NBA Top 5 Players - 2025 Mid-Season Power Ranking

The NBA all-star break is officially over, with teams finally beginning to play each other after a seemingly long week of sub-par contests and games between all stars and rising stars. Storylines are starting up again, MVP discussions are becoming greater and greater, and questions around the viability of certain teams (aka Lakers) has become greater than ever in the first 3 games in the Luka Doncic era. On the topic of MVP discussions, there are currently only 2 major contenders to win MVP: SGA and Nikola Jokic. Jokic wins the stats argument while SGA wins the games argument, and the true winner will remain to be seen over the next few months of NBA basketball. 

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Overall though, questions around the best player are more prevalent than ever right now, with more and more discussion being based around specifically the top 2, SGA and Jokic, as they battle it out in the dangerous Western Conference of stars.

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POWER RANKINGS:

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​#1: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

 

32.5 PPG - 52.3 FG% - 35.9 3P% - 5.1 RPG - 6.1 APG - 1.9 STL -1.0 BLK

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Over 50 games into the season, and SGA has taken another step from last year. Thunder remain the most overall dominant team in the league and are my personal favorite to win the NBA title this year, but if this season has shown us anything, its that the Thunder are entirely dependent on the offense produced by Shai. SGA holds the highest net rating and EPM in the league, with each being above his main competition for MVP. The best thing I can say about SGA is that he seems to elevate and lead his team better than nearly any player in the league, which can be seen both in and outside of games through the team chemistry. Given that fact, he to me is the best player in the league right now and the front runner for MVP. Provided there is no incredible win streak for the Nuggets or unexpected falter by the Thunder down the standings, Shai should have MVP locked up this year.

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#2: Nikola Jokic

29.2 PPG - 57.5 FG% - 44.5 3P% -12.6 RPG - 10.4 APG - 1.8 STL - 0.7 BLK

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At this point, I don't think there needs to be any explanation whatsoever about how or why Jokic ranks this high. If there is any discussion, it would be based around why he is not ranked number 1 in the league given his ridiculous offensive stats this season. The simple reason really comes down to the fact that the game can't be based on hypotheticals. When people give the reasoning that Jokic having a weaker record than SGA is justified due to the powerhouse that is the OKC Thunder roster, I don't think it is fair to act as if the Nuggets roster is built up of some terrible teams. On top of that, Jokic's overall lack of defensive capability weakens his overall argument for MVP given SGA's abilities as a two-way player. That being said, Jokic is having one of the all-time offensive seasons. Averaging 45% from 3 is one thing, but also averaging a 30 point triple double as well is just ridiculous. If Denver catches up to OKC in the standings, who knows what will happen, but for now we just need to wait and see.​​​

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#3: Giannis Antetokounmpo

31.0 PPG - 61.0 FG% - 19.4 3P% - 12.0 RPG - 5.8 APG - 0.8 STL - 1.3 BLK

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Always a pleasure writing this mans last name. Likewise, it is always a pleasure to watch him on the court as well. Giannis continues to dominate season after season, but sadly he never seems to be in the actual MVP conversation. People always use voter fatigue as a way to prop up and tear down Jokic, but the fact of the matter is that Giannis has suffered from it more than anyone in the entire league. Couple that with the unprecidented collapse that his team has suffered each of the last 2 years, Doc Rivers being your head coach, and only 32 wins this deep into the season, and it is tough to give this many his flowers. That being said, Giannis will always be one of the top players in the league. He is averaging career high FG% (largely due to him cutting threes out of his game entirely), and is leading a team that is generally sub-par (outside of Damian Lillard) to a solid seeing. How this will turn out for the Bucks this year remains to be seen, but overall, they could theoretically achieve anything with Giannis. ​​

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#4: Jayson Tatum

26.8 PPG - 45.3 FG% - 35.6 3P% - 8.8 RPG - 5.7 APG -1.1 STL - 0.5 BLK

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WE DID IT! Everyone has their own opinion on Tatum, good or bad. Personally, I think he's a pretty good basketball player. Sure, he is on a stacked team, but without Tatum I think it is fair to say that the team is far less cohesive and effective as far as their schemes go. Celtics rain three pointers on every single team, but it's ironic how their 2 best players are, arguably, their weakest three point shooters given that fact. Tatum's greatest strength as a player lies in the fact that he is a swiss-army knife that can do it all: Score, playmake, defend, rebound, etc. Players like that are extremely coveted in their own right. The thing that holds Tatum back from being on the top 3 or 2 on this list is that, not only has he had his share of playoff chokes, but he doesn't particularly excel above everyone else in any of those traits I just mentioned. He's a very good scorer, but not better than Luka, SGA, Jokic, or Giannis. He's a good rebounder, but not better than Sabonis, Jokic, or AD. He's a good defender, but not all-defense level like his teammates Jrue Holiday and Derrick White. As good as Tatum is, and although this ranking is pretty high all things considered, until he excels in at least one of those traits, he's never gonna crack the top 3.​​​

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#5: Donovan Mitchell

24.0 PPG - 45.5 FG% - 39.5 3P% - 4.3 RPG - 4.8 APG -1.3 STL - 0.2 BLK

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Between Luka, Lebron, Brunson, Towns, and many other players, this was absolutely the toughest spot to rank on the entire list. All in all, had to give credit to the team that has dominated the most. Mitchell has taken more of a backseat overall in his workload this season, but has supplanted it with far more efficient and effective play. Playing alongside a more developed Garland and Mobley absolutely helps, but he is part of what is allowing these players to develop even more (especially in Mobley's case). Last couple years, the argument has been that with Mitchell as the main focus on that offense, Garland will never be able to develop to the degree that the Cavs wanted him to, but Mitchell has allowed his two-man game with Garland to give way for the Cavs greatest season possibly ever. All in all, although Mitchell's stats do not jump out of the screen, his advanced stats give way for an season that is even better than these stats say. Mitchell is top 3 in EPM, Net Rating, and BPM. Without him, the Cavs win 40-45 games total in the season, and we're at the 58 game mark and the Cavs already have 48. He's top 5 -- Case closed.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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