NBA Rank's hottest hot-button topics -- and what league execs think about the three-player battle for No. 1 — SkimNews
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- ESPN's voting panel split the No. 1 spot among Nikola Jokic (694 points), Victor Wembanyama (693), and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (691), with only three points separating the top three finishers
- League executives surveyed by ESPN delivered passionate arguments for all three players, citing Jokic's offensive orchestration, Wembanyama's two-way impact and San Antonio's 62-win season, and Gilgeous-Alexander's back-to-back MVPs
- OG Anunoby ranked No. 34 despite shooting 48.9% on 3-pointers and emerging as New York's second-highest scorer during the Knicks' championship playoff run, with ESPN's voters citing skepticism about his ceiling as a primary playmaker
- Walker Kessler jumped 25 spots to No. 73 despite playing just five games in 2025-26 due to shoulder surgery, with the bump attributed to his trade to a Doncic-led Lakers team after 67% of his career baskets were assisted
- Jayson Tatum landed at No. 9, down from No. 5 in his last healthy season, as voters weighed his May 2025 Achilles tear against his 18-month projected recovery by opening night
- Donovan Mitchell's No. 10 ranking drew more online pushback than any other top-tier placement, despite his All-NBA second-team selection, seventh-place MVP finish, and first career conference finals appearance
- NBA lottery reform is expected to shift player valuations across the list, with executives naming the Jazz, Pacers, and Wizards as franchises whose players could see perception gains once tanking incentives disappear
Why it matters: NBA Rank functions as the league's most-debated preseason artifact because its conclusions shape media narratives and MVP framing for the entire year. With Jokic, Wembanyama, and Gilgeous-Alexander separated by a single point at the top and front offices split on who deserves the crown, the 2026-27 MVP race enters the season without a consensus favorite — and the new anti-tanking lottery rules could quietly recalibrate how dozens of mid-tier players on losing teams are perceived.
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