5. Tyrese Haliburton

Photo_205 by All-Pro Reels on March 6, 2022 | ㏄ BY-SA 2.0 | some rights reserved 

Tyrese Haliburton is coming off a great season, receiving an All-Star nod, pushing the Indiana Pacers to Eastern Conference Finals, and even earning a gold medal in the Olympics this year with the United States basketball team. Haliburton averaged 20.1 points per game, 3.9 rebounds per game and led the league in assists per game at 10.9.  

He is a pure point guard with the ability to score and play make at an elite level. Tyrese has the potential to climb this list and, seeing the playoff success he and his team had this year, gives me the confidence that he will progress.  

4. Jalen Brunson

Jalen Brunson and Isaac Okoro by Erik Drost on June 15, 2023 –  | ㏄ BY 2.0 | some rights reserved 

Jalen Brunson has proven himself to be an unbelievable player this year. After leaving the Dallas Mavericks in 2022, people wondered if the Knicks lost free agency. With available players such as James Harden and Zach Lavine, NBA fans were wondering if the Knicks settled for a lower tiered point guard.  

Well, he proved anyone that doubted him wrong. Brunson had a phenomenal season in one of the hardest organizations to play for. New York loves their teams, and they are all backing Brunson now. Brunson faced Haliburton in the second round of the playoffs, the series went to game seven, where Brunson injured his hand. 

Last year, Brunson was the engine for the New York offense. Now, adding former college teammate, Mikal Bridges, this Knicks team could be extremely dangerous.  

3. Stephen Curry

Steph Curry by Eric Drost on March 3, 2022 | ㏄ BY 2.0 | some rights reserved 

Look at Curry man, so inspirational. The last time we saw Stephen Curry play basketball, he had a jaw-dropping performance in the Olympic gold medal game. Curry hit back-to-back off the dribble threes to hold his country in the lead.  

A performance like this is not surprising to basketball fans, we have seen this guy be a wizard on the court for many years. His individual skill with the basketball is second to none, but losing an important member of the team in Klay Thompson is going to hurt. The Golden State Warriors have been struggling on offense (besides Curry), and losing another weapon like Thompson will add more double– teams and defensive pressure to Curry.  

With Curry aging and his team getting worse, most teams’ defensive game plans are going to be to let anyone, but Steph Curry try to score. It is going to be hard for him to score but I know he will. With all those factors, I am comfortable with sliding him here at number three.  

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Thunder_58 by All-Pro Reels on January 12, 2022 | ㏄ BY-SA 2.0 | some rights reserved 

Gilgeous-Alexander has earned the chance to join the class of NBA superstars, leading his team to the first seed in an extremely competitive Western Conference, while also averaging over 30 points per game. Sadly, his team was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.  

The Oklahoma City Thunder had a great offseason. To make things better, they added another big man in Isaiah Hartenstein and an All-Defensive team player in Alex Caruso. With these weapons added, I do not see why Gilgeous-Alexander would not lead his team to the number one seed again.  

1. Luka Doncic

 

Luka Doncic by Eric Drost on May 13, 2021  | ㏄ BY 2.0 | some rights reserved 

Luka Doncic has proven himself to be one of the best players in the league, if not the best. He was the league’s leading scorer and right behind Haliburton for assists per game. Doncic averaged a huge 33 points per game, which came in handy on his incredibly difficult Finals run with the Dallas Mavericks. 

The Mavericks were the underdogs in every round, but by the end of the series he came out on top. He showed he was the best player on the court, from hitting a game-winning step back over a multiple time Defensive Player of the Year, to sitting in the chair and playing better defense. Doncic was dealing with injuries throughout the playoffs and still led his team to the Finals.  

Unfortunately, the Boston Celtics finally tackled the Mavericks in the Finals. Dallas added sharpshooter, Klay Thompson, in the off season. A lot of Dallas’s problems later in the playoffs whereas consistent shooting and scoring outside of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic. The Mavericks could be back.