The NBA season tips off in Boston on Tuesday night as the Celtics host the Knicks for ring night, followed by the the Wolves and Lakers meeting in L.A. for what will be the TNT crew’s final NBA opening night. One of people’s favorite things to do this time of year is rank players and argue about it. Typically those come in the form of lists of the top 100 or tiered breakdowns where folks layout how they see the league’s hierarchy and then fans get very mad.
Here, we wanted to take a slightly different approach and look at the top five players at each position, because the truth is, once you get past the top stars, it can be a little tricky trying to decide who is better and who has a bigger impact when they do totally different things on the court. While that can make for a fun argument, we wanted to approach our preseason rankings position by position, where it’s a bit easier to put guys head-to-head. The exercise, even when broken down like this, still isn’t easy and that’s a testament to the insane level of talent in the league.
As for how we determined who fell into what category in this world of positionless basketball and guys often playing multiple positions depending on lineups, we went off of Basketball-Reference’s lineup data for each player from last year, as well as the projected starting lineups for this season. For example, Kyrie Irving now plays shooting guard primarily in Dallas next to Luka Doncic at point guard. From there, we polled our writing staff and social team for their top 10s and averaged out the top 5 from each list.
Point Guards
1. Luka Doncic
2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
3. Steph Curry
4. Jalen Brunson
5. Ja Morant
One of the two deepest position groups in the NBA along with power forward, there is a ton of point guard talent in the NBA currently. A league average starting point guard now is a guy the caliber of, say, Jamal Murray or Jrue Holiday, which is insane. At the very top, we have Luka who edged out SGA in our rankings largely off what he did last postseason to cement himself as a primetime player. They are the two favorites for the MVP award this season for good reason, and it’s certainly possible for Shai to leapfrog into that top spot by next season if he and the Thunder can reach their full potential as a contender this year. From there, Stephen Curry is the last of the old guard still hanging on at the top of the point guard ranks, but his performance last year and this summer with USA Basketball proves he’s still got a ton in the tank.
Rounding out the top 5 are Jalen Brunson and Ja Morant, as Brunson made quite the statement of his talent last year, while Morant is a guy we expect to bounce back into elite form this year in Memphis. The honorable mentions list at point guard is lengthy, with Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Maxey, Trae Young, Damian Lillard, De’Aaron Fox, and others all having cases for consideration and the talent to leap into the conversation with their play this year.
Shooting Guards
1. Anthony Edwards
2. Devin Booker
3. Donovan Mitchell
4. Kyrie Irving
5. Derrick White
The two-guard spot is not as deep, as the way the game has grown a lot of guys that would’ve been shooting guards in a past life are now scoring point guards. That said, there’s still plenty of high-end talent at the two spot, and the top four spots in our rankings were a near-consensus among our staff, with Anthony Edwards leading the way after his sensational season in Minnesota. Devin Booker spent a year playing point guard for the Suns last year, but with Tyus Jones on board and in the starting lineup, he moves back to shooting guard (primarily) for 2024-25 — and, to be honest, we needed more two guards to pick from and fewer point guards.
Donovan Mitchell once again reminded everyone of his ability to be a monster scorer in the playoffs with Cleveland, and his decision to re-sign is a big reason for optimism with the Cavs. Kyrie Irving has always been at his most dangerous playing off an elite point forward type, winning a title with LeBron and now making a Finals run with Luka. In Dallas, Luka is the actual nominal point guard in lineups, and Kyrie has shifted to the two with ease. The fifth spot was a bit more contentious, but Derrick White got the nod for his incredible two-way play in the Celtics run to a championship. Honorable mentions go to Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, Alex Caruso, Zach LaVine, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Jalen Green.
Small Forwards
1. Jaylen Brown
2. Jimmy Butler
3. Kawhi Leonard
4. Jalen Williams
5. Mikal Bridges
Defining a small forward in the NBA right now can be a bit tricky, as a lot of guys that used to be 3s are now 4s in the modern era, but no matter how you slice it, no one is able to challenge Jaylen Brown’s claim as the best in the league. Brown is coming off of an absolutely remarkable postseason, one where he answered every single question about his game as he led the Celtics to an championship and got named the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals. Frankly, there is a bit of a drop off after him, but in our eyes, Jimmy Butler and Kawhi Leonard continue to be among the best of the best … if, of course, they can stay on the floor. When they can, both of them are capable of leading a team to incredible heights, particularly when the postseason rolls around. It’s just a shame that you can’t fully trust either guy, because their highs are worth the price of admission.
Rounding out our top-5 are one of the most promising young wings in the league and one of the best 3-and-D players in the NBA. The former is Jalen Williams, who took a gigantic step forward last year and legitimately looks like someone who can be an All-Star in Oklahoma City if he continues to get better. The latter is Mikal Bridges, one of the players the Knicks gave up a ton to acquire this offseason with the hopes that he can get them closer to a championship. Because of his star upside, we gave Williams the nod over Bridges, but both of them are wonderful players who should play crucial roles on two of the best teams in the NBA. Honorable mention goes to Franz Wagner, Khris Middleton, Desmond Bane, Herbert Jones, Bradley Beal, Brandon Miller, and Michael Porter Jr.
Power Forwards
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo
T2. LeBron James
T2. Kevin Durant
4. Jayson Tatum
5. Paul George
Even with the depth at point guard, the power forward position is the most talented in the NBA right now. They are not what power forwards once were, but the versatility, athleticism, and skill of this group is just unfathomable. This was the position with the most variance in our rankings, as it’s very much a matter of personal preference as to who you roll with. At the top, we have Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was a bit out of sight, out of mind at the end of last season as he missed the playoffs with injury, but he’s still one of the most dominant singular forces in the NBA.
From there we had a tie for second in voting between the two members of the old guard, as LeBron James and Kevin Durant still command respect 15+ seasons into their careers. I’m sure Celtics fans will not be happy to see Tatum at 4 on this list after a run to the title, but he did earn a second place vote and is just a casualty of the talent at this position. Those four were at the top in some order on every ballot, but the fifth spot was all over the place, with Paul George earning the nod on aggregate. Honorable mention goes to (deep breath) Pascal Siakam, Paolo Banchero, Karl-Anthony Towns (who, maybe is just a center in NY but also might be the 4 when Mitch gets back), Jaren Jackson Jr., Draymond Green, DeMar DeRozan, Lauri Markkanen, and others as there’s just an embarrassment of riches at the 4-spot in the NBA right now.
Centers
1. Nikola Jokic
2. Joel Embiid
3. Anthony Davis
4. Bam Adebayo
5. Victor Wembanyama
You can argue that no position in the NBA is more fun right now than center, as it features arguably the two-best players in the league. In our eyes, Nikola Jokic edges out Joel Embiid for the No. 1 spot, largely due to availability — Jokic is almost always available and consistently puts up video game numbers. But when Embiid is healthy, his ability to dominate on both ends of the floor is unparalleled, and he’s the reason why the Sixers are so all-in on trying to win a championship right now. Whenever we’re fortunate to watch the two of them play, it just feels like you’re watching something special.
The rest of the top-5 really does hammer home how good of a place the position’s in right now. Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo are a pair of Olympic gold medalists and are critical to the success of two teams that want to win a championship — for how good LeBron James and Jimmy Butler are, Davis and Adebayo are the players who will determine the ceilings of the Lakers and the Heat, respectively. And in fifth, we have the guy who is going to be the best player in the world sooner rather than later, as we’ve never seen anyone like Victor Wembanyama. He’s only 20, keeps getting better (rapidly), wants to be an all-time great, and is already the best defensive player on the planet. Even though he has to get better on the offensive end of the floor, Spurs should thank the good lord every day that the ping pong balls bounced their way in 2023. Honorable mentions are Rudy Gobert, Kristaps Porzingis, Domantas Sabonis, Jarrett Allen, Myles Turner, and Alperen Sengun.