The chaotic period of free agency is finally over. All the cap space has been used and all of the stars on the trading block have been moved – except for Chris Paul but that seems unlikely now.
So now that everything is set, I want to start looking at each team’s roster and see what each team may look like going into next season. Eventually I’ll do season previews for each team, but for now I want to just rank the top 20 duos in the NBA! If there was any major takeaway from free agency this year, besides the fact that everyone is on a different team now, it’s that parity exists – Adam Silver’s dream NBA has become a reality.
Yes there are still favorites to win the NBA championship, but no one is a prohibitive favorite like the Warriors for the past three years. Now there are star duos (or budding duos) spread out across the league all ready to compete for a playoff spot. It is going to be an unbelievably competitive race for the 16 spots this season.
Teams will need their stars to carry them to wins mid-January and February during the doldrums of the season more than ever. We will also see dynamic players clashing and trying to figure out their chemistry for most off the season in the hopes of being ready for the playoffs. Because of this, teams like the Kings and Hawks who have carryover from last season could get a good start to begin the year since so many other teams will be working out their kinks. Well without rambling on too much, let’s jump right into the ranking the top 20 NBA duos!
I would have ranked all 30 duos, but some of the duos toward the end are really bad and ugly to think about. Additionally, some team’s duos are just their two best players, not necessarily two players who will play well together and be an effective duo – Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson are an example of this.
Okay, for real now. Let’s rank the top 20 NBA duos post free agency!
20) Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton
These two young players are all about offense and have absolutely no regard for defense. They can score with any other duo in the NBA, but they have some major problems. Their roster is not good and they are still too young to have a major impact in the NBA heading into the 2019-20 season. The good news – Devin Booker is 22 and DeAndre Ayton is only 20! They have the potential to rule the Western Conference in five years if they stay together. Unfortunately, the reality of the NBA today is that duos and stars don’t stay together as long as they used to…especially when the team is under poor management. Both Booker and Ayton are in this situation. The good news is that both of these players are special. Devin Booker is one of only 15 players in NBA history to average at least 21 points per game in his first four NBA seasons. DeAndre Ayton is one of only 11 players in NBA history to average at least 16 and 10 in his first season. So they have potentially to be the best big man/guard duo in the NBA – just not this year. Thus they’re number twenty on the list.
19) Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns
These two are only on this list because of KAT. He has the potential to greatest scoring center of all time with his skillset. He can literally do everything. He can step out for three, score on the block, and even handle the ball in the pick n’ roll! Andrew Wiggins is an athletic wing who should be a Kawhi Leonard type player because of this athleticism. He’s not though. He has nights when he’ll score 40 points and then nights where you don’t notice he’s on the court. Wiggins showed that he has the potential to be a consistent scorer who impacts games early in his career. In fact, he averaged 20 points per game in 2015-16 and 23 points per game in 2016-17. Then he suddenly regressed in just about every manner and has played incredibly poorly in comparison to his two best seasons. Some would argue that Wiggins was always bad and that he was just putting up good stats on a bad team and maybe they’re right. I’d like to see him prove the haters wrong this season and get back to his old self now that he and KAT are the centerpieces of the T-Wolves franchise.
18) De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield
Every NBA GM dreams of having a two-star backcourt like Golden State’s, and Sacramento is doing their best to make their backcourt the envy of the NBA for the next several years. The scoring duo of Hield and Fox in the backcourt is an awesome and fun dynamic because both players fit so well together. Fox is a willing passer who is always pushing the ball down court with his head up looking to make the right pass. Buddy Hield has an exceptional ability to play off the ball and get an open shot off in transition. Last year, he turned himself into a legitimate three-point threat and was in contention for Most Improved Player. Most importantly, the combination of Fox and Hield has made Sacramento a fun team to watch again. On top of that, they have even given this dormant franchise the hope of returning to the Playoffs in the next couple years. Their potential even attracted veterans such as Dewayne Dedmon and Trevor Ariza to sign with the Kings this offseason – improving their overall roster. Perhaps if every NBA team hadn’t also gotten better last season this duo would be ranked higher. I have a feeling though if I do this list again next year, they will be higher on it.
17) Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis
I should be higher on this duo and, with their potential, they have the chance to become a top 10 duo in the NBA very quickly. I’m not skeptical about their floor because I know – at the very least – these players are two smart guys who will put the ball in the basket. I’m worried about their ceiling. This is for two reasons. First, I’m not sure how much better Luka Doncic will get next year. He averaged 20 points per game last season, and he looked like a veteran on the floor, but he also seemed to be pretty out of shape to start the year and slower than he looked on film in Europe. Maybe that’s just because he was in the NBA now and he’s growing into this body, but it’s something to be concerned about. So until he gets serious about being in shape and take the next step nutritionally, I am skeptical about his personal ceiling and, as a result, the Mavs’ ceiling as well.
I’m worried about Kristaps’ ceiling for one major reason: his health. He has yet to play even 80 games in one season and his games per season have gone down every year he’s been in the league. He also had some legal troubles that could hurt his ability to stay on the court. So his issues combined with Luka’s leaves me reason to be worried about the long-term viability of this duo. However, this duo could be incredible special because their skill-sets complement each other so well. Luka is a wonderful orchestrator of the pick n roll and Porzingis is the ideal stretch five in the modern NBA. His handle for a 7’3” player is also unprecedented and both of their willingness as passers will make all of their teammates better. Maybe I should have just made them both higher on the list, but until I see it work, I will keep them on the low end of the list.
16) DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge
The mid-range death machine! Last season, these two players combined for a whole 1.1 3-point attempts per game! That is unbelievable to think about in today’s NBA, but somehow this team still made the playoffs. Then once they made it, they pushed the Denver Nuggets (the two seed) to seven games! I learned last year not to underestimate the Spurs and players who understand who they are as basketball players.
Aldridge and DeRozan are prime examples of this. They know what their skills are, and they do them better than just about anyone in the league. They both took 15-16 2-point attempts per game and they both averaged 21 points as a result. That’s a consistent 42 points your team can count on from you both every night. That goes a long way in the NBA during a grueling 82 game season. Thus, DeRozan and Aldridge are your duo Number 16 on the list!
15) Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon
This duo are sleepers if there ever was one. No one paid attention to them last year until the postseason when they scared the Raptors with a Game 1 victory in Toronto. However, most NBA fans who were watching League Pass noticed that they were one of the best second half teams in the NBA as they went 21-9 from February 1st until the end of the season. During that stretch Vucevic averaged 21 and 12 alongside Gordon who averaged 16 points per game while showing versatility on defense. He matched up against positions three through five on the basketball court while averaging a career high from three (35%). His athletic ability enables him to keep up with anyone on defense which is important for the Magic out East against players like Giannis, Embiid, and Tatum. So Vucevic handles the scoring and rebounds while Gordon handles the defense and spacing. They aren’t the flashiest duo, but they are two very good players both who have the ability to crack the All-Star team roster every single season.
14) Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond
Staying out East, Griffin and Drummond are both among the best big men in the NBA which means they are among the best duos as well. Blake Griffin developed a respectable outside game last offseason which helped solve many of the initial spacing issues these two had when they started playing together. Last year they combined for 41 points per game and 22 rebounds while leading a below average Pistons’ roster to the playoffs. These are both really good players and, as long as Blake stays healthy (congrats on Blake of the Year by the way), the Pistons will make the playoffs because of these two. These two are some of the premier big men in the league and every time I see Andre Drummond, I think about what Wilt Chamberlain would do in today’s NBA because of how good Drummond is at rebounding.
Yes, that seems like a forced Wilt Chamberlain reference but here’s a jaw dropping stat for you. Remember the stat from above? These two averaged a combined 41 points and 22 rebounds? If Wilt averaged those stats (alone might I add!!) for a season, it would be only his 5th best season. These are his four best seasons: 37.6 and 27, 38 and 27, 50 and 26, and 44 and 24. He literally averaged more points and rebounds per game for four years than NBA All-Stars do today!!! Anyway, Blake and Drummond are good.
13) Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert
LeVert is just a holding place until Kevin Durant returns from his Achilles injury. Once he does so, next year, he and Kyrie will be a top 5 duo for sure. In the meantime, LeVert was the Nets’ best player before D’Angelo Russell went off last season and since D’Lo is gone now, LeVert is their best player remaining by default after this offseason. Kyrie Irving is the team’s best scorer, and Caris LeVert is their best on-ball defender. It’ll be interesting to see this team’s overall ceiling before Kevin Durant returns in 2020. If the Nets want to make it past the first round again – which looking at the rosters of each top 5 team in the East is no guarantee – they will need the leadership of Kyrie Irving who will be on his best behavior after last season. Ultimately, his last season with Boston is what has this duo lower down on the list for me. Kyrie Irving and how weird he’s acted in the past year or so is just too much of a factor for me to not consider.
12) Victor Oladipo and Malcolm Brogdon
With perhaps the best defensive backcourt in the NBA, the Pacers will be a team that no one wants to face because they will give any set of opposing guards hell every single night. Both of these guards can create their own shots and shots for others which is crucial because the frontcourt of Indiana is perhaps just as important as their backcourt. For Indiana, you could have named Oladipo + (insert name here) as their duo. It could have been Myles Turner (who led the league in blocks last season), Domantas Sabonis who carried a major offensive load once Oladipo was injured.
Ultimately, I chose Malcolm Brogdon because he has more impact on the game since he has the ball in his hands most of the time. He’ll also be carrying much of the offensive burden while Oladipo continues to rehab his right quadriceps. Either way, Indiana will be better than they were last year and will not be swept in Round 1 again because of these two borderline All-Stars.
11) Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum
Boston recovered pretty well post fee-agency after having a pretty brutal start. Their roster is lacking in defensive big men, but their guard play of Tatum and Brown, along with the addition of Kemba Walker, will make them a fun team to watch all season long. Kemba Walker will come in and average his 25 points per game because that’s just what he does. He can always get his despite whoever else is on the court with him – as he proved in Charlotte last year.
However, Jayson Tatum will determine how far Boston can go this year. Two seasons ago, he showed signs that he could be the next great wing in the NBA. Then last season, he regressed terribly by settling for long off-the-dribble twos on offense and displaying a significantly worse handle than his rookie year. I will give him the benefit of the doubt on that year though and just chalk it up to the Sophomore Slump. It’s hard to be as good in your second year once teams have an entire season of film to study you and figure out how to stop you. So I think Tatum’s poor shot selection combined with defenses prepping to stop him more added to his bad year. Now this year though is when we find out if he has what it takes to be a superstar in this league.
If he can take his level of play to the next level like he did in the Conference Finals against Cleveland, then the sky is the limit for Boston this season as he and Kemba try to lead them to back to the Finals.
10) Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry
I may regret putting this duo up so high, but I like the fact that they have continuity and just came off a title together. Additionally, writers and pundits are already dismissing the Raptors since they lost Kawhi Leonard in free agency. Despite Kawhi’s greatness, people forget just how much of a team title that was for Toronto. Kyle Lowry basically secured Game 6 for the Raptors by starting out that game on an 11-0 run and Pascal Siakam won them Game 1 when he scored 32 points on nearly perfect shooting. I think Kyle Lowry still has two more great years in him before he begins to really decline and Pascal Siakam (reigning MIP) will get even better next season as he adds an outside shot. His defense and length already make him one of the best defensive players in the NBA. In fact, by the end of next season, don’t be surprised if this Toronto roster is right back in the Semi-Finals as a top 4 seed.
9) Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley
These two players complement each other perfectly and Mike Conley will bring out all of the best characteristics in Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell was often asked to do too much last season as he was their De facto point guard on offense. Now with Conley on their roster, Utah can let Mitchell play off-ball which means he can cut and catch-and-shoot more.
Additionally, his athleticism will allow him to play harder on defense and chase offensive rebounds since he won’t be worn down by handling the ball on offense every possession. He will also be able to settle for better shots like 3’s and layups; he won’t be settling for tough floaters like he did most of last season.
Mike Conley also makes Rudy Gobert better. His passing ability will allow him to throw accurate lobs to Gobert at the rim which will make him a plus on offense. Conley’s ability to also defense point guards and shooting guards will also help Joe Ingles out. Finally Conley is just better than Ricky Rubio in literally every way possible. He makes the Jazz better just because of that. Conley and Mitchell are set to take the league by storm as Utah will rack up tons of regular season wins (whether those translate to playoff wins is another issue altogether).
8) Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons
Getting this high on the list and then selecting one duo over another is essentially just splitting hairs at this point. You could make the case that each one of these duos are the best in the NBA and if you made a strong enough case, I’d buy it. Embiid and Simmons have the potentially to make something special happen in Philly within the next two years. They even had a chance to win the title last year – GM Elton Brand proved that when he decided to go all in for Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. If not for a miracle Kawhi buzzer beater, who knows what they could have done against Milwaukee and Golden State?
Defensively, the combination of these two is straight up intimidating to try and score against. Embiid recovery ability even when he falls for pump fakes is simply jarring and Simmons’ ability to switch between multiple defenders makes him a plus on the court.
Offensively though, these two still have much to be desired. First, Ben Simmons needs to just start attempting threes in a game. Keep his opponents honest. Second, Joel Embiid needs to stop shooting as many threes. After shooting 36% from three his rookie year, Embiid has been barely above 30% on about 4 attempts per game. Their shooting and play styles are something they will need to continue to figure out because they Simmons is best when he’s running the floor and Embiid is best with his back to the basket. Both players also need spacing to operate and neither one of them can provide that for the other. Therein lies the problem with these two on offense. One of them is going to have to be a better shooter if they want to not struggle to score on offense. Naturally the person who needs to do that is Simmons. Embiid already takes threes so you have to assume he’ll get better as his career goes on. On top that, if Embiid is operating on the block, he’ll need Simmons to space the floor for him while he scored down low. These two have some offensive kinks to work out, but they’re both consensus top 25 players and they are both in the prime of their careers. This is a very good place to be in as a dynamic duo.
7) James Harden and Russell Westbrook
Once teammates, then turned MVPs and now teammates again! Their two play styles rely on isolation basketball and neither of them play very well off the ball. So the key to having them succeed? Stagger them as much as you can until the end of the game! That’s why these two are lower on my list than their talent suggests. Until I see how their ability to play together works, I will remain skeptical regarding their ability to win games together in the playoffs. The fortunate thing for them is that the role players around both of these All-Stars fit their skill-sets very well. When Westbrook was surrounded by four shooters in OKC he was at his best offensively and that same sentiment can be applied to James Harden in Houston.
Even with all of my skepticism though, I still think Westbrook is a better fit for Harden than Chris Paul was. Even without the ball, Westbrook can still make plays happen and he attracts more defensive attention than CP3 did. Westbrook can crash the offensive and defensive glass better than Paul and he can fly down the court with or without the ball to create tons of fastbreak opportunities. These two are MVPs for a reason and their ceiling as a duo is the NBA Finals because of how much they can sway a series.
6) Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic
While these two aren’t as talented or as a good as Harden and Westbrook individually, Murray and Jokic combined have better chemistry and understand their offensive system better. Jokic is also as good of a playmaker as either Westbrook or Harden. Jokic can either be the screener in a pick n roll or be the ball handler which is rare for a big man. That is why this duo is number six on the list. This team had an incredible amount of success last season as they made it all the way to Game 7 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals and were one good Jamal Murray quarter away from battling the Durant-less Warriors for a chance to reach the NBA Finals. The Nuggets can do the same thing again this year as long as Murray makes the leap he needs to make. He was too on-and-off last year in the playoffs, especially in their first round series against San Antonio. In their Game 1 loss he shot 8/23, in Game 2 he shot 8/17, and in Game 3 he was 2/6. He finally got his playoff legs underneath him and averaged 21 points the rest of the way on 49% shooting from the field. If he can just be consistent for two playoff series in a row, then this duo will be leading the Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals.
5) Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis the reigning MVP and Khris Middleton was the Bucks’ go to scorer when Giannis wasn’t on the floor. Middleton was the one player the Bucks couldn’t afford to lose in free agency and now that they retained him, the Bucks are ready for another Eastern Conference Finals run. As crazy as this sounds, I expect Giannis to be even better next season than he was last season as he continues to develop an outside shot and improve his passing. There’s nothing too interesting to say about these guys except that they’re awesome together. Giannis is also a lock to be an MVP candidate next season and because of that, Giannis and Middleton together are duo number five on this list.
4) LeBron James and Anthony Davis
These two are undeniably top five players in the NBA today and were MVP candidates two season ago – we were even having conversations about Anthony Davis being the best player in the NBA two years ago when New Orleans swept Portland in the playoffs. These two also have two of the top three PERs in NBA history (Jordan is the only one ahead of them). Anthony Davis is the perfectly player to have on the Lakers as LeBron enters the twilight of this career because Davis has proven he can carry a mediocre roster by himself to the playoffs. The Lakers’ overall roster is good enough to make the playoffs but the combination of these two propels every role player on this team to another level. LeBron James and Anthony Davis pick n rolls are going to be absolutely devastating to every NBA defense as they struggle to decide how they will defend the drive. Will they stick with LeBron and give AD a free drive to the basket or will they play closer to AD? Then once AD gets the ball, will the help defender come from the corner where Danny Green is planted ready to shoot from three? The Lakers’ offense has a ton of potential because of these two. Well see if the coaching staff can get the best out of them though.
3) Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum
Two perennial All-Stars who always have their team in playoff contention. They play seamlessly together and never let the trade rumors get to them. Lillard was an MVP candidate last season and McCollum is as cool as it gets on offense. His old man mid-range game perfectly complements Lillard’s 3-point barrage. The combination of those two have ended multiple teams on walk-off buzzer beaters including the Rockets (2014) and Thunder (most recently). Their resume speaks for themselves. Their overall roster got better, and I can’t imagine an offseason where these two also didn’t get better. Thus, these guys are the third best duo in the NBA.
2) Kawhi Leonard and Paul George
Two of the best wing defenders in the NBA today – maybe even two of the best two-way players and now they’re on the same team! Sure the Clippers compromised their culture to make this happen, but I don’t think they care about that. They just care about the end result. I have no doubts about the ceiling of this team. If both of these guys play like the did last year (PG pre-injury) then this team will be the 1 seed in the West and is the favorite to win the NBA Championship. Injuries though are what scare me with this duo. Kawhi came up limping after just about every dunk in the playoffs last year and Paul George won’t be back from his injury until after training camp. You have to imagine that after an offseason of rehab, both of these guys will be ready to go and compete – but what if they aren’t? Their timetable is as long as their contracts – two years. That isn’t a ton of time to win, especially if one of them suffers a major injury at any point during that time. Like the Lakers, the Clippers are under immense pressure to win now. How far will they go? As far as these two will carry them – which could be pretty damn far.
1) Steph Curry and Klay Thompson
Some duos don't need a case to be made for them. These guys are an example of that. These two have won NBA Titles together, and if not for Klay tearing his ACL, were on the verge of forcing a Game 7 against the Toronto Raptors. They are the best shooting backcourt in NBA history, and they are the best duo in the NBA until someone dethrones them. It could be any of the duos I listed below them, but until I see it happen, they are the best. I don’t need to make the case for them. Just watch this:
Who do you think the best duo is in the NBA? Even better yet, who's the worst? That's much more cynical and sometimes even more fun.