With the NBA season coming to a close, the NBA champion Denver Nuggets were led by their dynamic duo of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. The 1-2 punch has been one of the most successful dynamics in basketball history.
Whether it’s Jordan and Pippen, Shaq and Kobe or Wade and Lebron the NBA always finds itself with highly talented duos atop the league. With that being said, in this article we will take a look around the league and rank the best duos in the NBA.
Honorable Mentions:
Starting off with the honorable mentions. Only about two of these would I take an argument for to make the top five duos of the league. However, I do think it is important to highlight that there are many more duos in the league worthy of high recognition. Here are the five honorable mentions;
De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis
Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George
Now for the top five…
5. LeBron James and Anthony Davis
Prior to Denver’s Monday night close out of Miami, these two were the only two on the list with a ring together. However, these Bron/ Brow duo have yet to return to the Finals since winning their infamous bubble ring in 2020.
An aging LeBron and an injury riddled Davis turned a team around that at the all star break was not in a position to make the play-in tournament. LeBron in his 20th season is putting up historical numbers while Davis had flashes of his former DPOY and MVP candidate self, yet their lack of consistency places them in last amongst these five.
4. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker
Durant and Booker on paper should be number 1 and the only reason they aren’t is because of their lack of playing time together. This tandem was magically molded at the trade deadline and showcased their offensive talent against the Clippers in the first round.
This sharp shooting duo struggled to find their defensive footing against what is now the NBA champion Nuggets but continued to flash glimpses of a bright future together. I look forward to watching what may be the most exciting offensive duo of this list, next year.
3. Joel Embiid and James Harden
This duo feels as if their chapter is coming to a close this upcoming summer as all signs point to Harden making a return to the western conference. Moreover, this team was led by MVP winner Joel Embiid and helped catapult this flawed roster to a 7 game series with the defending eastern conference champions.
There are many reasons this tandem is not higher but the most important is lack of post-season success between the two. While their supporting cast was not as great as the two duos ahead of them, that is no excuse for two former and current MVP winners.
2. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown
I think its fairly reasonable to put this young duo at the top spot. They beat out the Harden and Embiid duo to advance to the eastern conference finals and forced Durant and Kyrie to flea the east. Other than beating their Atlantic division rivals, they have made the Eastern Conference finals 4 out of the 6 years that Tatum has been in the league with just as many finals appearances as any other duo on here.
Brown may find himself on the trade block but giving this duo some time is the key to success for the Boston Celtics. The only reason why this duo isn’t higher is due to consistency throughout the year and because of recent success.
1. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray
This is the most obvious choice for number 1. This mile high dyad just put up HUGE numbers in their first finals appearance together. Jokic is quickly cementing himself as a top 30 player all time and is doing so with 30-20-10 nights on the biggest stage.
Murray on the other hand, has returned from injury and looks better than ever following in his big man teammate footsteps with a 30 point triple double of his own. After performing a gentleman’s sweep of the Miami Heat, this duo has cemented themselves as the number 1 duo in the NBA.
