NBA player rankings: Top 25 players in East, from Knicks’ Julius Randle to Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo

Last week we published our annual Top 100 NBA player rankings, and seven of the top 10 players, as voted on by our panel of 10 analysts, hail from the Western Conference — which, top to bottom, has long been the more talent-rich half of the league. 

But from that point forward on the list, the discrepancy isn’t what you might assume given the perceived West-East imbalance. In fact, 10 of the 21 teams that landed at least four players on the top 100 are from the East, and after the top 10, the next 50 players on the list are split dead even (25 West, 25 East). 

All told, the top 100 comprises 54 West players and 46 East players. It feels about right. The West is, again, from both an individual and team standpoint, the stronger conference as a whole. But interestingly enough, more top-end talent has actually shifted East over the last three years. 

To be exact, eight of the top 30 players on this year’s top 100 have switched conferences via trade or free agency at some point since 2022, and five of them (Paul George, Damian Lillard, Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell and Tyrese Haliburton) have gone West to East. Conversely, only Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Domantas Sabonis have gone East to West. 

It’s all to say, the East is no slouch. The Celtics are the champs. The Knicks arguably jumped into the title conversation with the acquisition of Mikal Bridges. Same for the Sixers with Paul George. There are legit stars, from the Super to the All variety, all over the conference, as evidence below — where you will find CBS Sports’ 2024-25 top 25 Eastern Conference players. 

As a result of a shoulder injury suffered in late January, Randle wasn’t a part of the Knicks’ playoff run. Given how well they played without him, it is easy to forget how well they played with him leading up to his injury. New York went 12-2 in the 14 games he played in the 2024 calendar year, including two 39-point performances, four more 30-plus-point games and a triple-double. His absence forced the Knicks to expand their menu on offense, but by the end of the season, they missed his scoring and ability to draw double teams. How he’ll fit on the next iteration of the team is unclear, but he should at least create some easy spot-up opportunities for Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo and Mikal Bridges. — James Herbert

Wagner used a breakout performance at the FIBA World Cup in 2023 to fuel a career year last season. He averaged career highs, though his 3-point shooting was at its lowest, and together with Paolo Banchero, helped lead the Magic to a playoff appearance. He’s a 6-foot-10 forward who can guard multiple positions, and while he struggled to find his 3-point shot last season, his finishing rate around the rim makes him difficult to pin down. He earned a max rookie extension this offseason, and rightly so, as the Magic view him as one of their franchise cornerstones of the future. — Jasmyn Wimbish

Cunningham’s already come a long way from his rookie season where, despite high averages, he struggled heavily with efficiency. He’s coming off a career year, but his performance went largely unnoticed because he played on a 14-win Pistons team. That’s a shame, too, because Cunningham displayed all the tools of a franchise player. He shot the ball incredibly well from everywhere, including 35% from 3-point range, which was an important breakthrough in his development. He also ranked ninth in the league among guards in potential assists, showing that he’s making the right passes and reads; his teammates just aren’t making the shots. With a new coach, Cunningham can build upon last season and gain more attention as he’s one of the most promising young players in the league. — Jasmyn Wimbish

Evan Mobley is a center cosplaying as a power forward. The take cycle is the same every year. The mere fact that Mobley shares a roster with Jarrett Allen means he’ll have to keep hearing about the importance of developing a jump shot, but the playoffs just proved why he doesn’t really need one. Let him play center with appropriate spacing and every other element of his offense flourishes. Mobley is a smooth pick-and-roll operator who can clean things up near the rim and even create shots facing the basket. 

Defensively, Mobley comes from the Bam Adebayo school of centers that don’t really need to guard other centers, and having a seven-footer that can step out onto the perimeter with elite opposing wings is an enormous weapon. The moment Mobley is freed him the two-big constraint Cleveland has foisted upon him is the moment he jumps 20 spots on this list. He can’t be optimized next to a center so long as he can’t shoot 3s. But take the other center away and the world will see just how good he is at everything else. — Sam Quinn

21. OG Anunoby, New York Knicks

OG Anunoby is the 3-and-D archetype incarnate. He consistently makes between 36-40% of his 3-pointers on relatively high volume and he can capably defend all five positions. That is what OG Anunoby does, and it’s really all he does. Despite reported interest in expanding his floor game in Toronto, Anunoby has seemingly accepted a role in New York in which he’s mostly a spot-up threat who attacks closeouts. You’re not getting a 20-point scorer here, and durability is a question mark, but 3-and-D is the one type of player literally every team needs. A player who maxes out both is enormously valuable regardless of what else he does or doesn’t bring to the table. –– Sam Quinn

Only five players averaged at least 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists last year. Barnes, a first-time All-Star, was one of them, joining Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Domantas Sabonis. Throw in his 1.5 blocks per game, and Barnes was in a stat-stuffing league of his own. Now add to that his ability to defend, with great mobility, range and athleticism, across the entire positional spectrum, and it’s no wonder the Raptors signed him to a five-year, $225M max extension. He’s now the face of the franchise. — Brad Botkin

19. Mikal Bridges, New York Knicks

Bridges has now been traded for Kevin Durant and, over the summer, was dealt to the Knicks for five first-round picks. That’s the kind of deal you make for franchise-altering talent, and while you may be thinking Bridges isn’t that, he’s among the most valuable role players a championship-contending team can have. The price for Bridges has been so high because of his elite, versatile defense, matched with 3-point shooting that teeters on automatic. He thrives with or without the ball in his hands, can guard your favorite team’s best perimeter player and will make you pay if you leave him open on the 3-point line. — Jasmyn Wimbish

Porzingis found himself in a perfect situation with the Celtics. He wasn’t expected to save a franchise like he was with the Knicks. He didn’t need to be the perfect No. 2 option like in Dallas. And he wasn’t collecting empty stats on a 35-win team like he was with the Wizards. It wouldn’t be earth-shattering news if he missed games due to injury in Boston. But when he was healthy, oh boy was he the ultimate weapon. 

Porzingis is still a feared rim protector, can knock down 3s at an efficient clip, is a great pick-and-roll partner, and will make smaller defenders pay in mismatch situations. Porzingis had his most efficient year scoring the ball despite the second-fewest shot attempts per game in his career, and despite missing most of Boston’s playoff games, he managed to still make a massive impact when called upon in the Finals. — Jasmyn Wimbish

Two years ago, White wasn’t even on this list. Now, he checks in at No. 36. More exposure from playing with the Celtics certainly helps, but White ranks this high because he has turned himself into the ultimate role player. He does whatever the Celtics need from night-to-night on both ends of the floor, and was so impressive during the title run that he earned a spot on Team USA. Here’s a stat to emphasize his versatility: Last season he joined Larry Bird and Kevin Durant as the only players ever to average at least five assists and one block per game, while shooting 39% from 3-point range in a season. — Jack Maloney

Young is one of the most reliable and productive offensive players around. He dished out a career-high 10.8 assists per game last season, can stake a claim as the best playmaker in the league and now has multiple seasons averaging at least 25 points and 10 assists, which only Russell Westbrook can match. But what does all of that get you? Outside of the surprise Eastern Conference finals run in 2021, Young has won three total playoff games and the Hawks didn’t even get there last season. He’s only still in Atlanta, per ESPN’s “The Hoop Collective,” because no other team was all that keen on trading for him this summer. — Jack Maloney

Indiana’s jump in defense coincided largely with the addition of Siakam, and that’s not a coincidence. Offensively, he’s the certified second scorer the Pacers craved next to Tyrese Haliburton. A force in transition and funky-footwork savant, Siakam can create outside the system and I continue to believe he’s a more capable 3-point shooter than his numbers indicate. For stretches in the playoffs, Siakam played like a legit star and the Pacers rewarded him with a max contract. — Brad Botkin

No player has ever been more overqualified for his current role than Jrue Holiday is today. Reminder: he made the 2023 All-Star Game as Milwaukee’s primary ball-handler, and then, without declining in any noticeable way, moved to Boston and immediately became a No. 5 option. That lightened offensive load allowed Joe Mazzulla to ask Holiday to do just about anything, no matter how strange. Need Holiday to lock up an opposing guard? No problem, he’s been doing that for a decade. Need him to defend centers? Well, it’s a bit unorthodox, but we’re talking about Jrue Holiday here, so sure. Oh, and if not’s too much trouble, could you average a career-high in rebounds in your age-33 season? I can’t see why not. 

This is what happens when the best team in the NBA adds one of the league’s preeminent Swiss army knives. They get to send him on bizarre side quests for seven months, and then, when the Eastern Conference finals arrive and he needs to bully the undersized Pacers inside for 28 points to steal Game 1, he can do that too. Jrue Holiday can do anything, and that’s why he’s ranked this high on our list. — Sam Quinn

13. Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic

After a season that saw Banchero become the first Magic player since Mike Miller in 2001 to win Rookie of the Year, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 Draft followed that up with a season that saw his efficiency improve dramatically. He’s still not a consistent threat from 3-point range, but that doesn’t matter much when he can muscle his way to the rim and do damage from mid-range. He earned his first All-Star nod and led Orlando to its first playoff appearance in four years. — Jasmyn Wimbish

The glass-half-empty view of Lillard’s first season in Milwaukee: He hurt the Bucks’ defense, had trouble adjusting to being the No. 2 guy and his efficiency declined, which isn’t particularly surprising for a 33-year-old point guard. The glass-half-full view: Despite having to adjust to a new team, new city, new role and two new coaches, Lillard put up numbers roughly on par with his career averages during the regular season and, during the playoffs, had a couple of huge games (coming off a groin injury) before aggravating an Achilles injury. 

I lean toward the optimistic perspective, given that Lillard’s final season in Portland was the best of his career and he’ll be coming off a much more normal offseason this time. (He told Doc Rivers that he was not in shape in 2023-24 because he’d done only light workouts the previous summer for fear of getting injured while waiting for a trade, per Rivers.) Yes, Lillard turned 35 in July, but he was No. 10 on this list just a year ago. Don’t be shocked if he makes this ranking look disrespectful. — James Herbert

After James Harden’s departure, Maxey stepped into the No. 2 role in Philadelphia last season and made the leap from exciting young prospect to All-Star. For his efforts, he was rewarded with the Most Improved Player award. It will be interesting to see how Maxey’s role changes, if at all, with Paul George’s arrival. The great news for the Sixers is he has the on- and off-ball skills to easily scale up and down depending on the situation. In fact, he may even be best as a slightly overqualified No. 3 option given his elite catch-and-shoot numbers (44.4% last season). — Jack Maloney

The player we know Adebayo be to be is an automatic top-25 selection. He’s been a full-time starter for five years and he’s never missed an All-Defense selection in that span. He’s a great passer who might actually get appreciated for it if he wasn’t living in the Jokic era. He rebounds when the Heat need him to rebound, he scores when the Heat need him to score, and with Udonis Haslem now retired, he leads when the Heat need him to lead. 

All of that alone is a top-25 pick. But a noteworthy development last season was Adebayo’s willingness to stretch his range as a jump-shooter. The volume is still quite low, but he attempted a career-high 42 3-pointers and 189 mid-range shots last season. That carried over into the Olympics, where he looked downright comfortable from deep. If Adebayo adds any consistent measure of floor-spacing to his already deep arsenal, his upside jumps from top-25 to top-15, or perhaps even higher. — Sam Quinn

Butler is what he is: A great player who paces himself in the regular season in order to produce superstar postseason stretches. The stats fill every column and the impact always adds up. Last season the Heat outscored opponents by 1.7 points per 100 possessions, per Cleaning the Glass; that number elevated to plus eight points per 100 when Butler was on the floor. The question is: Are the Heat still good enough to give Butler the opportunity to shift into his playoff gear? Or is this a regressing team that might actually look to trade Butler before his next and probably last significant payday? — Brad Botkin

8. Paul George, Philadelphia 76ers

George was finally healthy last season, when he reached the 70-game mark for the first time since 2019. Once again, though, the Clippers‘ hopes were dashed by an injury in the playoffs, this time to Kawhi Leonard. And so, five years after returning home to Los Angeles, George packed his bags and signed with Philadelphia in free agency. He’s not the player he was at his peak, and injuries will always be a concern, but he remains a terrific two-way wing who should be a perfect fit alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. — Jack Maloney

7. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers

A perennial top-10 scorer in the league. Mitchell registered career highs in assists, rebounds and steals last season. He was sensational when Darius Garland was out and he assumed total control of the offense as the lone playmaker. He is virtually unstoppable when he gets going downhill as a pull-up shooter given his force, but his pull-up shooting percentages (35% overall and 30% from 3) dipped considerably last season. — Brad Botkin

6. Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers

When Tyrese Haliburton got hurt on Jan. 9, he was averaging 23.6 points per game and another 32.3 points created off of assists per game. That’s a total of 55.9 points of offense generated, which would be the highest combined total of the tracking era by a comfortable margin. The vision of Haliburton most have in their head right now is of the compromised version of him we largely saw in the second half of the season and in the postseason. He’s become a bit of a meme for his Olympic role as bench vibes captain. 

But remember… he was chosen to be a member of the most talented Olympic team of the 21st century for a reason. He’s a human fast break, a singular stylistic force that empowers the Pacers to play the only way that ever could have gotten their relatively meager collection of talent to the Eastern Conference finals. — Sam Quinn

Nearly a decade ago, Brown was welcomed to the league with boos from Celtics fans upset that he was their selection at No. 3 in the 2016 NBA Draft. Now, he’s a franchise icon and one of the most beloved athletes in Boston. He stamped his status with a spectacular playoff run, in which he hit the two biggest shots — the game-tying 3-pointer in the waning seconds of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals and the game-sealing jumper in Game 3 of the Finals — and was named Eastern Conference finals MVP and Finals MVP. There aren’t so many jokes these days about Brown’s left hand or $300 million contract. — Jack Maloney

4. Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks

In May, Brunson became the fourth player in NBA history — and first since Michael Jordan in 1993 — to score 40 points or more in four consecutive playoff games. He had a total of 16 40-point games in 2023-24, postseason included; his former teammate Luka Doncic was the only player to have more than 10 such games. Not bad for a 6-foot-2 guy with a 6-foot-4 wingspan who went undrafted six years ago and, heading into his fourth season, couldn’t command a four-year, $55 million extension from the Mavericks. 

Now a full-fledged superstar, Brunson agreed to a four-year, $156.5 million extension this summer, which was seen as an enormous sacrifice. The deal will allow the Knicks to continue building a contender in Brunson’s image, with three of his college teammates alongside him for the long haul. Ideally, the addition of Mikal Bridges and the return of Julius Randle will mean that Brunson won’t have to drop 40 all that often in 2024-25, as New York was far too dependent on Brunson’s scoring last season. That iteration of the team scored like the Celtics with him on the court and like the Blazers with him on the bench. The only player whose presence on the court made a bigger difference to his team’s offensive efficiency is the three-time MVP ranked No. 1 on this list. — James Herbert

At long last, Tatum is an NBA champion. Along the way he passed his idol, Kobe Bryant, for the most playoff points before turning 27 and joined Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan, LeBron James and Nikola Jokic as the only players to win a title while leading their team in points, rebounds and assists during the postseason. Tatum didn’t win the Eastern Conference finals or Finals MVP awards, but he was the driving force for Boston’s league-leading 18th championship. Few players, if any, are as well-rounded as the Celtics star, who is one of just three players to make All-NBA First Team in each of the last three seasons. — Jack Maloney

2. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

Arguably the most dominant individual scorer in the league, Embiid has made great strides as a hub in Nick Nurse’s more motion-oriented offense. He’s also anticipating and passing out of double teams with greater effectiveness. The combination of Embiid’s face-up jumper and bruising post game that, at the very least, all but guarantees a trip to the free-throw line, is as close to indefensible as it gets, and he remains a super effective rim protector even is his defensive range and movement isn’t always the greatest. — Brad Botkin

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

There was a feeling of déjà vu for the Greek Freak last season, as he put together another historic campaign — he finished in the top-15 in scoring, rebounding and assists, and joined Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson as the only players to average at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in multiple seasons — but was once again a non-factor in the playoffs due to an injury. Things may not have gone to plan for Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in the last few years, but he remains one of the most dominant forces in the league on both sides of the ball. — Jack Maloney

Top 25 players in East by team

Celtics: 5
Knicks: 4
76ers: 3
Bucks: 2
Cavs: 2
Heat: 2
Magic: 2
Pacers: 2 
Hawks: 1
Pistons: 1
Raptors: 1