CLEVELAND — Debating the top NBA players is basically a holiday season for basketball fans.
Aside from the forever ongoing Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James debates that never seem to be wanting for more opinions, the dawn of the 2025-26 season has brought with it a new flurry of rankings.
USA TODAY compiled composite rankings from 12 expects across the USA TODAY Network to generate a top 25 ranking for the upcoming season. For The Win compiled another ranking using its own criteria, the USA TODAY list and HoopsHype’s rankings. Then there’s The Ringer’s top 100 NBA player rankings.
Here’s how we ranked the top 25 NBA players for the upcoming season (which was part of the USA TODAY composite list), with notes on three key Cavaliers included. To note, USA TODAY did not include players with current major injuries for consideration, so the likes of Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, Dame Lillard, Fred VanFleet, Kyrie Irving and Tyler Herro all had additional factors, and some were removed from the pool entirely.
Our top 25 NBA player rankings list for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
25 Darius Garland
Darius Garland earned his second All-Star nod in 2024-25 and was among the most clutch players in the league. He was 29th on The Ringer’s list. We have him 25th (again, this list doesn’t include Tatum, Haliburton and others) and in a large tier of players who are all very close to one another, including Jaren Jackson Jr., Ja Morant, Chet Holmgren, Bam Adebayo and De’Aaron Fox, all of whom would have been ranked 26-30. Garland is expected to miss the first few weeks of the season recovering from toe surgery.
24 Jimmy Butler
23 Trae Young
22 James Harden
21 Pascal Siakam
20 Paolo Banchero
19 Jaylen Brown
18 Jalen Williams
17 Devin Booker
16 Kawhi Leonard
15 Evan Mobley
Evan Mobley’s emergence as a top-20 player in the NBA took a massive step forward a year ago, and the Cavs believe another surge is on the horizon. Mobley won NBA Defensive Player of the Year, was named to his first All-Star squad, played his way onto the All-NBA Second Team and finished 10th in MVP voting at the age of 23. We have him 15th, which is exactly where he ranked on the USA TODAY composite list. The Ringer has Mobley 16th.
14 Karl-Anthony Towns
13 Anthony Davis
12 Cade Cunningham
11 Kevin Durant
10 LeBron James
9 Jalen Brunson
8 Donovan Mitchell
One of the premier true scorers in the league, Donovan Mitchell has been selected to six consecutive All-Star Games and last year was named All-NBA First Team while finishing fifth in MVP voting. Mitchell was ranked exactly eighth by USA TODAY’s composite rankings and by The Ringer as well, so his status as a top-10 NBA player is pretty secure for the time being.
7 Victor Wembanyama
6 Steph Curry
5 Luka Doncic
4 Anthony Edwards
3 Giannis Antetokounmpo
2 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
1 Nikola Jokic
The Beacon Journal sports department can be contacted via email at bjsports@thebeaconjournal.com.
