The NBA moves fast. Just a couple of seasons ago, a list of the top duos would have included Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum on the Celtics, LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the Lakers, and Giannis Antetokounmpo was paired with Damian Lillard in Milwaukee. Just a season ago, a similar list would have included James Harden and Ivica Zubac on the Clippers, but by the trade deadline, both were on new teams.
Which is to say, teams need to take advantage of the windows with top duos while they can. Heading into the 2026-27 season, here are the NBA’s top seven duos.
1. Nikola Jokic & Jamal Murray (Denver)
This is the most tested and reliable elite duo in the NBA — we know how well they play off each other, and we’ve seen them lift the Nuggets to a title. Both also are coming off monster seasons. Jokic averaged a triple-double of 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.7 assists per game, shot 38% from 3, and finished second in MVP voting. Murray had his best statistical season, averaging 25.4 points and 7.1 assists — both career highs — and shooting 43.5% from 3-point range, which earned him All-Star and All-NBA honors.
When Jokic and Murray were on the court together last season, the Nuggets had a +11.6 net rating. This remains one of the league’s elite duos. What held back Denver last season — and the concern heading into this one — is health and the depth around Jokic and Murray. But that duo? Nobody is worried. Jokic is making midseason passes in the preseason.
NO-LOOK. CROSSCOURT. BEHIND-THE-BACK DIME.
— NBA (@NBA) October 4, 2026
ARE YOU SERIOUS, JOKER 🤯 pic.twitter.com/A5upVabWYw
2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Jalen Williams (Oklahoma City)
We didn’t see much of this duo last season. While Gilgeous-Alexander was on his way to his second consecutive MVP award, Williams played just 33 regular-season games and five in the playoffs due to injuries. J-Dub was not himself.
Williams is back healthy this season, and he and SGA are ready to resume the form that had the Thunder with a +13.1 net rating when they shared the court two seasons ago — the season they lifted OKC to the title. Gilgeous-Alexander, 29, and Williams, 25, are at their peak, have incredible depth around them (it’s really a trio with Chet Holmgren), and will have the Thunder back in title contention again.
3. Victor Wembanyama & Stephon Castle/Dylan Harper (San Antonio)
Wembanyama’s standing in the game is unquestioned: He became the first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year last season, and at age 22 was the youngest player in NBA history to both make First Team All-NBA and lead his team to the NBA Finals. He is the MVP betting favorite heading into this season for a reason.
The question is who you pair with him in a duo. A year ago at this time, we would have said De’Aaron Fox, but during the regular season Stephon Castle looked like the better fit with Wemby, averaging 16.7 points and 7.4 assists per game while shooting 35% from 3, and the Spurs had a +17 net rating when they shared the court. Then during the playoffs, Dylan Harper asserted himself — especially in the NBA Finals — and looked like the future No. 2 option for the Spurs.
This season, either Castle or Harper could take over that role — but if you start to look at them as an elite trio, San Antonio becomes that much scarier. And they are all 22 or younger.
4. Jalen Brunson & Karl-Anthony Towns (New York)
If you want to argue this duo should be higher up the list, I’m not going to push back — the proof comes on opening night when Adam Silver hands them their championship rings.
The stats around this duo are impressive — the Knicks had a ridiculous +20.3 net rating when Towns and Brunson shared the court in the playoffs — but their stories are even better. Jalen Brunson has been dismissed and questioned before he even got to Villanova, and Dallas underestimated him so much he walked out the door. Town faced similar questions about whether he was really a championship big, and Minnesota shipped him out to avoid the second apron of the luxury tax. Together, Brunson and KAT bonded, eventually found a rhythm on the court and became New York legends. The Knicks need to pay up to keep this duo together.
5. Giannis Antetokounmpo & Bam Adebayo (Miami)
We haven’t seen this duo together yet, but they deserve to be on the list. We may have questions about how smoothly they fit together on offense, and whether there is enough talent around them, but make no mistake, Pat Riley went out this summer and made the Miami Heat must-watch again.
What is this all going to look like?
“You got two front court guys that can dribble, shoot, pass. Who can rebound,” Adebayo said on the LeBatard Show recently. “Obviously, the defensive side is what it is. We know how great we want that to be. But you got two guys going downhill that are very mobile. They have high IQ that can pass. People are underappreciating it right now because they haven’t seen it, but as the time goes by people will learn to appreciate what we will do.”
6. Luka Doncic & Austin Reaves (Los Angeles Lakers)
Luka Doncic is as elite an offensive player as there is in the game. An MVP-level player just entering his prime at age 27. A six-time All-NBA player who last season averaged 33.5 points, 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game.
Doncic also works best with a high-level secondary shot creator next to him, which is why the Lakers paid up this summer to retain Austin Reaves (four years and $184 million). Reaves is coming off a season where he averaged 23.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game and showed he could run the team when Doncic is out.
When Doncic and Reaves are tight, they have a Jalen Brunson-and-Josh Hart kind of comedy vibe off the court. They also work on the court, where the Lakers had a +8.9 net rating last season when the duo played together. However, Los Angeles needs them to do that in more than 41 games (injuries limited both at times last season), and the Lakers need a lot of other things — their defense, Walker Kessler, depth — to go right as well to get to the level Rob Pelinka likes to talk about.
Anthony Edwards & LaMelo Ball (Minnesota)
Minnesota will be must-watch this season. Anthony Edwards paired with the best passer he’s ever played with, LaMelo Ball, will lead to a dynamic, up-tempo offense full of highlights. Whether that leads the Timberwolves back to the Western Conference Finals is a different question, but we’re not going to be able to take our eyes off them.
Edwards averaged 28.8 points and five rebounds a game last season, shooting 39.9% from 3-point range. He’s going to get some easier looks now, Rudy Gobert is going to be finishing alley-oops and the Timberwolves are going to be entertaining. However, the real key to their season may be whether Jaden McDaniels takes another step forward. That and whether LaMelo Ball is ready for this spotlight and this kind of playoff pressure.
Two duos of note not on this list:
• No Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren from Detroit, who came very close to taking the last spot (from the Timberwolves). To be fair, Cunningham and Duren proved they can lead a 60-win team, but that playoff performance has given me pause (especially since Pistons management didn’t fix things this offseason). It really can’t be said enough: if Duren and Ausar Thompson both remain non-shooters, playing them together in the postseason is going to be an issue.
• No Philadelphia 76ers are on this list because I don’t know what to do with them as a duo: Reach into a hat and pull out the names of two of Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James and Joel Embiid. Two of them probably should be on this list, which two is the question. The 76ers may not have the answer to their best duo until around Christmas, so they were not making the cut here before the season tips off.
