Since the Damian Lillard trade, there have been a lot of people making lists of the top duos in the NBA. Some of these lists are awful, some are solid, but I’d like to share my opinion. I really want to be doing Jrue Holiday trades right now, but he’s still on the Bucks in the trade machine and I don’t feel like making the whole Dame trade every time I make a Holiday deal, so you get an article today instead. Let’s get into it!
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard
Does this need explanation? These two were born to play together and have been tampering for years to play together. The fit is seamless and they should win it all in year 1.
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray
I’ve seen these two ranked as low as sixth on rankings which is insane. They were the first pair of teammates to get 30 point triple doubles in the same game, and they did it in a FINALS game. They have an argument for 1st but I feel like Dame/Giannis has a bit more star power.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis
Another duo that has won a Finals series. These two have proven that when healthy, they are two of the top ten players in the league. They made it to the Conference Finals and almost won every game while LeBron was playing through a pretty bad injury. This year they should be near the top again.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown
These two have it to the Finals already and they’re just now entering their prime. Tatum and Brown isn’t the best fit which drops them down a bit here, but they are proven contenders every single season. It should be a crime to put them outside the top 5.
Kevin Durant and Devin Booker
This duo has been together just half a season but they are too good to rank any lower than 5th. Both are All-NBA caliber players, which you can’t say for a whole lot of duos these days. I think that’s a good thing, there’s decent parity around the league right now.
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving
Two of the most skilled players of the present era, these two fall down mainly for fit and results. They are both ball-dominant and the team missed the play-in, but these two are still solid when only considering the duo and not the other players surrounding them.
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo
This duo beat the Bucks and Celtics in seven game series last year, and they have more Finals appearances than any other Eastern Conference team since 2018. They have proven that they are a truly good duo in the NBA, even if they don’t show it in the regular season.
Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins
The final duo on this list with an NBA Championship together, Curry and Wiggins are a proven winner duo. This ranking is significantly lower than I’d rank the Warriors as a whole, simply because the entire starting lineup is great, as is whoever ends up at 6th man. It was tough to decide who to pick here alongside Curry between Wiggins, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Chris Paul.
Paul George and Kawhi Leonard
These two are certainly more talented than some pairings above them, but they also repeatedly get injured when it matters most. I considered replacing Kawhi Leonard with Russell Westbrook because it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume Kawhi plays less than half of next season.
Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox
This spot was a toss-up between these two, Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson, and Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. This duo took the spot because they’re the only one without any serious questions this season, they’ve proven to be a solid team and don’t have a lot of adversity right now.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments! Did I snub anyone? Was someone unreasonably high? This is just my opinion, share yours with me!