As we remain in the doldrums of the NBA offseason, today, we begin our annual series in which we project the top players at each position for the campaign ahead.
We begin with the Top 27 point guards for the 2026-27 season, a project that was not easy to put together, as the point guard position is arguably the most loaded in the NBA today. The Top 2 feature MVP-caliber talents, the third-place finisher here finished Top 5 in the MVP vote himself, and a player who only just cracked the Top 5 led his team to a championship and earned Finals MVP honors just last year.
Just missed the cut: Kingston Flemings, Andrew Nembhard, Davion Mitchell
27. Darius Acuff (Sacramento)
2026-27 salary: $8,021,640 (204th overall)
The reigning No. 7 overall pick and one of just two rookie point guards in this ranking, Sacramento Kings guard Darius Acuff Jr.
Acuff enters the NBA with some hype, as he’s coming off a one-and-done season at Arkansas in which he led the SEC in nightly points (23.5) and assists (6.4) while earning consensus All-American status and winning SEC Player of the Year. Acuff even led the Razorbacks to the Sweet 16. The Detroit native even became the first and only player since Pete Maravich to lead the SEC in scoring and assists in the same season, an unfathomably impressive feat.
However, his Summer League was somewhat concerning, as it showed why he fell to being the seventh pick after such an impressive freshman campaign at Arkansas. Acuff averaged 20.8 points and 4.6 assists in Summer League but shot just 35 percent from the floor and 27.8 percent from three, leading some to worry that his tough-shot-making ability won’t translate to the NBA.
Acuff’s shot selection will need work, and his ability to drive and finish against NBA bigs down low will need to be monitored, but the 19-year-old does have upside, which is why he made this ranking.
For the latest Darius Acuff news and rumors, click here.
26. Fred VanVleet (Houston)
2026-27 salary: $25,000,000 (72nd overall)
Coming off missing an entire season due to a torn ACL and meniscus, we’re not entirely sure how Fred VanVleet will look when he returns, now at 32 years old, which is why we have him as low as we do in this ranking.
When healthy, VanVleet is a bulldog of a point guard, a two-way performer who plays with tenacity and toughness on both ends of the floor. VanVleet can hit shots from deep, off the dribble or with his feet set, or finish with floaters closer to the painted area, while also contributing as a playmaker. He’s also quite heady, excelling at putting his teammates into the right positions, performing like another coach on the floor.
A true floor general with championship experience, it was notable how much the Houston Rockets missed VanVleet in his absence last season, and if he’s back at full strength, we think people might be sleeping on Houston’s championship chances in 2026-27.
For the latest Fred VanVleet news and rumors, click here.
25. Jrue Holiday (Portland)
2025-26 stats: 16.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 6.1 apg, 1.0 spg, 45.1 FG%, 37.8 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $34,800,000 (50th overall)
Now 36, veteran floor general Jrue Holiday is the first of three Portland Trail Blazers point guards on this list, which leads us to believe at least one of them could be on the move, either before the season or by the trade deadline. Regardless, Holiday proved he’s got plenty left in the tank last campaign, putting up healthy averages of over 16 points and six assists per game while shooting nearly 38 percent from three.
He was also hugely impactful thanks to his scoring, creating and defending, helping lead Portland to the playoffs despite it being a tumultuous season for the organization. Holiday made the Blazers nearly 10 points per 100 possessions better during his time on the floor in 2025-26, hence why we believe he’ll remain one of the 27 best point guards in the league next season.
For the latest Jrue Holiday news and rumors, click here.
24. Jalen Suggs (Orlando)
2025-26 stats: 13.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 5.5 apg, 1.8 spg, 43.5 FG%, 33.9 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $32,400,000 (58th overall)
After a 2023-24 season that saw him earn 2nd Team All-Defense honors and Defensive Player of the Year votes, Jalen Suggs has missed a lot of time due to injury over the past two seasons, suiting up in just 56.1 percent of possible games during that stretch. In fact, Suggs hasn’t been all that available in his entire Magic career, playing in just 67 percent of potential games during his time in the NBA.
That has to have hampered Suggs’ development to an extent, as the former Gonzaga standout remains a work in progress on offense due to his poor outside shooting and just so-so decision-making as a playmaker. Still, Suggs is lightning fast in the open court with a quick first step and driving ability in the halfcourt, and that’s to go with his elite defending, so he remains a solid starter at the 1.
For the latest Jalen Suggs news and rumors, click here.
23. Anthony Black (Orlando)
2025-26 stats: 15.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.4 spg, 44.7 FG%, 33.3 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $10,105,996 (173rd overall)
Suggs might actually be getting Wally Pipped by the next player in this ranking, Anthony Black, who enjoyed a breakout 2025-26, one that saw the 6-foot-7 point guard post career-highs in points (15.0), rebounds (3.8) and assists (3.7). Black does need to continue working on his three-pointer, as the 22-year-old is 33.8 percent from three for his career. That lack of an outside jumper was exposed in the postseason, when Black averaged just 8.6 points and 1.4 assists on 37.0 percent shooting from the floor.
Still, the upside is evident with Black, a super-sized point guard with versatility on both ends of the floor.
For the latest Anthony Black news and rumors, click here.
22. Immanuel Quickley (Toronto)
2025-26 stats: 16.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 5.9 apg, 1.3 spg, 44.3 FG%, 37.4 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $32,500,000 (57th overall)
The lightning-quick Immanuel Quickley has a smooth crossover, a quick first step and the ability to hit shots from deep and from the midrange, making him difficult to defend. He’s also a solid playmaker out of the pick-and-roll and an adept outside shooter, either with his feet set or off the dribble. If not for the injury troubles he faced late last season, which cost him the playoffs, Quickley might rank higher on this list, as the Kentucky product averaged 17.3 points and 6.0 assists over his first 63 games of the season, and just 8.6 points and 5.1 assists over the final month of the campaign, which saw him miss nine of the season’s final 16 games and the entire postseason.
For the latest Immanuel Quickley news and rumors, click here.
21. Payton Pritchard (Boston)
2025-26 stats: 17.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 5.2 apg, 0.7 spg, 46.4 FG%, 37.7 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $7,767,857 (211th overall)
Boston Celtics shot-caller Brad Stevens received some criticism when he signed bench player Payton Pritchard to a four-year, $30 million fully guaranteed deal early in the 2023-24 season, before he had proven much in the NBA. However, that extension is looking like a stroke of genius in hindsight, as Pritchard is one year removed from winning Sixth Man of the Year, and followed that up by putting up a career-high 17.0 points per game last season on 46.4 percent shooting from the floor, which also saw him start a career-high 50 games.
Pritchard now still has two years and merely $16.1 million left on his deal, while performing like an impactful starter, and it’s that team-friendly contract that should continue to help the Celtics play at the Eastern Conference contender level they have been at for the past half-decade-plus. Pritchard is both quick and strong, and has bombastic shooting range from deep beyond the arc. He can also get hot at a moment’s notice, making him quite an entertaining lead guard to watch.
For the latest Payton Pritchard news and rumors, click here.
20. Ja Morant (Portland)
2025-26 stats: 19.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 8.1 apg, 1.0 spg, 41.0 FG%, 23.5 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $42,166,510 (30th overall)
Portland took a huge risk in trading for Ja Morant this offseason. It’s not that the cost was high (the Blazers merely traded Jerami Grant and Kris Murray for the bouncy floor general), but Morant has been injury-plagued lately in his career, to go with being plagued by poor decision-making off the floor.
Morant has played in just 79 games over the past three seasons, not only due to suspension, but also because of a major shoulder injury, to go with calf soreness and an elbow sprain. And considering Morant’s game is so dependant on elite athleticism while being on the slighter-of-frame-end of the spectrum, there’s legitimate concern as to how he’ll look once he’s back to playing full-time. Will Morant still be that high-flying, super-explosive finisher with the Blazers? Will injuries continue to slow him down?
Morant’s lack of three-point shooting (he’s a career 31.1 percent from three) also raises concerns, especially if he loses a step athletically.
For those reasons, Morant will be one most interesting point guards to watch in 2026-27.
For the latest Ja Morant news and rumors, click here.
19. Josh Giddey (Chicago)
2025-26 stats: 17.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 9.1 apg, 1.0 spg, 44.8 FG%, 36.4 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $25,000,000 (72nd overall)
Only 12 players in NBA history have put up a 17/7/8 stat line for a season, and Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey is one of them.
That stat line is indicative of the type of player Giddey is, as the Australian lead guard is an elite rebounder for his position, as well as a top playmaker, one with an exciting and creative flair to his passing. Giddey has also done well to improve his outside shooting, his biggest weakness entering the NBA, with the 23-year-old shooting 37-plus percent from three since getting to Chicago two seasons ago.
Giddey’s defense remains lacking, and he’s not the most athletic finisher around the basket, nor does he have the quickest first step. But he can create out of the pick-and-roll, as well as hit some jumpers off the dribble in the midrange, making him an effective player with the ball in his hands.
For the latest Josh Giddey news and rumors, click here.
18. Darius Garland (LA Clippers)
2025-26 stats: 18.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 6.7 apg, 1.0 spg, 46.0 FG%, 39.6 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $42,166,510 (30th overall)
Injury troubles and a mid-season trade hurt Darius Garland’s 2025-26 output, just a year removed from the second All-Star campaign of his career, leading to us being a bit lower on his 2026-27 potential perhaps than we should be. We have Garland as one of the best 20 point guards in the NBA, though we admit he has proven to have Top 10ish ability when healthy, which is entirely possible to happen in 2026-27.
Garland is a crafty scorer, boasting a quick crossover and funky-but-effective scoring ability from the short midrange. Garland is also an excellent outside shooter who can nail threes as a spot-up shooter or off the dribble, a hugely important skill for modern lead guards. If we don’t count his rookie season, the former Vanderbilt star is a career 39.3 percent three-point shooter, and over the past two seasons, that number is closer to 40.0 percent (39.9 percent, to be exact), an excellent mark for someone who takes as many difficult shots as Garland does nightly.
Also a creative playmaker, Garland has a strong all-around game with the ball in his hands; he just needs to stay healthy. Now free from having to share the rock with the ball-dominant Donovan Mitchell, we could see Garland putting up strong numbers in 2026-27, health provided, and make his pre-season ranking on our list look bad.
For the latest Darius Garland news and rumors, click here.
17. Damian Lillard (Portland)
2026-27 salary: $22,516,603 (83rd overall)
We’re putting a lot of faith in Damian Lillard’s rehab process here, as the future Hall-of-Famer hasn’t played since April 27, 2025, when he tore his Achilles in Game 4 of the Milwaukee Bucks’ first-round playoff matchup against the Indiana Pacers. By all accounts, Lillard’s rehab has gone well, however, so after shaking off some rust, we expect to see Lillard playing at a high level again sooner rather than later.
Will Lillard ever reach that All-NBA level again? Or even All-Star level? That remains to be seen, and history tells us it won’t be easy, as Lillard is now 36 years old. The previous oldest player to tear his Achilles, miss an entire season and then make another All-Star appearance after recovering from the injury was Anthony Mason, who was 32 at the time of his injury and 34 when he made another All-Star appearance. For comparison’s sake, Lillard was 34 when he blew out his Achilles.
In addition, only Tiny Archibald and Kevin Durant made multiple All-Star appearances after tearing an Achilles, and only Durant and Kawhi Leonard made an All-NBA team after missing an entire season due to injury in their 30s.
That’s all to say: It’s difficult to predict the level Lillard will play at once he does return.
Either way, as fans of the game, we’re excited to see his return, as Lillard will be playing on a strong Portland team, alongside another thrilling floor general in Morant, making the 2026-27 Blazers potential League Pass darlings.
For the latest Damian Lillard news and rumors, click here.
16. Kyrie Irving (Dallas)
2026-27 salary: $39,491,282 (44th overall)
What we just said about Lillard also applies to another future Hall-of-Fame point guard, Kyrie Irving, with the only difference being that Irving is returning from an ACL tear and not an Achilles tear.
Regardless, Irving will have his work cut out for him to reach that All-NBA level again, as the former Duke star will be 34 by the time he returns. Still, Irving has looked great in recent workout footage, so we expect big things out of him in the 2026-27 campaign.
Irving’s game has never been fully dependent on hyper-elite athleticism anyway, so we think he’ll get back to being a perennial All-Star candidate once he’s back on the hardwood.
Playing alongside alley-oop threats the likes of Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford, and even Cooper Flagg and PJ Washington, Irving’s fantastic playmaking should be on full display next season. And that’s to go with Irving’s otherworldly difficult-shot-making ability and finishing creativity around the basket.
All in all, we remain high on Irving, even despite the fact he just missed an entire season due to major injury.
For the latest Kyrie Irving news and rumors, click here.
15. Derrick White (Boston)
2025-26 stats: 16.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 5.4 apg, 1.1 spg, 1.3 bpg, 39.4 FG%, 32.7 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $30,348,000 (60th overall)
One of the best two-way guards in the game today, Derrick White isn’t only a fantastic one-on-one defender, but his help defense is also top notch, as he just became the third player in NBA history last year to be 6-foot-4 or shorter to amass at least 98 blocks and 88 steals in one season.
White’s ridiculous defense earned him a 1st Team All-Defense nod last year, his third All-Defense honor in the last four seasons. What’s more, it made up for the poor campaign he endured on the offensive end, as White shot a career-worst 39.4 percent from the floor in 2025-26 and a paltry 32.7 percent from three. White had the worst field-goal percentage in the NBA last season among players to attempt at least 1,000 field-goals.
Even so, we expect a progression to the mean for White next season, as well as for him to remain among the league’s top backcourt defenders. Plus, even with what seemed to be offensive struggles, White was still so imapctful on both ends that he ranked Top 25 league-wide in both BPM and VORP last season, and made the Celtics nearly 10 points per 100 possessions better during his time on the floor in the regular season.
From 2022-23 to 2024-25, a three-season stretch, White shot 45.4 percent from the floor and 38.7 percent from three; we expect his 2026-27 numbers to look more like that, especially with Jayson Tatum back leading Boston.
For the latest Derrick White news and rumors, click here.
14. De'Aaron Fox (San Antonio)
2025-26 stats: 18.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 6.2 apg, 1.2 spg, 48.6 FG%, 33.2 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $49,488,300 (18th overall)
After an All-Star regular season, Spurs lead guard De’Aaron Fox struggled mightily in the playoffs, and even if playing through injury was the cause of that, his drop-off was still stark.
In the 2026 postseason, Fox averaged just 15.6 points and 6.0 assists on 41.4 percent shooting from the floor, and 29.4 percent shooting from three. He also had various memorable blunders late in games in the NBA Finals, which was particularly troubling because Fox, at 28 years old, was supposed to be the calming veteran for this young Spurs team in the playoffs, not the one making the mistakes that cost his team games.
In the Finals, with the margin for error so slim, mistakes like the ones Fox was making in clutch time is the difference between a seven-game series and a five-game bow-out like the one the Spurs suffered.
Regardless of his Finals blunders, though, Fox remains an above-average starting point guard, even in spite of his mediocre-at-best outside shooting. For now, the Kentucky product still has the speed and explosiveness to finish around the basket or hightail it in transition, as well as the pull-up midrange scoring to keep defenses honest.
It’ll just be interesting to see how the playing time split shakes out between Fox and another player coming up later in this ranking.
For the latest De'Aaron Fox news and rumors, click here.
13. Darryn Peterson (Utah)
2026-27 salary: $13,195,320 (143rd overall)
It’s difficult to predict how Darryn Peterson will perform as a first-year player.
On the one hand, he’s an immense talent, often compared in the draft process to a 6-foot-6 Kyrie Irving type, a crafty ball-handler with a quick first step and the ability to hit difficult shots from all over the floor. On the other hand, his lone season at Kansas was up and down; he showed moments of absolute brilliance and potential future superstardom, but he also missed time or would ask to come out of games due to obscure health issues, which Peterson says are now past him.
Early returns so far are more promising than not, however, as Peterson lit it up in 2026 Summer League, putting up 23.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.2 blocks on 34.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
There’s a chance this exciting young talent outperforms his place in this ranking with his play this season. However, we’re erring a bit on the side of caution with his 14th-place finish here and hedging our bets, as it’s usually quite difficult for young point guards to come in and be stars in the NBA right away, especially those who are still teenagers like Peterson.
For the latest Darryn Peterson news and rumors, click here.
12. LaMelo Ball (Minnesota)
2025-26 stats: 20.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 7.1 apg, 1.2 spg, 40.7 FG%, 36.8 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $40,770,520 (41ast overall)
25-year-old LaMelo Ball finally seemed to put it all together last season, suiting up in 72 games, the second-highest total of his career, while helping lead the Charlotte Hornets to a 44-38 record, the franchise’s best regular-season showing since 2015-16. The Hornets took down the Miami Heat in the Play-In Tournament, too, before falling to the Magic and just missing the playoffs.
So, naturally, Charlotte rewarded Ball with an offseason trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves, where Ball will now help form one of the most exciting backcourts in all of basketball along with superstar 2-guard Anthony Edwards.
Ball and Edwards should be exciting to watch, if nothing else, as the duo has bombastic scoring ability from all over the floor and elite transition prowess. Ball’s playmaking, coupled with Edwards’ explosive finishing, should make for thrilling nightly highlights; we’re just not all that sure whether the super-tandem will be able to make up for the roster’s frontcourt deficiencies enough to make them a legit title contender.
Still, we’re quite excited to watch Ball in his first season with his new team, and we’re quite high on what he’ll be able to do in the Western Conference, health permitting.
For the latest LaMelo Ball news and rumors, click here.
11. Dylan Harper (San Antonio)
2025-26 stats: 11.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.9 apg, 0.8 spg, 50.5 FG%, 34.3 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $12,989,040 (147th overall)
One of the most promising young floor generals in the NBA today, we’re making a bit of a prediction here, as we have New Jersey native Dylan Harper ahead of his teammate, Fox, in this ranking.
And how could you fault us for being that high on him?
Harper followed a solid debut regular season last year with an even more impressive postseason, one that saw him average 14.1 points and 5.6 rebounds on 51.5 percent shooting from the floor, doing so as a 20-year-old. The former Rutgers standout set some age-related records in the 2026 playoffs, becoming the youngest guard in NBA history to have a postseason double-double, which he accomplished in Game 3 of San Antonio’s first-round matchup against Portland. Harper finished that game with 27 points and 10 rebounds on nine-of-12 shooting from the floor.
Harper also joined Larry Bird and Julius Erving as the only players in Conference Finals history to have a 20-point, 10-rebound, five-assist, five-steal game, when he had 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and seven steals in a Game 1 victory for San Antonio over the reigning champion Thunder.
Harper is a confident and crafty bucket-getter, who can hit shots from all over the floor, and we’re very high on his ceiling, as evidenced by his place in this ranking. We expect a big step forward for Harper in 2026-27.
For the latest Dylan Harper news and rumors, click here.
10. Trae Young (Washington)
2025-26 stats: 17.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 8.0 apg, 0.9 spg, 45.8 FG%, 33.8 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $49,488,300 (18th overall)
Trae Young's spot on this list is heavily boosted by his reputation, as last season was a dud for him. Young got injured early on in 2025-26 before returning briefly, getting traded to the Washington Wizards and then getting shut down after five appearances for his new team.
Still, Young is just one season removed from his most recent All-Star appearance, a campaign in which he averaged 24.2 points and a league-leading 11.6 assists on 34.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc back in 2024-25. Young finished fourth in the Clutch Player of the Year vote in 2024-25 as well.
That’s all to say, we expect Young to regain, at worst, All-Star form this upcoming campaign, which will be his age-28 season. Still firmly in his prime, Young’s playmaking should shine brilliantly on a Wizards team with exciting young talent, including most recent No. 1 draft pick AJ Dybantsa, and Kyshawn George, Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr, as well as established All-Star big man Anthony Davis. We could see Young make a run at another assists title in 2026-27, sharing the ball with athletic players of that caliber.
We’ll have to wait and see how Young’s shooting looks, though, as despite his reputation as an outside scorer, he only has two seasons in his career in which he has shot over 37 percent from three, with the most recent being in 2023-24 (37.3 percent). If Young can knock it down with that accuracy this upcoming season, we believe he’ll be firmly in that All-Star tier of point guards.
For the latest Trae Young news and rumors, click here.
9. James Harden
2025-26 stats: 23.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 8.0 apg, 1.1 spg, 43.4 FG%, 37.5 3PT%
Despite it being a season of change for him, too, and despite it being his age-36 campaign, James Harden remained among the NBA’s elite in 2025-26, ranking 14th league-wide in VORP and 19th in BPM. That lends us confidence that 2026-27 will be another strong season for the bearded superstar, as Harden (likely) returns for Year 2 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It must be noted, however, that Harden’s playoff struggles continued last year. After posting impressive averages in the regular season, Harden’s postseason marks took their usual dip, this time to 19.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game on just 41.0 percent shooting from the floor and 29.9 percent from three.
At this point, anyone expecting Harden to be a key piece on a championship team is likely lying to themselves. Even so, he remains an elite regular-season player, something we don’t believe will change in 2026-27, as he remains an excellent playmaker, as well as a tough shot-maker from three and a strong driver and finisher around the basket.
For the latest James Harden news and rumors, click here.
8. Jamal Murray (Denver)
2025-26 stats: 25.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 7.1 apg, 0.9 spg, 48.3 FG%, 43.5 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $50,105,628 (14th overall)
After spending years with the strong claim of being one of the best players in league history without an All-Star appearance, Canadian floor general Jamal Murray finally earned that honor in 2025-26, to go with the first All-NBA appearance of his career (3rd Team).
Murray was simply fantastic last season, putting up a career-high 25.4 points per game and 7.1 assists nightly, as well as hitting a career-best 43.5 percent of his threes. Murray was one of just three players last season to average at least 25 points and seven assists per game, joining teammate Nikola Jokic on the list, as well as the No. 2 finisher in this ranking. The advanced numbers reflected the strength of Murray’s 2025-26 campaign, with the 29-year-old finishing 11th league-wide in VORP, 18th in BPM and 18th in WS/48, so if anything, we might be lowballing him with his ranking, as he has a case to be in the Top 5 based solely on the strength of his most recent season.
We expect Murray, an elite tough-shot-maker from three and the midrange, to play with even more confidence next season after being buoyed by how great he was in 2025-26, and to make another run at All-NBA status. Of note, Murray has never had a season with a red swing rating; that’s to say, Murray’s always made the Denver Nuggets better during his time on the floor in his career. Most recently in ‘26, Murray made Denver 4.8 points per 100 possessions better during his time on the floor.
For the latest Jamal Murray news and rumors, click here.
7. Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana)
2026-27 salary: $48,924,624 (23rd overall)
It’s safe to say many are excited for Tyrese Haliburton’s return to the hardwood in 2025-26 after he missed all of last season following an Achilles tear in Game 6 of the 2025 Finals. And we’re going to go ahead and trust the progress of modern medicine, clearly, as we have Haliburton ahead of various elite point guards with his place in this ranking after suffering such a brutal injury.
He has already proved to be one of the top floor generals in the game, one who can hit tough shots from beyond the arc or set up teammates for simple looks at a high level. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, Haliburton ranks fourth in total assists with 2,947 behind only Young, Harden and Jokic.
Haliburton is particularly effective as a pick-and-roll scorer. In his last full season, 2024-25, Haliburton ranked in the league’s 96th percentile as a bucket-getter out of the pick-and-roll, producing 1.11 points per such possession, ahead of the first-place finisher in this ranking (1.10), as well as in front of Lillard (1.07) and Fox (1.07).
Along with the flashy playmaking and ability to hit tightly contested shots, Haliburton has also proven to be quite clutch late in games, sinking multiple huge shots during the Indiana Pacers’ run to the 2025 Finals, such as the game-winner in Game 1 of the championship series against OKC:
All in all, Haliburton has everything you’d want out of a modern star point guard: quickness, shiftiness, ball-handling, top-level playmaking, the ability to hit tough shots and a legit clutch gene. As such, we have him nearly in the Top 5 lead guards for 2026-27, despite coming off one of the worst possible injuries for an athlete.
For the latest Tyrese Haliburton news and rumors, click here.
6. Stephen Curry (Golden State)
2025-26 stats: 26.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.7 apg, 1.1 spg, 46.8 FG%, 39.3 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $62,587,158 (1st overall)
Future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer Stephen Curry just misses out on the Top 5, which may seem like a hot take, but when you see the names ahead of him and the upside those players possess, it becomes hard to fault us for putting them ahead of the two-time league MVP.
Prior to last season, when Curry was named an All-Star but missed out on further honors in part because he suited up in just 43 games, the former Davidson star had just gone through a five-year stretch in which he made five straight All-NBA teams (one 1st Team, three 2nd Teams, one 3rd Team), won Clutch Player of the Year and finished as high as third in the MVP vote. Oh, and the second year of that stretch also saw Curry lead Golden State to its fourth championship during his time there, and saw Curry win Finals MVP for the first time. That’s without even discussing Curry helping lead Team USA to Olympic gold in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Can Curry, now 38, still be the best player on a championship team? We’re not so sure, though he’ll have a chance to prove it once Jimmy Butler returns to full health, which is expected to be around Christmas Day. It’s not out of the question, though, as Curry had a plus-5.4 BPM last season, which would have ranked seventh league-wide if Curry had played enough games to qualify for Basketball-Reference’s ranking. That tells us the Akron native remains an elite and highly impactful player when he’s out there.
For the latest Stephen Curry news and rumors, click here.
5. Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia)
2025-26 stats: 28.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 6.6 apg, 1.9 spg, 46.2 FG%, 36.7 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $40,770,520 (41st overall)
Electric lead guard Tyrese Maxey is coming off the best season of his career, one in which he earned All-Star honors for the second time and All-NBA Team honors (as a 3rd Teamer) for the first time. According to VORP and BPM, Maxey was roughly a Top 7 player in the NBA last season, and when you look at his raw averages, it’s easy to surmise why.
Maxey ranked fifth in points per game last season, 22nd in assists per game and 10th in steals per game, taking the next step in his development in a major way. The former Kentucky standout is lightning-quick, both in the open floor and in the halfcourt, possessing an elite first step, fantastic burst and a tidy crossover, making him a nightmare for foes to defend. Maxey boasts top-notch three-level scoring ability, thanks to both his speed with the ball, which helps him get to the basket and use his athleticism to finish in traffic, and his prowess for pulling up and hitting jumpers off the dribble when opponents sag down to defend the rim.
Of course, it’ll be interesting to see how Maxey fares playing alongside LeBron James and Jaylen Brown in 2026-27, as James and Brown will surely command a lot of the ball themselves. And if Joel Embiid plays more than 38 games next season, that’ll be another high-usage mouth for the Sixers to feed, which could hurt Maxey’s statistical output, if nothing else.
Even so, we believe Maxey has proved himself an elite player, not just point guard, so we think Philadelphia will wisely give him a lot of the ball and allow him to perform at a very high level once again next season, hence his place in this ranking.
For the latest Tyrese Maxey news and rumors, click here.
4. Jalen Brunson (New York)
2025-26 stats: 26.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 6.8 apg, 0.8 spg, 46.7 FG%, 36.9 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $37,739,521 (46th overall)
Whatever questions there were about a small player being able to lead a team to a championship were answered with aplomb last season by Jalen Brunson, who did just that, taking the New York Knicks to their first championship in over 50 years.
Brunson led the entire postseason in scoring last year, putting up 28.4 points per game in the playoffs, to go with 6.1 assists and 1.2 steals on 46.5 percent shooting from the floor. And after a somewhat slow start to the Finals for Brunson, he picked up his play when things mattered most; the former Villanova star averaged 40.5 points on 50.0 percent shooting from the floor and 50.0 percent shooting from three over Games 4 and 5 of the 2026 Finals, efforts which earned him well-deserved Finals MVP honors.
Brunson is strong for his size, a master at using picks to get to open spots on the floor and hit pull-up jumpers, and is a pro’s pro at drawing fouls and knocking down free throws at a high rate. He even boasts a crafty scoring bag closer to the basket, using at-times awkward floaters to get buckets over the trees down low even despite his lack of size and elite athleticism. Brunson’s mastery out of the pick-and-roll is backed statistically, too, as the 29-year-old ranked in the league’s 89th percentile in scoring out of such sets last season, producing 1.04 points per possession out of that play type.
All in all, Brunson is one of the best players in basketball today, and one who has proven without a doubt by now that he’s a championship-caliber first option. Considering next season will merely be his age-30 campaign, we don’t see Brunson slowing down anytime soon, either.
For the latest Jalen Brunson news and rumors, click here.
3. Cade Cunningham (Detroit)
2025-26 stats: 23.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 9.9 apg, 1.4 spg, 46.1 FG%, 34.2 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $50,105,628 (14th overall)
How good was Cade Cunningham in 2025-26? The NBA made an exception for him to be eligible for end-of-season awards despite the fact he missed the minimum-game threshold by one game.
Cunningham was one of the best playmakers in the league last season, averaging 9.9 assists per game, the second-best mark in the NBA, trailing only Jokic. Cunningham’s assist rate (45.2 percent) also ranked second in the NBA behind Jokic. And he did that while also acting as leading scorer for a Detroit Pistons team that won 60 games in the regular season and ranked ninth league-wide in offensive rating, scoring 117.3 points per 100 possessions on the campaign.
Cunningham, a 1st Team All-NBAer in 2025-26, also finished Top 5 in the MVP vote, and he might have finished higher if he didn’t miss 18 games in the regular season. Overall, Cunningham has become the superstar he was expected to become when he was drafted first overall by Detroit back in 2021, as his blend of scoring, creating and even rebounding - in a 6-foot-6 package at point guard - have turned him into a special talent. Cunningham can score at a high level off the dribble, from three, the midrange or near the basket, with his pull-up scoring being particularly deadly. Cunningham’s ability to hit difficult shots over tight defending is of a star level.
And considering he hasn’t even turned 25 yet, we could see the former Oklahoma State standout reach an even higher level over the seasons to come.
For the latest Cade Cunningham news and rumors, click here.
2. Luka Doncic (LA Lakers)
2025-26 stats: 33.5 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 8.3 apg, 1.6 spg, 47.6 FG%, 36.6 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $51,033,600 (12th overall)
Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic took a step forward with his fitness level last season, showing up to start off the campaign looking svelte and maintaining that form all year, and even then, he had poor injury luck, missing the final month-plus of the season due to a hamstring injury, showing how luck-related good health can be for athletes.
Even so, when Doncic did play, he was simply spectacular, leading the league in scoring for the second time in his career, as well as in free-throw attempts (10.1), three-point attempts (10.8), three-point makes (4.0) and overall field-goal makes (10.8) and attempts (22.8). (The irony of the next player in this ranking catching nonstop flak from fans for trying to draw fouls while not even leading the league in free-throw attempts is not lost.)
Doncic had the third Top 4 MVP finish in his career last season, earning 1st Team All-NBA honors for the sixth time as well. It’s unfortunate he got injured when he did, as the Lakers were rolling prior to his injury, and could have made some noise in the postseason with a healthy Doncic.
Regardless, now that James departed from the Lakers, it’ll be interesting to see if Doncic can take his statistical output to an even higher level. As is, Doncic owns two of the highest single-season scoring averages in league history (33.86 points per game in 2023-24 ranks 19th all-time and his 33.48 points per game last season ranks 22nd all-time).
Overall, Doncic has more than lived up to the hype he had coming into the NBA, blossoming into a borderline magical tough-shot-maker; when the 27-year-old gets going offensively, he can literally hit any shot on the floor over any type of defense. He’s also a monster scoring from closer to the basket, boasting a wide array of pull-up jumpers and floaters he can go to in traffic, allowing him to get buckets from inside the three-point line, too.
That’s all without even mentioning Doncic’s extremely high level playmaking and rebounding, too.
All that’s left for Doncic to conquer is an NBA title. Whether that’s possible with how L.A.’s roster remains to be seen, but we’ve seen Doncic drag average supporting casts to the Finals before, so anything is possible with a player of his caliber at the helm.
For the latest Cade Cunningham news and rumors, click here.
1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City)
2025-26 stats: 31.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 6.6 apg, 1.4 spg, 55.3 FG%, 38.6 3PT%
2026-27 salary: $40,806,150 (39th overall)
Not only is Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the best guard in the sport, he has a case to be considered the best player in the sport, too. As of right now he is, at least, as evidenced by his back-to-back regular-season MVP trophies, but a supersized rival in San Antonio might have something to say about that next season.
That discussion is for another time, though.
For now, Gilgeous-Alexander remains the NBA’s best, coming off not only back-to-back league MVP trophies, but also four straight 1st Team All-NBA appearances, as well as a Clutch Player of the Year award.
The Canadian superstar has been on a Michael Jordan-esque statistical tear of late, averaging 31.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.7 steals over the past four campaigns, shooting 52.9 percent from the floor in that stretch, 36.8 percent from three and 89.0 percent from the foul line on 9.3 nightly attempts. For comparison’s sake, from 1986-87 to 1992-93, Jordan’s stat line was 33.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.8 steals and 1.0 blocks on 51.8 percent shooting from the floor, 31.1 percent from three and 84.6 percent from the foul line.
You can’t say with a straight face those numbers aren’t quite similar.
That’s not to say we think SGA will enter the GOAT debate one day, but without a doubt, he’s established himself already as a future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, and at still just 28 years old, we think he’ll add plenty of high-level accolades to his resume over the years to come.
An absolutely elite talent at getting to his spots and knocking down shots, as well as at drawing fouls and sinking free throws at a high rate, Gilgeous-Alexander is tough to stop due to his tight ball-handle, herky-jerky movement ability and his prowess for hitting tough jumpers over good defending. Gilgeous-Alexander is even an underrated defender, using his length and lateral quickness to harass opposing ball-handlers.
Gilgeous-Alexander is the complete package as a player, and with him at the helm, the Thunder project to remain title contenders for years to come.
For the latest Shai Gilgeous-Alexander news and rumors, click here.
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: NBA Ranking: The Top 27 point guards for 2026-27