Top 10 NBA Duos Heading into 2023-24 Season

While there are some new duos in the NBA, many of them have been around for a couple of seasons now. When it comes to team success and winning championships, at least two superstars are better than one. Here is a list of the Top 10 duos heading into the new season.

Missed the Cut:

Kyrie Irving & Luka Doncic – Not having this duo in the Top 10 could be viewed as a ridiculous take, but lets be real… they’ve been together for a total of 20 games so far and have proven that they don’t belong in the Top 10. Sure they have the talent but they fell from the 4 seed to the 11 seed and missed the playoffs entirely. Didn’t even make the Play-In. The talent is there, but the performance as a duo isn’t.

Kawhi Leonard & Paul George – Again, this might be a hot take not having the Clippers Duo within the Top 10. If were talking 2020 after they just missed the NBA Finals, then sure I’ll give them their credit but they have gotten worse since then. Now, some injuries have gotten in the way but the performance hasn’t been there even when they have played together the past two years. If both are fully healthy, they are easily a top 10 team but that’s the problem they are never healthy a the same time.

10. Anthony Edwards & Karl-Anthony Towns

The Minnesota Timberwolves have a rising duo in the NBA. The combination of these two in the pick-and-roll is going to be lethal now that were seeing what Edwards can truly do. Once he reaches his full potential, they could be a Top 5 duo but for now they enter the season at 10.

9. Donovan Mitchell & Darius Garland

Of all the duos in the NBA, the Cavaliers have the only small guard duo. With Lillard now in the East, the chances of both reaching the All-Star game have decreased but both are All-Star caliber guards. Mitchell has already established himself as a premier guard in that league but Garland is close to close to being in that convo. Even after being named an All-Star, it seems that Garland has flown under the radar. That will most certainly change soon. The latter guard is just 23 years old but still has a lot of upside.

8. Stephen Curry & Klay Thompson

Let’s be real… The Splash Bros are aging. They aren’t at their peak as a unit anymore. Despite that, they are both still elite when it comes to shooting the basketball. Curry is still at the top of his game, even at 35. Thompson despite a solid year statistically, he struggled in the playoffs. Especially in the second round against the Lakers. He’s still a good player but not what he once was. This might upset Warriors fans but at this point we have to accept reality. Steph is shouldering most of the workload for this duo.

7. Jimmy Butler & Bam Adebayo

These two may complement each other’s play styles out of any of these NBA Duos. They had come out of nowhere to reach the NBA Finals. So if they hadn’t had your respect before, they definitely earned it now. This should’ve been Lillard and Butler with Adebayo as a third option, but Portland opted to trade Lillard to Milwaukee instead of Miami. Miami had a lot of unsung heroes on their roster but they were anchored by Jimmy and Bam. No matter who they are facing these two will be a thorn in everyone’s side.

6. De’Aaron Fox & Domantas Sabonis

One of the most underrated duos in the NBA. They made the All-Star game last season as teammates and led the Kings to the playoffs for the first time since 2006. That curse has been might difficult to break and they did it in 1 1/2 seasons together. That warrants a spot on this list. This year, they won’t be sneaking up on teams in the West. Everyone now knows what to expect, so we’ll see how they’ll respond with more pressure.

5. Devin Booker & Kevin Durant

This is a great NBA Duo but now its part of a Big Three, potentially four. KD and Book were lights out even after minimal time together. After the Durant trade, many experts had the Suns winning the Championship. They had little time to mesh. Yes, Kevin Durant may be one of the best plug-and-play players in the league. It still takes time to build chemistry among the entire roster. Now that KD is healthy they’ve had all offseason to focus on that chemistry.

4. Jayson Tatum & Jaylen Brown

It’s ironic that these two get scrutinized as much as they do. All they have done is win games. They may not have an NBA Title under their belts yet, but they have been part of many deep playoff runs. They’ve anchored the Celtics to three of the last four Eastern Conference Finals. Sure, the Bucks might’ve just picked up Lillard but you can bet the Celtics and Bucks will see each other in the Eastern Conference Finals this season. Jokes can be made about both players but regardless they’ll be in contention when the games matter most.

3. LeBron James & Anthony Davis

Third on this list seems low for this duo but its reality. They are two of the greatest players in the NBA today but the Lakers run last season seemed to be because their was great team play. Sure, at times it seemed that one or the other was anchoring individually but guys like Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves stepped up and helped. The Lakers are in contention to win the West once again but it falls on the performance of these two.

2. Nikola Jokic & Jamal Murray

The most productive duo in the NBA today. You could make the argument that they should be No. 1, I would have agreed with you until the newest duo was created. Jokic and Murray are coming off an NBA Championship. They were the anchors to that ring. They completely ran through the NBA last season without breaking a sweat and dominated a KD-led and LeBron-led team in the postseason. All of that deserves respect.

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo & Damian Lillard

Surely, I have a lot of faith in this duo. Dame’s fit is astronomical to the Bucks championship odds. You’re taking two of the greatest players in the NBA (in the middle of their primes) and pairing them together. Lillard hasn’t shown that he can play the greatest defense… Giannis, Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton can cover defensively. Giannis isn’t a great outside shooter, Lillard has limitless range from deep. This duo will be terrifying, it could be one of the most deadliest duos we’ve seen in the NBA. The Greek Freak has always needed an elite scoring guard to draw attention from him and vice versa with Lillard needing a big threat down low. This is a championship recipe.

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