ESPN unveiled the final chapter of NBA Rank 2026 after releasing Nos. 100-51 earlier in the week and Nos. 50-11 the day after, revealing the league’s top 10 players for the 2026-27 season, according to ESPN. Questions around where reigning Finals MVP Jalen Brunson landed and whether Victor Wembanyama has begun a LeBron James–style run atop the list were part of the buildup to the final reveal.
The race for No. 1 was exceptionally close. Just three voting points separated Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama, with each of the three players finishing first on at least one of the seven panelists’ ballots, according to ESPN.
The voting panel was overhauled for 2026, moving away from the previous format that involved more than 100 ESPN NBA insiders, reporters, editors and producers. This year’s top-100 list was compiled from the ballots of seven experts: Ben Golliver, Vincent Goodwill, Zach Kram, Bobby Marks, Dave McMenamin, André Snellings and Matt “Stats” Williams. The panelists’ individual top-100 lists were combined to produce the final rankings, while voting guidelines remained unchanged — voters were asked to rank players based on predicted contributions, both quality and quantity, for the 2026-27 regular season, according to ESPN. Signature statistics were provided by ESPN Research.
No. 10 Donovan Mitchell, listed as a 30-year-old guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers, climbed into the top 10 after leading Cleveland to the Eastern Conference finals — the first such appearance in his nine-year career, ESPN noted. Mitchell has finished in the top seven of MVP voting three times in the past four seasons, has been an All-Star in seven straight years and pairs with James Harden to give Cleveland one of the few backcourts with each starter holding multiple All-NBA selections. ESPN analyst André Snellings highlighted the question of whether Mitchell can be the best player on a champion and noted that the Cavaliers start four All-Stars — Mitchell, Harden, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen — adding that in the playoffs “they will go only as far as Mitchell can lead them.”
No. 9 Jayson Tatum, a 28-year-old forward for the Boston Celtics who was listed as not rated in 2025 after suffering an Achilles tendon tear in May 2025, returned last season after rehabilitation, according to ESPN. Tatum played 16 regular-season games and six playoff games and was productive after the injury; he missed Game 7 of Boston’s playoff loss to Philadelphia with a separate, unspecified issue. ESPN noted Tatum will have roughly six more months of recovery time by opening night and that the Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers in the offseason.
