10 Best Players in the NBA Right Now! Determining the best of the best is hard and with the talent level in the NBA at its peak, it’s even harder. If you follow NBA then you might have your own list of the best players.
Each of the teams in the league has at least one, if not two star players in the present scenario. And for the list of ten, we cannot include them all.
The players who were best a year back might not be even on the radar this year.
Before we plunge into the top 10 NBA players, some honorable mentions left out of the top 10 are James Harden, Klay Thompson, Devin Booker, Jimmy Butler, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Also, please check out the listing table below.
Quick Overview
| Player | Team |
| 10. Ja Morant | Memphis Grizzlies |
| 9. Anthony Davis | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 8. LeBron James | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 7. Luca Doncic | Dallas Mavericks |
| 6. Jayson Tatum | Boston Celtics |
| 5. Joel Embidd | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 4. Nikola Jokic | Denver Nuggets |
| 3. Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors |
| 2. Kevin Durant | Brooklyn Nets |
| 1. Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks |
Best NBA Players
#10 Ja Morant
Position: Point Guard
We are starting our list of the 10 best NBA players with 24-year-old point guard for Memphis Grizzlies, Ja Morant.
He was drafted by the Grizzlies second overall in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft. The following season he was named the NBA Rookie of the Year.
The young talent signed a 5 year $194.3 million designated rookie contract extension with the Grizzlies on July 6, 2022.
This season Morant has been performing exceptionally well for Memphis.
In fact, in the second game of the season, he recorded 49 points on October 21 in a 129-122 win over Houston Rockets.
Similarly, with 83 points he set the Grizzlies franchise mark for most points scored through the first two games of a season.
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# Anthony Davis
Position: Center/ Power Forward
On number 9 we have 2.08 meters power forward for Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony Davis.
Davis was selected by the New Orleans Pelicans as the first overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.
Following his rookie season, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Davis boasts a game-changing presence on the floor when he’s healthy and fit.
But, because of his injury Lakers as a whole have suffered.
On December 3, 2020, Davis signed a 5-year $189.9 million contract with the Lakers with the full amount guaranteed.
And because of his right calf and heel issues, he was sidelined for 30 games, the longest absence of his career for the 2020-21 season.
# LeBron James
Position: Power/Small Forward
King James, is one of the most famous names in the basketball scene around the world.
And there is no way we could have missed him on our list.
In LeBron’s case, we don’t even have to explain because the numbers say it all. He has four NBA championships, four NBA Finals MVPs, four NBA Most Valuable Player, and a whopping eighteen NBA All-Star.
Even though his recent gameplay seems a little turbulent, James is one of the greatest and most decorated players in NBA history.
James, a prep-to-pro was drafted first by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA Draft.
On August 18, 2022, LeBron signed a two-year $97.1 million deal with the Lakers making him the highest-paid athlete in the history of the NBA at $528.9 million. With this deal, he surpassed Kevin Durant in all-time earnings.
Similarly, he made his 2,144th three-pointer on October 20 surpassing Paul Pierce for tenth in total NBA career three-pointers made.
# Luca Doncic
Position: Point/Shooting Guard
The seventh spot on our list goes to the Slovenian professional basketball player Luca Doncic who currently plays for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association.
Doncic was selected by the Atlanta Hawks as the third overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
However, he was traded to the Mavericks in exchange for the draft rights to Trae Young.
On August 10, 2021, Luca signed a 5-year $215.16 million designated rookie contract extension with the Dallas Mavericks with an average annual salary of $43,031,940.
This easily makes him one of the highest-earning NBA players.
Talking about his most recent gameplay, Luca recorded 32 points On October 22, 2022, in a 137-96 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
With this, he became the fourth player since the merger to record 7,000 career points in less than 270 games joining the likes of LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, and Michael Jordan.
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# Jayson Tatum
Position: Power/Small Forward
Jayson Tatum is a small forward for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association.
The Duke University alumnus Tatum was drafted third by the Celtics in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Jayson was named the NBA Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player in 2022 and helped his team reach the NBA Finals.
Besides, he also won a gold in the 2020 U.S Olympics in Tokyo.
On November 25, 2022, he signed a 5 year $163 million maximum rookie scale extension with the Celtics.
This includes the 2025 player option and language for 30% rookie supermax.
# Joel Embiid
Position: Center/Power Forward
The 30-year-old Cameroonian professional basketball player Joel Embiid plays for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association.
Embiid was drafted third overall by the 76ers in the 2014 NBA Draft.
On August 2021, Joel signed a four-year, $196 million extension contract with the 76ers.
During the 2021-22 season, Embiid led the NBA in scoring and became the first center and seven-footer since Shaquille O’Neal to average over 30 points per game.
Furthermore, he is a four-time member of the All-NBA Team and a five-time NBA All-Star.
# Nikola Jokic
Position: Center
The 2.11 meters Serbian professional basketball player Nikola Jokic plays for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association.
A four-time NBA All-Star won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons.
He was drafted by the Nuggets in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft.
Nicknamed the ‘Joker’, he was voted to the NBA All-Rookie First team in 2016.
On July 2022, the Joker signed the largest supermax contract extension in NBA history with the Nuggets worth $264 million.
Moreover, on October 21, 2022, Jokic recorded his 77th career triple-double in a 128-123 win over the Golden State Warriors.
In the very next game, he recorded another triple-double in a 122-117 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder. This tied his record with Wilt Chamberlain for the sixth all-time.
However, this would not last long as he surpassed Chamberlain for the most triple-doubles of all time by a center with 79 on November 3.
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# Stephen Curry
Position: Point Guard
We’ve reached the top three of the 10 Best NBA Players.
The third position on the list goes to the greatest shooter of all time the one the only Stephen Curry.
The infamous shooter of the generation plays as a point guard for the Golden State Warriors.
Stephen Curry is the son of former NBA player Dell Curry and the brother of current NBA player Seth Curry.
Curry was selected with the seventh overall pick by the Warriors in the 2009 NBA Draft.
The Davidson Wildcats alumnus has four NBA championships to his name; 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022.
He set the NBA record for three-pointers made in a regular season, with 272 during the 2012-13 season.
Since then he has surpassed his own record two times; 286 in 2015 and 402 in 2016.
# Kevin Durant
Position: Small/Power Forward
The two times NBA champion Kevin Durant aka KD is one of the greatest basketball players who currently plays as a small forward for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association.
The 2.8 meters player was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics as the second overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.
He played for the team for nine seasons and then signed with the Golden State Warriors in 2016.
With the Warriors, he won two consecutive NBA championships in 2017 and 2018.
On August 2021, KD signed a 4 year $194.22 million contract extension with the Nets.
However, on June 2022, it was reported that KD had requested a trade from the team. Two months after that he withdrew his trade request after meeting the Nets management team.
On November 9, 2022, he recorded 29 points in a 112-85 win over the New York Knicks.
Kevin became the first player since the legend Michael Jordan to score at least 25 points in his team’s first 12 games.
# Giannis Antetokounmpo
Position: Power Forward
Giannis Antetokounmpo has to be the biggest name in the current NBA scene.
He is a Greek-Nigerian professional basketball player who plays as a power forward for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball League.
The ‘Greek Freak’ was drafted by the Bucks in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft.
He has been dominating the league ever since.
Antetokounmpo is one of the most decorated players in NBA history. He won the consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player Awards in 2019 and 2020.
Along with MVP, he was also named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2020. This made him the only third player after Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan to win both awards in the same season.
Moreover, Antetokounmpo is one of the highest-earning NBA players.
On December 15, 2020, he signed a 5-year $228.2 million designated maximum contract extension with the Bucks including a 2025 player option.
If everything goes well he will earn a $51,935,268 base salary in the 2025-26 season.
On October 22, 2022, Antetokounmpo recorded 44 points and 12 rebounds playing less than 28 minutes in a 125–105 win over the Houston Rockets.
This marked just the fifth time in NBA history a player had scored at least 44 points while playing for less than 28 minutes.
In 2022, the biopic Rise was released based on the life of Giannis and his family.
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