Don’t look now, but the regular season is right around the corner, beginning on December 22.

With the season beginning in less than a week, we are ranking every team’s top duo (two best players) from worst to first. As a subjective list, the order can be much-debated, and the two players for each team. In other words, feel free to disagree.

  • 30. Knicks - Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson

Many Knicks fans want to see the team trade Randle after selecting Obi Toppin in the draft, but he has been productive with averages of 20.5 points and 9.2 rebounds over the last two seasons.

Robinson set a new single-season NBA record in 2019-20 by shooting 74.2 percent from the field.

  • 29. Bulls - Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen

While he will never be confused as an elite defender, LaVine did finish 11th in league with a 25.5 scoring average in 2019-20. Just 23 years old, Markkanen is hoping to rebound from what was a disappointing third year in the NBA last season.

  • 28. Hornets - Gordon Hayward and Devonte’ Graham

Hayward got paid like a superstar, but he’s not likely to move the needle a whole lot for a Charlotte team that has missed the playoffs four straight years. Graham was a pleasant surprise for the Hornets last season and would be considered by most to be their best player in 2019-20.

  • 27. Orlando Magic - Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon

Consistently one of the most productive big men, Vucevic has averaged a double-double in six of the last eight seasons while expanding his game outside the three-point line. People have been expecting more throughout his six-year career. Will this be the season he becomes an All-Star level player?

Love is still an excellent outside shooter and superb rebounder who could potentially move to another team via trade during the season. Meanwhile, Drummond has led the NBA in rebounding average in four of the last five seasons but has not moved his offensive game beyond three feet whatsoever.

  • 25. Pistons - Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose

A knee injury limited Griffin to just 18 games in 2019-20, but it was just a season before he was named to the All-NBA Third Team. Rose has transitioned into somewhat of a super-sub role over the last two seasons in which he has averaged 18 points and 4.9 assists.

  • 24. Thunder - Shai-Gilgeous Alexander and Al Horford

Gilgeous-Alexander played like a borderline All-Star last season while finishing fifth in Most Improved Player voting in his second year in the league. A five-time All-Star, Horford is hoping to rebound from a disappointing season in Philadelphia where he didn’t seem to be a great fit alongside Joel Embiid.

  • 23. Kings - De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield

Fox has improved his field goal percentage and scoring average in each of his first three seasons and turns just 23 on December 20.

After being removed from the starting lineup last season, expect Hield to share the backcourt with Fox again since Bogdan Bogdanovic signed with the Hawks.

  • 22. Spurs - DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge

DeRozan shot a career-best 53.1 percent from the field in 2019-20 and has averaged 21.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 5.9 assists in his two seasons with San Antonio. Now 35 years old, Aldridge actually averaged a career-best 1.6 blocks last season, but the seven-time All-Star really isn’t that level of player anymore.

  • 21. Pacers - Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis

A hard team to rank because Oladipo didn’t look like himself coming back from injury last season; can he go back to resembling the player who was All-NBA Third Team and All-Defensive First Team in 2017-18?

Sabonis was an All-Star for the first time last season with superb averages of 18.5 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists.

  • 20. Grizzlies - Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr.

The reigning Rookie of the Year, Morant finished 10th in the league averaging 7.3 assists a contest in 2019-20. Jackson Jr. is a near seven-footer who made almost 40 percent of his three-point tries last season.

  • 19. Hawks - Trae Young and John Collins

You want to see more defensive prowess from Young because he is easily one of the most offensively skilled players in the NBA. Collins shot slightly over 40 percent from deep in 2019-20 while averaging 21.6 points and 10.1 rebounds.

  • 18. Pelicans - Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram

While he appeared in just 24 games, Williamson showed why he was selected first in 2019, averaging 22.5 points on 58.3 percent field goal shooting.

Named Most Improved Player for 2019-20, Ingram re-signed with New Orleans for five years, $158+ million coming off his first All-Star appearance.

  • 17. Timberwolves - Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell

One of the most offensively skilled big men in recent memory, Towns needs to find a way to make his play more conducive to winning and give more effort on defense. An All-Star with the Nets in 2018-19, Russell is expected to play more of the shooting guard role after Minnesota traded for Ricky Rubio.

  • 16. Raptors - Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry

With Kawhi Leonard leaving for the Clippers in the offseason last year, Siakam saw his scoring average improve by six from the previous season when he was named the Most Improved Player.

Now 34 years old, Lowry has been named an All-Star six straight years and averaged a career-best 7.5 assists in 2019-20.

  • 15. Warriors - Stephen Curry and Draymond Green

Curry was limited to five games last season with a broken hand and will not have his ‘Splash Brother’ Klay Thompson with him as expected to miss all season. Green shot awful from the field (38.9 percent) and three-point land (27.9 percent) in 2019-20, but the hope is he will return to being one of the league’s most tenacious defenders being the Warriors should be much better than last season.

  • 14. Celtics - Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker

Just 22 years old, the sky is the limit for Tatum, who finished with per-game averages last season of 23.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists.

An All-Star each of the last four seasons, Walker will be out until late January with a left knee injury.

  • 13. Jazz - Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert

In Utah’s seven-game series against Denver, Mitchell was unconscious averaging 36.3 points while making 51.6 percent of his three-point attempts. Amazingly, Gobert was an All-Star for the first time last season even though he was the Defensive Player of the Year for both 2017-18 and 2018-19.

  • 12. Suns - Devin Booker and Chris Paul

Booker had finished in the top-ten scoring each of the past two seasons while becoming a much better distributor. He can relinquish some of his time controlling the ball due to Paul's acquisition, who is still going strong at 35 as he was named to the All-NBA Second Team last season with the Thunder.

  • 11. Trail Blazers - Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum

Lillard has finished eighth, sixth, and fourth in MVP voting over the last three seasons, and he averaged career-highs of 30 points and eight assists in 2019-20. Perhaps the best player to not yet be named an All-Star, McCollum has averaged 20+ points in each of the last five seasons.

  • 10. Rockets - James Harden and John Wall

The subject of trade rumors over the past month, Harden has led the league in scoring each of the last three seasons and won MVP in the 2017-18 season. Wall hasn't played in a regular-season game since December 26, 2018, after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon, so it will be interesting to see if he can return to being one of the league's most dynamic playmakers.

  • 9. Wizards - Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook

On a subpar Wizards team, Beal was magical on the offensive end in 2019-20, finishing only behind James Harden with his 30.5-point scoring average. The team added Westbrook in the offseason, and his ability to penetrate and always keep defenders on their toes should make Beal's life a bit easier.

  • 8. Heat - Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo

While his three-ball has become completely unreliable, Butler has become an even more well-rounded player as evidenced by his career-highs in rebounding (6.7) and assists (6.0) during his first season Heat in 2019-20. Adebayo brought it all at both ends of the court in his second year in the league last season as he was named an All-Star and made the All-Defensive Second Team.

  • 7. Nuggets - Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray

Arguably the best passer as a big man that the game has ever seen, Jokic has averaged 20 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 7.1 assists over the last two seasons while finishing fourth (2018-19) and ninth (2019-20) in MVP voting. It was an incredible sight watching Murray in last season's playoffs, especially in the seven-game series against Utah, where he dropped 50 points twice.

  • 6. Mavericks - Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis

According to FanDuel Sportsbook (as well as other various betting websites), Doncic is the favorite at +410 to take home the MVP award for the 2020-21 season after a sophomore year league that saw him as a nightly triple-double threat.

In the last season's playoffs, a torn meniscus will keep Porzingis on the shelf to begin the season, but the 7-3, the fifth-year player, really improved his rebounding rate in 2019-20 while remaining an offensive threat anywhere on the court.

  • 5. 76ers - Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons

Still yet to play more than 64 games in a season, Embiid is still perhaps the most dominant big man in the league and someone who is also a defensive stalwart. Meanwhile, Simmons is oft-criticized for his lack of jump shot. Still, he led the league in steals in 2019-20 while showing he could potentially average a triple-double for a season (averages of 16.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 8.0 assists through three seasons.

  • 4. Bucks - Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton

The two-time reigning MVP (also the reigning Defensive Player of the Year), Antetokounmpo put all the questions about his future to rest by agreeing to a five year, $228 million supermax contract extension to remain in Milwaukee. Middleton had career-best shooting numbers across the board in 2019-20 while also averaging career-highs in scoring (20.9), rebounding (6.2), and assists (4.3).

  • 3. Nets - Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving

One of the top scorers the game has ever seen, Durant missed all of last season after rupturing his Achilles tendon, so it remains to be seen if the 2013-14 MVP can get back into the best player in the league conversation. While he played just 20 games last season and has been involved in offseason controversy, there’s no questioning Irving’s talent as one of the top point guards when on the court.

  • 2. Clippers - Kawhi Leonard and Paul George

A two-time Finals MVP and two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Leonard posted career-highs of 27.1 points and 4.9 assists in 2019-20. George had his major struggles in the postseason bubble, but the hope is he can get back fully to being the player who finished third in MVP voting and was an All-Defensive First Team member in 2018-19.

  • 1. Lakers - LeBron James and Anthony Davis

We won’t even get into much detail here and mention that James and Davis finished first and second respectively in ESPN’s recent NBA Rank.
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