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Giannis Antetokounmpo (right) and Donovan Mitchell are among the 10 players to watch in the East in 2025-26.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Download the NBA App<\/a> The league is dark here in the offseason and this is where the league gets better. That\u2019s because what is done in the summer, in the darkness \u2014 away from the spotlight and the public and confined to near-empty gyms \u2014 is what helps players go from good to great.<\/p>\n Do they minimize their weaknesses? Develop their skills? Create a new twist or wrinkle that will be unveiled next season, for the betterment of their game and their team?<\/p>\n This is the time to regroup and take the next step. Those who accomplish that will remain on this list \u2014 the 10 best players in the Eastern Conference heading into 2025-26.<\/p>\n This compilation comes with an asterisk. It\u2019s assumed that Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics<\/a> and Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers<\/a>, both unfortunate victims of Achilles injuries last spring\/summer, will miss all of next season. Both would be locks, but for the sake of discussion, will remain on the sideline for now.<\/p>\n Therefore, with all due respect to Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors, Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat and Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers \u2014 all of whom just missed the cut \u2014 here\u2019s the 10:<\/p>\n 1. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks<\/p>\n Honestly, there\u2019s a bit of a gap between No. 1 and the pack, because none of the rest are bringing two Kia MVP awards, an NBA championship and a Finals MVP \u2026 and Antetokounmpo is still in his prime. He is, perhaps undeniably, the league\u2019s finest both-ends player, a force when he\u2019s going downhill toward the hoop and an intimidating presence when he\u2019s protecting it. Free throw shooting and 3-point accuracy aside \u2014 he\u2019s rather ordinary, at best, at those tasks \u2014 Antetokounmpo remains alone on an island when the subject is Eastern Conference players. He has averaged 30 points and nearly 12 rebounds the past four seasons. He\u2019s the only player to average 25 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block in multiple seasons.<\/p>\n 2. Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks<\/p>\n Back-to-back appointments to the All-NBA team certify him as one of the league\u2019s best point guards. He also earned some 2025 MVP votes and is the reigning Clutch Player of the Year. What more evidence does he need? Brunson went from a second-round pick and a backup point guard in Dallas to a franchise player in just a few years. He\u2019s tricky with the dribble, a solid mid-range shooter and of course a player who wants the last shot. He isn\u2019t a particularly willing passer in certain situations, and doesn\u2019t create as much (just 5 apg in his career) as you want from a position designed to make teammates better. Yet where would the Knicks be without him?<\/p>\n 3. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers<\/p>\n He made the All-NBA First Team<\/a> last season, which alone would catapult him to this list. Mitchell also qualifies as a transformational player for the second time, doing so once with Utah and now with the contending Cavs. He\u2019s a good rebounder for a guard, distributes well and is a solid enough defender to qualify as a two-way player. As a shooter, he fluctuates from good to average, and his scoring has dipped for three straight years (from 28.3 ppg in 2022-23 to 24 last season). But his impact rarely wavers from game to game, and opposing defenses are always on high alert. That\u2019s especially true in clutch situations, in which Mitchell is constantly aggressive (his 88 clutch points ranked 15th overall<\/a> last season).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Check out Donovan Mitchell\u2019s best plays from the 2024-25 regular season.<\/p>\n 4. Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic<\/p>\n A torn oblique limited him<\/a> to just 46 regular-season games in 2024-25, but he\u2019s clearly on the verge of a star breakout. A skilled, 6-foot-10 forward who excels everywhere offensively, Banchero can do damage from deep, on the break and in the post. This allows Orlando much flexibility in terms of its attack, strategy and lineups. In his limited playing time last season, he averaged 25.6 ppg, 7.5 rpg and 4.8 apg, all indicative of his all-around ability. He\u2019ll need to improve as a rim protector (he\u2019s never topped 50 blocks in a season) to get raves for being a two-way player, but he\u2019s still just 22 until mid-November.<\/p>\n 5. Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons<\/p>\n He\u2019s looking to top a breakout season in which he confirmed all the projections that follow a former No. 1 overall pick: All-Star<\/a>, All-NBA<\/a> and carting a once-lowly franchise to the playoffs. Cunningham (26.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 9.1 apg) was a tough assignment for opposing guards in 2024-25 and the flow in his game seems effortless. He usually makes the right pass, takes the right shot and creates plenty of matchup problems while rarely struggling through bad stretches. Cunningham turns 24 next season and is a franchise player who has the Pistons on the rise.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Check out some of Cade Cunningham’s top highlights from the 2024-25 season.<\/p>\n 6. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers<\/p>\n Some might argue that a former Kia MVP \u2014 just two seasons ago!<\/a> \u2014 is slotted too low, while others who cite his inability to stay on the floor might say he\u2019s too high. The truth is right here, in the middle, at No. 6 for a center who is a force when healthy. Here are the facts: Embiid has never played 69 or more games in a season and played just 58 combined the last two. His conditioning is a perpetual issue, and his height \u2014 combined with his weight \u2014 could cause availability problems the rest of his career. That said, he\u2019s an MVP candidate when fit and motivated and can take over games at both ends. He has averaged 30.6 ppg or more in three of the past four seasons, is a decent 3-point shooter, has a career 11 rpg average and is among the game\u2019s best shot blockers.<\/p>\n 7. Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers<\/p>\n As the reigning Kia Defensive Player of the Year<\/a> and an All-NBA selection<\/a> in 2024-25, Mobley is trending north and perhaps is still a few seasons away from approaching his peak. His growth is among the reasons why the Cavs are a strong contender, both last season and in 2025-26 \u2026 and maybe for the near future as well. His defensive instincts are rare, making him capable of guarding multiple positions and seldom getting mismatched. Last season, opponents shot 44.5% when Mobley was the closest defender (the expected percentage on those shots was 47.7%) and contested 10.4 shots per game, which was among the NBA\u2019s best. He\u2019s still developing offensively, yet does have a 41-point game and is a career 54.8% shooter.<\/p>\n 8. Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics<\/p>\n He experienced a bit of a comedown from his solid 2023-24 season (23 ppg, 5.5 rpg) in which his NBA Finals MVP<\/a> and championship earned him a supermax extension<\/a>. Still, for a No. 2 option, Brown rates among the very best \u2014 and he\u2019d be No. 1 on several teams that don\u2019t employ, among others, Tatum. We\u2019ll see soon enough what Brown is capable of doing in that role, with Tatum sidelined perhaps this entire season. Brown is an efficient shooter (career 47.8%) and solid overall, though not elite in any particular area.<\/p>\n 9. Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks<\/p>\n A five-time All-Star<\/a> who, last season, made All-NBA<\/a> for the third time, Towns still wears the crown as the league\u2019s best-shooting big man and among the best of all time. His ability to stretch the floor makes him a good fit in today\u2019s game \u2014 though that has its drawbacks, mainly keeping him from the paint to tackle typical big-man post-ups (last season, he scored 213 post-up points on 213 post-up possessions<\/a>). But when you shoot as well as Towns (career 40% on 3-pointers), the pluses outweigh the negatives. His 12.8 rpg last season marked a career high in what was his sixth season averaging 20 and 10 (24.4 ppg). Towns does have lapses and can disappear at times, but is usually consistent and reliable.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Can new coach Mike Brown take Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson to new heights in 2025-26?<\/p>\n 10. Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks<\/p>\n He\u2019s one of the NBA\u2019s most gifted offensive players, and that\u2019s not a stretch. As a scorer and passer, few (if any) have done it quite like Young in the 2020s. He has led the league in total assists three times and his 11.6 apg led the NBA last season<\/a>. He averaged 24.2 ppg in 2024-25 while serving as a consistent threat to pull up well beyond the arc. His shooting efficiency dropped last season (41.1% overall, 34% on 3-pointers) and he remains a notoriously leaky defender. To his credit, though, Young is at least trying harder to prevent being such a liability on that end of the floor.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him\u00a0here<\/a>, find\u00a0his archive here<\/a>\u00a0and follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery Sports.<\/p>\n
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