Memphis, this ranking may be too low. -- Kalland35 
Alperen Sengun Houston Rockets C Last season's rank: 29. Like his teammate, Amen Thompson, there's a lot Sengun can do on a basketball court. He's one of the best passing and playmaking big men in the game, and for the second straight season, he was named to the All-Star team. He's a quality rebounder as well as an underrated defender. But also like Thompson, Sengun struggles with his shot. He hit just 30.5% from 3-point range last season, which actually represented a big uptick year-over-year. That's how bad he's been from distance. Perhaps more concerning, he hasn't cracked 70% from the line in the last three seasons. That's less than ideal, considering he shot more than five free throws per game last year. The 24-year-old's potential is massive, but the Rockets are still waiting for his skill set to launch him to another level. -- Gonzalez34 
Jalen Duren Detroit Pistons C Last season's rank: NR. Duren's contract negotiations with Detroit were complicated. Talks went down to the final day that the All-NBA big man could've accepted the qualifying offer, which would've made him an unrestricted free agent in 2027. Instead, Duren took a big payday ($200 million) after posting the best statistical season of his career. Duren struggled big-time in the playoffs, but the franchise hopes his performance was a one-off. -- Salerno33 
Derrick White Boston Celtics SG Last season's rank: 34. Kenny Atkinson called Derrick White a "top-five player in this league" last season, and while that's a bit rich for our blood, he's still a player who deserves more shine than he gets outside of the basketball nerd community. His combination of skills just doesn't really exist in any other player. He's among the best rim-protecting guards in the history of a league that rarely produces guards that provide any measure of rim-protection. He's the poster boy of Boston's high 3-point, low-turnover approach to offense, and even if his shooting dipped last year with an unusually high creation burden, his volume is in itself enormously valuable. He doesn't do the obvious things. He doesn't score a lot of points. He's not a lockdown individual defender. But he impacts games in dozens of small ways that add up to more winning than plenty of players far more famous than he is. -- Quinn32 
Amen Thompson Houston Rockets SG Last season's rank: 35. Even in a league loaded with world-class athletes, Thompson is in the upper percentile of players who will make your jaw drop on a nightly basis. While he missed the cut on making back-to-back All-Defensive teams last season, he's elite at that end of the floor, someone who can switch everything and guard pretty much anyone. For his efforts, the 23-year-old was awarded a new five-year deal worth $208 million. The next step for him -- after being asked to push the boundaries of his comfort zone and run the show for the Rockets while Fred Van Vleet was out -- is developing his shot. Thompson hit just 21.6% from deep and 34.1% from the midrange last season, prompting the Rockets to bring in legendary shooting coach Chip Engelland to help him work on his form. -- Gonzalez31 
Austin Reaves Los Angeles Lakers SG Last season's rank: 52. Reaves has had about as linear a developmental path as any player in NBA history. He was signed as a two-way player initially, given a roster spot before his rookie year, got Sixth Man of the Year votes as a sophomore, became a full-time starter in Year 3 and likely would have been an All-Star in Year 5 had he not gotten injured. He just adds somewhere between three and six points per game every year, like clockwork, and with LeBron James now gone, the Lakers are leaning into Reaves' growth fully. He's the unquestioned No. 2 in Los Angeles now for the first time in his career, and if his track record is any indication, he's only going to keep growing in that new role. -- Quinn30-21: Flagg, Avdija and Anunoby on the rise
Cooper Flagg rose to No. 25 on this year's Top 100. What does Year 2 have in store for the Mavs star? Getty Images 30 
Jalen Johnson Atlanta Hawks SF Last season's rank: 37. You knew Johnson took a major leap last season by making third-team All-NBA, but did you know he was actually just the fifth player in NBA history to average at least 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists? The other four are Wilt Chamberlain, Nikola Jokić, Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook. Not exactly bad company for the 24-year-old Johnson, who has supplanted the departed Trae Young as the face of Atlanta basketball. Johnson is a gliding, bounding athlete who profiles as a two-way superstar, but as his offensive role has increased, his defense has dipped. More finisher than initiator, he's a smooth scorer and passer in the flow of a possession but has a ways to go as a self-creator. -- Botkin
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Jamal Murray Denver Nuggets PG Last season's rank: 39. Murray finally broke through for his first All-Star and All-NBA nods last season in the most productive and efficient year of his career. If he can maintain that level, the concerns about Denver's demise will have been overstated this summer. He and Nikola Jokić still run the best two-man game in the league, and if he can stay as healthy as he was last year and shoot as efficiently as he did, the Nuggets will be right there in the West again. -- Kalland28 
Chet Holmgren Oklahoma City Thunder PF Last season's rank: 24. It was a bit of a mixed bag for Holmgren last season, his third in the NBA. He posted career highs in points and rebounds per game, as well as field goal percentage. He made All-NBA for the first time, and as one of the best rim protectors in the game, he finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year race to Victor Wembanyama. Then Wemby dismantled him in the playoffs, rendering him all but invisible in the Western Conference Finals. Despite that disappointment, Holmgren is only 24 years old and remains a huge part of the Thunder's plans for the present and future. The big question is whether he can raise his game against an opponent he's long measured himself against and a team that figures to be OKC's primary foes for the foreseeable future. -- Gonzalez27 
Deni Avdija Portland Trail Blazers SG Last season's rank: 76. Avdija relied primarily on a single trick on his way to his first All-Star berth last season, but it was an enormously effective one. Avdija led the NBA in total drives, roughly two-thirds of them going right. In doing so, he led the league in both assists and free-throw attempts off of drives, and only a handful of players scored more total points in doing so. Give Avdija the ball, let him go downhill, and even with the bleak spacing Portland had, good offense should follow. His defense took a step back last season as his usage soared, but with a more manageable workload and his growth as a shooter, Avdija has the tools to be one of the NBA's best do-it-all wings under the right circumstances. -- Quinn26 
Devin Booker Phoenix Suns SG Last season's rank: 16. There are few more consistently productive players in the league than Devin Booker, who has averaged between 24.9-27.8 points per game for nine consecutive seasons. He's a walking bucket, but the Suns have faded to the periphery of the Western Conference conversation, and he will need to do something particularly special to bring the spotlight back to Phoenix in 2026-27. -- Kalland25 
Cooper Flagg Dallas Mavericks SF Last season's rank: 61. By next year, there is a real possibility that Flagg will be considered a consensus top-15 player. The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year took tremendous strides throughout the course of the season and finished his rookie campaign averaging 21/6.7/4.5 with 1.2 steals per game. Entering his freshman season at Duke, Flagg was heralded as an elite defensive prospect. Still, it was his offensive game that stood out during his one-and-done season at Duke and again during his rookie season in Dallas. The Mavericks have a face of the franchise who should thrive in Dusty May's system. -- Salerno24 
OG Anunoby New York Knicks SF Last season's rank: 40. He's the apex role player. That's the argument. If you ranked every player in the NBA by how much value they provide in every area except shot-creation, Anunoby would be at or near the top. He's the pinnacle of the 3-and-D art form, yet calling him a 3-and-D player feels reductive. You're not running much offense through him, but he's grown enough as a ball-handler that he's become lethal against overeager closeouts or the sort of panicked rotations New York's dominant offense forces. He's probably going to spend a fair amount of time at backup center this season, a duty fewer and fewer wings are up for in the bigger, more physical league the NBA has morphed into over the past few years. Oh yeah, he's a pretty good offensive rebounder too. -- Quinn23 
Bam Adebayo Miami Heat PF Last season's rank: 30. Adebayo had one of his most productive seasons last year, averaging 20.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, but he did so with a dip in efficiency. Giannis Antetokounmpo should allow Adebayo to slide back into a more comfortable supporting role offensively, and that duo could prove to be the best defensive frontcourt pairing in the league. Adebayo has long felt underappreciated, but the spotlight is back on Miami with Giannis in town, and he can remind folks he's an elite two-way star. -- Kalland22 
Evan Mobley Cleveland Cavaliers PF Last season's rank: 23. Mobley is one of the league's best defenders, but he's still yet to unlock his full potential on the offensive end. He took a step back as a shooter in 2025-26 and for the Cavs to reach their ceiling, they need Mobley to find more offensive consistency to fulfill his star upside. If he can make that leap (particularly in the playoffs), that opens up a whole new world for this Cavs team. -- Kalland21 
Pascal Siakam Indiana Pacers PF Last season's rank: 28. Siakam checks in at No. 21 on our list and is now a four-time All-Star after his second consecutive appearance last season. His game is not flashy nor particularly exciting, but he's one of the most reliable wings around. Siakam has averaged at least 20 points, six rebounds and three assists in seven consecutive seasons; the only other player to do that while also playing at least 50 games per season is Luka Dončić. There's no reason to think that streak will end this season, especially because Siakam's life should only get easier with Tyrese Haliburton's return. -- Maloney20-11: LeBron stays in top 20 ... but is behind two new teammates
Jaylen Brown (No. 17), LeBron James (No. 19) and Tyrese Maxey (No. 13) are all Sixers who rank in the top 20. Getty Images 20 
Jalen Williams Oklahoma City Thunder SF Last season's rank: 14. Last season was all but lost for Williams, who was felled by injuries and played just 38 games combined between the regular and postseason. Maybe that had some people forgetting how good JDub is at both ends of the floor, because he came to training camp vowing to remind everyone who he is: a guy who just two years ago made All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defense and helped the Thunder win their first title. SGA is the unquestioned main man in OKC, but when Williams is healthy, he's one of the best two-way players in the league. His game can help the Thunder reach another level. -- Gonzalez19 
LeBron James Philadelphia 76ers SF Last season's rank: 10. For anyone still waiting on a steep LeBron falloff, just give up the fight. It's not going to happen. This is a Tom Brady situation. He's going to retire long before he's done being good. Really good, in fact. Good enough to still almost single-handedly lead a team to a playoff series victory, as he did last year against the Rockets. LeBron was one of four players to average at least 20 points, seven assists, and six rebounds last season. While his scoring average may fall below 20 PPG for the first time in his career this season, given Philadelphia's scoring depth, he could easily finish near the top of the league in assists. -- Botkin
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Scottie Barnes Toronto Raptors PF Last season's rank: 46. Barnes has spent his first four seasons held back by his limitations as a 3-point shooter, but Year 5 was the turning point at which every other element of his game reached such a high level that it hardly mattered. How many players in the NBA at any given time can play point guard on offense and defend all five positions? You can typically count them on one hand, and Barnes, through tremendous growth as a playmaker and mid-range scorer, got there recently. His playoff series against Cleveland was a revelation, and with Kawhi Leonard now around to make the toughest, late-game shots, all of Barnes' other gifts will be amplified to new heights. -- Quinn17 
Jaylen Brown Philadelphia 76ers SF Last season's rank: 17. Brown, who finished sixth in MVP voting last season and put up career-highs across the board, seemed to thoroughly enjoy his opportunity to be the No. 1 option in Boston with Jayson Tatum sidelined. Now, after a shocking trade to Philadelphia that he's apparently still trying to process -- "It's like running into your ex in public," he said, regarding the Celtics-76ers preseason game -- he'll have to figure out how to fit in on a Sixers team that also features LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. Like so many of his new teammates, Brown is at his best when he can control the ball and play at his own pace. -- Maloney16 
Karl-Anthony Towns New York Knicks C Last season's rank: 19. Towns has always been a player defined by extremes. He's the greatest shooting big man ever, a gifted rebounder and a sorely underrated playmaker. He's also spent most of his career fouling too much, turning the ball over too much and defending too inconsistently. The 2026 postseason was the tipping point, the moment Towns finally tamped down the negatives enough for the positives to shine as they always should have. He's coming off his best defensive season as a pro. New York's offense soared when it turned him into a point center. We may never see another 55-45-90 shooting postseason from a big man. New York waited 53 years for a player like Towns, and it was well worth it. -- Quinn15 
Kevin Durant Houston Rockets PF Last season's rank: 9. Durant appeared in just one playoff game in the Rockets' loss to the Lakers in the first round of the 2026 playoffs. It was a cruel development for Durant after he missed just four games in the regular season total. The 78 games Durant played were the most since his final season with the Warriors in 2018-19. Houston traded for Durant in hopes that he would elevate its offense to greater heights. Without Durant, Houston looked lost in the playoffs. Even at 38, Durant remains one of the most impactful players in the league. -- Salerno14 
Donovan Mitchell Cleveland Cavaliers SG Last season's rank: 11. Mitchell's 2025-26 campaign was one of the best of his career, but this still feels like a pivotal season for Mitchell and the Cavs as a whole. The pressure is ratcheted up on Cleveland's stars to deliver in 2026-27, and in a suddenly stacked Eastern Conference, Mitchell and company look to prove they have staying power. -- Kalland13 
Tyrese Maxey Philadelphia 76ers PG Last season's rank: 21. Maxey will be one of the most fascinating players to watch this season. Beyond his speed with the ball, his off-ball work is exceptional. His catch-and-shoot numbers have been elite over the last four seasons, and that part of his game should be fully unlocked playing alongside LeBron James and Jaylen Brown. While Maxey's scoring may dip from his 28 PPG average last year, it should come with an efficiency spike as he continues his ascent toward true superstardom. -- Botkin
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Tyrese Haliburton Indiana Pacers PG Last season's rank: NR. Few point guards have ever been as equipped to recover from a torn Achilles than Haliburton. It's not as though he ever relied much on his athleticism anyway. Haliburton's game is timeless, built around pace and vision and shooting range. He's the ideal point guard for the possession-maxing era, the king of the assist-to-turnover ratio and a master of setting teammates up for easy baskets in transition. Durability was a real concern even before the Achilles, but when he's on the floor, Haliburton should be able to recapture his old form in time for what will hopefully be a revenge tour through the postseason. -- Quinn11 
Kawhi Leonard Toronto Raptors SF Last season's rank: 15. After a calendar year full of drama stemming from the league's investigation regarding cap circumvention, Leonard is returning to a familiar place where he won his last NBA championship. In 65 games last season, Leonard averaged 27.9/6.3/3.6 and 1.9 steals, which was the most points he averaged in a single season in his NBA career. Leonard is joining a Raptors team full of two-way wings. His style should be a perfect fit for what Toronto needs. -- Salerno10-1: Wemby jumps Jokić and SGA for top spot
Victor Wembanyama has ascended to the top of our Top 100 rankings as the 2026-27 season begins. Imagn Images 10 
Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors PG Last season's rank: 6. Entering his 18th season, Curry remains the deadliest shooter and one of the most flammable scorers on the planet. While he only managed 43 games last season and shot 39% from 3 and 46% overall, a 63.7% true-shooting percentage on his shot volume and difficulty remains elite. On any given night, Curry can still be the best player in the world, and he remains fully capable of leading one last charge if Golden State provides the opportunity. -- Botkin
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Jayson Tatum Boston Celtics PF Last season's rank: NR. Even if he's reluctant to admit it publicly, the Celtics are officially Tatum's team after the stunning offseason trade that sent Jaylen Brown to the 76ers. The move may have simplified the Celtics' hierarchy, but it doesn't answer the biggest questions in Boston. Can Tatum return to his All-NBA First Team best? And if so, can he maintain that level for an entire regular season and playoffs after the Achilles tear that cost him just under 300 days? If the answer to both questions is yes, the Celtics may be able to challenge the Knicks at the top of the Eastern Conference. -- Maloney8 
Cade Cunningham Detroit Pistons SG Last season's rank: 13. The 25-year-old got his second All-Star and All-NBA nods and finished fifth in the MVP voting. He also dragged a flawed Pistons roster to the top of the Eastern Conference standings for much of the regular season largely through sheer will. In his fifth season, Cunningham averaged a career-best 9.9 assists, along with 23.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He is tasked with doing the most at all times with the Pistons, particularly in the postseason, where too many of his teammates disappeared. (Looking in Jalen Duren's direction.) Meanwhile, Cunningham shot a healthy 40% from 3 in the playoffs on 7.3 attempts per game. Imagine if he had some consistent help. -- Gonzalez7 
Jalen Brunson New York Knicks PG Last season's rank: 8. There are plenty of players you'd rather have in the first quarter, a decent number you'd want in the second, and a handful you'd prefer in the third. But when things get tight in the fourth quarter, there is not a basketball player on this planet you'd trust more to carry you home. Brunson has now led the last three postseasons in total clutch scoring. He's led more 20-point comebacks in the past two postseasons than the rest of the NBA combined. You could quibble with the defense and the size. You could point to moments where he hasn't involved teammates enough, though the Knicks obviously found their ideal balance in the playoffs. But his big-game track record is so infallible at this point that, besides Michael Jordan, there may not be a player in all of league history you'd rather have taking your biggest shots. -- Quinn6 
Giannis Antetokounmpo Miami Heat PF Last season's rank: 4. Antetokounmpo will begin a new challenge after a summer trade to the Heat ended his 13-season run with the Bucks. He remains comfortably a top player in the world thanks to his unique blend of size, athleticism and playmaking ability, but only when he can stay on the floor. And there are more questions than ever about his ability to do that after a series of injuries, including multiple calf strains, limited him to a career-low 36 games last season. He'll turn 32 in December and has completed a full regular season and postseason just once since 2022. -- Maloney5 
Anthony Edwards Minnesota Timberwolves SG Last season's rank: 7. A comic-book athlete with every skill in the book and enough charisma to power the Vegas strip, Edwards is the closest thing we have seen to a young Michael Jordan. Now he gets LaMelo Ball to alleviate some of his creative burden. Facing fewer double teams and getting more catch-and-shoot 3s from one of the league's top facilitators should give Edwards a shot at the most efficient season of his career -- which is saying something for a player who was one of just three to score 28 PPG on better than 60% true-shooting last year. -- Botkin
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Luka Doncic Los Angeles Lakers PG Last season's rank: 3. There are exactly two examples in NBA history of a player averaging at least 33 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists over a full season: Luka Dončić in his last full year with the Mavericks, and Luka Dončić last year with the Lakers. In an era moving away from the James Harden school of heliocentric point guard play, Dončić is the lone holdover who remains great enough to warrant a one-man offense. The analytics have loved Dončić and Austin Reaves together, and now he has his center in Walker Kessler. With LeBron gone, the Lakers are officially Luka's team. He's going to put up MVP numbers easily, but the test will be whether he can lead the Lakers into true contention. -- Botkin
3 
Nikola Jokic Denver Nuggets C Last season's rank: 1. Jokić hasn't finished outside the top-two in MVP voting since 2020, but the three-time MVP slides to No. 3 in this year's rankings (which really says more about SGA and Wemby). He's still the best offensive hub in the game and led the league in assists and rebounds in 2025-26, but his ability to elevate a team into the contender tier will be put to the test after a rocky summer for the Nuggets. -- Kalland2 
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Oklahoma City Thunder SG Last season's rank: 2. The best-in-the-world conversation intensified over the last year with the rise of Wemby and the continued excellence of Nikola Jokić. However, the reigning back-to-back league MVP is coming off a season in which he averaged 31.1 points, 6.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals. Gilgeous-Alexander remains one of the toughest covers in the NBA due to his elite ability to draw contact and get to the free-throw line. At 28, SGA is in the midst of his prime and has the potential to add more MVPs -- and more titles -- to his name over the next few seasons. -- Salerno1 
Victor Wembanyama San Antonio Spurs C Last season's rank: 5. The 7-foot-4 Frenchman is unlike any player we've ever seen. The best defender in the league by a wide margin, he has never averaged fewer than three blocks in a season. His length, athleticism and timing alter the spatial reality of the court and seep into his opponents' minds. Last season, he became the first player in league history to win DPOY unanimously, and if he hits the 65-game threshold this season there's a good chance he does so again. MVP and a championship are both well within his grasp as well, though he still has a few questions to answer about his ability to create his own offense, particularly in the postseason, to fully establish himself as the best player in the world. -- MaloneyTop 100 by the numbers
Biggest risers from '25-26 Biggest fallers from '25-26Jalen Duren (+67)
Ja Morant (-55)
Dylan Harper (+63)
Jalen Suggs (-39)
Stephon Castle (+61)
Tyler Herro (-34)
Kon Knueppel (+53)
Darius Garland (-33)
Deni Avdija (+51)
Draymond Green (-31)
Keyonte George (+44)
Julius Randle (-30)
Nickeil Alexander-Walker (+42)
Trae Young (-29)
VJ Edgecombe (+41)
Ivica Zubac (-29)
Top 100 by teamThunder
7 players
76ers, Cavaliers, Hawks, Knicks, Spurs, Trail Blazers
5 players
Celtics, Magic, Nuggets, Pacers, Raptors, Rockets, Timberwolves, Wizards
4 players
Hornets, Jazz, Lakers, Pistons
3 players
Bucks, Bulls, Clippers, Heat, Mavericks, Pelicans, Suns, Warriors
2 players
Grizzlies, Kings, Nets
1 player
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