Hollinger's Top 10 for 2025-2026.

[ball_takes23]

ok Sengun top 10 confirmed

[Buckeye-NBAFan]

J Dub and Mobley aren't in this conversation. Does anyone realistically think they could singlehandedly flip a lotto team into the play in?

How many wins are you talking? And how many guys in the league do you think can produce that many wins?

[Joao Saraiva]

Having Zion on a list is wild as hell. He’s had 1 season out of 6 where he played in 65 or more games.

Might as well throw Embiid, Morant, Tatum, and Kawhi to your list.

While I can see the point about Zion I have a feeling he'll be in the MVP conversation (maybe not for #1 but he'll be on the ladder, just cause Idk if they'll win enough games). I think if healthy we're gonna see him as a top 5 guy in the league. I was always impressed with him on the court and to be fair he seems to be putting the work.

Bold prediction for sure, but I don't see it as an impossible take once the season is over.

I'm however not that sold on Banchero, he seems to me like the kinda guy that is getting his way on a bad team but somehow don't feel about him as a guy who can take a franchise very far playoffs wise. Time will tell tough.

The Magic weren't a bad team last year and they have a decent chance to win the East and are likely locks for HCA if they can stay healthy

Sent from my SM-A055F using RealGM mobile app

Maybe I'm underrating them. I don't see them going trough the Cavs tough, and I still think Boston will be (along Cleveland) the top dogs in the East once the playoffs start. Tatum's recovery seems like a miracle, and the Celtics still have a ton of great pieces. The rim protection... Queta is good, if he can control the foul trouble. If anything Celtics can trade for a backup C or go for some min contract. They'll be good and a threat to win the East at least. In the finals Idk yet how good of a matchup they can have and if it's OKC how good they'll look this year after their 1st championship, I think a lot of the nerves might not be there as they seemed to me last year.

[The Servant]

All fine and dandy. That doesn't suggest why he's top-10. For instance, I have a very hard time putting you in the top-10 when you're shooting 54.4 TS% in the playoffs.

Shooting 54.5%ts with a torn wrist doesn't sway me. If his poor playoff shooting continues over a larger, healthy sample, that would sway me. For now I'm much more moved by: this guy had a 40-point game in a tough finals series with a torn wrist!

That's fair, but then at best, it's a question mark on his ability to be a top-10 player in the league. I think if you most people if they'd rather have Curry or JWill in a playoff series on their team, most would still lean Curry, and I think that's justified.

Took a quick look to see how the stars performed in the playoffs last year, not too far off as an elite two way player. I'm not going to die on this hill by any means but here is how the rest of them did. Let me know if any of them other than Giannis came near his level of defensive value/versatility though. He did pretty good as an injured second option on a championship team but I get if people don't have him in their top 10.

Jokic in yoffs: 58%
Shai in yoffs: 57%
Curry in yoffs: 59%
Butler in yoffs: 56%
Jaylen Brown: 54%
Brunson: 58%
Towns: 59%
Giannis in yoffs: 65% but bounced in first round

[Exp0sed]

Shooting 54.5%ts with a torn wrist doesn't sway me. If his poor playoff shooting continues over a larger, healthy sample, that would sway me. For now I'm much more moved by: this guy had a 40-point game in a tough finals series with a torn wrist!

That's fair, but then at best, it's a question mark on his ability to be a top-10 player in the league. I think if you most people if they'd rather have Curry or JWill in a playoff series on their team, most would still lean Curry, and I think that's justified.

Took a quick look to see how the stars performed in the playoffs last year, not too far off as an elite two way player. I'm not going to die on this hill by any means but here is how the rest of them did. Let me know if any of them other than Giannis came near his level of defensive value/versatility though. He did pretty good as an injured second option on a championship team but I get if people don't have him in their top 10.

Jokic in yoffs: 58%
Shai in yoffs: 57%
Curry in yoffs: 59%
Butler in yoffs: 56%
Jaylen Brown: 54%
Brunson: 58%
Towns: 59%
Giannis in yoffs: 65% but bounced in first round

J-Dub was legit injured so it doesn't matter but fwiw, it's a pretty big gap. the guys on the of your list had entire defenses and schemes and multiple double and triple teams of all sorts - on them, trying to slow them down. J-Dub didn't have anywhere near that amount of pressure and had alot more space to work with

[PistolPeteJR]

That's fair, but then at best, it's a question mark on his ability to be a top-10 player in the league. I think if you most people if they'd rather have Curry or JWill in a playoff series on their team, most would still lean Curry, and I think that's justified.

Took a quick look to see how the stars performed in the playoffs last year, not too far off as an elite two way player. I'm not going to die on this hill by any means but here is how the rest of them did. Let me know if any of them other than Giannis came near his level of defensive value/versatility though. He did pretty good as an injured second option on a championship team but I get if people don't have him in their top 10.

Jokic in yoffs: 58%
Shai in yoffs: 57%
Curry in yoffs: 59%
Butler in yoffs: 56%
Jaylen Brown: 54%
Brunson: 58%
Towns: 59%
Giannis in yoffs: 65% but bounced in first round

J-Dub was legit injured so it doesn't matter but fwiw, it's a pretty big gap. the guys on the of your list had entire defenses and schemes and multiple double and triple teams of all sorts - on them, trying to slow them down. J-Dub didn't have anywhere near that amount of pressure and had alot more space to work with

Bingo.

People don't realize the massive difference in being THE GUY vs #2 in terms of how defenses account for you.

[Exp0sed]

Took a quick look to see how the stars performed in the playoffs last year, not too far off as an elite two way player. I'm not going to die on this hill by any means but here is how the rest of them did. Let me know if any of them other than Giannis came near his level of defensive value/versatility though. He did pretty good as an injured second option on a championship team but I get if people don't have him in their top 10.

Jokic in yoffs: 58%
Shai in yoffs: 57%
Curry in yoffs: 59%
Butler in yoffs: 56%
Jaylen Brown: 54%
Brunson: 58%
Towns: 59%
Giannis in yoffs: 65% but bounced in first round

J-Dub was legit injured so it doesn't matter but fwiw, it's a pretty big gap. the guys on the of your list had entire defenses and schemes and multiple double and triple teams of all sorts - on them, trying to slow them down. J-Dub didn't have anywhere near that amount of pressure and had alot more space to work with

Bingo.

People don't realize the massive difference in being THE GUY vs #2 in terms of how defenses account for you.

yup

J-Dub is a particularly bad example because he literally plays next to SGA and opposing defenses main strategy was sagging off J-Dub and allowing him space to both shoot and drive..

[ball_takes23]

Took a quick look to see how the stars performed in the playoffs last year, not too far off as an elite two way player. I'm not going to die on this hill by any means but here is how the rest of them did. Let me know if any of them other than Giannis came near his level of defensive value/versatility though. He did pretty good as an injured second option on a championship team but I get if people don't have him in their top 10.

Jokic in yoffs: 58%
Shai in yoffs: 57%
Curry in yoffs: 59%
Butler in yoffs: 56%
Jaylen Brown: 54%
Brunson: 58%
Towns: 59%
Giannis in yoffs: 65% but bounced in first round

J-Dub was legit injured so it doesn't matter but fwiw, it's a pretty big gap. the guys on the of your list had entire defenses and schemes and multiple double and triple teams of all sorts - on them, trying to slow them down. J-Dub didn't have anywhere near that amount of pressure and had alot more space to work with

Bingo.

People don't realize the massive difference in being THE GUY vs #2 in terms of how defenses account for you.

its not always that simple. there have been plenty of examples throughout history of players who transitioned from a #2 role to the #1 guy and were able to increase volume while also maintaining or even increasing efficiency. Pippen, Kobe, Brunson just to name a few. It takes a very specific type of player to excel in a #2 role and in some ways its actually harder because you are going to be out of rhythm more often and have more irregular shot patterns. Lillard had a hard time transitioning from a #1 to a #2, going from a 64% TS in his last year in Portland to a 59% TS in his first season in Milwaukee.

[cupcakesnake]

J-Dub was legit injured so it doesn't matter but fwiw, it's a pretty big gap. the guys on the of your list had entire defenses and schemes and multiple double and triple teams of all sorts - on them, trying to slow them down. J-Dub didn't have anywhere near that amount of pressure and had alot more space to work with

Bingo.

People don't realize the massive difference in being THE GUY vs #2 in terms of how defenses account for you.

yup

J-Dub is a particularly bad example because he literally plays next to SGA and opposing defenses main strategy was sagging off J-Dub and allowing him space to both shoot and drive..

Plenty of big questions about J.Dub's offense that we can't answer while he's in this role.

However, I dont share the assumption that Shai makes life easier for J.Dub. He definitely generates plenty of open 3s for his teammates, but every Thunder fan knows that Jalen is a better pull up shooter than a catch & shoot guy.

The problem with Shai's midrange heavy driving game (mostly in the middle of the floor), is that the way it collapses the defense doesn't create driving lanes for the secondary drivers. I've had discussions about this before on these boards, and most recently heard a similar opinion on the Thinking Basketball podcast in their 21st-century peaks series. There was a lot of focus in the series on team stats while the player in on the floor (does rim % go up, does 3-point % go up, are there more open 3s? etc. etc.). Shai was one of the notable great offensive players (I think Giannis was as well), where rim attempts for the team does not go up while he's on the floor. You can watch OKC and understand why. Shai attacks middle, and draws help at the foul line. So when he kicks out, the defense is already set agains the drive. When Daigneault has J.Dub attack on the baseline, he has a lot of success, but those wing kick outs just have J.Dub driving into a packed paint, and then countering with the midrange. Dub is good those midrange counters, and he's good at drawing fouls, but I don't see any evidence on film, or in the numbers that Shai is giving Dub better looks.

[Ssj16]

Ant also had Gobert as a 3rd star for each run.

I don’t know how you’d say top 5 is underrated. Those stats don’t make him better than Jokic, Giannis, Luka, SGA, or the monster that Wemby will be this season. I just hope he stays healthy, because if so Wemby will put up some stat lines that we’ve never seen before, like games where he has 5+ blocks and 5+ threes.

Its impossible for any intelligent person to rate Wembanyama ahead of ANT.

It's pretty simple to rank Wemby above Ant. Any knowledgeable basketball fan would know that Wemby has a higher ceiling than Ant.

If they both remain healthy, it would be surprising if Ant ever reaches a higher peak than Wemby based on what we've seen so far in Ant's career.

This "Ant unquestionably ahead of Wemby" take has a chance to be one of the worst takes ever.

[bonita_the_frog]

Its impossible for any intelligent person to rate Wembanyama ahead of ANT.

It's pretty simple to rank Wemby above Ant. Any knowledgeable basketball fan would know that Wemby has a higher ceiling than Ant.

If they both remain healthy, it would be surprising if Ant ever reaches a higher peak than Wemby based on what we've seen so far in Ant's career.

This "Ant unquestionably ahead of Wemby" take has a chance to be one of the worst takes ever.

Call me when Wembanyama has eliminated some superstars from the playoffs as ANT has - Durant, Booker, Jokic, Doncic, LeBron and Butler (and the injured Curry).
I honestly wouldn't trust Wembanyama (instead of ANT) to carry the Wolves in last year's playoffs.

We haven't even seen Wembanyama carry a team in the regular season to a playoff birth.
It may happen, but not in 2025-26, and all we're talking about is 2025-26... not Wembanyama's 10-year ceiling... (though even that is not a given, considering the history of players his size and injuries).

[Ssj16]

It's pretty simple to rank Wemby above Ant. Any knowledgeable basketball fan would know that Wemby has a higher ceiling than Ant.

If they both remain healthy, it would be surprising if Ant ever reaches a higher peak than Wemby based on what we've seen so far in Ant's career.

This "Ant unquestionably ahead of Wemby" take has a chance to be one of the worst takes ever.

Call me when Wembanyama has eliminated some superstars from the playoffs as ANT has - Durant, Booker, Jokic, Doncic, LeBron and Butler (and the injured Curry).
I honestly wouldn't trust Wembanyama (instead of ANT) to carry the Wolves in last year's playoffs.

We haven't even seen Wembanyama carry a team in the regular season to a playoff birth.
It may happen, but not in 2025-26, and all we're talking about is 2025-26... not Wembanyama's 10-year ceiling... (though even that is not a given, considering the history of players his size and injuries).

Ant is a good player but he's never even reached the heights of Lebron or Jokic, despite his team's beating them. Wemby has the talent that shows a trajectory that he could be mentioned in the same breath as those guys.

Ant as a lot more work to do if he wants to be possibly considered a top 10 player of all time.

[bonita_the_frog]

This "Ant unquestionably ahead of Wemby" take has a chance to be one of the worst takes ever.

Call me when Wembanyama has eliminated some superstars from the playoffs as ANT has - Durant, Booker, Jokic, Doncic, LeBron and Butler (and the injured Curry).
I honestly wouldn't trust Wembanyama (instead of ANT) to carry the Wolves in last year's playoffs.

We haven't even seen Wembanyama carry a team in the regular season to a playoff birth.
It may happen, but not in 2025-26, and all we're talking about is 2025-26... not Wembanyama's 10-year ceiling... (though even that is not a given, considering the history of players his size and injuries).

Ant is a good player but he's never even reached the heights of Lebron or Jokic, despite his team's beating them. Wemby has the talent that shows a trajectory that he could be mentioned in the same breath as those guys.

Ant as a lot more work to do if he wants to be possibly considered a top 10 player of all time.

Wembanyama is a good player, while ANT has already reached TWO Western Conference Finals as the #1 option, and ANT's ceiling is unlimited, because within one season he went from being just a part-time 3-point-shooter to being the BEST off-the-dribble 3-point shooter in the NBA.
Whereas Wembanyama's ceiling is limited by physicality (he stays away from the paint, because he knows his body can't take it).
But again, even if we assume Wembanyama survives the rigors of the NBA long-term, we are only talking about 2025-26.

[NZB2323]

ANT's underrated, he's led his team to TWO Western Conference Finals in a row, despite having a different #2 each year (Kat and Randle), and both #2s are known for being flawed... ANT has done more than Wemby can even dream of doing at this point...
ANT has eliminated Durant, Booker, Jokic, Doncic, LeBron and Butler from the playoffs (and the injured Curry).
ANT played 42 playoff games for averages of 26.9 points, .468 field, .377 threes, 6.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.9 blocks, 2.7 turnovers.

Ant also had Gobert as a 3rd star for each run.

I don’t know how you’d say top 5 is underrated. Those stats don’t make him better than Jokic, Giannis, Luka, SGA, or the monster that Wemby will be this season. I just hope he stays healthy, because if so Wemby will put up some stat lines that we’ve never seen before, like games where he has 5+ blocks and 5+ threes.

Its impossible for any intelligent person to rate Wembanyama ahead of ANT.

Wemby watch:

1st game of the season he puts up 40 points and 15 rebounds on 74.1 TS% with 3 blocks and a +/- of +31, but it’s “impossible for any intelligent person to rate Wemby ahead of Ant.”

[Ssj16]

Call me when Wembanyama has eliminated some superstars from the playoffs as ANT has - Durant, Booker, Jokic, Doncic, LeBron and Butler (and the injured Curry).
I honestly wouldn't trust Wembanyama (instead of ANT) to carry the Wolves in last year's playoffs.

We haven't even seen Wembanyama carry a team in the regular season to a playoff birth.
It may happen, but not in 2025-26, and all we're talking about is 2025-26... not Wembanyama's 10-year ceiling... (though even that is not a given, considering the history of players his size and injuries).

Ant is a good player but he's never even reached the heights of Lebron or Jokic, despite his team's beating them. Wemby has the talent that shows a trajectory that he could be mentioned in the same breath as those guys.

Ant as a lot more work to do if he wants to be possibly considered a top 10 player of all time.

Wembanyama is a good player, while ANT has already reached TWO Western Conference Finals as the #1 option, and ANT's ceiling is unlimited, because within one season he went from being just a part-time 3-point-shooter to being the BEST off-the-dribble 3-point shooter in the NBA.
Whereas Wembanyama's ceiling is limited by physicality (he stays away from the paint, because he knows his body can't take it).
But again, even if we assume Wembanyama survives the rigors of the NBA long-term, we are only talking about 2025-26.

There's levels to this. Luka, Jokic, Giannis and SGA are all in a different tier. They either won a finals MVP, regular season MVP or made it to the finals.

Ant is in a tier below with Haliburton, Brunson and I would even say Tatum as well.

Sadly the players in that second tier haven't really shown consistently that they have the ability to join that first tier of players though it's possible they can get their.

Wemby's skillset has already shown that he's capable of cracking the top tier. Not everyone is meant to be in the conversation of Greatest Player in the League or else you could put so many names of people who made the Conference finals and up like Jalen Brown, Jaylen Williams, KAT etc.

You can keep talking about Ant making it to the conference finals twice which is impressive but he's still a tier below the greatest players in the league which is shown in MVP voting and the fact he hasn't been to the finals like all the top tier players mentioned in that list.

I highly doubt Wemby will make the finals this year but if he's healthy, he was for sure pass Ant in the MVP votes not to mention be a lock for DPOY.

[bonita_the_frog]

There's levels to this. Luka, Jokic, Giannis and SGA are all in a different tier. They either won a finals MVP, regular season MVP or made it to the finals.

Ant is in a tier below with Haliburton, Brunson and I would even say Tatum as well.

Sadly the players in that second tier haven't really shown consistently that they have the ability to join that first tier of players though it's possible they can get their.

Wemby's skillset has already shown that he's capable of cracking the top tier. Not everyone is meant to be in the conversation of Greatest Player in the League or else you could put so many names of people who made the Conference finals and up like Jalen Brown, Jaylen Williams, KAT etc.

You can keep talking about Ant making it to the conference finals twice which is impressive but he's still a tier below the greatest players in the league which is shown in MVP voting and the fact he hasn't been to the finals like all the top tier players mentioned in that list.

I highly doubt Wemby will make the finals this year but if he's healthy, he was for sure pass Ant in the MVP votes not to mention be a lock for DPOY.

What was Giannis and Jokic in their 4th year? ANT was eliminating PEAK Jokic... ANT averaged 27.6 points, .481 field, .400 threes, 7.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists in the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
Giannis didn't reach the Conference Finals until the 2019 playoffs (losing to Toronto in 6, after Milwaukee led 2-0), his 6th year in the NBA.
Jokic didn't reach the Conference Finals until the 2020 playoffs (losing to the Lakers in 5), his 5th year in the NBA, and didn't reach the NBA Finals until his 8th year.

And you talk about Haliburton making the Finals, ah because he plays in the EAST, as does Tatum (btw Tatum couldn't win Finals MVP).
Wemby's skill-set doesn't count for much if he keeps wasting his height on chucking threes all day... last season 8.8 attempts per game, .352 shooting.

[Ssj16]

Wembanyama is a good player, while ANT has already reached TWO Western Conference Finals as the #1 option, and ANT's ceiling is unlimited, because within one season he went from being just a part-time 3-point-shooter to being the BEST off-the-dribble 3-point shooter in the NBA.
Whereas Wembanyama's ceiling is limited by physicality (he stays away from the paint, because he knows his body can't take it).
But again, even if we assume Wembanyama survives the rigors of the NBA long-term, we are only talking about 2025-26.

There's levels to this. Luka, Jokic, Giannis and SGA are all in a different tier. They either won a finals MVP, regular season MVP or made it to the finals.

Ant is in a tier below with Haliburton, Brunson and I would even say Tatum as well.

Sadly the players in that second tier haven't really shown consistently that they have the ability to join that first tier of players though it's possible they can get their.

Wemby's skillset has already shown that he's capable of cracking the top tier. Not everyone is meant to be in the conversation of Greatest Player in the League or else you could put so many names of people who made the Conference finals and up like Jalen Brown, Jaylen Williams, KAT etc.

You can keep talking about Ant making it to the conference finals twice which is impressive but he's still a tier below the greatest players in the league which is shown in MVP voting and the fact he hasn't been to the finals like all the top tier players mentioned in that list.

I highly doubt Wemby will make the finals this year but if he's healthy, he was for sure pass Ant in the MVP votes not to mention be a lock for DPOY.

What was Giannis and Jokic in their 4th year? ANT was eliminating PEAK Jokic... ANT averaged 27.6 points, .481 field, .400 threes, 7.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists in the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
And you talk about Haliburton making the Finals, ah because he plays in the EAST, as does Tatum (btw Tatum couldn't win Finals MVP).
Wemby's skill-set doesn't count for much if he keeps wasting his height on chucking threes all day... last season 8.8 attempts per game, .352 shooting.

What was Jokic's stats that series, please remind me. Take away Gobert, KAT and Naz Reid and Denver advances.

No one thinks Ant is in the same convo as Jokic and the other top tier players. You're the first person I've heard make this case. Also we're talking about Wemby's potential. He clearly has a higher potential than Ant.

[bonita_the_frog]

What was Jokic's stats that series, please remind me. Take away Gobert, KAT and Naz Reid and Denver advances.

No one thinks Ant is in the same convo as Jokic and the other top tier players. You're the first person I've heard make this case. Also we're talking about Wemby's potential. He clearly has a higher potential than Ant.

Ah, I never even mentioned tiers... you did, so you can't have heard anything about TIERS from me.
I've never even posted the word TIERS on this forum, because tiers are too subjective and mean nothing.

Let's check the trajectory of Jokic-
Jokic didn't reach the Conference Finals until the 2020 playoffs (losing to the Lakers in 5), his 5th year in the NBA, and didn't reach the NBA Finals until his 8th year.

Oh so you have to take away ANT's big men, just so Jokic can advance? That makes Jokic look awfully weak...

[bonita_the_frog]

Ant also had Gobert as a 3rd star for each run.

I don’t know how you’d say top 5 is underrated. Those stats don’t make him better than Jokic, Giannis, Luka, SGA, or the monster that Wemby will be this season. I just hope he stays healthy, because if so Wemby will put up some stat lines that we’ve never seen before, like games where he has 5+ blocks and 5+ threes.

Its impossible for any intelligent person to rate Wembanyama ahead of ANT.

Wemby watch:

1st game of the season he puts up 40 points and 15 rebounds on 74.1 TS% with 3 blocks and a +/- of +31, but it’s “impossible for any intelligent person to rate Wemby ahead of Ant.”

November 2023 ROOKIE Wembanyama @ Phoenix = 38 points, 10 rebounds, 15-26 field, 3-6 threes, 5-6 free-throws
March 2024 ROOKIE Wembanyama vs Knicks = 40 points, 20 rebounds, 7 assists, 13-22 field, 4-9 threes, 10-12 free-throws
And last season Wembayama scored 50 points vs. Washington, 42 points vs. Atlanta, and 42 points @ New York.

Wembanyama already had high-scoring and efficient games last season and the season before, but NOBODY rated him ahead of ANT last season or the season before.
What has changed?

[NZB2323]

Its impossible for any intelligent person to rate Wembanyama ahead of ANT.

Wemby watch:

1st game of the season he puts up 40 points and 15 rebounds on 74.1 TS% with 3 blocks and a +/- of +31, but it’s “impossible for any intelligent person to rate Wemby ahead of Ant.”

November 2023 ROOKIE Wembanyama @ Phoenix = 38 points, 10 rebounds, 15-26 field, 3-6 threes, 5-6 free-throws
March 2024 ROOKIE Wembanyama vs Knicks = 40 points, 20 rebounds, 7 assists, 13-22 field, 4-9 threes, 10-12 free-throws
And last season Wembayama scored 50 points vs. Washington, 42 points vs. Atlanta, and 42 points @ New York.

Wembanyama already had high-scoring and efficient games last season and the season before, but NOBODY rated him ahead of ANT last season or the season before.
What has changed?

He turns 22 this year.

Jordan, Duncan, and LeBron were all much better the seasons they were 22 than the seasons they were 21.

I think all 22 year olds would be projected to be rated higher in seasons where they’re 22 than the past season where they were 21.