This will be the fifth 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 60-51 players for the 2025-26 NBA season.
#60 Jalen Johnson
We start off this part of the list with the guy who likely would have won MIP last year if he had not gotten injured. In addition, many argue that he should have made the All-Star game last season, too. Johnson will be in an interesting position this year. The Hawks are probably hoping that he will be the fourth-best player on the team this year, behind Trae Young, Kristaps Porzingis, and Zaccharie Risacher. With this being said, on certain nights, he will have to be the second or even first option. This is because of Porzingis’s injury concerns and the growing pains from Risacher. Many think the Hawks will be contenders to win the East this season. It will be interesting to see how far they go.
2024-25 Ranking: 86
Welcome back, Jalen Johnson (he made this)
📸: @JameelahJNBA pic.twitter.com/Eccg83u5UI
— JJ (@JameelahJNBA) October 23, 2025
#59 Herb Jones
Up next, we have one of the best defensive players in the league. Many people forgot about him because he only played 20 games last season. However, in 2024, the Pelicans, for the most part, were loaded with defensive liabilities, but they were great in the second half because of Jones. I’m not sure if the Pelicans can win a playoff series this year, but if they do, Jones will be a large reason for that.
2024-25 Ranking: 58
#58 Trey Murphy III
Jones’s teammate is right in front of him. Murphy has become one of the more underrated role players in the league. Last year, his role jumped, playing five more minutes per game and averaging seven more points per game. Jones and Murphy will be in an interesting spot this season. They will likely be the starting shooting guard and small forward this year. Even though the two of them are two of the best role players in the league, I’m not sure what a team’s ceiling is with them likely being the second- and third-best players behind an injury-prone Zion Williamson.
2024-25 Ranking: Not Ranked
#57 Brandon Ingram
Up next, we have our third player who played for the Pelicans last year. Ingram was traded at the deadline to the Raptors, but did not play any games with them. I am expecting Ingram to have a great comeback season because he’ll have a new home. There might be some growing pains to begin, but I think that the “off the court” problems that players have to deal with when they first get traded to a team will not apply to Ingram, since he had those couple of months in Toronto at the end of last season.
2024-25 Ranking: 56
#56 Zach LaVine
Speaking of guys who were traded at last year’s deadline, Zach LaVine comes in at 56. I think that LaVine has been underrated the past few seasons. Sure, he has not had a history of winning, but I think that has more to do with the situations he has been put in rather than the quality of play. At the end of the day, having a guy on your team who can score at will, shoot the three at an elite level, can play-make a little, and is extremely athletic is a luxury. Whether or not he can lead a team is in question, but I’d love to see him alongside other great players.
2024-25 Ranking: 60
Zach LaVine played 416 games (7.5 years) for the Bulls.
He averaged 24.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 4.2 APG during his time in Chicago.
LaVine is the All-Time Bulls 3pt Leader.
He’s led the Bulls to 1 playoff series which included 1 playoff game victory.
He returns to Chicago tonight. pic.twitter.com/ymVf240jv0
— Die-Hard Chicago Bulls Fans (@DieHardCBfans) October 29, 2025
#55 Tyler Herro
I’m a bit lower on Herro than most people. When it comes down to it, I usually do not rank high-usage players who play bad defense too high. With this being said, he had his best season last year, making his first career All-Star game. I am not sure if I’d want him on my team, but his offensive talent is pretty undeniable.
2024-25 Ranking: 92
#54 DeMar DeRozan
Mr. Iron Man himself. Fun fact: DeRozan is in the top 10 in total points for both the 2010s and the 2020s. Scoring isn’t everything, but that means something. In addition to being one of the best scorers of his generation, he is also once again Zach LaVine’s teammate. DeRozan and LaVine played together on the Bulls for three seasons, split up, and were reunited in less than a year. Many question their fit, and I agree with them. Though I am a fan of both, I am not a fan of their fit or the roster surrounding them.
2024-25 Ranking: 40
#53 Draymond Green
Green is easily one of the toughest players in the league to rank. On one hand, there is no circumstance in which he could be the best player on even a playoff team. His play style on offense simply does not uplift players inferior to him. However, remember the question: if I am building my team to win a championship, who do I want? Once we get past all of the guys who can be the first options, and most of them who can be the second, Green is right there. He knows his role on offense and is one of the best defensive players in the league; there is not much else you could want as a contender.
2024-25 Ranking: 59
Draymond Green, they could never make me hate you pic.twitter.com/GLP56olITw
— Teri Waddell (@terwaddell) October 28, 2025
#52 Jrue Holiday
Speaking of players who are perfect in the right situation, Jrue Holiday comes in at 52. Having a guy on your team who is one of the best point of attack defenders in the league, along with being a great three-point shooter and playmaker on most nights, is something contending teams would kill for. However, he did take a big step back last year. I think part of this is because he is hurt, but a large part of it might be age catching up to him. Only time will tell, but Holiday playing in his new role on his new team will be fun to watch.
2024-25 Ranking: 47
#51 LaMelo Ball
Up next, we have one of the most talented and polarizing players in the league. Just like Green, he is super hard to rank for completely different reasons. On one hand, he is 6-foot-8, can score at will, pass the ball well, and is a very good rebounder. With this being said, often he does not try on defense a lot and can be too ball-dominant at times. However, at this point in the list, the gap in talent gets too big to justify me putting him any lower.
2024-25 Ranking: 48
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