All-Star Game: Ranking the Best Duos of the Season

The era of duos has officially taken off. The parity between league is something we haven’t seen in the about 2 decades. The season is at the midway point, all-star rosters have been announced and no team has more than 2 players as all-stars.

The time has come to evaluate these duos.

Ranking the All-Star Duos

1. LeBron James and Anthony Davis – LA Lakers

This comes as no surprise that this is the best duo in the NBA. James and Davis are both top 5 in the season’s MVP ladder and perfectly complement each other. This is shown in their stats as they average +10.2 points, +2.4 rebounds and +4.3 assists per 100 possessions when they are on the court together.*

2. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton – Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee Bucks are the best team in the entire league. It is reasonable to think that they deserve to be the best duo but the problem comes in the talent difference between them and the first ranked duo. Giannis in a top-3 player in the league while Khris is a decent and top-25 player.This disparity in talent and the fact their combined stats aren’t well-rounded results in them ranking second. They average +14.1 points, +1.9 rebounds and +2.6 assists per 100 possessions when they are on the court together.*

3. Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert – Utah Jazz

Donovan has risen as an all-star player this season and Rudy Gobert, the 2- time DPOY is a menace on the defensive end. One is an aggressive offensive player while another is a dominant defensive player forming a deadly on-court combination.  They average +11.1 points, +2.2 rebounds and +1.2 assists per 100 possessions when they are on the court together.*

4. Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum – Boston Celtics

Jayson Tatum is again a new entrant in this year’s all-star game while Kemba has given impressive performances on his new team. Both these players are highly offence oriented resulting in high offensive efficiency. This has helped them to climb to the 6th spot in the entire league. They average +11.4 points, -1 rebound and +1.5 assists per 100 possessions when they are on the court together.*

5. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo – Miami Heat

Bam Adebayo is having a breakout season while Butler was in talks to be an All-star starter. The emergence of Adebayo and the tenacity of the Butler has guided the team to the 7th spot in the league They average +8.3 points, +1 rebounds and +2.3 assists per 100 possessions when they are on the court together.*

6. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons – Philadelphia 76ers

Embiid and Simmons are undoubtedly one of the most lethal young combos in the league. They each bring distinct and unique skills on offence, Embiid has excellent post-game while team’s offence runs through Simmons. On the defensive end, Embiid is DPOY calibre player while Simmon’s length at the PG position making him a great defender. They average +5.3 points, +3.6 rebounds and +4 assists per 100 possessions when they are on the court together. *

7.James Harden and Russell Westbrook – Houston Rockets

Coming into the season, the biggest question for rockets was whether these two will fit together or not? The answer, they have done a good job of adjusting together but there still a lot to be done. James Harden is having another historic scoring season while Westbrook is having a down season from his previous triple-double seasons. They average +5.6 points, +1 .3 rebounds and -3.5 assists per 100 possessions when they are on the court together.*

8. Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam

Both of these players were the most instrumental in Toronto winning their ever championship only after Kawhi Leonard. This season in the absence of Kawhi, Siakam has stepped up helping the team to occupy the 3rd spot in the league. They average +7.9 points, -2 rebounds and +0.8 assists per 100 possessions when they are on the court together. *

*points = points – opponent’s points; rebounds = rebounds – opponent’s rebounds; assists = assists – opponent’s  assists

Statistics Credit: Basketball Reference