RGM Top 25 NBA Player Poll 2025-26 -- Round 20!

[bisme37]

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

Basically vote for 1 of the guys in the poll, and you can also post a comment that nominates a player to be added for the next round of voting. Then a day or two later I'll pop in and make the next poll.

So like: "Vote Jokic, nominate Kuzma." Or whatever.

If you change your mind, the poll is set up so you can change your vote as often as you'd like until the poll closes and the next thread goes up. (The poll is limited to 10 options.)

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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

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Not yet added:
Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
James Harden, LA Clippers
Rudy Gobert, Minnesota Timberwolves
Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers
Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors
Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
De'Aaron Fox, San Antonio Spurs
Julius Randle, Minnesota Timberwolves
Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat
Lamelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets
Jaren Jackson Jr, Memphis Grizzlies
Tyler Herro, Miami Heat
Lauri Markannen, Utah Jazz
Ivica Zubac, LA Clippers
Paul George, Philadelphia 76ers
Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings
Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets
Brandon Ingram, Toronto Raptors
Jalen Green, Phoenix Suns
OG Anunoby, NY Knicks
Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks
Kristaps Porzingis, Atlanta Hawks
Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers
Jarrett Allen, Cleveland Cavaliers
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
DeMar DeRozan, Sacramento Kings
Zach Lavine, Sacramento Kings
Jrue Holiday, Portland Trailblazers
A Bull?
A Wizard?
Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
Neemias Queta, Boston Celtics
Etc etc.

This is meant to be a projection of player rankings for this coming season. Guys like Tatum ( ), Hali and Dame are likely not playing, so I begrudgingly left them out.

Enjoy!

[brackdan70]

Been going KAT for a few rounds now.
Reviews all the remaining guys. I think Derrick White is actually the standout here.
Voted White
Nominate Gobert

[dhsilv2]

Sticking with Chet, I expect a huge blow up this year. Year 3 is always big, and if he's healthy he's going to thrive. Yes, I'm expecting a 70 win type year from OKC.

Nominate Gobert

FYI next on my list is either Harden or Wagner. Harden largely because I see Leonard potentially getting punish pretty harsh and the metrics really showed Harden still a top 15 impact guy last year. I'm happy to be conservative with him and those metrics but he should be in the group. Meanwhile is Embiid even playing? Like...healthy Embiid is a star, duh. But I'm not sure he plays.

[Caneman786]

Voted Joel Embiid
Nominated Zion Williamson

[MoreyWins]

Voted Sengun (Predicting All-NBA)
Nominate Garland (Predicting All-Star)

[SkyHook]

V Towns
N Gobert

[Clav]

V Siakam train still
N Harden


I see that sneaky addition of Neemias Queta on the list you wrote bisme!

[jowglenn]

Voted Siakam (I'm a homer)
Nominate Zion

[iggymcfrack]

Can the streak continue of 6 straight picks that wouldn’t be in my top 4 selections? Maybe Embiid this time?

Voting Chet still.

Nominating JJJ.

[dhsilv2]

Voted Joel Embiid
Nominated Zion Williamson

Do either play 30 games next year?

[SA37]

Voted for Jimmy Butler

Nominate Ja Morant

Embiid has the biggest upside, but I am not sure his knee(s?) are going to hold up. For me it was between KAT and Butler. Butler is likely to coast through the regular season and his numbers won't be nearly as good as they could be, but I think he can still be Jimmy Buckets when he needs to. KAT should have another great year and, if the Knicks do well enough, he's going to have a good shot of making the all-NBA 2nd team.

[brackdan70]

Voted Joel Embiid
Nominated Zion Williamson

Do either play 30 games next year?

I’d bet they both play 30….but not 50.

[brackdan70]

Voted for Jimmy Butler

Nominate Ja Morant

Embiid has the biggest upside, but I am not sure his knee(s?) are going to hold up. For me it was between KAT and Butler. Butler is likely to coast through the regular season and his numbers won't be nearly as good as they could be, but I think he can still be Jimmy Buckets when he needs to. KAT should have another great year and, if the Knicks do well enough, he's going to have a good shot of making the all-NBA 2nd team.

So if Jimmy coasts through the regular season on a team that is unlikely to win a playoff series…well that doesn’t really equate to a top 20 player to me…especially given his age.

[SA37]

Voted for Jimmy Butler

Nominate Ja Morant

Embiid has the biggest upside, but I am not sure his knee(s?) are going to hold up. For me it was between KAT and Butler. Butler is likely to coast through the regular season and his numbers won't be nearly as good as they could be, but I think he can still be Jimmy Buckets when he needs to. KAT should have another great year and, if the Knicks do well enough, he's going to have a good shot of making the all-NBA 2nd team.

So if Jimmy coasts through the regular season on a team that is unlikely to win a playoff series…well that doesn’t really equate to a top 20 player to me…especially given his age.

Yeah, the common thread throughout this voting process has been people saying X player will be bad because he is X age.

As I said in another thread, I'd love to see a team of old guys play a season:

Paul / Westbrook
Curry/ Harden
Durant / Butler
LeBron / Batum
Lopez / Horford

I think that team probably wins the title.

Anyway, Jimmy Butler "coasts" in the sense that he isn't a high volume shooter and he plays pretty passively on offense for a guy of his skill level. For much of his career, Butler has been a 20-22ppg guy while only shooting 13-14 times per game. Maybe he'll be a little more aggressive in GS, although if his play with them last year is any indication, it looks like he's going to continue down this path. (Down 2-1 to Minny in the playoffs, Butler shot a total of 20 shots in the next two games -- both losses.)

In any case, whatever his output is, it won't be representative of how good Butler is when he's locked in. Maybe Jimmy Buckets no longer exists, but I am not counting him or Golden State out yet.

[Bornstellar]

Voted Siakam. Nominate Fox

[Caneman786]

Voted Joel Embiid
Nominated Zion Williamson

Do either play 30 games next year?

They just might.

[Pistol_Pete10]

Vote: Embiid
Nominate: Sabonis

[The Number 9]

Vote Young
Nominate Morant

[BruttoNostra]

Voted Joel Embiid
Nominated Zion Williamson

Do either play 30 games next year?

Not even combined

[bisme37]

Pascal Siakam is our pick for #20 hooray
Rudy Gobert added to next poll

Continue voting here: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2474090