This will be the ninth installment of a 10-part series ranking the top 100 players in the NBA for the 2025-26 season.
A few things to note before I start.
- This is a projective list of what I think will happen this season. While I rely heavily on the past two to three seasons to evaluate them, if a younger player has shown a lot of progression, I will assume they will play even better this season. The opposite is also true. If an older player has shown signs of consistent regression, I will assume they will play worse.
- My criteria, in short, is answering the following question: “If I am building a team to win a championship, who would I rather have on my team?” In other words, I am prioritizing ceiling raisers over floor raisers on my team. For example, if Player A is better at leading bad teams to relevance, but Player B is much better at playing his role on an elite team, I will likely rank Player B higher.
- Since this is a projective list, I unfortunately have to apply an “injury tax” for players who have a history of serious injuries or already have concerns for this year.
- This is only about predicting what will happen this season. Therefore, while Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, and Damian Lillard would all be on this list when healthy, they are dealing with long-term injuries and therefore do not qualify. Hopefully, they will all be back on this list next year.
Without further ado, here are the top 20-11 players for the 2025-26 NBA season.
#20 Chet Holmgren
Leading off the top 20, we have someone who is probably very unexpected to most. Let me first start off by saying I completely understand if it is either too early or you are concerned with his injuries. However, I am going off potential with this one. The fact of the matter is that he is one of the best defenders in the league, is a great post-up player, and can shoot the three-ball well. As stacked as the Thunder are, he is invaluable to their ceiling. I think the Thunder will be great for a long time, and Chet is a main reason for that.
2024-25 Ranking: 37
#19 Joel Embiid
Speaking of injury-prone bigs, Joel Embiid comes in at No. 19. This is somewhat of a controversial take, because for pretty much every placement, I have been answering the same question: do I want you on my team if I am trying to win a championship? With Joel Embiid, the answer is mostly no, given how injured he has been his entire career, especially the last three seasons. In addition, he is one of the worst playoff droppers of this generation.
With this being said, very few players are as good as Embiid at his peak. Literally any team would take the best version of Embiid. If I am a general manager and none of the guys ahead of him are available, I might roll the dice and take Embiid. The players behind him are likely not good enough to win as the No. 1, so you might as well take the risk with the guy who has maximum potential.
2024-25 Ranking: 10
Joel Embiid just had the 3rd fewest minutes played in a 25/5/5 game in NBA history. pic.twitter.com/SNeBrlzNGe
— Real Sports (@realapp) October 29, 2025
#18 Jaylen Brown
Up next, we have the guy who is under no pressure but also a lot of pressure at the same time. On one hand, his running mate, Jayson Tatum, will probably be out for the entire season. If he wants to prove to the league that he can be “that guy,” Brown will have to play some of his best basketball of his career. On the other hand, everyone knows that the Celtics’ roster stinks, and there is not much he can do about that. With all this being said, regardless of how bad the Celtics are, I think that Brown will have an awesome season as the first option.
2024-25 Ranking: 12
#17 Paolo Banchero
Banchero is the classic example of “pure hooper” vs. “stat nerd” culture. Those who watch the game without looking at context think that he’s awesome, but those who don’t watch a ton but look at all of the stats and advanced stats are usually not huge fans. Me? I am somewhere in the middle, but have come around to be more on the side of the pure hoopers (in this particular instance). As much as I get concerned that a lot of his on/off are very bad compared to other All-Stars, he has played awesome in recent playoffs. At the end of the day, he’s young, athletic, a good mid-range shooter, pretty good on defense, and raises his game in the playoffs. I care more about that stuff than looking at the stat sheet without any context.
2024-25 Ranking: 27
#16 Cade Cunnigham
Up next, we have another former No. 1 overall pick. Cunnigham was beginning to get some empty-stat allegations around his name before last season. This was before he led his team to their first playoff appearance in a while. This also seems like it’s only the beginning for the Pistons. With the Celtics, Pacers, and Bucks all losing key players, they can easily finish as a top-three seed in the East. Given how young and talented their team is, they have a lot of potential.
2024-25 Ranking: 44
#15 Evan Mobley
Speaking of players from the 2021 draft, Evan Mobley just cracks the top 15. I am just as high on Mobley as I am on anyone in the league. Not only do I think he could be a 1B on a championship team, but I also think that he is closer to becoming a top-10 player and the best player on the Cavs sooner rather than later. Not only did he win Defensive Player of the Year last season, but he also improved his game a lot on offense. Many think that the Cavs are the favorites to come out of the East, and Mobley is a big reason for that.
2024-25 Ranking: 43
Evan Mobley vs Detroit:
15 PTS
10 REB
5 AST
1 STL
3 BLK
+27Averaging 4 stocks per game. pic.twitter.com/SflQkxj1oL
— StatMuse (@statmuse) October 28, 2025
#14 Devin Booker
Next, we have one of the more forgettable stars in the league. About two years ago, Booker was playing his best basketball, and some people were even saying he was a top-10 player. Frankly, I still think that he is as good as he was a couple of years ago. The issue is, he has been put in the worst situation possible. Even though they had Kevin Durant, he was always injured and everyone outside the two of them was an awful fit. I think there is a world where a team could win a championship with Booker as the number one, and he would be one of the three best number twos in the league.
2024-25 Ranking: 14
#13 Jalen Brunson
I know, I know. This might seem too low, and if you think it is, I’m completely fine with that. Brunson has been one of the best playoff performers in the league for the past two seasons, and he has also made second-team All-NBA in both of those seasons. With this being said, I think that the deeper he gets into the playoffs, the Knicks have some type of ceiling. This is mainly because of Brunson’s ball dominance and defense.
Though it has worked for the most part, Brunson’s “seconds per touch” is absurdly higher than anyone else in the league. Also, his size has made teams target him on defense. But, like I said, I think he could be the best player on a championship team. I just think he needs to have the right pieces around him.
2024-25 Ranking: 15
Jalen Brunson tonight:
36 Points
4 Rebounds
3 Assists
2 Steals
14/25 FGM pic.twitter.com/luZDgQxkHu— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 29, 2025
#12 Donovan Mitchell
I’m standing on business! Yes, I still think that Mitchell is better than Jalen Brunson. When it comes down to it, Mitchell is the better playmaker, off-ball player, defender, and far better athlete. I do not think the scoring gap between the two of them nearly makes up for everything else. And I know the main argument is, “What about the playoffs?” The answer is that Mitchell is an elite playoff performer, too. Though Brunson outplayed him in 2023, Mitchell has been great the past two seasons and earlier in his career. I completely understand wanting Brunson, but I think Mitchell is a better ceiling raiser.
2024-25 Ranking: 13
#11 Kawhi Leonard
This is probably another controversial one. Again, I completely understand thinking this is too high, or maybe you would not want to put Leonard here altogether because of his injuries. With this being said, I think there is a clear gap in the peak between Leonard and the tier below him. Between his tight handle, ability to get to his spot, elite defense, and playoff rising ability, he is the ideal player you’d want on your team if he could stay healthy. Last year was the first time he finished the season with his team since 2020. We’ll see if this can turn into a trend for him.
2024-25 Ranking: 16
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