The Oklahoma City Thunder will face the underdog Indiana Pacers in the 2025 NBA Finals, and to celebrate, we’re taking a look back at the entire season and how different players performed.
We’re taking postseason and regular season play into account while also keeping an eye on the future. We aren’t trying to rank just based on performance, but also predict who will continue to play as a top 10 player.
Injuries will also play a role in this ranking. Jayson Tatum won’t be ranked because he’s expected to miss the entirety of the 2025 season, but if he were healthy, he’d make this list.
With the abundance of talent in the NBA, it’s hard to limit this list to just 10 players, but here’s our top 10 rankings as we head to the final stage of the 2025 season.
10. Joel Embiid – Philadelphia 76ers
When healthy, Joel Embiid is arguably a top-two player in the NBA, but the fact that he doesn’t stay healthy and is in his 30s leaves me pessimistic that he’ll play enough to be ranked that highly. On a per-rate basis, he is still a dominant force, providing elite defense and being an all-time great offensive force at the center position. The issues he has in the postseason are also hard to ignore, but they wouldn’t have affected my ranking all that much if his body didn’t betray him so much.
A career that’s unfortunately been crushed by injuries, Joel Embiid is an elite two-way player who can still anchor a title contender on both sides of the ball.
9. Tyrese Haliburton – Indiana Pacers
An elite playmaker who is a capable scorer when his team needs the production, Tyrese Haliburton is an elite-level offensive engine. His defensive skills leave a lot to be desired, but as a 6’5 point guard, he can present more of a challenge than the typical small score-first guard. Ranking someone who doesn’t carry a large scoring load in the top 10 can throw some more traditional fans off, but this postseason and last postseason highlight that someone with Haliburton’s skills can be the best player on a contender.
A pass-first guard who subverts the archetype with aggressive perimeter shooting in high-leverage situations, Tyrese Haliburton is a cold-blooded killer who you hate to play against.
8. Donovan Mitchell – Cleveland Cavaliers
Another disappointing playoff exit as a high seed has made the NBA world sour on Donovan Mitchell, but just like with Joel Embiid, it seems to be an overcorrection. Despite the poor series against the Pacers, there are a lot of reasons to love what Mitchell provides to a contender, as he’s an excellent shot creator who can space the floor and make an entire defense focus on him. His playmaking remains solid, but the skill he’s improved the most is on the defensive end, going from an abhorrent defender to someone who grades out well in a lot of defensive metrics.
Donovan Mitchell has progressed a lot with Cleveland, and while 2025 was a missed opportunity for the Cavaliers, he could lead this team back to the Finals next season with his dominant scoring abilities.
7. Jalen Brunson – New York Knicks
Jalen Brunson has operated as the main offensive engine for a New York Knicks team that oftentimes relied on an offensive scheme that wasn’t very dynamic. There’s a reason they let go of Tom Thibodeau, and yet despite the flaws of that scheme, Brunson has continued to be a remarkable regular-season performer who gets better in the postseason. 19% of his postseason games with the Knicks have resulted in a 40-point game, just a hair behind Michael Jordan’s years with the Bulls, where 21.2% of his playoff games resulted in a 40 bomb.
An incredible offensive engine who masked the flaws of the Knicks’ offensive scheme for years, Jalen Brunson’s defensive shortcomings are worth stomaching for an unbelievable scorer.
6. Stephen Curry – Golden State Warriors
Even in his late 30s, Stephen Curry is still one of the best players in the NBA, continuing to be an elite floor-spacer who completely dominates the three-point category. No one averages more threes, no one makes more threes, and no one can stop the four-time World Champion when he’s hot. Both Curry and the Warriors had a mid-season revival after the addition of Jimmy Butler. While their window isn’t very wide, there’s enough of an opening for Stephen Curry to join the exclusive five-ring club in 2026.
An all-time great player who has bolstered his argument for being the best point guard in NBA history, Stephen Curry’s greatness is beyond comprehension.
5. Luka Don?i? – Los Angeles Lakers
An elite offensive player who has the potential to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA Finals, his career took a left turn that no one expected this year. Everyone remembers where they were when Luka Doncic was traded from the Dallas Mavericks, and the most commonly cited reason for it was his defense. Those defensive limitations stopped him from beating Boston a year ago, and they contributed to the Lakers’ first-round exit this year against Minnesota. His size prevents him from being a 1st Percentile defender in my opinion, and the offense outweighs his flaws.
With the versatility and skill Luka possesses on offense, he is one of the best players in the league, even if the Mavericks gave up on him inexplicably.
4. Victor Wembanyama – San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs missed the postseason again, but Victor Wembanyama took another leap as a scorer and shooter, increasing his volume and efficiency at the same time. He led the league in blocks per game once again and would have won Defensive Player of the Year in a landslide had he not suffered from blood clots in the middle of the season. Injury risk is a real thing with anyone as tall as Wembanyama, but his offensive value and 100th Percentile defensive impact make him one of the best in the league.
A player destined for the top spot on this list down the road, Victor Wembanyama is one of the greatest talents we have ever seen in basketball and is only 21 years old.
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo- Milwaukee Bucks
The two-time NBA MVP and 2021 NBA Champion is still one of the most dominant players in the league, as Giannis Antetokounmpo is both a terrorizing force on offense and on defense. He averaged over 30 points per game for a third-straight season with a True Shooting% above 60%, but the problem has been the roster around him. The Bucks decided, for reasons beyond me, that Kyle Kuzma was what they needed at the trade deadline, and with Damian Lillard suffering a season-ending injury, one can wonder whether we’ll ever see Giannis play for the Bucks ever again.
A first-ballot inner-circle Hall of Famer, it would be criminal for him to continue to waste away on a team that has continued to wither around him.
2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder
The new reigning MVP and the leader of a Thunder team that looks poised to capture their first title in franchise history, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, has inserted himself into conversations that are extremely exclusive. You could argue that SGA is the best player in the NBA, and I would not oppose such an argument. I view this placement as more of a 1B than a true number two ranking. He put together an all-time great season, leading the league in points scored on elite efficiency while also being an excellent defensive player.
A player who I’d argue is the most well-rounded and easiest to build around in the league right now, SGA could become the next face of the NBA if the Thunder continue to dominate.
1. Nikola Jokic – Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets were an extremely flawed team this season, and yet they were the ones who somehow pushed the Oklahoma City Thunder to the brink. Nikola Jokic had some stinkers in that series, but his gravity and the attention OKC has to divert to stop him allowed other role players to get open looks and catch fire. A three-time NBA MVP and a Finals winner back in 2023, some would argue that Jokic is a top 10-15 player in the league’s history. His production is historically dominant, the efficiency is unreal, and if Denver can re-tool their roster a bit, they can get another ring.
A dominant offensive center who broke the mold about offense-first centers being playoff droppers, Nikola Jokic is an all-time great player with perhaps the most unique archetype in the league.
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