Ranking the 11 Best Duos in the NBA

Big threes used to be the thing in the NBA. No more.

It's all about the duos as evidenced by the monumental moves this past off-season that saw Anthony Davis team up with LeBron James in Los Angeles, Russell Westbrook join James Harden in Houston, and Paul George and Kawhi Leonard get themselves to the Clippers. Duos will carry contenders deep into the postseason next spring and help crown a new NBA champion instead of what dominated the league over a decade ago (Boston's big three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce) and as recently as 2013 (LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh).

Ranking 'em wasn't easy since there are so many talented tandems these days. But we did our best to give the proper shine to the most dynamic of duos and crown the No. 1 tag team in the league. Argue all you want with who we went with, but when you have two top five players on the same squad, how can a particularly pair in Los Angeles not be the best? And just in case you missed it, be sure to check out the Complex Sports ranking of the 50 best players in the NBA right here.

This is the duo we obviously know the least about since we haven’t seen Porzingis ball in a season and a half and Doncic has just one campaign under his belt. But if we’re talking ceilings, this tandem might have the highest of any on our list because of their ridiculous skills. We know about Doncic’s step-back while K.P. brings stupefying range and offensive diversity for someone taller than a giraffe, plus an element of shot blocking that his smaller sidekick can only dream about. But if we’re keeping it about offense with these two, if they develop the kind of chemistry many believe they’re capable of in the pick-n-roll then it’ll be over for defenses. Doncic finished top 10 in the league last season in points per game scored in pick-n-roll situations as the ball-handler. Now he can run it with Porzingis and the results could be scary.

Laugh at this one all you want, but Griffin and Drummond are All-Stars (sure, in the East) and present a pretty dynamic duo that is easily overlooked. Griffin is comically underrated in our book. When healthy, Griffin is a premier power forward. And Drummond has steadily improved his game over his seven seasons in the league to become a rebounding machine (led the league the past four seasons), excellent defender (led the league in defensive win shares the past two seasons), and a respectable free throw shooter (he’s hovering around 60 percent the last two seasons) which nobody could have ever imagined when he debuted in 2012. Griffin’s resume is better than people give him credit for and he’s legit taken his game up a notch since getting shipped to Detroit. Sure, they’re a distant third or fourth when it comes to ranking Eastern Conference tandems, but they deserve respect for being way better than casual fans would ever give them credit for.

We're all expecting the Jazz to take a big leap this season, and a lot of that rides on the success of the Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell duo. Yes, Mike Conley Jr. will mean a lot to this Jazz team, but they'll simply go as far as Mitchell and Gobert take them. Can Mitchell take yet another step and become a bonafide star in this league? If so, then the Jazz could make a legit run in the West. We already know that Gobert is a menace on the defensive side of the ball, but can he add enough offensively to stay on the floor in the playoffs? The Jazz will have huge expectations this season, but will only go as far as Mitchell and Gobert take them.

These two are about as offensive-centric as it gets on this list, but they’re one hell of a duo when it comes to ripping nets. Murray can disappear from game-to-game, but when he’s on he’ll get you 30 quicker than just about anybody in the league. Jokic, on the other hand, produces his magic in very different ways, most especially wowing us with passes he has no business making since he’s doughier than a pastry chef. He also has incredible touch around the basket. How good these two ultimately became—i.e. can they carry the Nuggets to the conference finals and beyond—will depend largely on the contributions of their teammates, but the expectations are now a mile high after Jokic finished fourth in the MVP voting last season and Murray nabbed a massive contract extension this summer that will pay him $170 million over five seasons starting in 2020. Time to step it up in Denver.

This one is tough. Giannis is a top-3 player in the NBA, but as a duo, where do we rank him and Middleton? Well, for this list, we landed at No. 7. Khris Middleton is a very good player, and according to our other list, top-25 in the NBA, but as a duo, this is still really all about Giannis. The Bucks have NBA Finals hopes, and while they'll surely need Middleton to play like an All-Star, they'll only win a title if Giannis takes yet another step. Yes, he won MVP last season, but there's still improvements to be made if they want to take it all home.

Ben Simmons. Jump shot. Three-pointers. Blah. Blah. Blah. We know the deal with the point guard and what he needs to do to become the true game-changing superstar/max-level player everyone sees bubbling at the surface. Regardless of what upgrades Simmons debuts this season, he and Embiid are undoubtedly one of the most lethal young combos in the league. They each bring distinct and unique skills on offense while giving you pretty good effort on defense (Embiid, of course, gives you DPOY effort). Simmons (23) and Embiid (25) are obviously the foundation of the Sixers’s success going forward, The Process personified, and arguably the top tandem in the Eastern Conference. They’re going to be a problem for a long time if Philly doesn’t fuck things up.

The OG duo on this list. What do we really need to say about Dame and CJ? They're elite and have been for years. With the NBA more wide open than it's been in years, it will be interesting to see what kind of leap the Blazers can take behind Dame and CJ. Is this the year they finally make it to the finals? We'll have to wait and see, but when talking duos, you have to mention the Blazer guards in the top-5 every single time. Portland fans will likely argue that this duo should be higher too, and maybe they're right, but this is where we landed. Looking like another big year for Dame and CJ.

How these two co-exist over 82 games and into the playoffs is one of the most intriguing storylines heading into the season. And it easily could blow up in the face of the Rockets since we’re all well aware of the ball-hogging predilections of both superstars. But when you have two guys that are perennially named to one of the All-NBA teams and are considered top 15 players by us, of course they’re going to be one of the best duos in the NBA. Westbrook’s ability to speed up the Rockets offense is being welcomed since Houston has been one of the slower paced teams in recent years. We know Russ loves him some rebounds. Harden is the infinitely better shoot and scorer. Do their skills complement each other? At times yes, but largely no. There are plenty of redundancies and there will be growing pains since they haven’t balled together in seven seasons and are very different players since the OKC days. It’s Harden’s team and Russ needs to play second fiddle. On paper, these two teaming up should be electric. But as we’ve said in the past, don’t be surprised if it blows up shortly after take-off.

Another OG duo on the list. The Splash Brothers have changed the game of basketball after both were drafted by Golden State, and while Klay Thompson is recovering from a torn ACL, this is still a top-3 duo when healthy. Actually, one of the biggest things that happened when the Warriors added Kevin Durant was people forgot how good Steph and Klay were together. This is the Warriors duo and will be the two players that carry the franchise into their next phase. Let's also not forget how important Klay Thompson has been to this Warriors team over the years. He was the one who bailed them out in Game 6 vs. the Thunder. He's always been super clutch and is a perfect running mate with Steph. We sadly won't see one of the most fun duos in the NBA until about March due to Klay's injury, but when he gets back, watch out. They're still the Splash Brothers.

We can argue all we want about what’s the best duo in the league. Or who’s the best duo in Los Angeles. What we can’t argue is who is the best defensive duo in the game now that Kawhi and PG have teamed up. Two top 10 caliber players who are among the best two-way ballers in the game and perennial MVP and DPOY candidates, makes their inclusion right near the top of our list an absolute no-brainer. The Clippers were positively giddy before training camp opened up about how good they were going to be defensively once George is back in the lineup and when you dream about Leonard’s disturbingly large hands coupled with George’s reach and ability to disrupt passing lanes, it only takes a second to realize why the Clippers expect to be devils on defense.

We haven’t even talked about their offensive games because do we really have to? Leonard’s become an all-around scorer and a threat from deep. George has the kind of smooth jumper and scoring skills where he makes it look incredibly easy most of the time. They may not play together that much thanks to the glory of load management, but when they’re on the court together, Godspeed to the poor bastards that have to defend them then turn right around on score on ‘em.

When talking about the best NBA duos right now, how could you land anywhere else? LeBron James and Anthony Davis are both top-5 players in the NBA and are perfect compliments to each other's games. I don't want to put too much on preseason basketball, but we're already seeing how good this duo can be. Whether it be both of them running a deadly pick-n-roll offense or LeBron's supreme passing ability paired with AD's athleticism, we're about to see some special stuff in Los Angeles this season. And yes, both Bron and AD have some injury questions at this point of their careers, but when healthy they're poised to be the top duo this season. Does that mean a title is coming back to Lakerland? We'll just have to wait and see.