Ranking The Top 5 NBA Players (2024)

[@farhansarkar2394]

One of the beauties of basketball is the variety of ways to play it and that's shown with the top 4. All have completely different ways of impacting the game, yet you can still recognize that these guys are just better than everyone else.

[@HoopVenue]

Great observation!

[@theplug193]

top 5 bro blatantly leaving sga out like that is just disrespectful

[@Allen-k6n1o]

@@farhansarkar2394 SGA 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

[@Jeff_2x]

It’s just insane where I think that where at a point where a lot of us would agree that these 5 are the best 5 players in the world an ALL of them are International. INSANE how far basketball development around the world has come and how far it continues to grow.

[@Serenity01871]

its just that football is number one in the other countries and not many people play basketball if everybody would the nba would have more international players then usa obviously

[@Serenity01871]

in football we have not one even barely good american player and they are ass

[@cjp1599]

The European clubs are using the football development strategy that works. Unlike the usa aau money makes great bs that doesn't work...

[@pinobluevogel6458]

The NBA is made for entertainment and has the largest collection of basketball talent in the world, but they could be a little better at developing homegrown talent. Copper Flagg seems like the next big thing around the corner though, so this point might be moot in a year or two. Also, it is hard to deny that Anthony Edwards is still a top world talent coming up. He is still really young and improving, but already an All-NBA level player. It is a weak period for USA based players, where the old guard like Curry and Lebron and AD are still really strong, but slowly aging out of their prime and the new guard is coming up but not exactly ready to replace them. (except for Ant, he is ready as anyone) There are some other diamond like brightspots coming up though, like Zion, Cade Cunningham, both Tyreses (Maxey and Haliburton), Banchero, Mobley, possibly one or both of those OKC guys Williams and Holmgren and certainly a bunch of others. Not to mention there are also a few 26-28 guys that have now proven to be good, like Brunson, Booker, Bam, Brown and Donovan Mitchell, who stands out for not having a 'B' to start his name. They might not be in the top 5 just yet and some will never make it, but at some point, there are bound to be US born players to make it back into the top 5. If it isn't Ant, it might very well be Zion, or Ja Morant, or some other future talent we haven't seen in the league yet like Cooper Flagg.

[@RiichoYT]

Today’s fact : The McDonalds Chicken Nugget has 5 different shapes it comes in, to make it seem like there is variation.

[@DunningKrugerJnr]

That’s amazing and also disgusting 🤮

[@tarico4436]

Yesterday, July 14th, 2024, I ate my first and second McNugget in over 20 years. I've eaten a few dozen McChicken sandwiches in the last few years, so it's not like I'm a McPrude or chicken-averse or anything of the sort. I'm American, I occasionally go to McDonald's. So I bought their $5 special. OMG. It was awful. Everything had been packaged 20 minutes earlier, or worse. I ate two of the McNuggets, and then had to stop. I literally threw away food. I never throw away food. They gave me 4 McNuggets, I threw 2 away. Not quite worthy of puking, but terrible. The Coke was good, that's it.

[@Jeeswei]

​@@tarico4436😂😂

[@davidf2244]

It's like how your sister's horoscope gives her the illusion of a monthly personality variation.

[@hardywoodaway9912]

mcD is one of the worst ‚food‘ out there…. too salty, too sweet and everything else is awful or not existent

[@MugiOverall]

Giannis getting shadowbanned from the BITW discussions is so weird to me. Arguably the best two-way presence in the NBA and for some reason people just choose to ignore his value because of his supporting cast.

[@kennethxu1789]

Part of it is probably some level of fatigue; giannis hasn’t improved all that much even though he’s been scoring great and getting more playmaking into his game. Part of it is the team success; two first round exits in a row, and even though he played great against the celtics in 2022, it was still a loss in the second round. Especially 2023, losing as the first seed. The other side of the team success narrative is other MVP candidates winning championships while competing numbers wise. In terms of the top five, Shai is a very new addition, so obvious hype there. But in recent years it’s always been giannis, joker and embiid. Luka has been in his way up for a while, and got to the finals this year. So essentially, recency bias.

[@pinobluevogel6458]

Tradionally people were critical of Giannis because of his shooting. This is still his biggest flaw as a player, but not actually taking those low percentage shots really increased his impact and effectiveness. My issue with Giannis though, is that he is fairly limited if he can't shoot. He does not provide spacing, he does not provide screens, his passing is good .. but not compared to any other top players and while he is a top rim finisher and good in the very short midrange, his main value comes from his defense. And that is exactly why I have him lower, his defense this year has regressed by a lot, just like it has last year from the year before. Part of it is certainly his offensive load and part of it is coaching and schemes that doesn't always put him in the perfect postitions, but still .. he has regressed. A point of emphasize on this list was judging guys in a vacuum and how easy it is to build a team around a player. In this case, I think it is not easy at all to build around Giannis. You need a big to space the floor and provide the bulk of the rim defense and you need other lead creators to get enough playmaking and stable offense, you also need a few good defenders to stack on his defensive qualities. Unlike a player like Kawhi, who when healthy will simply dominate regardless of anything, Giannis can and will be schemed against and you need long range shooting and good playmaking to break that open. Maybe in today's NBA I can consider him 4th, just because of his efficient, high scoring year and defensive potential, but in a vacuum I have him lower, possibly as low as 6 to 8.

[@benwatson4460]

I think part of it is because we haven't really seen him in the playoffs for several years

[@RobertJandrue]

Because it’s jokic and not a discussion

[@planetpeterson2824]

I think it’s because nobody expects him to finish the season/playoffs, so he and his team are kinda written off. Nobody would rank him less than top 5, but nobody would expect to see him in the finals either

[@hudsonlin5531]

I see Hoop Venue I click no questions asked

[@HoopVenue]

Jokic-level decision making here.

[@ECropp-uz4pw]

@@HoopVenue😂😂

[@mxnoob983]

Fantastic list overall, and loved how consistently you stuck to your criteria. Couple of notes - Giannis as a defender, definitely regressed. Feel like we're going to get a really interesting period of his career if Lopez is on the down, he unlocks Giannis' best basketball on both ends - Embiid's passing as you noted is clearly his biggest flaw, but we haven't seen how his preference for drop coverage affects his deep post season value

[@HoopVenue]

Very good points!

[@Firefist0123]

Im so glad that you chose giannis as 2. He definetly gets underrated when he had one of his best offensive years ever with his level of defense

[@hazzabazza24]

He’s definitely a top 3 player, but above Luka I just can’t agree

[@KurinKato1]

@@hazzabazza24 not being a cone on defense is the difference if luka was even a passable defender u would have a argument

[@hazzabazza24]

@@KurinKato1 Well Lukas a way better scorer and playmaker, and he didnt get first rounded

[@KurinKato1]

@@hazzabazza24 luka made history for most blown by player in the finals. He is a cone

[@hazzabazza24]

@@KurinKato1 Steph curry can’t defend shit either. But I guess we’re just hating on luka

[@6manYT]

Completely agree with the top 5, you did a great job at breaking down all of their games in such great detail. Great content as usual HV

[@andrewfung9340]

Jokic is my favorite player right now because I’m a football guy and he’s like an elite QB like Mahomes. He can make all the reads and the players around him better. But when you need him to create and make plays when it breaks down he can do that as well like creating his own shot

[@chrispapic-hiller3866]

Shai a strong MVP candidate imo, 5th last year, runner up this year and is probably the favorite to win it this upcoming season. Crazy how he went from 17 on your list last year to top 5

[@joshahlstrom2764]

Thunder could be a 60+ win team so he’s got a chance.

[@splashncrash7658]

@@joshahlstrom2764strong mvp is just a player ability descriptor on his scale, has nothing to do with the actual award

[@trackmaster3009]

SHAI IS NOT A TOP 5 PLAYER! Tf are yall on these days??

[@trackmaster3009]

This list fine except for shai idk what is with yall and shai hes good no doubt but top 5 is ridiculous he barley top ten. Its jokic, gainiss, lebron, steph, kd, luka, kyrie, kawhi, embiid, ad.

[@joshahlstrom2764]

@@trackmaster3009 if you think Shai doesn’t belong at 5, then you simply need to study more basketball.

[@grottyband8052]

Man, watching the joker is artwork, even as a diehard sixers fan. Bro can ball and be the most effective player in the league

[@Supremely_Based_Takes]

Congrats to a 100k. I think I discover your channel when you had 14k.

[@HoopVenue]

Thank you for sticking around!

[@derrenkonnor4351]

Such a treat we all get to witness Jokic in his prime. Another thing I think lends very well to his game is how low-risk and low-impact he plays. Derrick Rose was great, but he would never have been able to manage playing how he did, and some people like Zion are too heavy and quick for their own good etc. Jokic is good because he's methodical, not because he's overtly physical or agile. So he ends up being one of the most reliable players in the game age and injury-wise. Big plus I think. Amazing series dude

[@DamnZodiak]

Luka's injuries definitely played a role in his defensive finals performance and throughout the playoffs. He genuinely improved his defence so much after the trade deadline that I don't see him as a negative anymore. He's comfortably #1 for me.

[@cookn6732]

Why is he comfortably better than jokic

[@caydenruzicka]

@@cookn6732 because he is a better scorer, he is basically the same level at playmaking, and he is now about he same at defense (when HEALTHY) so he is better.

[@UnoDinero95001]

⁠@@caydenruzickajokic scores more consistently & efficiently

[@TheRealishPowers]

@@UnoDinero95001more consistently how? More efficiently can be argued based on the quality of shots either way. There’s a big difference in the way they score and Luka is just as consistent scoring, 38% from 3 eclipses jokic btw

[@MuthafuckinPuddings]

@@TheRealishPowers Jokic actually gets his team involved. Luka is too much of a ball hog, despite his assists. Like he mentioned, he has no off-ball game compared to Jokic. His style of play hasn't won him a ring yet. Jokic has.

[@harrisontull8377]

@hoopvenue Congrats on 100k man. I remember when you were just a small basketball breakdown channel I found in 2021 who had time to respond to every comment on every video, now you're on your way to 1 million.

[@kjjr3270]

You might be the only basketball/NBA channel who knows what he is talking about. No bias, just straight facts and detailed analysis. I have the same order of the 1-5 best player to win a chip like you, outside this Top 5 comes like you said to preference. Its a shame Embiid got hurt, cause up to his injury he was literally putting up unbelievable video game numbers and it translated to winning as well.

[@maartenvz]

Hoops venue is amazing, no need to discredit other channels. Have you ever seen thinking basketball?

[@willjensen5595]

I didn't notice that your channel has literally grown 10X since I started watching. Congratulations! Well deserved and I'm excited for the future of this channel

[@NoahBelsly]

Crazy to see the player that SGA has turned himself into over the past few years. What’s crazy is while I agree with your ranking and detriments, I still think he will grow in those areas as his team continues to get better and better. He’s just so smart as a player and I think he knows what will take his team to the top. As an OKC fan, I never saw this ceiling with him and now after finisiing B2B first team all NBA, he truly can be MVP or Finals MVP as soon as next year. Great job with the video

[@PatoNani18]

I still think he's still underrated by NBA fans right now but I think he honestly can dominate his generation. He's the Most well-rounded player out of the Top 5, no obvious weaknesses like Luka (defense), Jokic (athleticism), Giannis (shooting) or Embiid (injury-prone). He's still seen as kind of an underdog because the media and the fans just paid attention since 2023 while all the other players have the spotlight for years.

[@DEVILONBOTHSHOULDERS]

his ascent in terms of scoring technique within the arc is really impressive tbh i think a lot of it comes from his ankles, ive never seen a basketball player with ankle joints that flexible, sometimes he almost turns them almost 180° like a figure skater or ballerina and it rlly opens up his ability to draw contact, keep his dribble live, and spin around into midrange shots

[@aidangibbons4131]

Dope video and congrats on 100k! Love the Giannis respect. Are you also going to update the historical player valuations this year around?

[@HoopVenue]

Thank you! I’m not sure if I’ll update historic ones yet or not, but will definitely be adding the 70+ I did from this season.

[@shaynelewis1587]

What an excellent series! Well done sir!

[@HoopVenue]

Thank you!

[@GetInVan]

I’m glad most people can at least agree that the top 5 consist of Jokic, Luka, Giannis, Shai, and Embiid. I personally have; 1. Luka, 2. Jokic, 3. Giannis, 4. Shai, 5. Embiid, but I can understand almost any ordering of them

[@HuhhUhh-s7f]

Same but I got jokic, luka, giannis, Joel, Shai

[@GetInVan]

@@HuhhUhh-s7f Yeah I think that’s about the consensus right now, I just can’t put Joel above the rest because he routinely shows either poor performances in the playoffs or injuries

[@christiandarlington7876]

@@GetInVan sorry bro that is not the consensus and embiid can not control being hurt while being triple teamed on regular occasions. btw Giannis is number #1 simply because he's ELITE on both ends of the floor while luka reserves his energy for offense, which I do not hold it against him to much.

[@GetInVan]

@@christiandarlington7876 It’s the consensus top 5 fs, and while it isn’t his fault for getting injured it happens to often for it to not be a detrimental factor.

[@harrisontull8377]

@hoopvenue Here's your next video series: creating the perfect NBA player. Start out with PG and combine aspects of the best PGs to ever play to create a single player: currys shooting, magics passing, D-rose's explosiveness etc. This would be similar to Brett Coleman's creating the perfect WR and RB videos on the NFL's official channel. You can do all 5 positions and then a final one making one player with aspects of everybody who has ever played, regardless of position: Wembys frame, Currys 3pt shooting, Jokics touch etc. You could also do similar vids, such as creating the perfect NBA defender or offensive player.

[@asuicidalhumanias7475]

Very excited for the upcoming season to see who'll take the steps into stardom

[@yoshikigrg8]

Love your channel and i agree with everything in this video except I would include SGA in the list among Strong MVP candidates.

[@legendlee1576]

I’d honestly watch a top 100 video of yours. Your analysis is always top tier and explained in ways everyone should be able to get. Great job again!

[@gnm4]

Well done on the placements bro great vid

[@HoopVenue]

Thanks!

[@godofisolation1577]

was here for the all the vids an i love the breakdown that went along with the pool of players you picked continue doing what you doing im here for all it

[@HoopVenue]

Very much appreciated!

[@godofisolation1577]

@@HoopVenue I do have 1 question when it comes to paolo banchero what’s some steps needed for him to reach that next level not just for himself but to also establish more team success

[@liamhoude573]

Great video and great list! I had the same top 5, but yeah, those 6-11 spots are definitely interchangeable.

[@idanmuze]

Great list. A lot of people are going to be reminded about Jokic this season.

[@frz_-]

Your top 10 offensive players are: 1.jokic 2.luka 3.steph 4.shai 5.lebron 6.kd 7.embiid 8.giannis 9.trae 10.zion?

[@scep2180]

Steph is too high, embiid and giannis are too low

[@HoopVenue]

1. Jokic 2. Luka 3. Steph 4. SGA 5. KD 6. LeBron 7. Giannis 8. Embiid 9. Brunson 10. Kawhi

[@ZachNguyen-vp7nz]

@@HoopVenue Off the top of your head, how does Jokic's offensive peak stack to the GOATs?

[@Kylekyleusn]

I disagree that the dropoff is after 4. It should be after 5. SGA was 2nd in the MVP this season, and if that doesn't meet your criteria of Strong MVP, then the only player that should meet that is Jokic. After Jokic, 2 through 5 can all be argued about on who is next.

[@thenorthremembers728]

He's not the playmaker Luka and Jokic are and he's not the defender Giannis and Embiid are.

[@Pashashab]

I mean, don't get me wrong, but it's ridiculous for Shai to be ahead of Luka in MVP race, and ahead of Giannis too

[@scep2180]

Giannis would also be strong mvp in that scenario tho hes a 2x mvp (should have been 3x)

[@rossmcewan7204]

@@Pashashab it team success dalles only got there shit together after all star break and the bucks looked terrible at some points in the season

[@MuthafuckinPuddings]

He only finished 2nd in MVP race due to team record and OKC blowing past their expectations coming into the season. Remember, MVP voting is heavily based on narrative and team success.

[@miguelvieira2953]

This was an amazing ending to an amazing series! Thank you hoop venue👍

[@CJDeadeye777]

CONGRATS ON 100K YOU DESERVE IT! 🙏

[@Mr_C137]

Thanks so much for this great off-season content!

[@HoopVenue]

Thanks for watching!

[@sweatbandguy4013]

I really appreciate how you didn't make injuries take Embiid down in the list. You barely even mentioned them because you know that you were talking about the players and their skill. We need more analysis like yours

[@mattabrams3841]

Man I wish we could get just one fully healthy Embiid season. I consider him to be a huge what if in nba history

[@Kaine12349]

I’ve enjoyed this series so much. Keep up the amazing work

[@adsavage1276]

Congratulations on 100k

[@HoopVenue]

Thank you!

[@Ball2930.]

I can’t wait for next season, hopefully if majority of the people don’t get hurt and the off season moves that’s happening, I believe next season will be insane. Especially in the playoffs.

[@mattwheeler4427]

Ive always thought that to be the best player in the world you have to be great on both sides of the ball. Which is why I think Giannis is the BITW. Im not mad at Jokic being placed at 1 though. Dude is ridiculous on offense

[@DunningKrugerJnr]

I think your top 5 is right 👏 I’d have Luka 1 Joker 2 and Giannis 3 but hey, that’s just down to personal preference…great work to nail the top 5!

[@ry_an.]

Jokic still better than Luka until Luka wins his ring

[@christiandiaz8542]

ill have luka at 2

[@scep2180]

I prefer Giannis and Jokic because they have been able to lead theirs teams to championships

[@rossmcewan7204]

i think Luka Giannis and Jokic in any order at 1 2 and 3 is acceptable it just depends on preference and what you value more

[@OliverGuiterman]

Yes sir speaking facts - luka at 1. I'm not complaining but it's my opinion.

[@damienpalmer1789]

Keep grinding dude love your vids

[@abtocool6350]

Congratulations on 100k subscribers

[@lilblast7745]

I respect your top 5 I appreciate u didnt put embiid & Luka over Giannis the Giannis disrespect has been crazy lately

[@dracojoseph12]

This gonna be good Keep up the content bro

[@HoopVenue]

Appreciate it!

[@JohnJohnson-do3db]

Imo: 1. Jokic 2. Luka 3. Giannis 4. Embiid 5. SGA 6. Curry 7. Tatum 8. KD 9. AD 10. Kawhi 11. Lebron 12. Ant 13. Ja morant 14. Donavan Mitchell 15. Brunson 16. Jimmy butler 17. Booker 18. Jaylen Brown 19. Kyrie 20. Sabonis 21. Wemby 22. Zion 23. Bam 24. Dame 25. Hali

[@Northkalman]

Luka while having 5 injuries and limping since the near end of regular season against HOU led the playoffs in pts, rebs, ast and stl. Beat 3 stacked 50 win teams as the 5th seed with only a 3 month old squad. Luka is also 3rd in ALLTIME PPG behind Jordan and Wilt in Regular season and 2nd behind Jordan in Playoffs. At 25yrs old and barely younger than SGA, he's already a 5x all NBA 1ST team, the only time he's not included was during his rookie season which shows how an offensive anomaly he is despite regarded as fat and slow. He lost in the finals and regressed his defense because of injuries but no defense also stops even an injured Luka as he still averaged 29/10/8 in the whole 2024 playoffs For me 1 Luka, 2 Jokic, 3 Giannis, 4 Shai 5 Embid.

[@theplug193]

not true buddy calm down sga outplayed luka in their series and luka got smoked on defense and wasn't that efficient bro sga b4 his all-star injury was averaging 55% from the FIELD AS A GUARD and 39 PERCENT FROM 3 AND 88 PERCENT FREE THROWS like bro luka is 3 sga is 4 I personally think sga above luka but it's arguable and neither are better than giannis or jokic simple

[@sskmanentsa5326]

Giannis needs to call up Rick Barry and master the underhand technique. If he was 85% from the line whilst drawing 15 FTA, he would run away with the scoring title. This would also allow him to be more aggressive and not even need to settle because he is afraid to go to the line, easily average 35 points in 30 minutes and 40 in the playoffs. Secondly his season was the biggest carryjob this season. He did not regress for me on defense, the rest of the Bucks did and he was stuck fixing mistakes and breakdowns everywhere. Definitely him and Jokic are the only contenders for the throne, the others are all great but individually, those two are still unmatched in how they can elevate a team to success.

[@jantaramiyongsuntriyapas2570]

1. Giannis 2. Jokic 3. Luka 4. Shai 5. Brown 6. Tatum 7. Curry 8. LeBron 9. Embiid 10. Durant

[@misterkhaya]

Great set of videos, imo I'd probably have Paolo securely in the 25 - 20 list

[@DantrellWalker-oi8vb]

Great list. Put the young guys first with the first old guy being Kawhi. People disagreed with him being at 6 but Kawhi last year had a 32 game stretch averaging 25-7-5 on 55-47-92 splits. Guess what? That's not even a typo and he was the first person to ever do it. Crazy right? See causls would know this if they kept up with the Clippers but they didn't. Combine that scoring + efficiency with him still being one of the better defenders in the game and I want you to genuinely ask yourself how that isn't top 6 worthy. I mean he literally made 2nd Team All NBA. The only players you can say Kawhi is definitely worse than are the MVP candidates of the past 3 years.. (Jokic, Giannis, Embiid, Luka and Shai). There's no one else in the league that you should be surprised he's ranked over but since people think top 6 is too high for him then he's easily become the most underrated player in the league.

[@Caleb6000]

People really underrate that crazy stretch.

[@Kingbake894]

Always loved the Chanel bro and your basketball knowledge so on Shai you said he’s not the 3rd best offensive player in the league I would respectfully disagree and say he is the third best offensive player behind Jok and Luka but who are your top 5 offensive players?

[@BasketballEdits-NZ]

sga is top 3 player in league. hes not the floor general or cerebral passer but what he is elite at is managing the game. i think thats a better way to frame a player, rather than assuming because doncic gets 30 points and has 13 assists therefore he manages the game better. i would argue sga manages the game better than doncic. he does that with his elite unique iso game which the thunder playoff. (and despite what people may think, SGA is elite offball. the thunder do a good job of using his gravity and letting other players handle the ball. and they spam ghost screens; particularly with SGA as the screener simply because of his gravity, which give team mates open shots and layups) his defence is also elite; some people beg to differ, but what you need to understand about his defence (just like his offence) is hes unorthodox. for instance, he goes for that swipe from behind alot that coaches hate. hes an incredibly disruptive defender long story short. he also is an amazing leader evidenced by how his team responds to him and how they have all elevated their game following his example. should have been mvp last year, but thunder have upgraded so they are definitely one of the favourites to win the west and potentially a championship

[@danielhorowitz4012]

Yea I would put him 2 or 3, if we’re taking durability into consideration he’s over Giannis and joel

[@sufyaankhan4686]

Can make an argument for Embiid, MAYBE I can see Luka, but Jokic and Giannis are clear 1 and 2 to me

[@HoopVenue]

I really respect this perspective on “controlling the game”, and would assume this also leaves you higher on Brunson than most.

[@kennn30]

Agreed he's definitely a top-tier player but Jokic was the MVP. His numbers are still better, he does control the game as u state and if you wanna get advanced the on/off numbers still heavily favor him.

[@kingjaydex7464]

SGA is not better than Jokic, Giannis, Luka, or Embiid when all players are at full health cmon now To say he’s elite defensively is also absurd

[@jewelz6028]

My Future 5: PG: Luka Doncic SG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander SF: Anthony Edwards PF: Zion Williamson C: Nikola Jokic

[@realaudioreviews]

Nice, but don’t like SGA he’s a foul actor

[@donaldf9055]

Same as yours but kawhi is much lower, AD is nos 6, tatum is 7, bron is above kd, d book is higher than d mitch and ant, and wemby is above Kyrie.

[@HoopVenue]

Very fair adjustments!

[@skdog3_385]

Awesome video HV

[@hlias_raskolnikov]

Great vid ! We all knew who was gonna be number one but Giannis at 2 above Doncic.... well.. that's controversial to say the least

[@legendlee1576]

I’d love to see you do a top 25 under 25!

[@jeffbobbalwbs2104]

Always enjoy... " best we ever seen". Thank you mj , Larry, magic

[@Davivd2]

I've been watching the NBA for 33 years. Players still blow my mind. Jokic is 7 feet tall with Larry Bird skills. Giannis is ....just Giannis. Never seen anything like him.

[@akwesirobinson1710]

I would have Gianni’s one because you calling jokic neutral but you haven’t seen jokic gaurd the Celtic I can’t imagine open lay up or easy kick out and if they blitz a advantage and if they sag off in a drop open midrange for brown and jrue and Tatum and white or attacking a two on one and due to their spacing that won’t end well

[@kzbutler612]

pretty perfect list. only thing i dont understand is if kd is at 7, where is jaden mcdaniels?

[@HoopVenue]

I had to leave him off to make it fair for everyone else.

[@UrAHypocrite]

Good list but I think Luka earned the top spot at least for this year. We witnessed his historical season and lead a underrated team to the Finals while injured💯

[@thesharpshooters1523]

Jalen Brunson outside the top 10 is crazy

[@HyperVentilation-d6f]

Brunson one of my favorites, but recency bias is crazy

[@alexm264]

I’m curious why Shai isn’t considered to be a strong MVP candidate?

[@frz_-]

I know its a warzone but please reply to the good comments dont go hollywood on us ;-;

[@tarico4436]

He could check in with the "newest first" comments every now and then, and just respond to a few of 'em. That way after thousands of comments, we commenters could still have hope of being recognized for our greatness.

[@HoopVenue]

You guys are both elite.

[@tarico4436]

@@HoopVenue And you, HoopVenue, are a great judge of character!!

[@Ben-zr4ho]

Agreed that some of these guys would benefit more from more running back type play and more bully post play (which is damn near dead in todays game it seems). I include LeBron in that category as well. He really would have benefited from more offensive bully play in his career imo. And more post play. Hes SO strong. Probably even stronger than he is quick. More running back drives in the lane, more post play on smaller, weaker guys (almost everyonenin the league). Would have drawn even more fouls, more foul trouble, even better shooting %. Everyone wants to be MJ and Kobe though. LeBron has been amazing but he's not MJ or Kobe and he shouldn't have tried to be...

[@isojayy.]

Top 25 into 6 videos is crazy

[@HoopVenue]

2 hour video would be even crazier!

[@yskwhatever]

Good list. I was surprised you put Giannis over Luka but I do agree they’re in the same tier.

[@G4B0C4R1]

The only change I would make is to put JT at 5, Kawiah at 8, and then SGA at 6

[@fable4255]

You should do top duos or teams overall next !

[@marco5030]

I think LeBron or Magic are plainly the two best on-ball players we've ever seen, I don't think Luka has an argument

[@michaelahurt]

He can pass and play bully ball at the rim just as well as them but has Kobe's mid-range game/shot making and Harden's step back game. How is that not better? You're arguing he's not an elite finisher and passer then?

[@HoopVenue]

It’s tough for me because those 2 are such standouts in transition (as is Nash), but Luka to me just has so much more versatility in the half court with his mid range game and use of off the dribble 3s.

[@OCLProductionz]

There is no way Luka is not the best basketball player right now. He just took his mid team to the Finals and carried despite his multiple injuries. His playmaking alone and game closing skills makes him the best. He just beat the one who beat Jokic. Giannis is injured and is close to 30, how can we even be sure he’d still dominate when he’s reliant on his sheer athleticism. Luka also just won ESPY’S best player award. For those still saying the BS narrative that Luka has no defense. Luka’s actually "GOOD” at defense before the injuries piled up and got too much. If you watch Mavs Ball yk He was playing the best defense of his life this season and in the Clippers/OKC series that guys were 2/17 fg when guarded by Luka. All I can say to all Ignorants out there is that expect a focused and determined Healthy Luka at both defense & offense next season💯😤🫵

[@ry_an.]

So when Luka is dominating he’s the best player in the league but everytime he loses he’s “injured” Maybe he just needs to get in better shape

[@ry_an.]

Giannis isn’t gonna fall off a cliff at 30. He’s not 34

[@OCLProductionz]

@@ry_an. huh?! He was already injured before going into the playoffs but he isn’t a 🐱he was already thebest during the regular season, the team just sucked the first half of the season before the trade deadline.

[@OCLProductionz]

@@ry_an. bro there’s no guaranteed that he’ll still be dominating, he relies on pure athleticism and it will definitely affect his explosiveness. He has no bag at all and never improved his shooting and that’s huge in today’s nba compared to five years ago

[@ry_an.]

@@OCLProductionz the team was mid buts let not act like PJ Washington Derrick jones Daniel Gafford weren’t playing elite defense all throughout the playoffs. Giannis hyperextended his knee and came back to beat the Hawks

[@nerdzone]

My top 25 with the explicit goal of winning the 2025 title will be (hope I am not missing someone): 1. Nikola Jokic 2. Giannis Antetokoumpo 3. Luka Doncic 4. Joel Embiid 5. SGA 6. Jason Tatum 7. Jalen Brunson 8. Kevin Durant 9. Kawhi Leonard 10. Steph Curry 11. Damian Lillard 12. Antony Edwards 13. Devin Booker 14. Donovan Mitchell 15. Antony Davis 16. Victor Wembanyama 17. Ja Morrant 18. LeBron James 19. Tyrese Haliburton 20. Zion Williamson 21. Bam Adebayo 22. Domantis Sabonis 23. Paolo Banchero 24. Jaylen Brown 25. Cade Cuningham That is not to say all of those players will achieve something. Quite a few of them are on bad rosters and will most probably end up not even being in the playoffs. That's just my top 25. I considered the last few seasons for my impressions and that's why I added Ja Morrant. I tried to stick to your point that injuries are not to be considered as a factor.

[@jawndice]

Tatum above Brunson is wild. Brunson was arguably the best Eastern conference player last season.

[@HuhhUhh-s7f]

Why is cade in the top 25 hes stuck in the pisstons but he aint been the savior either id put maxey over him did better numbera with joel and helped the m76ers mord

[@HuhhUhh-s7f]

@@jawndicenah giannis got it same offesivly but one the best defender in the league tatum better 2 he was in a slump but helped otherways

[@nerdzone]

@@HuhhUhh-s7f I value optics a lot. I think Cade is way better than what the results show, it's just that Detroit are terrible. There's no saving them unless you are a top 5 player imo.

[@deelak2329]

Jokic definitely 1

[@diazxirish]

100K subs !

[@FunNHonesty]

Joel refuses to lose weight. His body cannot handle the weight on his body. I am not saying he is fat, but I am saying that if he wants to avoid his endless joint injuries, he needs to lighten the load on them. Joel will always be injured. I do not want him to be but it is a fact, especially as he gets older.

[@firstnamelastname-li1cc]

I thought for sure you'd have embiid #2, must've let my homerism get the best of me..

[@HoopVenue]

Could’ve definitely gotten there! Flip a coin for 2-4 and I’ll support the order.

[@hazzabazza24]

Why would embiid be 2? He barely played any games

[@christiandarlington7876]

@@hazzabazza24 he avg 36ppg

[@TheNeon55]

Sabonis and klay if healthy, I feel would've landed on mine but cool list fs :)

[@scep2180]

Sabonis shouldve been on here but klay???

[@SDesWriter]

It’s really simple, if you trade it SGA for Luka straight up, OKC would get better and Dallas would get worse. Five rebounds and six assists on a team that already struggles to rebound or create shots for themselves makes them inferior, even with the upgrade in defense. 34/9/9 makes OKC unbeatable, even with their defensive ability going down a notch. while his defense isn’t ideal, I can’t believe people are still talking about all the open shots Boston. The Mavericks defense held Boston to 20 PPG below their season average. That doesn’t happen if they’re getting all the open shots people keep claiming that they were getting. Yeah, the defense had to scramble when Luka got blown by, but he also had two of the five games where he was very effective on defense even though it probably hurt his offense. I thought your breakdown of him was way more fair than most people I hear considering the fact that he had the highest total offensive record in NBA history this year and people forgot about it within three days of the regular season ending. He's also still 3rd all time in scoring behind MJ and Wilt, and 2nd all time in the playoffs behind Jordan. Then you add 9 assists a game to that. Like you said, one of the best offensive players ever.

[@diogotxx]

I would have Luka, Nikola, Giannis, Joel and Shai as top 5, but all arguments are valid. Having Luka first would be, for me, because of his mentality, playoff performances, unprecedented offensive skills, intangibles and ability to go far with arguibly the worst team between the other top 5 players.

[@Laynevelum]

lukas team is built perfectly around him. the only player that had a better team was probably shai, but they all young so

[@frz_-]

100k!!!!

[@HoopVenue]

Yessir!

[@Allen-k6n1o]

SGA, Giannis, Jokic, Embiid and Doncic no particular order but these are the top.

[@xSlickGod]

Jokic at one gotta respect it.

[@wilbertladdisonjr.9977]

Love the breakdowns and the list but i do wonder why Ja is nowhere on the list???

[@ry_an.]

He only played 9 games. He should be top 15 if healthy

[@scep2180]

Yeah he should be like #18, but he and the grizzlies will remind everyone next year

[@HoopVenue]

I didn’t include him because he only played 9 games. He’d likely land around 15-ish for me!

[@fedjavuckovic5920]

I feel Brunson amd Edwards have to be higher, with form from last playoffs they are both easily top10 players if not top 7-8

[@beli722]

Jokic Giannis Luka Shai Tatum/curry (Before you guys jump me, i only rank based on how good a player is in the playoffs)

[@zdiii3795]

We really need to appreciate giannis while hes here

[@jjcometa9333]

Luka fan. For me hes the best. But i get it if its giannis or joker for others. Argument for Luka is last year even through different lineups due to heavy injuries to teams' core, and trades, they still managed to win 50 wins in a stacked west. And yes even kyrie lost significant time due to injuries. That playoffs just proved that Luka is the best rn. Even injured he was still helping his team win. A lot of the narratives are just so overblown because again he was injured

[@BestShootermanUbz]

Saying there’s a huge drop off from 4 to 5 just isn’t true. Saying that you can just swap SGA for someone as far back as 11 is kind of wild. In fact, I would argue SGA is better than Luka and Embiid as he’s reliable, consistent, and plays both sides of the floor.

[@rossmcewan7204]

SGA isn't better than luka i agree lukas a bad defender but luka playmaking more than enough makes up for that you can scheme a defence with luka to make it better but luka ability to play in the half court you cant replicate it.

[@dsm577]

SGA better than Luka 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@Caleb6000]

Giannis over Luka is a very non-casual take. Well done.

[@alreadytookenname]

I just realized there are people out there that could've been young enough to watch wilt and kareem and old enough to watch Victor wembenyama now. We're a bit lucky.

[@qiucrystal3154]

Out of curiosity, where would you rank Jrue Holdiay and Derrick white?

[@Heart_ken01]

Good list. At full strength I would probably have Embiid over Luka. Jokic, Giannis, and Embiid are all interchangeable to me

[@tarico4436]

"Full strength." That's the problem with Embiid: he's hurt a lot.

[@Heart_ken01]

@@tarico4436 yeah no doubt lol. Just depend how you rank em and that's reasonable. If it's who can sustain an 82 game season + playoffs he would be last of the top 5 easily and Jokic clearly one. I would rather just rank the best at their best

[@tarico4436]

@@Heart_ken01 When both are healthy, Embiid is better than Joker.

[@beli722]

​@@tarico4436 maybe in regular season, a rly big ,,maybe''

[@benedictdelrosario8019]

I put luka over giannis in the 2nd spot. Giannis cant carry a team while luka did it twice

[@aidanperrin7968]

SGA was better than Luka in the playoffs. Everyone's eyes and the stats do not lie. Defensively it wasn't close, and offensively was still not really that close. Because of history and more playoff experience Luka has the crown for now. But if the Thunder go further than the mavs in 2025 or win the whole thing you're going to have to switch #3 and #5. Great series though I agree with every single players order which is rare to see. I can tell you truly love the game and don't care as much about the narratives as most casual fans

[@JD-wh6wr]

It doesn’t make sense to call SGA a weak mvp when the man came 2nd in voting this year and 5th last year. Just no logic in my eyes how that is considered a weak mvp, he finished above Luka, Giannis, and Embiid (tbf injuries) yet somehow all those guys are considered strong mvps lol. Like the fact SGA is somehow in the same category as Kawhi, and KD when they didn’t finish anywhere close to SGA confuses me a ton

[@HyperVentilation-d6f]

It's because of team success and the factors that bring down sga. SGA was only considered that high because the Mavs were only dominating for the last stretch of the season, the bucks were miserable, and Embiid was injured.

[@ScottySkilz1]

its funny how its ok to have no defense if your name is jokic but if your sabonis thats all they talk about. sabonis has similar numbers to jokic. sabonis: 20ppg 14rbg 8apg --- jokic: 26ppg 12rpg 9apg........he is not far from jokic and if he starts taking more 3's (38% from 3 last year) then his scoring will go up. its only because he plays in sac that he gets no respect

[@jrn04]

I don't understand why the injury is getting held way more against Embiid when he played in the playoffs and Giannis didn't. Also pretty odd to say that Luka is worse than Jokic when both are defensive negatives and Luka made it to the finals while Jokic was getting violated by the Wolves?

[@bobbitsc7539]

jokic isnt a negative, he's been an above average defender for the past couple seasons, while luka is pretty clearly a below average defender

[@jrn04]

@@bobbitsc7539 Jokic is a negative in most metrics same as Luka i'm not saying that they're both horrible but clearly far from positives. So if it's being held against Luka so much it should also be held to the same standard for Jokic, on top of that one went to the finals and the other got bounced in the second round by a team Luka nearly swept. And I got no clue why Giannis is even in the top 4 since it clearly should be Luka, Jokic, SGA, Embiid.

[@HyperVentilation-d6f]

He considered past seasons for both giannis and Embiid because this season doesn't give enough because of the injuries. Luka making the finals and jokic losing in the 2nd round is a stupid argument. Matchup matters, Nuggets would've beat the Celtics, would've beat the mavericks, but couldn't beat the wolves because they had a better matchup against them.

[@anthonytrevino3191]

Embiid health makes him a reach for top 4. Just that alone and availability he’s more closer to 8-10

[@HyperVentilation-d6f]

He didn't consider health that much