RealGM

Oh hey again good pals. This is the thing where we rank the top 25 NBA players for 2025-26 hooray.

This is the last round, so no need to nominate anyone. One of these players will receive the massive honor of placing in our poll and everyone else will be sad. Thanks for participating you guys!

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Results so far:

#1: Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets with 63% of the votes;
Added to next poll: Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2472330

#2: Shai Gilgeous Alexander, OKC Thunder with 54% of the votes;
Added to next poll: Anthony Davis, Dallas Mavericks
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2472418

#3: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks with 50% of the vote
Added to next poll: Jalen Williams, OKC Thunder
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2472506

#4: Luka Doncic, LA Lakers with 62% of votes;
Added to next poll: Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2472644

#5: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs with 60% of the vote;
Added to next poll: Kevin Durant, Houston Rockets
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2472702

#6: Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves with 41% of votes;
Added to next poll: Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2472754

#7: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors with 30% of the votes;
Added to next poll: Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2472918

#8: Anthony Davis, Dallas Mavericks with 46% of the vote;
Added to next poll: Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2473076

#9: Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks with 36% of votes;
Added to next poll: Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=119556568#p119556568

#10: Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers with 29% of votes;
Added to next poll: Pascal Siakam, Indiana Pacers
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2473174

#11: Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons with 27% of votes;
Added to next poll: Chet Holmgren, OKC Thunder
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2473228

#12: Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers with 31% of votes
Added to next poll: Karl-Anthony Towns, NY Knicks
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2473294

#13: Kevin Durant, Houston Rockets with 29% of votes
Added to next poll: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2473394

#14: Jalen Williams, OKC Thunder with 31% of votes;
Added to next poll: Jimmy Butler, GSW
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2473480

#15: Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic with 34% of votes;
Adde to next poll: Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=119580758#p119580758

#16: Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics with 35% of votes;
Added to next poll: Derrick White, Boston Celtics
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2473652

#17: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers with 40% of votes;
Added to next poll: Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2473716

#18: Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns with 28% of votes;
Added to next poll: Amen Thompson, Houston Rockets
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2473780

#19: Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers with 31% of votes;
Added to next poll: Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2473874

#20: Pascal Siakam, Indiana Pacers with 19% of votes;
Added to next poll: Rudy Gobert, Minnesota Timberwolves
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2473956

#21: Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets with 18% of votes;
Added to next poll: Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2474090

#22: Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic with 21% of votes;
Added to next poll: Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2474184

#23: Jimmy Butler, Golden State Warriors with 23% of votes;
Added to next poll: Ivica Zubac, LA Clippers
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2474252

#24: Karl-Anthony Towns, NY Knicks with 32% of votes;
Added to final poll: Jaren Jackson Jr, Memphis Grizzlies
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2474320

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Enjoy!

bisme37 wrote:This is the last round, so no need to nominate anyone.

Screw it.

Nominate: Daniel Theis

Vote Chet; he's been a pretty steady #2, and though I've been on the Trae Young train for the last few votes, let's get this one over with and give it to Chet.

Nominate myself

Gobert

Vote Chet Holmgren

Nominate Cash Considerations

Clav wrote:Nominate Cash Considerations

Crazy nomination before Heavily Protected 2nd Round Draft Pick is nominated

Voted Joel Embiid.

The biggest difference between this list and how we'll look at it next year is where he's gonna be located.

Also respect to Ivica Zubac, James Harden, and Zion Williamson who were excluded from this list, even though they will end up top 25.

Unfair additions to the list:

LeBron James
Stephen Curry
Karl-Anthony Towns
Jaylen Brown

These will be misses as well, they will not end up top 25.

We will have fun spinning back next summer.

Does anyone have the link to last year's list? We should do a retrospective...

Vote: Chet

The only way he's not a top 25 guy this year is if he's injured, or if OKC confines his role. Either are possible. Even at his current level, I think he bring top 25 value with this versatile spacing (teams react to his shot and he's a good driver with handles) and elite rim protection. His defense alone gets him high up the rankings.

Embiid is the guy it's crazy to see him tumble out of our projected top 25. I think everyone knows how good Embiid is, but we all need him to prove his health is going to allow him to continue to play, and play at a high level. The knee stuff last year has many of us contemplating his retirement. Crazy that a guy we might leave off the top 25, is a candidate to be a top 5 player this year. The Sixers have gone a bit silent on his health, so we don't even really have much to go off of.

jowglenn wrote:Does anyone have the link to last year's list? We should do a retrospective...

Couldn't find last years, but Electric Mayhem posted 2024 and a bunch of past results a while back:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2320792&hilit=top+25

Voted Chet
Nominate George Niang

Thanks for running this Bisme

Voted for T Young

Agree with what cupcakesnake said about Embiid.

I think Chet continues to be a 3rd option for OKC, so I can't vote for him over guys who will be 1st options and the focal point of other teams' defenses.

For me this was basically some crazy coin flip between Ja, Trae, and Zion. Like Harden, I just don't think Zion has the drive and I don't think he's in the right environment for him to get his ish together. Ja and Trae both have a chance to do something special. I'll go with Young here because he has the potential to be top-5 in both scoring and assists.

cupcakesnake wrote:

jowglenn wrote:Does anyone have the link to last year's list? We should do a retrospective...

Couldn't find last years, but Electric Mayhem posted 2024 and a bunch of past results a while back:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2320792&hilit=top+25

I think this is last year:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2406391&p=114891505&hilit

V Chet Oxtails Holmgren

Vote White
Nominate Vacant Roster spot

So if OKC has three if the top 25 guys in the league they win like 70 games no?

bisme37 wrote:

cupcakesnake wrote:

jowglenn wrote:Does anyone have the link to last year's list? We should do a retrospective...

Couldn't find last years, but Electric Mayhem posted 2024 and a bunch of past results a while back:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2320792&hilit=top+25

I think this is last year:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2406391&p=114891505&hilit

Little did we know that #2 would be traded for #11 a few months later.

Mark my words, Zubac been lurking in these threads all summer rubbin his hands licking his chops gearing up for an all-nba top 10 mvp season! 25 hyperlinks of bulletin board material!

Voted Ja.

Thank you for running this Bisme!

brackdan70 wrote:So if OKC has three if the top 25 guys in the league they win like 70 games no?

There's nothing crazy about this. They won 68 games last year. Based on pure net rating, they were expected to win 69: https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/league/summary

We could call them unlucky.

And they did that all with Isaiah Hartenstein missing 29 games and Chet Holmgren missing 50 games.

If I'm being honest, I think it's more likely than not that they win less than 68 games this season (let alone 70), just because you have to be somewhat lucky with injuries. However I can easily see a world where they win 70 games. I'd say it's a solid 30% chance. They have all the pieces.