# Who is the best NBA player 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.

*By YPB Team · Published September 16, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/who-is-the-best-nba-player-of-the-2020s*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Nikola Jokic**
   Three MVP awards in four years and a title in 2023, from the 41st pick of his draft.
2. **Giannis Antetokounmpo**
   Back-to-back MVPs, a Finals MVP in 2021, and a fifty-point game to close it out.
3. **Luka Doncic**
   Has averaged a near triple-double for multiple seasons and carried Dallas to the Finals.
4. **Stephen Curry**
   Won a fourth title and his first Finals MVP in 2022, still the best shooter alive.
5. **Kevin Durant**
   Two Finals MVPs before the decade and an Olympic gold in 2024 as the leading scorer.
6. **LeBron James**
   Won the 2020 title and became the league's all-time leading scorer in 2023.
7. **Joel Embiid**
   MVP in 2023 and two scoring titles, when healthy the most difficult centre to guard.
8. **Jayson Tatum**
   Carried Boston to the 2024 championship after two Finals runs in five years.
9. **Shai Gilgeous-Alexander**
   Turned into a scoring champion and an MVP candidate in the space of three seasons.
10. **Kawhi Leonard**
   Two Finals MVPs with two franchises and a defensive record few forwards match.
11. **Anthony Davis**
   The defensive spine of the 2020 title team and a career of two-way dominance.
12. **Devin Booker**
   Took Phoenix to the 2021 Finals and has a seventy-point game on his record.
13. **Damian Lillard**
   Closed the decade's most famous first-round series with a shot from the logo.
14. **Jimmy Butler**
   Dragged undermanned Miami teams to two Finals as a fifth seed and an eighth.
15. **Donovan Mitchell**
   A perennial forty-point threat who has carried two franchises deep into the playoffs.
16. **Victor Wembanyama**
   Arrived in 2023 and immediately led the league in blocks as a rookie.
17. **Anthony Edwards**
   Took Minnesota past Denver in 2024 and became the face of the next generation.
18. **Tyrese Haliburton**
   Led the league in assists and turned Indiana into one of the fastest teams in years.

Tags: sports, basketball, nba, athletes