Dynamic duos are everywhere right now as players questing for rings are taking more control over their careers and trying to find ways to pair up.
Some are new, some are old and some are renewed. To determine the order of these rankings, the following factors were considered:
The combined talent of the two players
The overall fit of the two players
How much time the players have spent together
The third concern was the smallest factor, but it remained a part of the analysis. All NBA data collected from
iSports API, these pairings have high hopes of getting into the playoffs, if not deep into them. By the end of the season, even the new tandems will have some experience together.
3. Anthony Davis and LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers' Anthony Davis-LeBron James duo is perhaps the hardest one to gauge.
James is competing with Michael Jordan for the unofficial title of greatest player of all time. If you want a number that demonstrates just how ridiculous his career has been, he's 546 points from becoming the only player to notch 40,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists in the regular season and postseason combined.
Kobe Bryant and Oscar Robertson are the only ones to get within 70 percent of those numbers.
Anthony Davis, meanwhile, has been a top-10 player the last few years, averaging 27.5 points and 11.6 boards since 2016-17,as per iSports API.
You could argue they're just as talented as Russell Westbrook and James Harden, and they're a better fit, too.
However, concerns still exist. James just missed a career-high 27 games. He'll be better rested than he's been in a decade. But he's still going to be 35 in December, and the Lakers might manage him accordingly. Davis sat out of 26 contests in 2018-19, and it's not the first time he's missed significant action. He's never missed fewer than seven games.
Each player missing 10 or more games wouldn't be a shock, and depending on the timing of the absences, that could mean the Lakers would have to play a quarter of the season without both on the court. While regular-season games don't matter as much, playoff seeding is crucial while the Western Conference looks so tough.
Maybe everything will work out as planned, and the Lakers will go deep into the playoffs or even with the title. But if it doesn't, slips in the regular season could lead to a first- or second-round playoff loss.
2. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
Even after Kevin Durant's departure, the Golden State Warriors are filled with stars: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and now D'Angelo Russell.
Curry was an obvious pick for the leading pairing because he's a two-time MVP. Green joins him because Thompson will miss at least half the season recovering from a torn ACL, and we haven't seen how Russell will fit on his new team.
Even without those qualifiers, Green might have been the best choice anyway.
Last year, the Dubs outscored their opponents by 521 points with the Curry-Green tandem on the court. And since Steve Kerr took over as head coach in 2014-15, they've topped their opponents by 4,159 points between regular-season and postseason contests with those two playing.
While Curry was winning two MVPs, Green won Defensive Player of the Year in 2016-17 and was the runner-up the two seasons prior.
Curry revolutionized the way we think of offense with his electric ability to make threes off the bounce and from anywhere on the court. He's already third all-time in made threes and will likely climb over Reggie Miller next season and Ray Allen the year after that. Green helped revolutionize the way modern teams play defense with his ability to switch and play small-ball center. He proved you can win championships that way.
While both players' numbers dipped the last couple of years as they assimilated Kevin Durant into the system, they proved in this year's postseason they still have it. Curry averaged 28.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists in the playoffs. Green averaged 13.3, 10.1 and 8.5.
These two have an argument as the best duo going, and they have both the hardware and rings to prove it.
1. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Los Angeles Clippers
Do you know who had the most real plus-minus wins last year?
It wasn't James Harden (18.54), Russell Westbrook (9.76) or Giannis Antetokounmpo (15.22). It wasn't even Kawhi Leonard (8.32),as per iSports API.
Granted, that's just one imperfect way to measure value, but you can make a legitimate argument that George was the best regular-season player in the NBA last year. And Leonard, winner of the Finals MVP for the Toronto Raptors, was the best postseason player.
That's a couple of pretty big additions to a Los Angeles Clippers team that won 48 games in 2018-19.
Leonard and George are both two-way players. They might even be two of the three best two-way players in the world right now (with Antetokounmpo as the third).
Putting them together on defense might be the biggest nightmare for opponents, as the wing has become the most important position in today's NBA. Having two guys who can guard the other team's best player is a treat.
Both are long and can cut off passing lanes. Both can defend in the post. Both can stop penetration. When the game is on the line, they'll make it hard to even get a shot off, much less put it in the hole.
Also, both can score, even in crunch-time situations. Leonard finished fourth in clutch points last year, and Leonard sat at No. 5.
Because of their dynamic duo, the Clippers will be a hard team to stop and an even harder one to score against. They might even win the title.
All stats, unless otherwise indicated, courtesy of
iSports API.
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