Ranking Top 10 Playmakers in Basketball (NBA 2025-26)

Joel Piton
Dec 9
9 min read

Playmaking is one of those things we think we understand because there’s a number for it in the box score. Toss a few lobs, hit the corner shooter, rack up 8–9 assists a night and boom—“elite playmaker.” But the guys on the rankings live in different categories. Some don’t just share the ball, they protect it. Some bend and re-bend defenses, probe without panicking, and finish games with assist-to-turnover ratios that make coaches want to frame the stat sheet.

Being a good playmaker is about more than just passing, and today we're looking at the full picture. These playmakers create advantages, keep the ball off the floor for the other team, and repeatedly make the kind of small, boring decisions that quietly stack into winning basketball. Assists matter, but so do turnovers, usage, pace, and the ability to make everyone around them richer.

Let's take a look at the top ten in basketball—as of today.

Jalen Johnson (ATL - PF)

2025-26 Stats:

23.4 PPG - 10.4 RPG - 7.9 APG

53.4 FG%

A nightly triple-double threat, Jalen Johnson has gone from a traditional post four to one of the most promising floor generals in basketball—and he’s doing it from the power forward spot. In Trae Young’s absence, Johnson has thrived as a passing forward who can kick out to shooters, run pick-and-pop, and initiate sets like a jumbo guard. With multiple 15+ rebound nights and several double-digit assist games under his belt, Johnson is the Hawks’ offense right now, touching nearly every possession and keeping the ball moving without coughing it up. Add him shooting 40% from three-point and the quickness to guard multiple positions, and you’ve got a do-it-all playmaker who can anchor a lineup on both ends. There’s really nothing he can’t do, and he’s only getting more comfortable with the ball in his hands. I hope he gets the All-Star nod.

Jalen Brunson (NYK - PG)

2025-26 Stats:

28.0 PPG - 3.1 RPG - 6.4 APG

47.1 FG%

Even at 29, Brunson’s basketball IQ is still climbing with each passing season. The assist numbers don’t scream “floor general” but his value comes from the control he gives New York’s offense. Nothing happens without Brunson deciding when and how. He’s a high-volume scorer with newfound efficiency, posting a career-high 21.5 PER while still ranking top-15 among point guards in assists, but the real magic is how he creates those looks. His playmaking is born from pressure: isolations, post-ups against mismatches, and that deadly in-between game that pulls extra defenders toward him. When the game slows down and the lights get bright, Brunson’s composure becomes a weapon. Yearly in Clutch Player of the Year conversation, he reads late-game defenses superbly, forcing his team to get a clean look or sealing the game himself. His command has been the reason the Knicks are sitting near the top of the East—and why his playmaking impact stretches far beyond the box score.

Austin Reaves (LAL - SG)

2025-26 Stats:

28.4 PPG - 5.5 RPG - 6.7 APG

50.9 FG%

Crafty handles, layered footwork, and a deep offensive bag make Austin Reaves a matchup nightmare whenever he’s operating with the ball. With or without Luka and LeBron on the floor, Reaves keeps the Lakers’ offense organized, efficient, and dangerous—and he’s proven he can run the show. Averaging around 28 points per game and firmly pushing for his first All-Star appearance, he currently ranks as one of the top-scoring shooting guards in the league.

What truly elevates Reaves into this list for me is how quickly his reads have sharpened, making him a better playmaker than given credit for. He’s gone from a reliable offensive bucket getter to a primary facilitator, toggling between scorer and passer without sacrificing either role. He manipulates help defenders, delivers pocket passes with timing, and opens driving lanes through patience rather than speed. Reaves doesn’t just make the right passes consistently—passes that keep the offense alive. Balancing scoring and table-setting at this level is rare, and he’s doing it nightly on a team with championship expectations.

Tyrese Maxey (PHI - PG)

2025-26 Stats:

31.5 PPG - 4.7 RPG - 7.2 APG

46.7 FG%

Lightning quick with ultra-fast reflexes, Maxey’s offensive game is already brushing shoulders with some of the best bucket-getters we’ve seen in today’s NBA. At around 31 points per game, he scores inside and out at a pace that feels like it should require oxygen breaks—yet he never seems to slow down. His stamina, energy, and relentless push in transition are weapons on their own. What makes Maxey a legitimate playmaking presence now is how he blends that scoring punch with selflessness.

Sitting inside the top 10 leaguewide in assists, he’s no longer just hunting his own shot, he’s forcing defenses into panic rotations, then calmly making the read that gets a teammate a clean, open look. His quick-burst drives collapse the paint, his off-ball cuts keep defenders guessing, and his budding vision has tightened Philadelphia’s offensive structure, making him the premier guard in a lineup full of them. Maxey has officially evolved past being just a scoring guard. He’s become a balanced offensive engine—one who can get his own whenever he wants, but just as easily make the play that keeps the Sixers humming.

Josh Giddey (CHI - PG/SG)

2025-26 Stats:

20.3 PPG - 9.5 RPG - 8.9 APG

47.4 FG%

In a season full of Chicago question marks, Josh Giddey has been one of the few exclamation points. With Coby White battling health issues, Giddey has steadied the Bulls’ offense as the primary initiator—fourth in the league in assists and keeping defenses uncomfortable. At 6'8", he sees over the defense and brings a different dimension to the point guard role, blurring the lines between orchestrator, defender, and oversized mismatch hunter.

Yes, the rebounding is absurd for a lead guard—top 15 in the league and running the fast break off the glass like he’s playing point forward—but playmaking is where he truly shines. His court vision is panoramic; he sees windows before they open, especially when it comes to transition where he can turn a loose board into two points in seconds. The reads come quickly, the delivery is done with flair, and the Bulls look crisp when Giddey directs the offense. Clearly the contract extension was well deserved. If Chicago can get healthy and give him a stable rotation, it’s not hard to imagine Giddey earning his first All-Star nod soon.

James Harden (LAC - PG/SG)

2025-26 Stats:

26.8 PPG - 5.4 RPG - 8.3 APG

44.3 FG%

The Clippers are a tough team to love right now—an odd roster, questionable decision-making up top, and constant injury roulette. But one thing has remained steady: the commitment of James Harden. No complaints. No trade rumors. Just basketball. With Kawhi back in the fold, Harden doesn’t need to be a 30-point scorer anymore. Instead, he’s embraced a role that leans fully into what he’s always done best: bend defenses until they break.

His roughly eight assists per night put him near the top of the league—second among point guards and third overall—and it hardly feels like he’s breaking a sweat. We’ve seen Harden lead the NBA in assists before, but there’s something different about his play in L.A. The reads are faster. The willingness to give up the ball early and manipulate the defense on the second action has made the Clippers’ offense way more functional than the standings suggest. Even well into his 30s, Harden remains a pick-and-roll master. He sets traps with hesitation dribbles, forces rotations with his drives, and feeds Zubac like clockwork. When the Clippers do look like a well-oiled machine, it’s almost always because Harden and Kawhi are playing in tandem, and that relies on Harden turning the gears.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC - PG)

2025-26 Stats:

32.8 PPG - 4.7 RPG - 6.4 APG

55.6 FG%

With the Thunder sitting at 23–1 and winning games by comfortable margins, Shai has only needed to show up in 11 fourth quarters all season. That alone tells the story: OKC’s offense is so efficient, so controlled, and so relentless that by the time the third quarter comes. toa close, the job is already done.

His assist totals won’t blow anyone away, but that’s missing the point. Shai has mastered the modern NBA—slow-fast pacing, offensive manipulation, foul-drawing expertise, and a mid-range bag that defenses still can’t guard even when they know it’s coming. He’s constantly putting two defenders in conflict, and when the help finally arrives, he punishes it. Whether it’s a kick-out to Ajay Williams or a slick feed to his twin-towers in Holmgren and Hartenstein on the interior, Shai delivers on-time, on-target, and only when the offense truly needs it. His playmaking is about precision. Every decision he makes stretches the defense just a little thinner, and clearly he's operating a few steps ahead of the league. He doesn’t rack up assists because he doesn’t have to. He just keeps the machine humming and the wins keep piling up.

Luka Doncic (LAL - PG/SF)

Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via GettyImages

2025-26 Stats:

35.0 PPG - 9.2 RPG - 9.1 APG

47.2 FG%

The NBA’s leading scorer isn’t just getting buckets—he’s micromanaging every possession to make sure the job gets done. Luka’s commitment to winning shows up in the way he stuffs the box score every night: points, rebounds, assists, and problem-solving. With 35 points per game under his belt, he’s leading the league by a decent margin. He’s also sitting firmly inside the top 15 in rebounds and ranks third in assists at around 9.1 per night. The blend of scoring gravity and court vision makes him one of the scariest offensive players ever.

He creates space for himself with body angles, footwork, patience—and then uses that same manipulation to force defenses into decisions they can’t win. When the help arrives, he slips passes to shooters spotted up or cutters diving in behind the play. When it doesn’t, he calmly sizes up the defender into another deep step-back three. On paper, this Lakers roster shouldn’t be this unpredictable and succesful. But Luka bends the geometry of the floor every trip down. If he isn’t scoring, he’s warping the defense so someone else can. He controls everything—tempo, spacing, results. That’s why he’s not just a bucket-getter, he's the architect when it comes to playmaking.

Cade Cunningham (DET - PG)

2025-26 Stats:

27.5 PPG - 6.4 RPG - 9.3 APG

45.2 FG%

At 19–5, Detroit has Cade Cunningham to thank for planting them firmly atop the Eastern Conference. His balance—27.5 points per game (11th in the league) and 9.3 assists (2nd overall)—making him a premier example of the modern point guard: oversized but too skilled. He manipulates defenses with pick-and-roll reads, snakes into the lane to force help, and then hits cutters or shooters right when the window cracks open. At 6’7”, he sees over the traps rather easily and navigates tight spaces with craft. The Luka Doncic comparisons are rooted in how Cade blends shot creation with a legitimate scoring threat from all three levels. Of course, Cade is always shot-ready, putting up a Pistons record breaking 45 field goal attempts last month.

The difference between Cade and Luka is that Cade playing a role on a much better defensive team, which means every smart decision he makes on one end instantly compounds on the other. Sure, the high-usage turnovers will tighten over time, but what he’s already mastered—reading momentum, dictating pace, and serving as the franchise of a winning machine—is the hard part.

Nikola Jokić (DEN - C)

2025-26 Stats:

29.2 PPG - 12.3 RPG - 11.0 APG

61.2 FG%

Denver may be sitting third in a brutally competitive Western Conference, but without Jokić, they wouldn’t be anywhere close to contender status. He’s once again putting up a 29-point triple-double for the second straight year—something no center has ever done apart from him—and ranks top-five in scoring while leading the entire NBA in both rebounds and assists. It's no secret that we're looking at an all time great.

Jokić is the rare superstar who makes absurd production feel routine. His combination of vision, timing, and laid-back tempo has fundamentally changed how basketball is played at the center position. He delivers passes that shouldn’t be possible, controls tempo like a point guard, and runs offense from the post or high post so effortlessly that defenders end up guarding empty space. Schemes that once revolved around clogging lanes for guards now have to be rewritten because the most dangerous playmaker on the floor is a 7-foot, 280-pound tactician. When he’s on the court, every teammate becomes a threat. Jokić isn’t just the best playmaker in basketball—he’s a generational system all by himself. The Nuggets don’t run offense through him… he is the offense, and the rest of the league is still trying to figure out how to stop it.

_________________________________

Every name on this list brings something completely different to the table. Some guys are better with the ball in their hands rather than giving it up, some are dime merchants who somehow always find the open man—but each of them gives their team a unique offensive heartbeat. You can drill reads like Brunson, run contact reps like Shai, or memorize sets like Cade, but real playmaking—the ability to see things early and deliver the ball on time, on target, and without coughing it up—is something you either have or you don’t. That’s why, barring injuries, I don’t expect this list to change wildly over the course of the season. These are the engines you build around.

A young guard could make a leap, or a role player could step up greatly after being given more responsibility (we're looking at you Davion Mitchell), or a “good passer” could quietly level up into a true threat. For now, though, these are the ten guys I trust most to run a team and secure the bag for everyone around them.