We Asked NBA Stars to Rank the Top 5 Most Skilled Players Right Now

When it comes to NBA discourse on the topic of skill, NBA fans' definition of skill varies because of the split between numerical production and the good ol' eye test as the basis of the argument. Some fans use scoring numbers as the primary talking point while other fans use the "biggest bag" debate. In our interview in November with Carmelo Anthony, he stated that was a big difference between the best players in the game and most skilled players in the game. 

"There are skilled guys in the NBA that are not the best players," Anthony says. "There's a big difference. The best player comes with different things. You know what I'm saying? There's a lot of that comes with being the best player in the NBA. You got to be one out of 400." 

You'll run into weekly debates on X, formerly known as Twitter, with fans bickering about the players with the most skill and criticizing players that "lack" skill to negate their impact. Every fan believes their words are the bible but what do the players think about this topic? We polled several stars & young players around the NBA on who they believed were the top five most skilled players in the league. As athletes who have trained and attempted to perfect their skills for over a decade, the players provide a different perspective than the average social media user devoted to protecting their favorite player's legacy. 

All-Stars Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were among the group that was polled individually. The two common names on almost every list were Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, which should be no surprise to NBA fans. The majority of the rest of the votes were split between Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, Paul George, and Steph Curry. 

With all that being said, here's the most skilled players in the NBA right now voted by the players. 

Damian's Most Skilled 

1. Kyrie Irving 

2. Kevin Durant 

3. Luka Doncic 

4. Paul George 

5. Joel Embiid 

Tyrese's Most Skilled 

1. Kyrie Irving 

2. Kevin Durant 

3. Steph Curry  

4. Paul George 

5. Joel Embiid 

Shai's Most Skilled Players 

1. Steph Curry 

2. Kevin Durant 

3. Kyrie Irving 

4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 

5. Luka Doncic 

Jayson's Most Skilled 

1. Kyrie Irving 

2. Kevin Durant 

3. Paul George 

4. Jayson Tatum 

5. Devin Booker 

Alperen's Most Skilled:

1. Luka Doncic 

2. Nikola Jokic

3. Stephen Curry 

4. LeBron James 

5. Paul George 

Khris' Most Skilled:

1. Kyrie Irving 

2. Kevin Durant 

3. LeBron James 

4. Nikola Jokic 

5. Giannis Antetokounmpo 

Terry's Most Skilled:

1. Kyrie Irving

2. Luka Doncic

3. Kevin Durant  

4. Luka Doncic 

5. Terry Rozier 

Scoot's Most Skilled 

1. Steph Curry 

2. Nikola Jokic 

3. LeBron James  

4. Donovan Mitchell 

5. Luka Doncic 

Carmelo didn't list his top five but he mentioned that Kyrie Irving and Nikola Jokic would be atop his list in terms of pure skill. 

"Kyrie may be the most skilled player in the NBA," Anthony says. "Him and Jokic. Speaking on Kyrie, a lot of people may say he's not the best player but he's the most skilled."

1. Kyrie Irving (7 votes) 

2. Kevin Durant (6 votes)

3. Luka Doncic (5 votes)

4. Paul George (4 votes) 

5. Steph Curry (4 votes) 

6. Nikola Jokic (4 votes)

7.  LeBron James (3 votes)

8.  Joel Embiid (2 votes)

9. Jayson Tatum (2 vote)

10. Devin Booker (1 vote) 

11. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (1 vote)

12. Terry Rozier (1 vote) 

13. Donovan Mitchell (1 vote)