This week, 13 NBA executives and coaches were polled on who they think the best player in the NBA is. Only 3 players received votes: Nikola Jokic (7), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (5), and Victor Wembanyama (1).

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/top-10-nba-players-headed-into-the-playoffs-plus/id1845980031?i=1000761660483

Ryen Russillo asked 13 people who actively work in front offices and coaching staff who the 10 best players in the league are. Less sample size but more quality voter. Appears the people who get paid to do think its closer than the people who get paid to talk.

Player - Highest, Lowest Rank

#1 Jokic 1, 3

#2 SGA 1, 4

#3 Wemby 1, 5

#4 Luka 4, 7

#5 Giannis - 3, Not voted (1)

#6 Ant - 5, Not voted (1)

#7 tie Kawhi - 4, Not voted (3)

#7 tie Tatum - 6, Not voted (3)

#9 Cade 6, Not voted (1)

#10 Curry 6, Not voted (4)

Others who got Top 10 votes (highest)

KD (7), Brown (6), Mitchell (8), Brunson (9), Embiid (10)

ttocsy | Lakers

34 | 11 hours ago

How is it possible that somebody put SGA (4) and Wemby (5) outside the top 3, but nobody other than Jokic, SGA, Wemby has a highest placing above 4? Somebody else had to take their place in the top 3. Is that the ? against Giannis?

rwoteit | Vancouver Grizzlies

11 | 11 hours ago

Russillo just didn’t mention Giannis after saying where he ranked whereas everyone else he talked about their votes, but you’re right it must be him I’ll edit the post.

ttocsy | Lakers

1 | 11 hours ago

Ah I see what you mean, so he had at least one 2 or 3 placing.

Odoaiden | Timberwolves

22 | 11 hours ago

You can see how much less recency bias executives have they don’t have Cade way to high Luka top 3 just because of a good month.

Kronesious | Lakers

17 | 8 hours ago

Luka just averaged 33.⁵⁄₇.⁷⁄₈.3

One good month is hilarious.

Cool_Description8334

5 | 11 hours ago

If anything it highlights how out of touch they are. Embiid top 10 in 2026?!

Remarkable-Lynx1496 | Spurs

8 | 9 hours ago

Embiid has one of the highest scoring peaks in history and continues to remind us of that every time he plays, issue is that’s not very often

Cool_Description8334

-2 | 8 hours ago

Even when he plays he reminds us that he can be solid one out of 5 games he plays which is maybe 5 times a season. Idk what yall are on. Hes had some legit awful games this year

Marcus-ichiJo | Supersonics

7 | 9 hours ago

Tbf Embiid on the floor is still top 10, it’s just that’s the rarity

Cool_Description8334

-2 | 8 hours ago

This is just not true there are 10+ players better than him not even hard

AdagioJealous5413 | Heat

5 | 11 hours ago

I mean…one good month is a freaking stretch but I understand what you mean

comeonmang126 | Pistons

0 | 7 hours ago

Ironically Luka had a good month to Cades injured stretch. This is literally more recency bias than the talks of Cade>Luka that spanned the season till early March

Odoaiden | Timberwolves

2 | 7 hours ago

Pistons fans are convinced Cade is as good as like Luka Giannis and Ant it’s hilarious

qotsabama | DAL

1 | 5 hours ago

If Cade was as good as those guys they’d have a great shot to win this year. Pistons were awesome when he was out. Imagine adding a player like that back to that team.

Odoaiden | Timberwolves

1 | 5 hours ago

Imagine a lineup of Daniss Ant Ausar Harris Duren wow

abc4357 | Lakers

-1 | 8 hours ago

Who should be higher than Luka?

Odoaiden | Timberwolves

2 | 8 hours ago

Shai Jokic wemby

Kindly_Ad995

19 | 11 hours ago

Who the hell put Luka at 7 lol Nico has a secret job in an NBA front office somewhere we don’t know about?

New_Essay_4869 | Thunder

12 | 11 hours ago

Who’s voting Wemby at 5 lol

BigLafa

29 | 11 hours ago

I can see it.

Jokic SGA Luka Giannis

That isn’t totally crazy as a top four

No-Big-9170 | Spurs

0 | 4 hours ago

Not to be a homer but Wemby clears Giannis in every single category except muscling his way to the rim. The 3pt shooting alone makes him much harder to scheme against, then add in the defense and it isn’t close.

New_Essay5327

2 | 33 minutes ago

Giannis is a better passer

AdagioJealous5413 | Heat

9 | 11 hours ago

And Luka at 7 and embiid still 10(!)

rwoteit | Vancouver Grizzlies

3 | 11 hours ago

Russillo said those were 1 vote each. For the Luka #7 he said they had SGA, Jokic, Wemby, Kawhi, didn’t say who they had 5th, Cade above him and said ‘Slowly becoming the best version of Zach Lavine’.

bananajunior3000 | Celtics

3 | 6 hours ago

I don’t agree with it, but “Slowly becoming the best version of Zach Lavine” is some funny haterade lmao

Marcus-ichiJo | Supersonics

1 | 9 hours ago

Probably JB

Marcus-ichiJo | Supersonics

2 | 7 hours ago

Tbf Embiid when on the floor is still top 10, but the amount of time he’s on the floor is near non-existent.

ColtsFan012 | Pacers

1 | 11 hours ago

Hali deserves a spot over Embid. He drug the Pacers to the finals, and we are obviously ass without him. Embid meanwhile can’t even make a conference finals and is always hurt

rwoteit | Vancouver Grizzlies

7 | 11 hours ago

Probably someone who wants to see it against a targeted scheme in a series. First player I’ve seen to skip that step before getting bitw talks. Giannis & Luka is not crazy either.

Simple_Purple_4600

6 | 10 hours ago

I experience zero dissonance in thinking Jokic is the best player and Shai is the MVP

TheRealMoofoo

3 | 8 hours ago

MVP has brainless criteria for most voters it seems, so there are plenty of times when the MVP isn’t given to the best player.

whenishit-itsbigturd

4 | 10 hours ago

NBA on a generational Luka slander run today

Dymatizeee | Knicks

2 | 10 hours ago

Disrespect to curry

Sammy2729 | Lakers

3 | 9 hours ago

Luka 7th??? and how can people vote for tatum when he played like 15 games

moby323 | 76ers

1 | 12 hours ago

I don’t understand the list as you have it layed out in your comment.

All it’s worth mentioning that in the MVP voting, the voters get to vote for multiple players ranked as opposed to here where it looks like every voter gets one vote so it makes sense that no one but the obvious three best players didn’t get votes

rwoteit | Vancouver Grizzlies

9 | 12 hours ago

They voted for the 10 best players so they got more votes than MVP voting. I don’t get what hard to understand that’s the highest place they were voted and the lowest place they were voted.

secretsodapop

4 | 11 hours ago

Not trying to be rude but why would you acknowledge you don’t understand the list and then comment on it anyway? They ranked their top ten players and OP showed what the highest and lowest rank each player got in those rankings.

panther553212 | Thunder

2 | 8 hours ago

I would say it’s hard to believe these guys are nba executives and one them put Giannis at 3 ahead of SGA and Doncic but then I remembered Daryl Morey is and Nico Harrison was an NBA Exec. I guess you just have to remember because they have the job doesn’t mean they are good at it.

mmkaywhatevers | Warriors

1 | 5 hours ago

screw the floppers, Wemby for MVP.

xbhaskarx | Spurs

1 | 11 hours ago

In the preseason I think it was ESPN that had their top five as the foreign guys with Wemby the controversial inclusion at #5… now he’s pretty much consensus #3 at worst.

Edit:

“I polled several people in both the Milwaukee and Los Angeles markets. None of them voted for Giannis or Luka, or even mentioned them as contenders for votes. Both obviously remain great players, but they are in a different tier in the minds of voters.”

Loud-Introduction-31

1 | 10 hours ago

I wonder if any of the 13 were executives of WINNING TEAMS smh

Mike-XL

1 | 9 hours ago

Putting Wemby over Luka before he’s even won a playoff series is ridiculous

fisheggsoup | Jazz

1 | 8 hours ago

Why only 13 and which teams did they represent?

Simple_Purple_4600

0 | 10 hours ago

Good time to remember that half of all execs/coaches are LOSERS

ColdCocking | Hornets

-1 | 11 hours ago

It’s pretty simple.

If you had a random NBA team going into the playoffs now and you could add either SGA or Jokic to that team, which would you add? You’d add Jokic.

This_Field_7872 | NBA

-6 | 11 hours ago

It’s still Shai

BlockedByMobley | Lebanon

-17 | 11 hours ago

Never has been and never will be. Still hasn’t surpassed Jokic and Wemby already passed him. When the officials crack down on his foul baiting this fluke run will end

Smazzyy | Thunder

7 | 11 hours ago

Kind of like your comments never have been and never will be good?

This_Field_7872 | NBA

6 | 11 hours ago

Yeah you seem kinda bitter

TheKajMahal | Pistons

5 | 11 hours ago

Lmao

Salty_Examination486

3 | 11 hours ago

Get help bro