The 32 Best NBA Players of the 2020s

The decade is still running and the argument moves every season. Two players at a time, one pick each, and the standings are whatever the voters make them.

1. 1
   Nikola Jokic

   Three MVP awards in four years and a title in 2023, from the 41st pick of his draft.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

   Back-to-back MVP in 2025 and 2026 who led Oklahoma City to the 2025 title as scoring champion and Finals MVP.
   947pts
3. 3
   Chris Paul

   Veteran Point God who led Phoenix to the 2021 NBA Finals in his sixteenth season, still one of the league's best floor generals.
   762pts
4. 4
   Jayson Tatum

   Carried Boston to the 2024 championship after two Finals runs in five years.
   684pts
5. 5
   Draymond Green

   The defensive brain and playmaker of Golden State's 2022 championship team, a fourth title alongside Stephen Curry.
   579pts
6. 6
   Anthony Edwards

   Took Minnesota past Denver in 2024 and became the face of the next generation.
   579pts
7. 7
   Kevin Durant

   Two Finals MVPs before the decade began, then a record fourth Olympic gold medal at Paris 2024 and a place in the top ten all-time scorers.
   529pts
8. 8
   Damian Lillard

   Closed the decade's most famous first-round series with a shot from the logo.
   529pts
9. 9
   Jaren Jackson Jr.

   Memphis big man who led the league in blocks in 2022 and won Defensive Player of the Year in 2023.
   529pts
10. 10
    Jimmy Butler

    Dragged undermanned Miami teams to two Finals as a fifth seed and an eighth.
    529pts
11. 11
    Giannis Antetokounmpo

    Back-to-back MVPs, a Finals MVP in 2021, and a fifty-point game to close it out.
    529pts
12. 12
    Devin Booker

    Took Phoenix to the 2021 Finals and has a seventy-point game on his record.
    529pts
13. 13
    Ja Morant

    Most Improved Player and All-NBA in 2022, an explosive guard who turned Memphis into the West's second seed with highlight dunks.
    529pts
14. 14
    Kawhi Leonard

    Two Finals MVPs with two franchises and a defensive record few forwards match.
    473pts
15. 15
    LeBron James

    Won the 2020 title and became the league's all-time leading scorer in 2023.
    473pts
16. 16
    Victor Wembanyama

    Arrived in 2023, led the league in blocks as a rookie, then became an MVP finalist as San Antonio reached the 2026 NBA Finals.
    410pts
17. 17
    Tyrese Haliburton

    Led the league in assists, turned Indiana into one of the fastest teams in years and took the Pacers to the 2025 NBA Finals.
    410pts
18. 18
    Stephen Curry

    Won a fourth title and his first Finals MVP in 2022, still the best shooter alive.
    338pts
19. 19
    Donovan Mitchell

    A perennial forty-point threat who has carried two franchises deep into the playoffs.
    338pts
20. 20
    Rudy Gobert

    The decade's defining rim protector, Defensive Player of the Year in 2021 and 2024 for a record-tying fourth time overall.
    338pts
21. 21
    Anthony Davis

    The defensive spine of the 2020 title team and a career of two-way dominance.
    338pts
22. 22
    Pascal Siakam

    Led Indiana past New York as Eastern Conference finals MVP in 2025 and on to the franchise's first NBA Finals in 25 years.
    338pts
23. 23
    Bam Adebayo

    Versatile Miami centre who switched onto every position on the way to the 2020 and 2023 NBA Finals.
    255pts
24. 24
    James Harden

    Won the 2020 scoring title with 34.3 points a game and later led the league in assists, one of the decade's most productive guards.
    255pts
25. 25
    Evan Mobley

    Cleveland's mobile big man who won Defensive Player of the Year in 2025, one of the youngest ever to take the award.
    255pts
26. 26
    Jalen Brunson

    Turned the Knicks into contenders after joining in 2022 and was Finals MVP when New York beat San Antonio for the 2026 title.
    255pts
27. 27
    Jalen Williams

    Former twelfth overall pick who became Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's running mate and second-leading scorer on Oklahoma City's 2025 championship team.
    255pts
28. 28
    Luka Doncic

    Has averaged a near triple-double for multiple seasons and carried Dallas to the Finals.
    158pts
29. 29
    Joel Embiid

    MVP in 2023 and two scoring titles, when healthy the most difficult centre to guard.
    158pts
30. 30
    Jamal Murray

    Scored fifty twice in the 2020 bubble playoffs and was Nikola Jokic's co-star on Denver's 2023 championship run.
    158pts
31. 31
    Jaylen Brown

    Eastern Conference finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP in 2024, when Boston won its record eighteenth championship.
    0pts
32. 32
    Jrue Holiday

    Elite two-way guard who won titles with two franchises in the decade, Milwaukee in 2021 and Boston in 2024.
    0pts

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