NBA Rank top 10 is here: SGA, Jokic or Wemby at No. 1? — SkimNews
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- ESPN overhauled its NBA Rank voting panel from more than 100 insiders to seven experts — Ben Golliver, Vincent Goodwill, Zach Kram, Bobby Marks, Dave McMenamin, André Snellings, and Matt "Stats" Williams — who ranked players on predicted 2026-27 regular-season contributions only.
- Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Victor Wembanyama finished within three voting points of each other for No. 1, with each topping at least one panelist's individual ballot.
- Donovan Mitchell rose from No. 15 to No. 10 after leading the Cavaliers to their first Eastern Conference finals in his nine-year career, now paired with new teammate James Harden in a four-All-Star lineup.
- Jayson Tatum debuted at No. 9 after missing last year's rankings due to a May 2025 Achilles tear, while the Celtics traded co-star Jaylen Brown to the 76ers in the offseason.
- Cade Cunningham vaulted from No. 12 to No. 8 after first-team All-NBA honors and leading the Pistons to their first 60-win season in 20 years, though his 5.6 turnovers per game in the 2026 playoffs set an NBA record for any player in a postseason run of at least 10 games.
- Anthony Edwards earned the best-two-way-wing mantle during Tatum's absence with a career-high 28.8 points per game, as the Timberwolves traded for LaMelo Ball this offseason.
- Jalen Brunson climbed from No. 10 to No. 6 after powering the Knicks to their first NBA title in over 50 years and earning Finals MVP; the article notes no team has repeated as champion since the 2017-18 Warriors.
Why it matters: The Knicks are now the league's biggest target in a deeper-than-decades Eastern Conference, while Detroit's 60-win Pistons need a secondary creator — not just Duncan Robinson and Isaiah Joe — to balance Cunningham's record-setting turnover problem and convert regular-season success into playoff runs.
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