Lakers Nation’s ranking of the 100 best players for the 2026-27 reaches its conclusion with the top ten. This list includes the likely MVP and All-NBA candidates from across the league, showing just how great a place the NBA is in.
This list — completed in sections over the last month — considers players only for the upcoming campaign, without regard for anything beyond June of next year. The previous editions of the list can be viewed below.
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-75
76-100
Without further ado, Lakers Nation’s ranking of the ten players in the NBA for the 2026-27 season.
Nos. 1-10 on Lakers Nation’s Top 100
10. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
The oldest player ranked in the top ten, Curry remains one of the league’s greatest offensive threats when healthy. The 38-year-old averaged 26.6 points per game on a 63.7 true shooting percentage. That represents his best mark since 2022-23 and the seventh-best mark among guards last season. No one in the league has shifted the way teams defend over the last decade-plus the way Curry has, and a healthy season could be the difference between a playoff run or not for the Warriors.
9. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Tatum made a shockingly fast recovery from a torn achilles, playing in 16 regular season games and six playoff games last season. He clearly wasn’t his full self — and was looking to defer to Jaylen Brown more than usual — but the last time he was fully healthy, he was unquestionably one of the five best players in the world. He’s fallen a bit from that ranking, but could easily find himself back there with the Celtics being firmly his team.
8. Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
The 24-year-old was an All-Star for the second straight year and received his first All-NBA First Team nod — as well as fifth in MVP voting — in what was a true superstar campaign. The Pistons did not perform particularly well in the postseason, but it certainly wasn’t on Cunningham, who averaged 28.1 points and 7.5 assists on better true shooting than in the regular season. The Pistons may not have added a secondary creator, but Cunningham should be a lock for All-NBA if he’s healthy.
7. Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
The team around Edwards is going to look very different this season — with LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga instead of Julius Randle and Naz Reid — but one thing won’t change, and that’s Edwards being a superstar. The 25-year-old missed out on end-of-season awards due to being under 65 games, but he averaged 28.8 points on 48.9% from the field and 39.9% from three. He finished top 15 in Player Efficiency Rating (PER), Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) and Box Plus-Minus (BPM).
6. Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
The reigning NBA Finals MVP proved that small guards can win championships as the guiding vehicle. He led the league with 28.4 points per game during the postseason, improving his counting stats on similar efficiency when his team needed it most. Brunson and the Knicks now have the task of trying to become the first repeat champions since the Warriors in 2018.
5. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Miami Heat
The Greek Freak’s long-running trade saga is finally over, as he has relocated to South Beach to team up with Bam Adebayo on the Heat. Injuries have been the story, sadly, for Antetokounmpo over the last few years, but his impact while on the court is undeniable. He has averaged at least 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists in seven consecutive seasons, and is coming off the best efficiency of his career with a whopping 65.8 true shooting percentage.
4. Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers star finally has a team built specifically around him with the purple and gold, and that should only increase what has already been a productive tenure in L.A. He won the scoring title last season, averaging 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game to land himself on the All-NBA First Team. He ranked fourth in PER and BPM, as well as third in VORP.
3. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Jokic reigned as the unanimous best player in the sport for several years, but last season’s injury and subsequent first round exit allowed two others to surpass him. Still, NBA history has never seen a player quite like Jokic. He is coming off of averaging a triple-double for the second straight season, and led the NBA in rebounds (12.9) and assists (10.7) last season while averaging 27.7 points on 56.9/38.0/83.1 shooting splits. He’s made the All-NBA First or Second Team in eight straight seasons.
2. Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
It would be easy to give the 22-year-old the nod as the best player in the world. After all, he’s the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, finished third in MVP voting, led the Spurs to a shocking 62-win season and NBA Finals appearance by defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in the process and led the league in blocks for the third straight year (he’s only played in three seasons). The scariest part is his offensive game still has room to grow, and if he makes any significant improvements there, we may be in store for a long run with the Frenchman as the best player in the sport.
1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
There aren’t many players in NBA history who have had a two-year stretch like Gilgeous-Alexander. He’s won back-to-back MVPs, was the 2025 NBA Finals MVP leading the Thunder to the title, and became the first reigning champion since 2018 to get past the second round. He’s averaged 30 or more points in four straight seasons and finished second in PER, BPM and VORP while finishing first in win shares.
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