It is difficult to rise from OG Anunoby. The man who made one of the greatest plays in NBA Finals history and helped New York win its first title in over half a century didn’t do much. While he was enjoying his offseason, a few months removed from the Knicks’ championship glory, he was asked to evaluate the New Sixers’ roster.
He could have been a more emotional shooter or show the Knicks reigning supreme, while the Sixers had little more than a nice idea. Anunoby went another way. He’s basically just scornful.
“Philadelphia? Oh, I guess, the good ones,” Anunoby replied. “I think a lot of teams are good.”
Imagine not being without someone. It is pretty certain that a person with high blood pressure will never need medication.
Anunoby’s answer might be a little flattering, but he’s not wrong or alone in thinking that a lot of teams are good. The Western Conference figures to still be stacked, and the East looks as deep and competitive as it has in some time. With the regular season quickly approaching, it’s a good time to look at the lineups across the league and wonder who’s getting the best start. With apologies to the Celtics, Cavs and Raptors who are relegated to honorable mention status, here are the top five starting five — not the deepest roster depth — ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.
5. Denver Nuggets
Project starting five: Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic
The Nuggets were the worst with injuries last season. Braun played in 38 games and saw his scoring stats and shooting efficiency catch up from last year. Johnson missed 28 games and wasn’t nearly as good in Denver as a lot of people thought he would be (put my hand on that one) when the Nuggets traded him for Michael Porter Jr. Aaron Gordon shot almost 39% from the floor but managed to play only 36 games. Even Jokić, who rarely misses the season, has only played 65 fewer games of his career and barely cleared the threshold to qualify for regular season awards.
There’s still a lot to like in Denver (when we’re only talking about the starting unit; the bench remains a big question, but that’s another subject for another column). Jokić finished runner-up for MVP for the second straight season and is averaging a 27.7 point triple-double on 56.9/38/83.1 shooting splits. Meanwhile, Murray had a breakout year and made the first All-Star and All-NBA teams.
The Nuggets are apparently healthy, and they will primarily need to stay that way if Denver is going to have any trouble doing life for the Thunder and the Spurs. They’ll also need Johnson to step up his production and Braun to play to actually be worth a five-year, $125 million contract, a deal that isn’t so hot for the Nuggets at the moment. But even with the questions here, Joculator and Moravia really step up. When they all played together last season, the Nuggets primarily had an eye-popping plus-13.5 net rating.
4. Philadelphia 76ers
Project starting five: Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, Joel Embiid
I’ll go to the starting lineups, this one is as stacked as any in the league. The day before the paper Unlike the rest of the teams on this list, who usually return five of the same starters last season, the Sixers are pure speculation at this point.
Please address concerns about health and availability with this package. James will turn 42 in December and is making the start of his 24th NBA season. How many minutes and games can reasonably be expected, even though he can play so long in most careers? Embiid is a far greater unknown. Last season he played 38 games, just 19 the season before that and 39 the season before that. He had a long career of injuries and never played more than 68 games in one campaign, which he was able to do once.
The other questions are: What will this defensive group look like, and what are the Sixers’ obstacles when they can have a thing? Who takes the big hit in the crunch time? How will head coach Nick Nurse manage all that talent, and egos?
While all of this is admirable, it’s hard not to tip your hat to new president of basketball operations Mike Gansey for pulling off two of the biggest moves of the offseason. First, Paul George and his onerous contract for Brown, the Finals MVP, who is coming off the best season of his career and is seven years younger. Then he convinced arguably the greatest player of all time to sign for the minimum with a team that hasn’t made it out of the second round since 2001. That’s a nifty twist. Add to that Embiid’s late svelteness and the decline of that backcourt and the Sixers are suddenly boasting that they have the best starting five (yes, even, still on paper) since Dr. J and Moses Malone delivered their last championship in 1983.
3. San Antonio Spurs
Project starting five: De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Tobias Harris, Victor Wembanyama
This is our best guess as to what quarterbacks and head coach Mitch Johnson will go with in the backcourt at the start of the season — rather than what he will. should’ let’s continue The Foxes are a prime mover here, despite being awful in the Finals, where they shot 34.3% from the field, shot a measly 25% from deep, and did. many critical errors and huge spots That cost the spurs big time against the Knicks. Despite being a rookie, Dylan Harper was poorly shot in that Foxes series, and it may be the case that he was the most consistent player against the Knicks. Unfortunately for San Antonio, Johnson didn’t dominate until it was too late.
Harper is 20 years older and bigger than Fox, and has already shown that he can be a hitter on both sides. As Harper himself put it, he’s too good to leave the bench (even if he walked back). Alas, there are a million reasons why the Spurs will probably give the Foxes another shot at the starting gig. The Foxes’ new four-year contract is worth $221 million this season. With Fox, who will turn 29 in December and is not nearly as fast as he once was, he suddenly looks like one of the worst and toughest players in the league. Would the Spurs really want someone to make $49.4 million this season coming off the bench? It seems unlikely if they ever want to offload it. It’s a safe bet that Fox is trying to get some of his money back and give him the nod to start, at least for a while to get started. Either way, Harper should see a lot of minutes.
Castle is more of a defender who shoots better from the line and from deep in the playoffs than he did in the regular season. Vassell is one of the more idle two-way players in the league. And Tobias Harris, a free agent in the offseason, was signed by the Pistons [searches for something complimentary to say] well as a fifth option. Otherwise, Julian Champagnie is working just as well as the last starter, if not better.
But the whole thing obviously revolves around Victor Wembanyama, who was the first ever Defensive Player of the Year in NBA history. He also became the youngest player ever to make All-NBA and reach the NBA Finals at the same time. It’s no surprise that Wemby enters this season as one of the betting favorites to win the MVP, while the Spurs are on the short list to win it all.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder
Project starting five: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein
Having a back-to-back MVP reign in SGA goes a long way. He is a quality defender and one of the most dangerous in the league. Some opposing fans dismiss his ability to make contact as a foul buzzer, but when you get to the line, his skills are lethal, and there are few players better at it than Gilgeous-Alexander.
Jalen Williams missed a big chunk of time and games due to injury, but he told camp he vowed to remind people how good he is. For the past two seasons, JDub has been named to the All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defensive teams. Having a fully functional Williams takes OKC’s starting unit on another level.
Cason Waleys will replace Lu Dort (now in Atlanta) in the first five in a like-for-like, lockdown defender. (Or head coach Mark Daigneault, who was once again spoiled for choice, could have gone with a bigger offense at times with Ajay Mitchell.) Two of the Thunder’s three first-season starters used the double-double combo of Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren. Holmgren finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year category to Wembanyama – as well got jammed Wemby in the eros. Even so, 24-year-old Holmgren remains one of the best players in the league up front. (Plus, it’s a huge matchup this offseason.) Whatever combos the Thunder mix up on a given night, few teams will be able to match their talent at tipoff.
1. New York Knicks
Project starting five: Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns
Whatever doubts lingered for this group, they were obliterated and forgotten at the heroic level in which they generally overthrew and humbled their contention. The Knicks need six games to knock off the Hawks in the first round. They then went on a tear, sweeping the Sixers and Cavs and winning five games against the Spurs in the Finals – with several dramatic come-from-behind wins defying that belief.
Bridges and Anunoby are among the very best two-way wing combos in the league. Josh Hart is sometimes a sharp shooter, but he is a Swiss Army Knife who can contribute in countless other ways. After the Knicks made a risky attempt to land Giannis Antetokounmpo in the trade deadline, Towns found a groove and played some of the best basketball games of his career, including outplaying Wemby early in the finals. Brunson, who has doubted his entire life, from Villanova, after winning two college titles, to the Mavs in free agency, to the question of whether the small guard could be the first option in a championship contender. No one doubts the Finals MVP anymore…except maybe Hart when Brunson comes to finish hosting SNL.
When the team is about to deliver the championship for the first time in 53 years, you deserve the top spot until someone knocks you off the pole.