Top 30 NBA players in 2025-2026 Part 2 #20-11.

Ah, yes, part 2 of the top 30 is here, and spots 20-11 are being ranked. I am sure everyone will be civil in their disagreements with my rankings, but here’s a reminder of how I rank players, a little bit of spreadsheets, a little bit of eye-test, and a little bit of vibes get’s me to the players rankings, but here’s the big kicker, if you don’t agree with it; just make your own list. Now here are spots 20 -11 for the top 30 NBA players heading into the 2025-2026 season. 

20. Paolo Banchero (Prev. 29)

Banchero is coming off another first-round exit in just his second season, but for someone who should’ve been a unanimous rookie of the year and following that up with an All-Star, I fully expected him to be on the All-NBA team this past season and while that didn’t happen, only due to injuries, it’s clear with Banchero’s size and skill he is firmly a top 20 NBA player, with just a 198 game sample size. He’s coming off a season in which he averaged a moderate 26-7.5-5 splits along with 45-32-74 shooting splits. Eye-test wise he is clearly one of the top 5 NBA players if he took his skill with his size, but the efficiency and lack of experience factor into the ranking. Banchero has earned the 9 spot, jumping him into a top 20 spot. 

19. Devin Booker (Prev. 11)

Booker didn’t have a bad year, but not earning an All-Star spot or All-NBA spot, along with a down shooting year for his standard, drops him a little bit for me. Believe me, I am the biggest Devin Booker fan. It pains me to put him this low, but a season in which you are the laughing stock of the NBA, paired with averaging 25-7-4 on a career-low 46-33-89 shooting splits. In a year where many players missed out on All-Star and All-NBA awards, Booker still couldn’t crack either, as he played 75 games this season. Booker is ultra-talented. He scored the most total points in a postseason debut at just 24 years old and put up 2 40-point performances in his first finals appearance. However, since the Suns, outside of one season, haven’t gotten back to the second round. Still, Booker’s combination of size and shot-making ability, paired with his play-making, makes him a top 20 player heading into next year. 

18. Jalen Williams (Prev. N/R)

The player making the highest debut in this year’s top 30 is Jalen Williams. The third-year two-way wing from Oklahoma City had a stellar season, earning an All-Star, All-NBA, and All-Defense nod en route to winning an NBA title. Williams averaged 21-5-5 on 48-36-78 shooting splits in a production and volume increase from his second season in the NBA. Maybe Williams isn’t the 18th-best player in the NBA, and I’m likely choosing the previous two guys listed to start a franchise over him, but being the best two-way player in the finals has to count for something. He was one of the youngest players to have a 40-point performance in the NBA finals, all while being the most versatile defender on the NBA’s best defense in the league. Williams earned himself the max rookie extension this offseason and has already accomplished a majority of the awards available in the NBA, pretty impressive for a third-year pro. 

17. Kawhi Leonard (Prev. 15)

Leonard's sliding two spots year-over-year doesn’t have much to do with his play, but it’s clear he’s well past the days of being available for 70+ games a season. But that still doesn’t make him unworthy of a spot on the list. Last year, Leonard earned second-team All-NBA before hurting his knee in the postseason and being ruled out until January for this past season. He still averaged 21-6-3 on 49-41-81 shooting splits. Leonard showed a vintage performance with a 39-point outburst in game 3 against the Nuggets on a large diet of jump shots, showing the effectiveness of when he is at full health. Leonard offers a variety of footwork and silent ruthlessness that still make him a scaled-down version of the player who carried the Raptors to the 2019 NBA championship.  

16. Tyrese Haliburton (Prev. 19)

Haliburton slides up 3 spots to 16th overall. While the playoffs were the biggest advantage and advocate for him being bumped up even more, he still struggled for a portion of the regular season; however, he quickly turned that around once playoff basketball arrived, hitting dagger after dagger in each of the playoff series this past season. Him holding both of his hands around his neck after hitting what he believed to be the game-winner against the Knicks in the Garden was the iconic image of this past postseason. Unfortunately, he won’t be available for this upcoming season as he tore his Achilles tendon in the first quarter of Game 7 of the NBA Finals. 

15. Jaylen Brown (Prev. 16)

Brown slides up one spot from last season’s list, given what’s happening to others, but I still believe Brown to be a top two-way player in the NBA. At 6’7 225 lbs., Brown gave all sorts of problems to many teams' best players on both ends of the floor. Brown has been named an All-Star in the past 3 seasons and likely would’ve made another All-NBA team had he not missed time towards the end of the season due to a knee injury. Brown will get the opportunity to prove he can score efficiently without Tatum on the floor, as Tatum will likely miss the entire season due to a torn Achilles suffered in the postseason. Brown averaged a respectable 22-6-5 on 46-32-76 shooting splits. Pair this with his defense, and he’s worthy of getting into the top 15. 

14. Joel Embiid (Prev. 4)

Embiid is probably one of the most challenging players to rank on this list, given the special scoring and defensive ability he has, but he’s been unable to stay healthy consistently for any long stretch of his career, unfortunately. Embiid has only played in 58 games in the past two seasons and only suited up for 19 games in a disaster of a season for Philadelphia last year; however, I think we are downhill in terms of seeing Embiid playing even remotely more than 50 regular-season games. The best ability in the NBA is availability. Embiid, just two seasons ago, led the league in scoring at 34 points per game and was a dominant force when healthy. It’s just he never is, and now adding another knee surgery to his long list of medical procedures in his career makes me think he likely won’t have opportunities to make All-NBA, All-Star games, or any other awards. 

13. Donovan Mitchell (Prev. 17)

Mitchell vaults into the top 15, sliding up 4 spots from last year’s list. Mitchell didn’t average the most points in his career this season, but he had the most efficient season of shooting 44-37-82 from the floor for his career, and improved in the playmaking category by averaging 5 assists a game. He was also one of the best pick-and-roll players from this past season. He made an All-Star team, was named to First-Team All-NBA, and finished top 5 in MVP voting from this past season. Mitchell is a special scoring guard in the game today and has taken his efficiency and playmaking to another level since joining the Cavaliers two seasons ago. 

12. Lebron James (Prev. 12)

The old man stays exactly where he was last year, and it’s hard to make a case for him to drop. He averaged 24-8-8 on 51-37-78 shooting splits to earn himself a record 21st All-Star selection. He also made the All-NBA second team last year and earned the Lakers the 3rd seed in the brutal Western Conference. James doesn’t have many holes in his game, but age is starting to catch up, and he’ll be suiting up for his 23rd NBA season this upcoming year. He’s accomplished everything in basketball, and there’s nothing else for him to prove at this point in his career.

11. Anthony Davis (Prev. 10)

Davis slides outside of the top 10, not due to his play, but rather, similar to Embiid, the injuries are starting to pile up. Davis’s season got sidetracked by the bizarre trade that the Lakers and Mavericks made that involved Luka Doncic. Davis averaged 24-11-4 on 51-28-77 shooting splits this past season, which are a little down compared to his career averages. Still, Davis is a daunting two-way force; he protects the basket well and punishes the defense on the offensive end of the floor. I think Davis will return to form as the Mavericks have cleaned up some of their training staff blunders that were made a season ago. Davis is still one of the most dominant players on both ends of the floor, and that can’t be overlooked when taking into account his ability to take over a game on a night-to-night basis. He’ll have the Mavericks looking to make the postseason once again this upcoming season.