"I apologize on that one. I got hit in the head, didn't really know where I was, but I'mma check on him and see if he's okay and everything. I haven't even seen it.” — LaMelo Ball apologizes for his play on Bam (h/t @ohnohedidnt24)

Final 2025-26 HNI*, or every NBA player with 500 minutes, sorted by the AVERAGE OF THEIR RANKS in 12 catch-alls... 1. Nikola Jokić (1.7) 2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2.0) 3. Victor Wembanyama (3.8) 4. Luka Dončić (4.8) 4. Kawhi Leonard (4.8) 6. Donovan Mitchell (8.5) 7. Cade Cunningham (10.8) 8. Jalen Duren (15.7) 9. Tyrese Maxey (16.3) 10. Kevin Durant (17.0) 11. Chet Holmgren (17.1) 12. Jamal Murray (20.3) 13. James Harden (20.6) 14. Karl-Anthony Towns (21.3) 15. Anthony Edwards (23.0) 16. Scottie Barnes (23.8) 16. Jalen Brunson (23.8) 18. LaMelo Ball (24.3) 19. Jaylen Brown (26.8) 20. Giannis Antetokounmpo (27.0) 21. Derrick White (30.2) 22. Bam Adebayo (32.9) 23. Stephen Curry (33.4) 24. Devin Booker (34.3) 25. Neemias Queta (35.5) 26. Deni Avdija (35.8) 27. Jimmy Butler (39.8) 28. Austin Reaves (39.9) 29. Jalen Johnson (40.4) 30. Donovan Clingan (40.7) 31. De'Aaron Fox (42.5) 32. Amen Thompson (43.7) 33. Joel Embiid (44.3) 34. Evan Mobley (44.6) 35. LeBron James (45.5) 36. Jarrett Allen (45.9) 37. Payton Pritchard (50.4) 38. Alperen Şengün (50.8) 39. Kon Knueppel (50.9) 40. Sandro Mamukelashvili (52.4) 41. Nickeil Alexander-Walker (54.2) 42. OG Anunoby (54.3) 43. Immanuel Quickley (54.9) 44. Isaiah Hartenstein (56.2) 45. Desmond Bane (56.4) 46. Rudy Gobert (58.3) 47. Lauri Markkanen (58.7) 48. Stephon Castle (59.3) 49. Brandon Miller (61.5) 50. Zion Williamson (62.1) 51. Dyson Daniels (64.7) 52. Mikal Bridges (67.1) 53. Ausar Thompson (67.7) 54. Moussa Diabaté (69.0) 55. Julius Randle (69.7) 55. Mitchell Robinson (69.7) 57. Michael Porter Jr. (69.9) 58. Collin Gillespie (70.2) 59. Paul Reed (71.5) 60. Jalen Suggs (72.8) 61. Trey Murphy III (73.6) 62. Ajay Mitchell (75.9) 63. Julian Champagnie (77.9) 63. Robert Williams (77.9) 65. Isaiah Joe (80.8) 66. Franz Wagner (81.9) 67. Onyeka Okongwu (82.0) 68. Jrue Holiday (85.1) 69. Josh Hart (86.0) 70. Miles Bridges (86.4) 71. Norman Powell (87.1) 72. Tobias Harris (87.6) 73. Pascal Siakam (88.2) 74. Duncan Robinson (88.7) 75. Paolo Banchero (89.5) 76. Donte DiVincenzo (91.2) 77. Paul George (93.8) 78. Jalen Williams (95.0) 79. Keldon Johnson (96.7) 80. Aaron Gordon (98.4) 81. RJ Barrett (98.9) 82. Goga Bitadze (100.2) 83. Cason Wallace (100.3) 84. CJ McCollum (101.6) 85. Kel'el Ware (101.7) 86. Luke Kornet (102.7) 87. Naz Reid (104.1) 88. Kevin Porter Jr. (104.6) 89. Kristaps Porziņģis (105.3) 90. Jordan Goodwin (105.7) 91. Grayson Allen (105.9) 92. Luka Garza (107.3) 93. Brandin Podziemski (107.5) 94. Brandon Ingram (107.6) 95. Day'Ron Sharpe (107.8) 96. Reed Sheppard (108.0) 97. Tre Jones (108.7) 98. Javonte Green (108.9) 99. Jayson Tatum (109.9) 100. Dylan Harper (111.0) 101. Josh Giddey (111.3) 102. Cooper Flagg (112.6) 103. Jaylin Williams (114.2) 104. Devin Vassell (114.9) 105. Saddiq Bey (115.2) 106. Sam Hauser (115.4) 107. Alex Caruso (116.0) 108. Ryan Rollins (118.8) 109. Jabari Smith Jr. (119.8) 110. Wendell Carter Jr. (120.6) 111. Cam Spencer (121.6) 112. Jakob Poeltl (124.5) 113. Darius Garland (125.7) 113. Sam Merrill (125.7) 115. Jalen Smith (129.0) 116. Bones Hyland (130.1) 116. Toumani Camara (130.1) 118. Moses Moody (130.2) 119. Anthony Davis (130.9) 120. Andrew Wiggins (131.7) 121. Ryan Kalkbrenner (133.1) 122. Mark Williams (133.3) 123. Jaren Jackson Jr. (135.5) 124. Collin Murray-Boyles (136.0) 124. Collin Sexton (136.0) 126. Tyler Herro (136.3) 127. Jaylon Tyson (136.6) 128. Clint Capela (136.7) 128. Miles McBride (136.7) 130. T.J. McConnell (137.3) 131. Jaden McDaniels (137.5) 132. Gary Payton II (141.0) 133. Ivica Zubac (141.4) 134. Nikola Vučević (142.4) 134. Oso Ighodaro (142.4) 136. Josh Minott (142.8) 137. John Collins (143.2) 138. Cameron Johnson (145.0) 139. Ayo Dosunmu (148.1) 140. Anthony Black (150.5) 141. Harrison Barnes (150.6) 142. Brandon Williams (152.9) 143. Gui Santos (153.8) 144. Jerami Grant (154.7) 145. Derrick Jones Jr. (155.1) 146. Deandre Ayton (156.1) 147. VJ Edgecombe (156.3) 148. Jaxson Hayes (157.3) 149. Simone Fontecchio (158.8) 150. Keyonte George (159.8) 151. Coby White (160.4) 152. Santi Aldama (161.2) 153. Grant Williams (161.6) 154. Jordan Walsh (162.8) 155. DeMar DeRozan (163.4) 156. Daniel Gafford (164.1) 157. Dean Wade (165.2) 158. Justin Champagnie (165.8) 159. Kris Dunn (166.0) 160. Dru Smith (167.7) 161. Pelle Larsson (170.2) 162. Jaime Jaquez Jr. (170.9) 163. Jusuf Nurkić (171.3) 164. Tari Eason (171.4) 165. Baylor Scheierman (171.7) 166. Cedric Coward (171.8) 167. Kevin Huerter (172.3) 168. Ja'Kobe Walter (172.5) 169. Andrew Nembhard (172.8) 170. Jock Landale (173.2) 170. Landry Shamet (173.2) 172. Davion Mitchell (173.8) 173. Naji Marshall (175.7) 174. Marcus Smart (176.7) 175. Tim Hardaway Jr. (177.3) 176. Myles Turner (178.8) 177. Thomas Bryant (179.5) 178. Marvin Bagley III (180.0) 179. Anfernee Simons (180.3) 179. Steven Adams (180.3) 181. Jordan Miller (181.5) 182. Craig Porter Jr. (183.7) 182. Javon Small (183.7) 184. De'Anthony Melton (183.8) 185. Micah Potter (186.8) 185. Tristan Da Silva (186.8) 187. Jay Huff (187.0) 188. Jamal Shead (187.1) 189. Precious Achiuwa (187.9) 190. Christian Braun (188.5) 191. Kyle Filipowski (190.0) 192. Isaiah Stewart (190.6) 193. Dillon Brooks (192.6) 194. Jonas Valančiūnas (193.2) 195. Al Horford (195.3) 196. Daniss Jenkins (195.5) 197. Ron Holland (195.8) 198. Ryan Dunn (198.2) 199. Keon Ellis (198.5) 200. Dominick Barlow (199.0) 200. Matas Buzelis (199.0) 202. John Konchar (199.5) 203. Karlo Matković (200.5) 203. Kenrich Williams (200.5) 205. Brook Lopez (202.0) 206. Luke Kennard (202.5) 206. Mouhamed Gueye (202.5) 208. Shaedon Sharpe (203.1) 209. Ja Morant (203.3) 210. Aaron Wiggins (205.3) 211. Jose Alvarado (206.6) 212. Olivier-Maxence Prosper (206.8) 213. Jalen Green (207.8) 214. Derik Queen (209.8) 215. Peyton Watson (211.0) 216. Quinten Post (212.8) 217. Nic Claxton (213.7) 218. Jake LaRavia (215.2) 219. Kasparas Jakučionis (215.8) 220. Domantas Sabonis (216.6) 221. Dylan Cardwell (217.0) 221. Josh Okogie (217.0) 223. Bobby Portis (217.2) 224. Quentin Grimes (217.3) 225. Josh Green (217.9) 226. Alex Sarr (218.9) 227. Andre Drummond (219.0) 228. Isaiah Jackson (220.4) 229. Royce O'Neale (222.8) 230. GG Jackson II (224.7) 231. Luguentz Dort (226.0) 232. Tristan Vukcevic (226.7) 233. Jamaree Bouyea (227.2) 234. Bennedict Mathurin (227.3) 235. Russell Westbrook (228.8) 236. Kelly Oubre Jr. (229.2) 237. Yves Missi (229.5) 238. P.J. Washington (229.7) 239. Hugo González (229.8) 240. Kris Murray (233.8) 241. Dwight Powell (234.3) 242. Jonathan Kuminga (234.7) 243. Ziaire Williams (235.3) 244. Herbert Jones (237.8) 244. Kyshawn George (237.8) 246. Quenton Jackson (238.7) 247. Nae'Qwan Tomlin (242.6) 248. Leonard Miller (243.8) 249. Malik Monk (244.1) 250. Kevin Love (244.6) 251. Will Richard (244.8) 252. Kyle Anderson (244.9) 253. Jonathan Isaac (245.5) 254. Draymond Green (245.7) 255. Svi Mykhailiuk (247.2) 256. Tyler Kolek (247.3) 257. Jaylen Wells (247.9) 258. Vít Krejčí (248.8) 259. Sion James (249.3) 260. Zach LaVine (251.4) 261. Scoot Henderson (252.0) 262. Adem Bona (252.8) 263. Jarred Vanderbilt (254.1) 264. Max Christie (254.5) 265. Egor Dёmin (255.4) 266. Brice Sensabaugh (256.8) 266. Jaylen Clark (256.8) 268. Vince Williams Jr. (257.1) 269. Buddy Hield (257.8) 270. Tidjane Salaün (258.3) 270. Tyrese Proctor (258.3) 272. Devin Carter (258.6) 273. Aaron Nesmith (258.9) 274. Dennis Schröder (259.3) 275. Asa Newell (259.8) 276. Klay Thompson (259.9) 277. Jeremiah Fears (263.8) 278. Justin Edwards (264.0) 279. Corey Kispert (264.1) 280. A.J. Green (264.7) 281. Julian Strawther (265.1) 282. Kyle Kuzma (265.5) 283. Jamir Watkins (267.5) 284. Zaccharie Risacher (268.8) 285. Jabari Walker (269.5) 286. Bilal Coulibaly (269.8) 287. Rui Hachimura (270.2) 288. Jaden Ivey (270.3) 288. Moussa Cisse (270.3) 290. Caris LeVert (272.3) 291. Dalen Terry (274.8) 292. Lonzo Ball (274.9) 292. Noah Penda (274.9) 294. Aaron Holiday (278.3) 295. Jevon Carter (279.1) 296. Jordan Clarkson (282.3) 296. De'Andre Hunter (282.3) 298. Taylor Hendricks (283.1) 299. Danny Wolf (283.3) 300. Mike Conley (284.1) 301. Keegan Murray (284.5) 302. Bryce McGowens (285.2) 303. Kobe Sanders (287.3) 304. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (287.8) 305. Jared McCain (288.5) 306. Maxime Raynaud (289.8) 307. Isaiah Collier (291.6) 308. Spencer Jones (292.2) 309. Guerschon Yabusele (293.2) 310. Rasheer Fleming (294.9) 311. Pat Spencer (297.4) 312. Pete Nance (298.8) 313. Jett Howard (299.1) 314. Carter Bryant (299.3) 315. Nicolas Batum (299.9) 315. Sidy Cissoko (299.9) 317. Johnny Furphy (301.8) 318. Bruce Brown (303.1) 319. Kobe Brown (303.8) 320. Noah Clowney (303.9) 321. Taurean Prince (306.1) 322. Jordan Poole (307.5) 322. Terrence Shannon Jr. (307.5) 324. Mohamed Diawara (308.4) 325. Jamison Battle (309.2) 325. Trendon Watford (309.2) 327. Elijah Harkless (309.8) 328. Gradey Dick (309.9) 328. Jarace Walker (309.9) 330. Drew Eubanks (310.5) 331. Nikola Jović (310.9) 332. Jase Richardson (311.6) 333. Caleb Martin (312.2) 334. Jalen Pickett (312.7) 335. Ethan Thompson (313.6) 336. Isaac Okoro (313.8) 337. Khris Middleton (314.0) 338. Anthony Gill (315.4) 339. Daeqwon Plowden (315.6) 340. Sharife Cooper (316.8) 340. Tyus Jones (316.8) 342. Jaden Hardy (317.4) 343. Ben Sheppard (318.3) 344. Tyrese Martin (319.0) 345. Terance Mann (320.2) 346. Nique Clifford (320.6) 347. Ryan Nembhard (322.6) 348. Ace Bailey (325.3) 349. Gary Harris (325.5) 350. Cam Thomas (326.3) 351. Caleb Love (330.8) 351. Jericho Sims (330.8) 353. Micah Peavy (331.0) 353. Ochai Agbaji (331.0) 355. Dorian Finney-Smith (331.2) 355. Zeke Nnaji (331.2) 357. Keaton Wallace (332.1) 358. Dalton Knecht (332.8) 359. Will Riley (333.2) 360. Nick Richards (334.6) 361. Ousmane Dieng (340.7) 362. Walter Clayton (343.3) 363. Tre Johnson (343.5) 364. Jalen Wilson (345.5) 365. Gabe Vincent (345.6) 366. Cole Anthony (348.0) 367. Bub Carrington (350.3) 367. Tre Mann (350.3) 369. Cody Williams (355.6) 369. Patrick Williams (355.6) 371. Gary Trent Jr. (357.4) 372. Kam Jones (357.9) 373. Rob Dillingham (361.1) 374. Rayan Rupert (362.6) 375. Nolan Traoré (364.2) 376. Jordan Hawkins (366.3) 377. Drake Powell (368.1) 378. Ben Saraf (368.3) 379. Jahmai Mashack (371.4) A number of catch-all metrics from the around the internet endeavor to tell us who's playing best every year. And though many of the different adjusted plus-minuses attempt to measure the same thing (an individual player’s impact on the game when he’s on the floor), they have slightly different ways of getting there. If you want to acknowledge the most accessible ones, you could say something like… “Jayson Tatum is 3rd in Basketball Reference’s box plus/minus and 7th in wins over replacement player; 3rd in Dunks and Threes’ estimated plus-minus and 5th in estimated wins; 9th in Basketball Index's LEBRON and 31st in LEBRON WAR; 6th in ESPN's Net Points per 100 possessions and 21st in Net Points WAR; 10th in DARKO DPM and total DPM; and 2nd in Basketball Reference’s game score per 100 possessions and 17th in total game score..." …but that’s quite a mouthful. For the last several seasons, I’ve been sharing something of a shorthand for the above. Instead of rattling off that list for any and all players one might want to discuss, I sort every qualified player by the average of their ranks in those stats (as well as their cumulative variants). The results give credit to each of the metrics, throw a bone to basic numbers (through the use of game score) and reward players for availability (through the addition of the cumulative marks). The lists produced by this exercise aren’t perfect, but none are. Strictly subjective rankings obviously have their own flaws. This is at least a guide. And it can give you a pretty good idea of who’s been the best (or worst) in 2025-26. If you’re looking for a specific player (like, oh say, Paolo Banchero), do the handy little “control (or command) plus F” trick on your keyboard and type in that player’s name. Oh, and one more caveat. If someone looks lower than you thought he should be (a warranted reaction to some placements), bear in mind that cumulative numbers (think points, rather than points per game) are in play. So those who've missed plenty of time are affected by that. *Shout out to Tim MacMahon for coming up with the name "Huge Nerd Index" or HNI.

HNI*, or every NBA player with 500 minutes in 2025-26, sorted by the AVERAGE OF THEIR RANKS in 12 catch-alls... 1. Nikola Jokić (1.8) 2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2.0) 3. Victor Wembanyama (4.0) 4. Luka Dončić (4.3) 5. Kawhi Leonard (4.9) 6. Donovan Mitchell (8.2) 7. Cade Cunningham (9.9) 8. Tyrese Maxey (15.3) 9. Jalen Duren (15.7) 10. Kevin Durant (17.1) 11. Chet Holmgren (18.1) 12. James Harden (19.1) 13. Jamal Murray (20.2) 14. Anthony Edwards (22.2) 15. Karl-Anthony Towns (22.9) 16. LaMelo Ball (24.3) 17. Jalen Brunson (24.4) 18. Giannis Antetokounmpo (25.9) 19. Scottie Barnes (26.0) 20. Jaylen Brown (26.3) 21. Derrick White (28.2) 22. Stephen Curry (32.9) 23. Jalen Johnson (34.7) 24. Neemias Queta (35.7) 25. Bam Adebayo (35.9) 26. Jimmy Butler (36.9) 27. Kon Knueppel (37.6) 28. Devin Booker (37.8) 29. Austin Reaves (38.3) 30. Deni Avdija (39.2) 31. Evan Mobley (42.3) 32. De'Aaron Fox (42.7) 33. Jarrett Allen (43.7) 34. Joel Embiid (44.3) 35. Amen Thompson (44.7) 36. Donovan Clingan (46.0) 37. Alperen Şengün (46.9) 38. LeBron James (52.3) 39. OG Anunoby (53.0) 40. Isaiah Hartenstein (53.8) 41. Immanuel Quickley (54.8) 42. Payton Pritchard (56.0) 43. Zion Williamson (56.1) 44. Rudy Gobert (56.6) 44. Sandro Mamukelashvili (56.6) 46. Nickeil Alexander-Walker (56.7) 47. Stephon Castle (56.8) 48. Lauri Markkanen (57.0) 49. Collin Gillespie (58.5) 50. Desmond Bane (62.2) 51. Brandon Miller (63.8) 52. Moussa Diabaté (65.6) 53. Michael Porter Jr. (67.1) 54. Dyson Daniels (67.5) 55. Mikal Bridges (67.8) 55. Julius Randle (67.8) 57. Ajay Mitchell (70.5) 58. Ausar Thompson (71.2) 59. Trey Murphy III (71.4) 60. Julian Champagnie (71.8) 61. Norman Powell (72.3) 62. Mitchell Robinson (73.7) 63. Robert Williams (76.2) 64. Paul Reed (77.3) 65. Onyeka Okongwu (78.1) 66. Jrue Holiday (80.9) 67. Jalen Suggs (82.9) 68. Josh Hart (83.1) 69. Franz Wagner (84.6) 70. Pascal Siakam (84.9) 71. Paul George (85.9) 72. Donte DiVincenzo (88.0) 72. Isaiah Joe (88.0) 74. Miles Bridges (88.5) 75. Tobias Harris (92.2) 76. Duncan Robinson (92.6) 77. Jalen Williams (94.8) 78. Grayson Allen (95.2) 79. Kristaps Porziņģis (98.1) 80. Cason Wallace (98.9) 81. Paolo Banchero (99.6) 82. Kel'el Ware (99.7) 83. Kevin Porter Jr. (100.9) 84. Luke Kornet (101.2) 85. Aaron Gordon (103.4) 86. RJ Barrett (104.7) 87. Keldon Johnson (105.5) 88. Day'Ron Sharpe (106.1) 89. CJ McCollum (106.7) 90. Josh Giddey (108.2) 91. Devin Vassell (108.3) 92. Luka Garza (108.6) 93. Dylan Harper (109.7) 93. Jaylin Williams (109.7) 95. Alex Caruso (110.3) 95. Saddiq Bey (110.3) 97. Jordan Goodwin (110.6) 98. Naz Reid (111.1) 99. Cooper Flagg (112.3) 100. Reed Sheppard (112.7) 101. Brandin Podziemski (113.8) 102. Goga Bitadze (114.8) 103. Ryan Rollins (116.4) 104. Cam Spencer (119.1) 105. Sam Hauser (119.6) 105. Tre Jones (119.6) 107. Jabari Smith Jr. (120.2) 108. Andrew Wiggins (120.3) 109. Wendell Carter Jr. (120.8) 110. Jakob Poeltl (123.7) 110. Jalen Smith (123.7) 110. Sam Merrill (123.7) 113. Javonte Green (124.0) 114. Brandon Ingram (125.0) 115. Darius Garland (125.2) 116. John Collins (125.5) 117. Anthony Davis (126.5) 118. Moses Moody (126.9) 119. Jaden McDaniels (128.2) 120. Jaren Jackson Jr. (128.8) 121. Jaylon Tyson (129.4) 122. Tyler Herro (129.7) 123. Collin Sexton (130.8) 124. Toumani Camara (132.8) 125. Bones Hyland (133.9) 126. T.J. McConnell (134.8) 127. Josh Minott (136.6) 128. Nikola Vučević (136.8) 129. Mark Williams (137.1) 130. Miles McBride (137.4) 131. Oso Ighodaro (137.8) 132. Ryan Kalkbrenner (138.5) 133. Ivica Zubac (139.1) 134. Clint Capela (144.5) 135. Gary Payton II (145.3) 136. Anthony Black (145.6) 136. Pelle Larsson (145.6) 138. Derrick Jones Jr. (146.7) 139. Harrison Barnes (147.0) 140. Ayo Dosunmu (147.2) 141. Brandon Williams (148.9) 142. Collin Murray-Boyles (149.8) 143. Jerami Grant (150.9) 144. Cameron Johnson (152.1) 145. Gui Santos (152.4) 146. Jaxson Hayes (152.5) 147. Coby White (153.2) 148. Santi Aldama (153.6) 149. Kris Dunn (155.7) 150. Landry Shamet (157.1) 151. Keyonte George (158.7) 152. VJ Edgecombe (160.3) 153. Deandre Ayton (160.5) 154. Daniel Gafford (161.1) 155. Dru Smith (161.4) 156. Naji Marshall (162.7) 156. Simone Fontecchio (162.7) 158. Dean Wade (162.9) 158. DeMar DeRozan (162.9) 160. Tim Hardaway Jr. (164.8) 161. Justin Champagnie (165.3) 162. Davion Mitchell (167.4) 163. Jock Landale (167.6) 164. Jusuf Nurkić (169.7) 165. Jaime Jaquez Jr. (169.9) 165. Jordan Walsh (169.9) 167. Grant Williams (170.0) 168. Andrew Nembhard (173.3) 169. Javon Small (173.6) 170. Kyle Filipowski (174.8) 171. Steven Adams (175.3) 172. Marcus Smart (175.5) 173. Anfernee Simons (176.7) 174. Kevin Huerter (178.3) 175. Ja'Kobe Walter (178.6) 176. Thomas Bryant (178.8) 177. Kenrich Williams (179.0) 178. Daniss Jenkins (180.3) 179. Isaiah Stewart (181.5) 180. Marvin Bagley III (183.1) 181. Craig Porter Jr. (183.3) 182. Baylor Scheierman (183.6) 183. Dillon Brooks (183.8) 184. De'Anthony Melton (185.6) 185. Tari Eason (186.2) 186. Christian Braun (187.4) 187. Tristan Da Silva (188.0) 188. Precious Achiuwa (188.5) 189. Aaron Wiggins (188.9) 190. Al Horford (189.3) 191. Myles Turner (189.8) 192. Jay Huff (189.9) 193. Matas Buzelis (190.5) 194. Jamal Shead (191.3) 195. Micah Potter (191.7) 196. Keon Ellis (192.8) 196. Karlo Matković (192.8) 198. Ja Morant (194.6) 199. Shaedon Sharpe (195.8) 200. Jalen Green (198.1) 201. Jordan Miller (198.6) 202. Cedric Coward (198.8) 203. Ryan Dunn (200.3) 204. Peyton Watson (202.5) 205. Mouhamed Gueye (203.3) 206. Brook Lopez (205.3) 207. Quinten Post (205.7) 208. Ron Holland (206.3) 209. Jose Alvarado (209.3) 210. Jonas Valančiūnas (209.8) 211. Olivier-Maxence Prosper (210.8) 212. Josh Green (211.2) 213. Quentin Grimes (211.3) 214. John Konchar (211.5) 215. Josh Okogie (212.0) 216. Nic Claxton (212.3) 217. Domantas Sabonis (212.7) 218. Bobby Portis (214.1) 219. Dominick Barlow (214.8) 219. Royce O'Neale (214.8) 221. Jamaree Bouyea (215.2) 222. Alex Sarr (215.8) 223. Isaiah Jackson (216.1) 224. Yves Missi (218.3) 225. Kasparas Jakučionis (219.3) 226. Derik Queen (219.7) 227. Bennedict Mathurin (220.6) 228. Luke Kennard (220.8) 229. Kelly Oubre Jr. (222.0) 230. Dylan Cardwell (224.0) 231. Russell Westbrook (225.3) 232. GG Jackson II (226.2) 232. Tristan Vukcevic (226.2) 234. Luguentz Dort (227.6) 235. Herbert Jones (227.8) 236. P.J. Washington (228.4) 237. Ziaire Williams (228.8) 238. Jake LaRavia (230.3) 239. Draymond Green (231.1) 240. Dwight Powell (232.8) 241. Sion James (232.9) 242. Quenton Jackson (234.6) 243. Kyshawn George (236.3) 244. Andre Drummond (237.1) 245. Hugo González (237.5) 246. Will Richard (237.8) 247. Jonathan Kuminga (237.9) 248. Kris Murray (239.1) 249. Jonathan Isaac (239.2) 250. Svi Mykhailiuk (239.3) 250. Vít Krejčí (239.3) 252. Tyler Kolek (239.9) 253. Adem Bona (241.0) 254. Brice Sensabaugh (241.4) 255. Kevin Love (241.8) 256. Leonard Miller (241.9) 257. Jaylen Wells (243.2) 258. Tidjane Salaün (244.5) 259. Malik Monk (247.1) 260. Egor Dёmin (248.7) 261. Kyle Anderson (248.8) 262. Zach LaVine (249.1) 263. Jaden Ivey (250.3) 264. Jarred Vanderbilt (251.2) 265. Vince Williams Jr. (251.6) 266. Scoot Henderson (251.7) 267. Aaron Nesmith (253.3) 268. Klay Thompson (254.3) 269. Dennis Schröder (254.5) 270. Jaylen Clark (254.6) 271. Jamir Watkins (255.0) 272. Zaccharie Risacher (255.3) 273. Noah Penda (255.4) 274. Kyle Kuzma (256.3) 275. Devin Carter (258.4) 276. Corey Kispert (258.9) 277. Lonzo Ball (261.7) 278. Nae'Qwan Tomlin (262.3) 279. Max Christie (265.3) 280. Buddy Hield (266.4) 281. Justin Edwards (267.3) 282. Dalen Terry (267.8) 283. Jabari Walker (268.0) 284. Pete Nance (268.3) 285. Caris LeVert (268.9) 286. De'Andre Hunter (271.4) 287. Pat Spencer (272.6) 288. Jared McCain (273.0) 289. Danny Wolf (273.3) 290. Jordan Clarkson (274.6) 291. A.J. Green (274.7) 292. Bryce McGowens (275.3) 293. Rasheer Fleming (275.5) 294. Keegan Murray (277.1) 295. Jeremiah Fears (277.5) 296. Jevon Carter (279.8) 297. Julian Strawther (279.9) 298. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (282.7) 299. Bilal Coulibaly (282.8) 299. Rui Hachimura (282.8) 301. Spencer Jones (285.7) 302. Mohamed Diawara (287.2) 303. Isaiah Collier (287.4) 304. Sidy Cissoko (288.9) 305. Guerschon Yabusele (289.1) 306. Mike Conley (291.2) 307. Maxime Raynaud (291.3) 308. Jett Howard (291.5) 309. Aaron Holiday (291.7) 310. Johnny Furphy (292.8) 311. Nicolas Batum (293.0) 312. Kobe Brown (298.1) 312. Noah Clowney (298.1) 314. Trendon Watford (298.3) 315. Taylor Hendricks (299.4) 316. Gradey Dick (301.5) 317. Elijah Harkless (301.9) 318. Kobe Sanders (303.3) 319. Jordan Poole (303.7) 320. Drew Eubanks (304.1) 320. Nikola Jović (304.1) 322. Jalen Pickett (305.0) 323. Bruce Brown (305.1) 324. Will Riley (305.3) 325. Jase Richardson (306.1) 326. Anthony Gill (306.8) 327. Jaden Hardy (307.6) 328. Ben Sheppard (308.4) 329. Caleb Martin (309.0) 330. Khris Middleton (309.3) 330. Tyrese Martin (309.3) 332. Jarace Walker (309.4) 333. Zeke Nnaji (311.1) 334. Terance Mann (311.5) 335. Tyus Jones (311.6) 336. Nique Clifford (313.0) 337. Ethan Thompson (315.7) 338. Isaac Okoro (315.8) 339. Carter Bryant (316.8) 340. Ace Bailey (317.1) 340. Gary Harris (317.1) 342. Daeqwon Plowden (317.2) 343. Cam Thomas (320.8) 344. Caleb Love (321.9) 345. Ochai Agbaji (322.3) 346. Dorian Finney-Smith (323.2) 347. Ousmane Dieng (323.6) 348. Nick Richards (324.8) 349. Sharife Cooper (325.8) 350. Jalen Wilson (327.0) 351. Micah Peavy (328.1) 352. Ryan Nembhard (331.5) 353. Jericho Sims (335.6) 353. Tre Johnson (335.6) 355. Dalton Knecht (336.7) 356. Walter Clayton (338.3) 357. Tre Mann (340.3) 358. Cole Anthony (340.8) 359. Gabe Vincent (340.9) 360. Bub Carrington (344.5) 361. Kam Jones (344.6) 362. Jahmai Mashack (345.3) 363. Gary Trent Jr. (348.0) 364. Cody Williams (348.3) 365. Drake Powell (352.4) 366. Patrick Williams (353.6) 367. Rayan Rupert (354.9) 368. Rob Dillingham (355.9) 369. Nolan Traoré (358.8) 370. Ben Saraf (360.9) 371. Jordan Hawkins (361.8) A number of catch-all metrics from the around the internet endeavor to tell us who's playing best every year. And though many of the different adjusted plus-minuses attempt to measure the same thing (an individual player’s impact on the game when he’s on the floor), they have slightly different ways of getting there. If you want to acknowledge the most accessible ones, you could say something like… “Jayson Tatum is 3rd in Basketball Reference’s box plus/minus and 7th in wins over replacement player; 3rd in Dunks and Threes’ estimated plus-minus and 5th in estimated wins; 9th in Basketball Index's LEBRON and 31st in LEBRON WAR; 6th in ESPN's Net Points per 100 possessions and 21st in Net Points WAR; and 2nd in Basketball Reference’s game score per 100 possessions and 17th in total game score..." …but that’s quite a mouthful. For the last several seasons, I’ve been sharing something of a shorthand for the above. Instead of rattling off that list for any and all players one might want to discuss, I sort every qualified player by the average of their ranks in those stats (as well as their cumulative variants). The results give credit to each of the metrics, throw a bone to basic numbers (through the use of game score) and reward players for availability (through the addition of the cumulative marks). The lists produced by this exercise aren’t perfect, but none are. Strictly subjective rankings obviously have their own flaws. This is at least a guide. And it can give you a pretty good idea of who’s been the best (or worst) in 2025-26. If you’re looking for a specific player (like, oh say, Paolo Banchero), do the handy little “control (or command) plus F” trick on your keyboard and type in that player’s name. Oh, and one more caveat. If someone looks lower than you thought he should be (a warranted reaction to some placements), bear in mind that cumulative numbers (think points, rather than points per game) are in play. So those who've missed plenty of time are affected by that. *Shout out to Tim MacMahon for coming up with the name "Huge Nerd Index" or HNI. It's a little late in the game to do this, but I was curious to see if or how adding DARKO DPM to the mix might affect things. So, I did. Being just one-sixth of the stew didn't make much of a difference, but there's certainly an argument for getting another reputable number in there. And the real math people might hate me for mixing a predictive number in with non-predictive ones, but they've never cared for me much anyway. So, it's in!

HNI*, or every NBA player with 500 minutes in 2025-26, sorted by the AVERAGE OF THEIR RANKS in 12 catch-alls... 1. Nikola Jokić (1.7) 2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2.0) 3. Luka Dončić (4.3) 3. Victor Wembanyama (4.3) 5. Kawhi Leonard (4.9) 6. Donovan Mitchell (8.3) 7. Cade Cunningham (9.4) 8. Tyrese Maxey (14.8) 9. Jalen Duren (15.8) 10. Kevin Durant (17.9) 11. Chet Holmgren (18.3) 12. James Harden (18.7) 13. Jamal Murray (20.0) 13. Anthony Edwards (20.0) 15. Karl-Anthony Towns (22.0) 16. Scottie Barnes (22.5) 17. Giannis Antetokounmpo (23.9) 17. Jalen Brunson (23.9) 19. Derrick White (28.6) 20. LaMelo Ball (29.3) 21. Jaylen Brown (30.2) 22. Stephen Curry (32.5) 23. Jimmy Butler (34.8) 24. Devin Booker (35.4) 25. Bam Adebayo (35.6) 26. Austin Reaves (35.9) 27. Jalen Johnson (36.7) 28. Kon Knueppel (38.3) 29. Donovan Clingan (39.3) 30. Deni Avdija (39.5) 31. Evan Mobley (41.3) 32. Neemias Queta (42.6) 33. Jarrett Allen (42.8) 34. Joel Embiid (44.7) 35. De'Aaron Fox (46.3) 36. Amen Thompson (46.7) 37. Alperen Şengün (48.0) 38. LeBron James (49.1) 39. Rudy Gobert (52.6) 40. Stephon Castle (53.1) 41. Immanuel Quickley (53.2) 42. Zion Williamson (54.3) 43. Collin Gillespie (55.3) 44. Lauri Markkanen (55.8) 45. Isaiah Hartenstein (57.9) 45. Sandro Mamukelashvili (57.9) 47. Payton Pritchard (59.0) 48. OG Anunoby (59.4) 49. Nickeil Alexander-Walker (60.2) 50. Michael Porter Jr. (65.4) 51. Mikal Bridges (65.6) 52. Brandon Miller (66.0) 53. Desmond Bane (66.1) 54. Trey Murphy III (67.8) 55. Moussa Diabaté (68.0) 56. Ajay Mitchell (68.8) 57. Norman Powell (69.3) 58. Dyson Daniels (69.8) 59. Julius Randle (70.0) 60. Mitchell Robinson (73.3) 61. Julian Champagnie (73.8) 62. Ausar Thompson (74.2) 63. Robert Williams (76.5) 64. Paul Reed (76.7) 65. Donte DiVincenzo (79.4) 66. Josh Hart (79.8) 67. Onyeka Okongwu (80.7) 68. Jalen Suggs (80.9) 69. Jrue Holiday (84.2) 70. Franz Wagner (85.9) 71. Pascal Siakam (88.1) 72. Kristaps Porziņģis (89.5) 73. Paolo Banchero (90.2) 74. Grayson Allen (91.1) 75. Aaron Gordon (92.7) 76. Duncan Robinson (94.3) 76. Isaiah Joe (94.3) 78. Tobias Harris (95.8) 79. Naz Reid (98.2) 80. Keldon Johnson (98.4) 81. Miles Bridges (98.5) 82. Kevin Porter Jr. (98.7) 83. Kel'el Ware (99.4) 84. Jalen Williams (100.0) 85. Josh Giddey (100.1) 86. Luka Garza (102.0) 87. Luke Kornet (102.3) 88. Day'Ron Sharpe (103.8) 88. Paul George (103.8) 90. Saddiq Bey (104.1) 91. Cason Wallace (104.5) 92. Alex Caruso (106.5) 93. RJ Barrett (107.5) 94. Devin Vassell (109.2) 95. Jordan Goodwin (109.3) 96. CJ McCollum (113.2) 97. Jaylin Williams (113.3) 97. Goga Bitadze (113.3) 99. Tre Jones (114.0) 99. Javonte Green (114.0) 101. Dylan Harper (116.1) 102. Jabari Smith Jr. (117.0) 103. Andrew Wiggins (117.2) 104. Sam Merrill (119.6) 105. Jalen Smith (121.0) 106. Brandin Podziemski (121.8) 107. Tyler Herro (122.1) 108. Wendell Carter Jr. (122.5) 109. Cam Spencer (122.6) 110. Moses Moody (123.4) 111. Anthony Davis (123.6) 112. Ryan Rollins (123.7) 113. Darius Garland (123.9) 114. Jaden McDaniels (124.3) 115. Jakob Poeltl (125.5) 116. Jaren Jackson Jr. (126.4) 117. Brandon Ingram (127.8) 118. Collin Sexton (128.7) 119. Jaylon Tyson (129.0) 120. John Collins (130.5) 121. Nikola Vučević (130.8) 122. Sam Hauser (133.1) 123. Reed Sheppard (133.3) 124. Oso Ighodaro (133.8) 125. T.J. McConnell (134.7) 126. Josh Minott (135.2) 127. Ivica Zubac (136.4) 128. Miles McBride (137.0) 129. Ryan Kalkbrenner (137.2) 130. Cooper Flagg (138.5) 130. Toumani Camara (138.5) 132. Mark Williams (139.7) 133. Derrick Jones Jr. (142.8) 133. Bones Hyland (142.8) 135. Ayo Dosunmu (143.9) 136. Anthony Black (145.2) 137. Gary Payton II (145.3) 138. Jaxson Hayes (146.8) 139. Jerami Grant (147.3) 140. Clint Capela (147.9) 141. Harrison Barnes (149.4) 142. Gui Santos (150.8) 143. Brandon Williams (152.3) 143. Santi Aldama (152.3) 145. Dru Smith (153.4) 146. Kris Dunn (154.0) 146. Collin Murray-Boyles (154.0) 148. Keyonte George (156.3) 149. Naji Marshall (157.5) 150. Deandre Ayton (157.7) 151. Pelle Larsson (157.8) 152. Coby White (157.9) 153. VJ Edgecombe (158.3) 154. Cameron Johnson (159.5) 155. Dean Wade (161.2) 156. Simone Fontecchio (161.8) 157. Daniel Gafford (162.8) 158. DeMar DeRozan (164.0) 159. Tim Hardaway Jr. (164.2) 160. Jock Landale (164.6) 161. Jusuf Nurkić (166.8) 162. Davion Mitchell (167.0) 162. Landry Shamet (167.0) 164. Jordan Walsh (167.3) 165. Justin Champagnie (168.3) 166. Jaime Jaquez Jr. (169.1) 167. Kevin Huerter (169.8) 168. Andrew Nembhard (170.5) 169. Steven Adams (172.7) 170. Marcus Smart (172.8) 171. Kyle Filipowski (174.8) 172. Anfernee Simons (175.2) 173. Javon Small (176.3) 174. Grant Williams (177.3) 175. Tari Eason (178.1) 176. Isaiah Stewart (178.8) 176. De'Anthony Melton (178.8) 178. Marvin Bagley III (179.2) 179. Myles Turner (179.4) 180. Dillon Brooks (179.7) 181. Baylor Scheierman (180.5) 182. Craig Porter Jr. (181.4) 183. Kenrich Williams (181.8) 184. Tristan Da Silva (182.8) 185. Matas Buzelis (183.9) 186. Thomas Bryant (184.2) 187. Aaron Wiggins (185.8) 188. Keon Ellis (187.4) 189. Cedric Coward (188.1) 190. Al Horford (188.3) 190. Precious Achiuwa (188.3) 192. Brook Lopez (188.6) 193. Jay Huff (192.8) 194. Karlo Matković (192.9) 195. Ja Morant (193.1) 196. Shaedon Sharpe (193.9) 197. Quentin Grimes (194.1) 198. Jordan Miller (194.5) 199. Christian Braun (194.6) 200. Ja'Kobe Walter (195.4) 201. Ryan Dunn (196.6) 202. Jamal Shead (198.3) 203. Micah Potter (198.9) 204. Jalen Green (199.8) 205. Peyton Watson (199.9) 206. Mouhamed Gueye (201.3) 207. Josh Green (204.7) 208. Quinten Post (205.5) 209. Kelly Oubre Jr. (207.8) 210. Nic Claxton (208.3) 211. Royce O'Neale (208.6) 212. Luke Kennard (208.8) 213. Jamaree Bouyea (209.6) 214. Olivier-Maxence Prosper (210.4) 214. Domantas Sabonis (210.4) 216. Daniss Jenkins (210.7) 217. Jose Alvarado (210.8) 218. Bobby Portis (212.1) 219. Ron Holland (212.7) 220. Isaiah Jackson (212.9) 221. Josh Okogie (213.5) 222. Derik Queen (213.8) 223. Jonas Valančiūnas (213.9) 223. Alex Sarr (213.9) 225. Ziaire Williams (216.4) 226. John Konchar (218.3) 227. Jake LaRavia (219.3) 228. Kasparas Jakučionis (219.8) 229. Dominick Barlow (220.6) 230. Bennedict Mathurin (221.2) 231. Dwight Powell (221.7) 232. P.J. Washington (222.3) 233. Russell Westbrook (222.4) 234. Yves Missi (223.5) 235. Herbert Jones (226.8) 236. Will Richard (228.0) 237. Dylan Cardwell (230.3) 238. Hugo González (233.0) 239. Kyshawn George (233.3) 240. Tristan Vukcevic (234.8) 241. Vít Krejčí (235.8) 242. Jonathan Isaac (236.8) 243. GG Jackson II (237.0) 244. Kevin Love (237.6) 245. Svi Mykhailiuk (237.9) 246. Andre Drummond (238.5) 247. Luguentz Dort (239.8) 248. Kris Murray (240.9) 249. Draymond Green (241.3) 250. Jaylen Wells (241.4) 251. Tidjane Salaün (242.0) 252. Jonathan Kuminga (244.8) 253. Sion James (245.3) 254. Egor Dёmin (245.8) 255. Adem Bona (246.8) 255. Malik Monk (246.8) 257. Zach LaVine (247.6) 257. Vince Williams Jr. (247.6) 259. Tyler Kolek (248.4) 260. Quenton Jackson (248.6) 261. Zaccharie Risacher (248.7) 262. Aaron Nesmith (249.5) 263. Dennis Schröder (249.9) 264. Scoot Henderson (250.8) 265. Kyle Anderson (251.3) 266. Brice Sensabaugh (251.5) 267. Kyle Kuzma (251.6) 268. Noah Penda (252.3) 269. Klay Thompson (253.3) 270. Jarred Vanderbilt (254.4) 271. Nae'Qwan Tomlin (257.3) 272. Jaylen Clark (257.8) 273. Jamir Watkins (258.3) 274. Justin Edwards (260.4) 275. Jaden Ivey (261.7) 276. Devin Carter (262.0) 277. Jabari Walker (263.3) 278. Caris LeVert (264.5) 279. Buddy Hield (264.8) 280. Lonzo Ball (265.8) 281. Dalen Terry (265.9) 282. Corey Kispert (266.8) 283. Julian Strawther (267.3) 284. Max Christie (268.2) 285. A.J. Green (269.3) 285. Jared McCain (269.3) 287. De'Andre Hunter (269.9) 288. Bryce McGowens (271.8) 289. Bilal Coulibaly (272.3) 290. Rui Hachimura (272.5) 291. Danny Wolf (272.9) 292. Pat Spencer (274.0) 293. Rasheer Fleming (274.2) 294. Keegan Murray (274.5) 295. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (279.3) 295. Jevon Carter (279.3) 297. Pete Nance (280.9) 298. Guerschon Yabusele (281.4) 299. Spencer Jones (281.9) 300. Sidy Cissoko (282.4) 301. Isaiah Collier (284.7) 302. Jett Howard (288.0) 303. Aaron Holiday (288.3) 304. Jordan Clarkson (289.1) 305. Nicolas Batum (289.2) 306. Johnny Furphy (289.3) 307. Mohamed Diawara (291.2) 308. Maxime Raynaud (291.4) 309. Noah Clowney (292.3) 310. Mike Conley (292.6) 311. Jeremiah Fears (293.8) 312. Nikola Jović (297.5) 313. Trendon Watford (298.0) 314. Jalen Pickett (298.8) 314. Jase Richardson (298.8) 316. Elijah Harkless (299.5) 317. Khris Middleton (299.6) 318. Jordan Poole (300.4) 319. Jaden Hardy (301.2) 320. Bruce Brown (301.7) 321. Taylor Hendricks (302.3) 321. Gradey Dick (302.3) 323. Drew Eubanks (303.0) 324. Caleb Martin (305.5) 325. Jarace Walker (306.4) 326. Ace Bailey (306.6) 327. Anthony Gill (306.8) 328. Tyrese Martin (307.0) 329. Kobe Brown (307.5) 330. Terance Mann (307.8) 330. Kobe Sanders (307.8) 332. Zeke Nnaji (310.5) 333. Tyus Jones (311.2) 333. Ben Sheppard (311.2) 335. Isaac Okoro (311.3) 336. Carter Bryant (313.0) 337. Gary Harris (315.3) 338. Nique Clifford (315.9) 339. Cam Thomas (316.6) 340. Ousmane Dieng (318.3) 341. Caleb Love (319.7) 342. Ochai Agbaji (320.9) 343. Daeqwon Plowden (321.5) 344. Nick Richards (321.6) 345. Will Riley (323.5) 346. Dorian Finney-Smith (323.6) 347. Ryan Nembhard (324.8) 348. Tre Johnson (325.8) 349. Jalen Wilson (327.5) 350. Micah Peavy (330.3) 351. Sharife Cooper (331.2) 352. Dalton Knecht (334.2) 353. Jericho Sims (335.7) 354. Walter Clayton (336.1) 355. Cole Anthony (338.9) 356. Jahmai Mashack (339.3) 357. Gabe Vincent (339.4) 358. Tre Mann (339.5) 359. Bub Carrington (342.3) 360. Gary Trent Jr. (343.6) 361. Cody Williams (347.2) 362. Patrick Williams (347.8) 363. Drake Powell (350.8) 364. Rob Dillingham (351.8) 365. Rayan Rupert (352.8) 366. Ben Saraf (356.3) 367. Nolan Traoré (356.9) 368. Jordan Hawkins (357.9) A number of catch-all metrics from the around the internet endeavor to tell us who's playing best every year. And though many of the different adjusted plus-minuses attempt to measure the same thing (an individual player’s impact on the game when he’s on the floor), they have slightly different ways of getting there. If you want to acknowledge the most accessible ones, you could say something like… “Jayson Tatum is 3rd in Basketball Reference’s box plus/minus and 7th in wins over replacement player; 3rd in Dunks and Threes’ estimated plus-minus and 5th in estimated wins; 9th in Basketball Index's LEBRON and 31st in LEBRON WAR; 6th in ESPN's Net Points per 100 possessions and 21st in Net Points WAR; and 2nd in Basketball Reference’s game score per 100 possessions and 17th in total game score..." …but that’s quite a mouthful. For the last several seasons, I’ve been sharing something of a shorthand for the above. Instead of rattling off that list for any and all players one might want to discuss, I sort every qualified player by the average of their ranks in those stats (as well as their cumulative variants). The results give credit to each of the metrics, throw a bone to basic numbers (through the use of game score) and reward players for availability (through the addition of the cumulative marks). The lists produced by this exercise aren’t perfect, but none are. Strictly subjective rankings obviously have their own flaws. This is at least a guide. And it can give you a pretty good idea of who’s been the best (or worst) in 2025-26. If you’re looking for a specific player (like, oh say, Paolo Banchero), do the handy little “control (or command) plus F” trick on your keyboard and type in that player’s name. Oh, and one more caveat. If someone looks lower than you thought he should be (a warranted reaction to some placements), bear in mind that cumulative numbers (think points, rather than points per game) are in play. So those who've missed plenty of time are affected by that. *Shout out to Tim MacMahon for coming up with the name "Huge Nerd Index" or HNI. It's a little late in the game to do this, but I was curious to see if or how adding DARKO DPM to the mix might affect things. So, I did. Being just one-sixth of the stew didn't make much of a difference, but there's certainly an argument for getting another reputable number in there. And the real math people might hate me for mixing a predictive number in with non-predictive ones, but they've never cared for me much anyway. So, it's in!