Top 10 NBA Players by Position going into the 2023–2024 NBA Season

Disclaimer: I’m just a fan. I’m not a sports journalist or an ex-player. Basketball is a hobby that I really enjoy with my friends and family. I’m a diehard fan of the OKC Thunder, Oklahoma City being my hometown where I was born and raised. I’d like to think I have a good handle on the general landscape of the NBA. But again, just a fan.

So take that into consideration before ripping me a new one.

Other things to take into consideration: the NBA is moving towards position-less basketball. Some of the players in a particular position might not always play that particular position night-in-night-out basis. But for practicality, I’ll argue my way into why that player was put in that position for the sake of the list.

Also: like many lists, there’s no real set standard. Obviously there are factors to be considered. SO many tangible and intangible things will be considered. It’s going to feel inconsistent and that’s probably because it will be. If I feel like I need to explain it, I will.

Here we go:

Point Guards

1. Stephen Curry: I’ve seen so many people put Luka here. That makes no sense to me. All things considered, you couldn’t put Steph behind anybody on a best active point guards list.
2. Luka Doncic: He’s honestly just that skilled of a player. Annoying as heck but so skilled. He’s 2. I can’t imagine anyone else here for the moment.
3. Jamal Murray: Murray is a Champion despite never having had an All-Star appearance. He’s had legendary playoff performances. I had Shai here…but Jamal has the ring. Ring > All-Star appearance. Yes, I don’t see Denver going far with Jokic and that great supporting cast, but I think it can be argued that without Jamal’s comeback story, they aren’t the champs either. He’s usually on the bottom 5 of lists but can we do that anymore?
4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Same reasoning here as Luka. He’s just so skilled as an individual talent. You could argue De’Aaron Fox here. I wouldn’t be mad, even as a Thunder fan. Fox had a great season, arguably better than Shai from a team standpoint. But Shai made his first All-Star appearance and First Team All-NBA this past season. He was 4th in scoring and improved 10% from the free throw line. The only thing I would hope he improves is his 3-point shooting. I would hope 35% on at least 4 attempts a game. You could also argue that Shai is a shooting guard but if you look at the starting lineup, you’re not making Dort a small forward so that Josh Giddey can be the point guard. OKC is weird.
5. De’Aaron Fox: I expect the Kings to be a good team this season. I wonder if they’ll actually be a better team or not. Just not sure who is going to make a jump or if a 48-win team is what the Kings are now.
6. Damian Lillard: It feels weird to see him down here but Portland didn’t have a great season last season and a lot of these younger players just got so good. As an individual player, you could argue him 2nd or 3rd. I just have no idea what he’ll be like next season because I have no idea where he’ll be. This feels temporary. Wherever he ends up, I’m sure this placement will look dumb. EDIT: Now knowing that he’ll be in Milwaukee alongside Giannis, I’m actually a little more comfortable placing him here because I imagine his role will not be to score 30 a night. We will see where his playmaking and defense take him.
7. Ja Morant: Despite the off-court issues, Ja Morant is a tremendous offensive talent. But we’ve seen Memphis succeed without him and I get the feeling that we’ll see the same thing again with the 25 game suspension that he’ll have to serve. They got a good squad around him. He’s so fun to watch that we might be overrating him. Inconsistent shooter.
8. Trae Young: He’s starting to feel a little underrated.
9. Jalen Brunson: He’s starting to feel a little overrated.
10. Tyrese Haliburton: I expect Tyrese to make a jump on this list by the end of the year.

Shooting Guards

1. Devin Booker: Probably? I’ll be honest, putting him here has made me think that the shooting guard position has become a bit diluted. But I think it’s right.
2. Paul George: If he could just seriously stay healthy. He’s so good on both ends of the floor. But golly, play 70 games without tearing something man. Obviously, it’s not his fault. When he does play, his game is so smooth. I really like his game. I also think he’s maybe more of a small forward but with Kawhi in the lineup, they make Batum the power forward. At least that’s the lineup they had in the playoffs anyway. All around more efficient player than Edwards.
3. Anthony Edwards: Just a tiny bit overrated. Really, really, really good. But not as good as I feel like everyone is making him out to be. I was surprised to see that he was basically №2 on everyone’s list when he averaged 24 ppg on 20 attempts a game (for comparison, PG averaged about 24 on 18 shots). Also, I feel like he’s more a small forward based on his size and skill set than he is a shooting guard but every other list and depth chart I’m seeing, he’s listed as a shooting guard. All that said, if you move him up to 2nd best active shooting guard in the league right now, I understand. His size, strength, athleticism, and durability will push him up to 2 this season. But if Paul George could just stay healthy, I don’t see why Paul George couldn’t be argued up here.
4. Klay Thompson: It almost feels disrespectful putting him here with the career he’s had but he hasn’t looked fully like himself since his injuries. At the same time, if you look at his numbers from this past season and pre-injury…it’s actually pretty interesting. The only adjustment seems to be that he’s gotten more efficient on his 3 point shooting on more attempts!!! However, he was less efficient inside the arc but I can only imagine that he’s probably not cutting as much as he used to due to his injuries (he was a great cutter, especially at his size). He also improved as a free throw shooter but he doesn’t shoot enough to make it a huge part of his game. All this to say: I’d be mad if you argued him down the list. I wouldn’t be mad if you argued him up.
5. Jalen Brown: $300 million man. Too much? I think so. But he is a two-way player which is why he’s above the others on this list. A Finals appearance sets him apart from the others on this list outside of Booker. Would a new situation spotlight his skill? I wonder. Hopefully, he’ll learn to dribble with his left hand a little better.
6. Donovan Mitchell: I wonder where he’ll end up next. I imagine New York is where he’ll want to go. They’ll take him. Knicks will be fun again. So good offensively.
7. Zach Lavine: You could swap Lavine with Mitchell and I don’t think I would fight you. Lavine doesn’t have the durability that Mitchell seems to have. But the man glides. He just floats like a gazelle when he’s running and cutting and jumping. I really like his game.
8. James Harden: I feel like the last time he played the shooting guard position, he was in Houston. But when he goes down in the Greatest _____ of all time…it’ll be as a shooting guard, not a point guard. His tumultuous career since leaving Houston is leaving him underrated but he’s still such an effective basketball player. Yeah, they changed some rules so his “creativity” is limited now. But I don’t feel bad about this.
9. Kyrie Irving: With Luka in the point guard position, Kyrie naturally falls to this position. That being said: Kyrie has always felt like a shooting guard with a point guard’s mask on. The way he handles the ball is not very shooting guard-y. He came into Cleveland as a point guard. But really he’s a shooting guard. He’s a shorter Kobe with the ball on a string. All that being said, if Luka and Kyrie can mesh this summer and during training camp and they can figure out a survivable defensive scheme, I don’t see why Luka x Kyrie can’t be the best offesnive backcourt in the league.
10. Mikal Bridges: really excited to see how he does as ‘the guy’ in Brooklyn. I’m also expecting him to make a jump ahead on this list.

Small Forwards

1. Kevin Durant: I can’t believe how good he is as an individual player. He was already so good and he only got better. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him miss a mid-ranger jumper. Always on the precipice of hitting 50–40–90 again. Hopefully his situation in Phoenix can go drama-less. Team drama seems to follow this guy around. Ironically, I don’t think it’s totally his fault. You could point to a lot of other teammates in the midst of his career that caused any inner dysfunction on his teams that caused him to leave (minus OKC. That was just on him hehe). Draymond, Harden, Kyrie could all easily be blamed on why his teams fell apart or why he decided to leave.
2. Kawhi Leonard: Kawhi is the face of load-management. This is maybe the only real knock on him. Granted, he load-managed his way to a championship in Toronto for the single year he was there. Maybe this lended more credibility to this sort of career decision and trajectory for superstars in the NBA. But it’s frustrating when superstars sit when they’re healthy. That being said: Kawhi is a monster. He can shoot and his strength and athleticism from all accounts are unreal. If he played more, I think this placement would be clear.
3. Jayson Tatum: While Jimmy seems to have had more playoff success, Jayson has had enough playoff success but more individual talent, namely in shooting, than Jimmy has.
4. Jimmy Butler: This guy…can’t shoot very well. But he can pretty much do everything else. He is the quintessential do-it-all-and-will-your-team-into-success.
5. Lebron James: Like Klay Thompson, it feels disrespectful to put Lebron James as the fifth best small forward currently active. After all, Father Time is undefeated…but Lebron James is going to make him work for it.
6. Demar Derozan: I don’t know what Demar is. He’s…very good. But…he’s more like a floor raiser than a ceiling reacher, if that makes sense. Like, yes, he’ll make your bad team better, maybe make a run for the playoffs, but if you’re a good team trying to make it to the championship, he doesn’t feel like the guy who will put you over the top. That’s why he’s number 6. A guy right below the middle.
7. Andrew Wiggins: I had a hard time placing Andrew Wiggins. He emerged as a good to great defender in the playoffs with the Warriors while still averaging 18ppg. The Warriors, in the end, made Wiggins a better player. But we’ve seen him as a first and second option in an offensive with the Timberwolves to less than ideal results. It may be that the Timberwolves back then made him a worse player than he was. All that to say, it’s why it was hard placing how good he really is. But I know he’s good.
8. Brandon Ingram: Injury history aside, BI can hoop. It feels like he hasn’t reached his ceiling yet for whatever reason. He needs to be on a team that he is willing to play for and not just hoop if he wants to be great. Right now, on the Pelicans where their best player is…unavailable, he is probably their best player. And what you have is a 7–10 seed in the West team. I wonder if Ingram’s career would benefit from a situation like Andrew Wiggins where he can contribute to a winning culture by sacrificing what he might be comfortable with. We saw with Team USA that was a challenge for him.
9. Michael Porter Jr.: His injury history makes it hard to place him. But his size and length give him all the tools to be great. He could probably be the primary scoring option on a lesser team. While he had a rough offensive stretch in the Finals, he still contributed in meaningful ways which leads me to believe he’s willing to let go of the spotlight for the betterment of a team. At the same time, I know he’s an individually skilled player.
10. Khris Middleton: I always saw Khris Middleton as a shooting guard but here we are with Grayson Allen at that position on the ESPN Depth chart. Middleton is an underrated player for sure. He’s so quiet and doesn’t show up much in the media and other places that I feel like we don’t really understand how good he is. Giannis and Holiday take so much of the attention that I think Middleton doesn’t get his due flowers. He’s been an All-Star. He scored 51 points before which, despite the scoring outbursts that we see from other stars, is not easy to do. While rightly giving him flowers here…not sure there’s a whole lot of notable small forwards.

Power Forwards

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo: I mean, there’s argument he’s the best player in the league right now. I don’t think he is but I get it. He won MVP and DPOY in the same year which hadn’t been done since Michael Jordan. He’s a champion, Finals MVP, and the most dominant force in the paint since Shaq.
2. Zion Williamson: Should be the most dominant force in the paint since Giannis. The problem is is he’s not in the paint…or on the floor enough challenge Giannis for the crown. All that being said, when we have seen him play, he is spectacular. And we really don’t have a lot of reason to think otherwise.
3. Draymond Green: I don’t like this guy. But he belongs here. How much his poor/unwilling jump-shooting limits his team is really dependent on how high his IQ stays and how long his motor will keep going. His IQ combined with his versatility on defense has brought him and his team great success. At the same time, I’m curious where else he could pull this off without other-worldly shooters like Curry and Klay.
4. Jaren Jackson Jr.: DPOY…probably overrated? He’s only here because Steven Adams is the center in Memphis but he’s pretty much just an undersized center. But his ability to stretch the floor and protect the rim at his size and strength keeps him as a valuable asset to Memphis.
5. Karl Anthony-Towns: such a talented offensive player. I am so curious what his career would look like if he ended up on another team that didn’t go through so many transitions and he wasn’t riddled with so many injuries. His quickness is maybe his most underrated skill as a forward. He is only here because Rudy Gobert, but it seems like most of his career he played center. That being said…the power forward positions seems to be a better position for him.
6. Lauri Markannen: if you switched KAT with Lauri, I wouldn’t be mad. Lauri won MIP this past season over SGA (which was not good). I think we saw how talented he was in Chicago and even more in Cleveland. But Utah gave him the year to really shine and shine he did.
7. Paolo Banchero: He’s going to jump up this list this year. He’s so talented. He was the surprise 1st pick of the draft over Chet Holmgren but if he fell to 2nd to OKC, I would NOT have been mad. But Chet was what OKC needed and Paolo is what Orlando needed when most of their lineup was undersized guards and way too many centers. If he can get his jumpshot to fall consistently, he’s going to be incredible.
8. Aaron Gordon: Champion. His stint in Orlando was actually pretty impressive. As an individual basketball player, he is very skilled. Obviously his athleticism is off the charts but he became very valuable when his outside shooting started grow a little more consistent, his defense got better, and he bought into the team. He could have rotted away rich in Orlando but now he’s a valuable part of a championship team in Denver.
9. Evan Mobley: I think he’ll jump up? He is here because Jarrett Allen is in the Center position. Cleveland is a really promising team. A really good backcourt with a strong frontcourt, they may be a piece away from winning it all. At the same time, they could just let Mobley grow into what his ceiling is and they may have a star.
10. Pascal Siakam: Yeah. I guess.

Centers

1. Nikola Jokic: Champion. 2x MVP (maybe should have been 3x). Finals MVP. Brilliant passer. Unblockable hitch shot. Touch around the rim. Serviceable defender. Interesting personality. Grounded human being. Loves horses.
2. Joel Embiid: The Luka Doncic of centers. Extremely talented. Annoying as heck. He’s had so many chances and keeps falling short. Is it his fault? I don’t know. But I’m curious how much longer he’s going to push Philly before allowing his eyes to wander to…other places.
3. Anthony Davis: Champ. Great defender. Inconsistent shooter. Rarely healthy. He probably belongs here though. He’s here on this list because who is the center on the Lakers? He’s probably a power forward because of his size but his shot blocking ability is too valuable. There’s always reports of him not wanting to play the center position but I don’t know why. Maybe he’s afraid to get injured. He’s an overrated shooter but he’s a great defender and rebounder. If he can just stay healthy, he could probably shoot down a lot of doubt about his ability.
4. Bam Adebayo: Jimmy Butler takes so much of Miami’s shine because of his ability to will a team into success but Bam’s 18–20 ppg and double digit rebounds shouldn’t go unnoticed. He’s athletic, strong, and he can draw fouls well. He takes about 8 free throws a game and hits about 80%. It’s what Miami does. He’d be much more valuable if he could block shots. He barely notches a block a game. But his stats don’t show his value.
5. Domantis Sabonis: Sabonis is a 3x All-Star. You knew that but you didn’t. That is so wild. He’s been a major contributor to the success on the teams he’s been on. His role in Sacramento is perfect. He’s a smart player, really good passer, and is strong and quick enough to deal with guys bigger than him despite being undersized at the position he plays. The Kings need a good wing. They may already have that guy in Keegan Murray but it means that Harrison Barnes may need a new role.
6. Brook Lopez: He can shoot and block shots. He’s also enormous. Splash Mountain is maybe one of my favorite nicknames. He’s also a champion. It’s weird how underrated he is. I’m not sure if I’m underrating him or not but he feels right here.
7. Deandre Ayton: His run in Phoenix shows that if he’s clicking with his teammates and he’s bought in, he can be a really valuable player. He seems to be very happy to be in Portland so I imagine he’ll be better if he can get some chemistry going with Scoot and Shaedon and Jerami.
8. Myles Turner: He can shoot and protect the rim but seems like he isn’t able to stay healthy. Looking at his numbers, I’m really surprised he isn’t higher on a lot of people’s lists. He’s better in nearly every shooting stat than Anthony Davis is. He averages more blocks than Anthony Davis. Obviously his offensive load is different than AD’s but you kind of have to wonder what Turner could do for a team like the Lakers…or the Clippers? He just seems like not doing much in Indiana and Indiana keeps him involved in trade talks.
9. Victor Wembanyama: I know he hasn’t played a second of real NBA basketball but honestly, after looking through a list of centers…they’re either big dudes like Steven Adams and Jonas Valanciunas or shot-blocking rim-runners like Clint Capela or Rudy Gobert. Victor will stretch the floor, rim run, shot block, and show unusual skill with the ball in his hands. 3 inches taller than Chet gives him the edge.
10. Chet Holmgren: I know he hasn’t played a second of real NBA basketball but honestly, after looking through a list of centers…they’re either big dudes who can’t really shoot like Steven Adams and Jonas Valanciunas or shot-blocking rim-runners like Clint Capela or Rudy Gobert. Chet will stretch the floor, rim run, shot block, and show unusual skill with the ball in his hands. 3 inches shorter than Victor gives him the disadvantage. But hey, Chet is 1–0 against Victor if we count the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup Championship ;)