Ranking the NBA's Top 25 Players Under 25 Right Now

The kids are all right.

That, for the record, is putting it mildly. The NBA's kiddies are better than all right. They're spectacular. The league's under-25 pool stretches so deep it makes ranking them a painful and exhaustive exercise filled with tears, migraines, infinite self-loathing and then more tears.

I'm about to rank them anyway.

Every player currently under 25 is fair game, including those who celebrate quarter-century birthdays later this season. Put another way: Congratulations to De'Aaron Fox for qualifying.

Equally important: This is meant to be a real-time pecking order. Little to no "Imagine how good they'll be in three years, months or weeks" is at play. This is a right-friggin'-now hierarchy.

What's happened so far this season, through a whopping two to four games, impacted the final product a smidgeon, wherever necessary. First and foremost, though, this is a ranking of what we know—of established, real-time value.

Age: 22

Figuring out who gets the final nod in this shindig is always impossible. This one was particularly tough.

Rookie candidates—Jaden Ivey, Bennedict Mathurin—were "easy" to exclude on the basis of inexperience. Nixing everyone else is tougher and purposely nitpicky.

It could have been Michael Porter Jr. if he didn't have chronic back issues in his rearview. Collin Sexton could heat up at any moment for an extended period of time. Anfernee Simons is always one shot away from being one shot away from an absolute heater.

Leaving off Wendell Carter Jr. stings the most. Consider him No. 26. RJ Barrett edges him out thanks to his relentless rim pressure, more proven spot-up three (despite a touch-and-go start) and a defensive role that is higher profile than many probably think.

Right? Wrong? Who the hell knows. But Barrett has already ratcheted up his finishing at the rim amid some bizzaro offensive decision-making.

I'm trusting in this positive development, the passes he has thrown when the floor is spread, the power-wing turn he made last season, and his bandwidth for shape-shifting his offensive archetype relative to the lineup in which he plays.

Soul-Ripping Exclusions: Wendell Carter Jr.; Jaden Ivey; Keldon Johnson; Bennedict Mathurin; Michael Porter Jr.; Collin Sexton; Anfernee Simons; Gary Trent Jr.; Devin Vassell

Age: 19

Has Paolo Banchero only appeared in four career regular-season games at this writing? Yes.

Do I care? Not even sort of.

Okay, I kind of care. I had the urge to nudge him higher. I was talked out of it. Once more, with feeling: These aren't projections. They are in-the-moment rankings. No rookie, in theory, should sneak onto this list.

But Banchero forced my hand. He isn't coming. He's here. His capacity to break down set defenses belies his age and experience, as does the complex blend of shots he's taking. He's hitting circus running layups and fades on the back of unending hang time. The jumper isn't falling, but phew, it's going to eventually.

Defenses might try to speed him up, but it doesn't work. Banchero has composure reminiscent of Cade Cunningham. He will poke and prod and probe until he creates a sliver of space or a specific angle and then attacks.

This isn't small-sample-size theatre. Banchero is only this low because he doesn't have a track record. But he's shown enough, both in summer league and the regular season, to warrant benefit of the doubt.

Age: 22

Distinguishing between Tyler Herro and Jordan Poole is often painted as a maddening exercise. But just because they're two not-quite-lead guards who can be targeted on defense doesn't make them eerily similar.

Herro's value is most rooted in his outside shooting, which spans both on and away from the ball. Last season, he downed 37.5 percent of his pull-up threes and 42.2 percent of his spot-up triples, almost evenly splitting the volume.

He can too heavily favor his off-the-dribble jumper inside the arc but offsets part of that imbalance with the ability to attract defenses when he's in motion away from the ball. His pick-and-roll fluency has improved basically year over year.

Poole comes across as more dispensable in Golden State. What Herro does best is instrumental in optimizing the half-court offense of a title hopeful.

Up to this point, however, Herro's game has felt like it included one fewer level and less directionality on the attack. That might change this year. The share of his shots at the rim has, for the time being, skyrocketed. But don't get bogged down in the might-bes and could-bes. Even this "low," he's a top-25-under-25 lock.

Age: 23

Jordan Poole's case is both strengthened and repressed by his role. He contributed in a meaningful way to last year's champion, but his usage and returns will forever be warped as the Golden State Warriors' third guard.

Picturing him independent of Stephen Curry, specifically, isn't hard. The Warriors don't treat Poole like an accessory. He is more of an every-level self-starter who meshes with others rather than a standstill play-finisher who moonlights in initiation.

His off-the-bounce attacks don't receive nearly enough credit. He mixes fluidity and misdirection and is, historically, a bankable finisher around the basket. His 54.9 percent clip on twos the past two years also comes amid a steady diet of mid-range jumpers.

The next phase of Poole's career should feature more feel and control as a playmaker. He's off to a good start there. His first few games this season have seen him throw nifty pocket and on-target shuffle passes, and he's been able to draw in defenses even when he's not scoring at a consistent clip.

Many will suggest this finish lacks imagination. Perhaps this is an indictment on failing to value him beyond his setup in Golden State or overweighting the "Will he close every game?" issue. That's the danger in these rankings. Poole would've been a surefire exclusion last season, but he's a shoo-in now.

Age: 24

Jarrett Allen may not be able to stave off Tyler Herro and Jordan Poole, among many others, much longer. He is at an inherent disadvantage as a defensive backbone and offensive play-finisher. These rankings favor those with more influence over the offense.

At the same time, looping Allen under the "Specialist" umbrella undersells him. This dude was not an All-Star by mistake. As yours truly, who remains so vain, wrote about him for Bleacher Report's NBA 100:

"General impressions of Jarrett Allen skew toward rim-protecting, screen-setting, play-finishing big man. That prevailing sentiment undersells him.

"Allen's defense and mobility on the back line contribute to Evan Mobley's capacity to be, well, everywhere else. And while his offense is largely predicated on the primary playmakers beside him, he has diversified his portfolio to include reactive slips, one- and two-dribble decision-making in space, and an operable hook shot (52.8 percent on 127 attempts)."

Nothing has changed to start 2022-23, even if the numbers are more modest. If anything, Allen's knack for moving without the ball and occupying spaces that don't obstruct Evan Mobley are more valuable than ever.

Age: 21

Franz Wagner would not have cracked such a list this time last year. Now, dropping him outside the top 15 feels a little icky.

Wagner closed his rookie season as the consummate offensive fits-all. He dropped in spot-up jumpers and reached the rim off high-IQ cuts. But he also kept defenses on tilt by attacking downhill off the catch, flinging floaters and finishing with force and finesse at the basket. He even busted out a hook shot.

Most of that mystique has sustained into this season. More importantly, the Orlando Magic are plumbing the depths of his offense. He flashed self-creation last season—34.8 percent on pull-up threes post-2022 All-Star break—and then offered more of it, in avalanches, during EuroBasket.

Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley has responded by uncorking lineups in which Wagner is the de facto point guard and increasing his pick-and-roll initiation. Around 70 percent of Wagner's made buckets have gone unassisted, which would represent a monstrous increase over last year's share of 40.6.

It has not always looked pretty—though Wagner is scoring well out of the pick-and-roll and shooting 55.6 percent on drives—but the fact Orlando can and should be exploring this mode of operation says it all.

Age: 23

Oof, this was tough to stomach. But if comfortably cracking the top 25 from an absurdly deep under-25 pool is the floor, then sign me all the way up.

Jaren Jackson Jr. is coming off a season in which he was a genuine Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Once maligned for his fouling issues, he tamped them down, spiraling more so in compacted blips than steady droves.

His bandwidth to be everywhere and hang with virtually any offensive archetype is bonkers. The Memphis Grizzlies may be hesitant to roll him out at the 5 from the jump, in part because of foul troubles, but those lineups are now less of a risk and more of a cheat code.

Jackson has far more question marks at the other end. His efficiency plunged last season. The Grizzlies tasked him with more complicated usage, but not enough to explain away the drop. His off-the-dribble work looked wonky and uncoordinated, and while his volume from deep holds value, a sub-32-percent clip is concerning.

Splitting hairs over availability is also fair. He has missed fewer than 15 games just once in four seasons (2021-22), and his recovery from a right foot injury has him on pace to miss 15-plus again.

Age: 20

Jalen Green has tipped off the 2022-23 campaign much like he ended the 2021-22 season: getting ultra-difficult buckets.

Through his first three games, Green averaged over 23 points while downing 47.4 percent of his threes, including 50 percent of his pull-up triples. His efficiency inside the arc verges on concerning (44.9 percent), but he gets to the rim more than you think, and his conversion rate at the basket both this season (63 percent) and last (60 percent) could plausibly be lower if you look at the degree of difficulty on his attempts.

The Houston Rockets might come to find Green is overtaxed. They use him as an offensive lifeline, a role his scoring arsenal can endure. His playmaking is TBD. He is not unwilling to move the ball, but he can telegraph his passes and be sloppy with the ball coming around screens and when entering traffic.

These limitations are not knocks. Green's self-creation already ensures he's among the NBA's premier cornerstones. But this field is deep, and for now, there's more variability caked into his performances than many of the names he chases.

Age: 21

How good is Tyrese Maxey?

So good that the Philadelphia 76ers offense feels like it could rely less on James Harden or at least carve out more solo time for the third-year guard.

Maxey has not gone kaboom to start the season, but efficiency gets skewed by the game this time of year, and, uh, he's still clearing 20 points per game. The set three-point shot will be fine, and Philly's lanes shouldn't seem so crowded if head coach Doc Rivers ever gives them the license (mandate?) to play with any semblance of pace whatsoever.

Regardless, last year laid the groundwork for Maxey's trajectory. He was equally revelatory as the Sixers' second most important player and their James Harden and Joel Embiid complement. The latter is now his indefinite normal, and even if he seems criminally underutilized, he's wired to thrive.

To wit: After Harden made his Philly debut, Maxey parlayed blindingly fast straight-line speed and improved shooting into third-option dominance, averaging 18.7 points and 3.5 assists per game on a supernova 48 percent clip from downtown—proof his rising star can and will sustain every imaginable iteration of the Sixers.

Age: 21

Scottie Barnes is difficult to place both in the short and long term. He teases possibility by doing so many different things, but his execution comes off lower-key than many of his peers.

That inkling can be distilled down to opportunity. The Toronto Raptors seem committed to baptizing him by fire, featuring him in situations for which he might not be totally ready. Even as he took on slightly fewer frontcourt touches before spraining his right ankle on Sunday, the vision was clear: They want him to be a primary decision-maker.

Roll out Barnes by himself and the journey of self-discovery can get hazy and disjointed. Slot him inside lineups with two of Toronto's other primaries and the future calcifies. He can bulldog his way to the bucket from above the break, draw doubles in the post and, most intriguingly, attack and decision-make at the processing speed of a floor general.

Blissful possibility easily buoys inclusion here. Barnes has managed to effectively impact the game as a functional adjunct while wading waist-deep into self-exploration. Where he sits now plays up all that remains unfinished, but rest assured, this spot feels like his floor.

Age: 24

Desmond Bane went from sparingly used sharpshooter as a rookie to higher-volume, fringe-star sniper with on-ball chops and defensive efforts you feel while watching...as a sophomore.

Just imagine what his third year has in store.

Pay no mind to his slow start. The Memphis Grizzlies have him doing more as a driver and facilitator, and he's missing open threes that will fall later. Pay more attention to his going boom-boom-pow against the mercurial Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.

To be honest, I'm not sure if he'll ever be initiating pick-and-rolls en masse. Or if the step-back jumper will become a staple. But Bane plays with an air of "What if Kyle Lowry was taller?" and is the quintessential toggles-between-multiple-offensive-existences building block.

That functional duality is enough to curry favor over those with higher ceilings—like Tyrese Maxey, Jordan Poole, teammate Jaren Jackson Jr., etc.—who have more immediate question marks or glaring holes.

Age: 21

Skip ahead a few years and Evan Mobley could feasibly top this list. Jump even further and he might be the best player in the NBA, period. That is his ceiling if everything comes together.

We don't quite know what it will look like in practice, because he's a bottomless mystery box on offense—not so much formless but terrifyingly moldable. Every face-up and spin, every turnaround and fadeaway, serves to boggle the mind. "What if Kevin Garnett was Kevin Durant was Anthony Davis?"

Still, it must all come together first. And the Cleveland Cavaliers need to be more comfortable with Mobley sponging up second-string center reps to fully actualize the best version of himself—and them.

In the meantime, they will "settle" for an All-Defense staple who blurs the line between big-man anchor and point-of-attack gnat, and who can rack up points entirely within the flow of the larger offensive ecosystem while dabbling in peeks behind the "My Future As An NBA Overlord" curtain.

Age: 22

Tyrese Haliburton spent the first part of his career in a role with the Sacramento Kings deemed complementary—and, therefore, safe. He provided flickers of self-creation, but deference was his default. Could he ever dominate, or at least aggressively quarterback an offense?

The Indiana Pacers bet on him having that extra, face-of-the-franchise gear. Their wager is paying off.

A four-game sample is nowhere near a tell-all, but Haliburton looks ready to play the part of primary maestro and scorer. He continues to make excellent use of space, but there is more surety and urgency to how he attacks. Already, he has uncorked step-backs and escape-dribble jumpers, as well as physical drives and wildly tough finishes, which he pairs with an air of controlled passing that always seems a few split-seconds ahead of the defense.

There is no overstating the agency Haliburton has over Indiana's offense. Among the 185-plus players averaging 15 minutes per game through at least two appearances entering Monday night, only Luka Dončić sees a smaller share of his buckets go unassisted. If Haliburton doesn't qualify as primary building block material, I'm not sure what does.

Age: 24

De'Aaron Fox's value has seesawed over his first half-decade in the league—and not always unfairly. He has teased All-NBA command of an offense only to then frustrate with some combination of tunnel vision, poor shot selection and defensive apathy. And every year, nearly without fail, he closes on the highest of notes, allowing rampant optimism to marinate before beginning the process all over again next season.

Three games into 2022-23, Fox seems ready to break the trend. Nobody should expect his dalliance with 45 percent shooting from deep to continue, but averaging around 32 points and seven assists while inflating his turnover total in one game isn't out of character.

Fox has always done enough to suggest his floater and step-back jumper are viable outlets, if not budding anchors. Driving has forever been his strength, even when not done nearly enough. He's doing it enough now. Only Ja Morant and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander currently average more.

All the while, Fox looks like a cleaner-than-expected fit off the ball. More of his shots are already coming off assists compared to last season, and even if the spot-up efficiency dips, he moves and orbits Domantas Sabonis like he knows he'll get the rock back. Congratulations to all of us who didn't sell De'Aaron Fox stock last November.

Age: 24

Stashing more of a play-finisher ahead of offensive engines like De'Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton is not a decision taken lightly. But Deandre Ayton has done enough while hinting at the capacity to do more for long enough to receive this not-so-controversial-in-the-slightest nod.

Ayton makes the call even easier with his scorching-hot start to the season. He's averaging 19.0 points through three games while dropping in 59.5 percent of his twos, including an absurd 94 percent at the rim (17-of-18). His scoring still skews heavily toward play-finisher; over 88 percent of his buckets are coming off assists. But his role within the Phoenix Suns offense is not robotic. It's far more instinctual.

Conventional rim-running bigs don't have the same sense of space and timing as Ayton on his rolls to the basket. And they most certainly don't include as much decision-making. Even when Ayton isn't taking a dribble, he often needs to gather and survey. So many teams would kill for their centers to have his catch-and-turnaround jumpers in their arsenal, which Ayton knocked down at a 60-plus-percent clip last season. There is more room to explore his face-up and outside-in game, too.

This may represent the peak of Ayton's placement when considering who's in front of him. But to presume as much places unnecessary limitations on his offense while ignoring his utility as a defensive big who can dominate from drop coverage without ever getting mismatched off the floor.

Age: 21

LaMelo Ball is sidelined to start the season with a sprained left ankle, but the player he became during his first two years more than warrants top-10 placement.

Table-setters don't get more uninhibited or innovative. He is someone who emboldens teammates to run the floor harder, and who lulls half-court defenses into creating gaps through which he can pass. That combination of gall and patience is rare, and it can uplift an entire offense.

Impressions of LaMelo's scoring will vary depending on who you ask. At worst, it is right on schedule. He has proved to be a reliable catch-and-fire three-point shooter, and the need for him to develop an off-the-dribble triple is overstated; he doesn't have to deploy one, but he also drilled 39.5 percent of his pull-up treys after the 2022 All-Star break.

Tightening up his finishing at the basket and embracing the kind of contact that earns him extra trips to the charity stripe is actually LaMelo's next frontier. If he doesn't reach it, he's still a 20 and 8 guy, with the touch to play off others and the length and size to disrupt opposing offenses away from the ball. If that next frontier is conquerable, though, we're looking at an MVP candidate in waiting.

Age: 24

Overextension caught up with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander last season. The Thunder had neither the spacing nor secondary ball-handling to streamline his offensive agency, and it showed in his efficiency on the perimeter. He went from a 55.8 effective field-goal percentage on jumpers in 2020-21 to 43.1 in 2021-22.

The context of his role helps explain the plunge—fueled mostly by his three-point shooting. Among 467 players to average at least 15 minutes per game, only Chris Paul and Luka Dončić saw a larger share of their buckets go unassisted.

It's a wonder SGA was still able to clear 50 percent shooting inside the arc. He plays at a variable cadence all his own, and it transcends the inherent limitations of what's around him.

SGA is leaving similar impressions to start this season. The three-ball isn't falling at an astronomical clip, but he continues to warp defenses on drives and subsist on hugely difficult looks while somehow dropping in over 55 percent of his twos and 85-plus percent of his shots at the rim. If he ever gets to work against more consistent defensive separation, or even within an offense that shoots better than 32 percent from deep...watch out.

Age: 21

Feel for the game alone renders Cade Cunningham a superstar in the making.

Sticklers bemoaned the efficiency last season and will continue to do so now. But it will come. Cunningham is knocking down 35 percent of his threes in the early going and has noticeably cut down his turnovers out of the pick-and-roll. Better finishing around the basket should develop in time; he'll go up with more force and pick up his dribble later.

Harping on the raw numbers right now doesn't add much value to the discussion. Defenses are already laser-focused on Cunningham. He directs the offense and sees the floor with world-on-a-string manipulation.

Over-helping against his drives is endemic, and his court awareness is divine—circular and unalterable. It won't be long before he's the type of player whose floor captaincy alone assures his team of a top-10 offense.

Age: 22

Select youngsters needed a hot start to the 2022-23 campaign to solidify their spot on this list. Darius Garland did not.

It doesn't matter that he looked a tad shaky in limited action during Cleveland Cavaliers' opening-night loss to the Toronto Raptors. Nor does it matter that he suffered a left eyelid laceration after logging 13 minutes and hasn't played since. His body of work last season is still speaking for itself—and it's loud as hell.

Few players do a better job of manipulating perimeter and helping defenses. Garland wields an operable floater and jumper and parlays that package into dictating terms of engagement.

Last year, he placed in the 86th percentile of isolation scoring efficiency and knocked down 46.3 percent of his off-the-dribble threes after the All-Star break. Defenses now spin out of control once he gets inside the arc and/or leaves his feet, and his teammates reap the benefits. Only Trae Young tossed more assists at the rim in 2021-22, according to PBP Stats.

Envisioning Garland thriving next to Donovan Mitchell without compromising his value isn't particularly difficult. Really, it's just a matter of him getting the opportunity to direct and attack amid better spacing—a nod to both how much better he might still be and everything he did last season.

Age: 22

Zion Williamson can theoretically land anywhere you want him to finish.

Can he be penalized for missing more than half of the regular-season games for which he's been eligible to play since entering the NBA? Absolutely. Can he foment unchecked optimism for his interior dominance and the fact he garnered serious All-NBA consideration during his lone (almost) totally healthy year? Also yes.

Plopping him here, in sixth place, attempts to straddle both sides of the argument. But when forced to choose, you should default to the "unchecked optimism" side of the spectrum.

Never mind the numbers, which send a shiver down your spine. Zion really plays like "What if Shaquille O'Neal had more outside-in feel and touch and a record-breaking second jump?" That player is impossible to comprehend.

Yet, somehow, he exists in Zion.

And if the prevailing belief ever favors his durability, you'll be hard-pressed to concoct a list like this—age qualifiers be absolutely damned—that doesn't include him at or near the tippy top.

Age: 21

Through two seasons and change, Anthony Edwards has offered glimpses into a player without a tangible ceiling. There are nights on which he looks like he will eventually be the Minnesota Timberwolves' most valuable player at both ends and that he is on course to seize the "Best Player Alive" throne.

Perhaps most impressive: On his least memorable nights, Edwards seemingly maintains the floor of someone who will scoop up a handful of All-NBA bids. The skeleton of his game is that tantalizing. The aesthetics of what he's doing can supersede the end result.

Edwards plays with an explosiveness that is immediate, but there is a deliberateness to how he attacks in the half court. He can slow things down and punish defenses with methodical drives and escape-dribble jumpers, and he will bust ankles and egos until he generates the attention to table-set for those around him.

Hardliners often want to see how meteoric ascensions translate to higher stakes. Edwards has already held up in the pressure cooker, delivering true superstar magic in Minnesota's six-game loss to the Memphis Grizzlies in the spring.

Age: 24

Please do not read too much into Trae Young's wonky shooting splits to start the season. On the heels of Dejounte Murray's arrival, he is attempting a role adaptation not yet undertaken by usage contemporaries such as Luka Dončić and James Harden. Young's average time of possession has dipped from last year, and the frequency with which he's attempting catch-and-fire threes has more than doubled.

This search for offensive diversification does nothing to diminish what's already known: that Young is one of the most lethal self-starters in existence.

The Atlanta Hawks offense has so routinely (and generally) imploded without him on the court because he props up everything. Defenses are on tilt before he crosses the timeline, because they have to be. His range boils down to: "If he has the ball, then he's within scoring distance."

Young might lean too heavily on boundless touch for stretches at a time, but it is not his crutch. He leverages limitless range and an unconditional green light into live-dribble anarchy. His floater is both sudden and, despite his standing 6'1", difficult to block. The attention he draws is the vehicle through which he tees up bunnies at the rim and in the corners. If this season's version of him features more off-ball movement and some screen-setting, the Trae Young vs. Ja Morant debate will resume in earnest.

Age: 23

One day, approximately 23 years and 76 days ago, Flash and Substance collided, amicably, and gave birth to a singular force unlike any other in history.

That force grew up to be Ja Morant.

I don't care how high you put the Memphis Grizzlies on your preseason League Pass rankings. It wasn't high enough. Morant is so thoroughly entertaining, so infectiously enjoyable that the No. 1 spot cannot even do him justice.

From gravity-disproving dunks to abrupt floaters to theatrical passes to the pure and utter sense of unpredictability after he leaves his feet, every possession from him is its own experience. But the beauty of his flair is that it's also essential.

The Grizzlies would not win or annihilate expectations, almost annually, without Morant being Morant. They may be deep and plucky and able to churn out regular-season victories without him. But he is their life force against the very best lineups and teams, a functional central nervous system who has diversified his mid-range and outside shooting and touch enough to be deemed unsolvable.

Age: 24

It's hard to believe Jayson Tatum is still only 19 24. He has survived—and spearheaded—so many different iterations of the Boston Celtics it feels like he should be in his early to mid-30s.

If the start of this season is any indication, there may be no mountains left for Tatum to climb. He honed his off-the-dribble scoring long ago and remains a balanced and versatile defender who can fiercely party-crash possessions away from the ball. His improvement as a playmaker has been gradual and culminated in truly complex passing last season. And now, he is flirting with career-high volume at the rim—where he's shooting 80-plus percent—and from the charity stripe.

Many interpreted his struggles in the Finals as proof of incompleteness. Maybe that's true. But maybe it had more to do with a pesky Golden State Warriors defense designed, specifically, to complicate his life. And maybe both Tatum and the Celtics offense are better built to withstand identical hellfire now.

More than anything, though, it matters that Tatum has already been the best player on a Finals team at all.

Age: 23

It speaks to the one-man-showism of Luka Dončić that the Dallas Mavericks lost their second-best player for nothing over the offseason (Jalen Brunson) and replaced him with some combination of Spencer Dinwiddie and Christian Wood hopes and dreams (both are killing it right now) and are still considered could-be contenders. There is not another player on this list so comprehensively dominant enough to withstand that type of a loss and float "Well, if everything breaks right, another conference finals cameo isn't out of the question."

Not enough adjectives exist to accurately convey Dončić's impact on the offense. His combination of every-level shot-making, vision, strength, change of speeds and unflappability is transcendent—the stuff of which all-time greats are made.

Some can and have and will continue to bemoan the ball-dominance. Can heliocentric usage be parlayed into a title? The answer is almost irrelevant. Dončić is capable of playing a different way. The Mavs, as of now, are not.

Frankly, Dončić is the closest thing to a contender unto himself since prime LeBron James.

Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference, Stathead or Cleaning the Glass and accurate entering Monday's games. Salary information via Spotrac.

Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.