After witnessing a handful of tiebreaker-based blowouts, some dramatic finishes and a highly controversial call in the quarterfinals, we’ve finally reached the in-season tournament’s semifinal stage — the Vegas stage –where some of the league’s best talent will battle for the inaugural in-season tournament crown.
We all had questions about just how much the players would care about a tournament that, on its face, has no real bearing on the rest of the season or the playoffs. But we saw the emotion from a young Pacers team — and their fans! — and their franchise player saying this is the most intense basketball he has played. We saw Austin Reaves’ gamebreaking triple on Tuesday night, and the delirious Laker crowd in Los Angeles. It’s clear the players are into this, and the Vegas atmosphere and NCAA tournament treatment should only heighten the excitement.
With the semifinals kicking off Thursday evening, here are the 25 best players still playing in the tournament, all battling for a tidy $500,000 check — and the first-ever NBA Cup.
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
2023 stats: 30.2 PPG, 10.7 RPG and 5.2 APG
How scary is this? If it looked easy for Giannis to dominate before … it’s even easier now. The superstar, who turned 29 years old Wednesday, is shooting a career-best 61.1% from the floor and is being assisted on his two-point looks at the highest rate since the 2018-19 campaign. The reason is simple: Lillard, and the effort and space required to defend him, frees up better looks for the Greek Freak, something the world saw after just one preseason game together.
2. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
2023 stats: 23.0 PPG, 12.6 RBG and 3.1 APG
The only factor that’s ever really determined Davis’ position in player rankings is health. And much to the Lakers’ delight, he’s not only been dominant this season, but available. The eight-time All-Star has missed just a single game thus far (one against the Rockets in early November) and his play has served as a loud reminder of how elite he is when can contribute nightly. And as always, he has been particularly dominant on defense, tied for both the league lead in blocked shots and in defensive win shares.
3. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
2023 stats: 24.7 PPG, 7.6 RPG and 6.6 APG
Just in case there was any lingering question about James and how he’d approach his age-39 season, well, it has been answered — and then some. He’s still impossibly strong and plays like it, particularly when he bounds to the basket. Of the 53 players this season who have driven to the basket 10 times per game or more, James ranks first in the league in field goal percentage (66.3%). He drove the ball a whopping 18 times in Tuesday’s game against Phoenix, in which he finished a perfect 8-for-8 from the field around the basket. Make no mistake: Despite all the accolades he has accumulated, James very much wants the hardware that goes to the winner of this tournament, too.
4. Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks
2023 stats: 25.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG and 6.9 APG
For how well the Bucks have it rolling on offense — they rank No. 3 and just scored 146 points against the Knicks, one of the league’s best defenses — there’s still a higher level that Milwaukee can reach. Part of that stems from the fact that Lillard is still figuring out when, and how, to strike within an offense that already has a two-time MVP. Lillard’s efficiency is down overall (52.3% effective field goal rate; down from 56.4% last season) and on isos (0.95 points per isolation play; down from 1.17 points per play last season). But the freedom he has already unlocked in Antetokounmpo’s game is undeniable.
5. Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
2023 stats: 26.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 11.9 APG
The 50-40-90 threat is the engine behind the league’s most prolific offense. He’s a creative, acrobatic passer with more total dimes than anyone in the NBA, yet possesses a sterling 5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. But he knows when to call his own number, too, shooting a blistering 14-for-19 (73.7%) in the final five minutes of games separated by five points or fewer, including 7-for-9 from deep. The Celtics got a bitter taste of how lethal Haliburton can be late in games Monday when he hit a huge go-ahead 27-footer — and got fouled! — with a little more than 90 seconds left. We’re witnessing superstar ascension in real time.
6. Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
2023 stats: 22.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 4.9 APG
The New Orleans star drew headlines earlier this season when he said he felt like he was “taking a little bit of a back seat” in the team’s revamped offense. And sure, his numbers may be down on a per-minute basis and from an efficiency standpoint — he’s shooting just 38.5% from three to 10 feet. But relatively speaking, he’s still a runaway freight train, averaging a Western Conference-best 17.7 points in the paint. Most importantly, the 2019 No. 1 pick, after averaging just 29 games over his first four seasons, is finally healthy. Which should send shivers across the league.
7. Brandon Ingram, New Orleans Pelicans
2023 stats: 23.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 5.3 APG
The forward is off to one of his best starts — if not the best start –of his career. Fueled by better finishing numbers around the rim (77% vs. a career average of 67%) and from close range (53% from three to 10 feet, vs. a career mark of 39%), Ingram is vying for his first 50% shooting season. And there’s reason to believe it’s not only sustainable but also improvable, given how slowly he has started from deep, where he’s hitting just 30.5% of his looks — his lowest mark since his 2016-17 rookie season. Critical for the Pels? His health, alongside Williamson’s. In 338 minutes, the duo has outscored opponents by 7 points per 100 possessions.
8. CJ McCollum, New Orleans Pelicans
2023 stats: 20.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 6.0 APG
The guard is still working his way back after missing 12 straight games in November because of a collapsed lung and rib fracture. But his role with the Pelicans is paramount; both because he’s the closest player their starting five has to a true floor general (he’s averaging six assists this season), and because he keeps the offense afloat without Ingram and Williamson on the floor. New Orleans has logged an offensive rating of almost 121 points per 100 possessions in the 87 minutes McCollum has played without either of those two this season.
9. Brook Lopez, Milwaukee Bucks
2023 stats: 13.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 1.4 APG
You can’t talk about Milwaukee’s success — this season, or in the past five seasons — without landing on Lopez. His job, to keep nailing around 35% on 3s while protecting the rim — became even more important after the Bucks parted ways with Jrue Holiday, one of the league’s premier perimeter defenders. The club’s defense has predictably slipped considerably, but the big man still has been one of the best at the rim, holding opponents 9.4 percentage points below their averages from there, while also being tied for the league lead in blocked shots. And don’t get it twisted: He can still score. Lopez had a career-best 39 in a narrow win over Washington a few weeks back.
10. Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers
2023 stats: 16.6 PPG, 7.9 RPG and 1.4 APG
The 27-year-old big man’s counting stats might not grab you right away. But if you aren’t impressed with those, consider when and how he’s compiling them. Like on Nov. 14, when he logged a 15-point fourth quarter against reigning MVP Joel Embiid, and then again on Nov. 24, against the lowly Pistons, when he grabbed seven boards in the final quarter — to help lead Indiana to victory. And he’s still an elite rim protector; he holds opposing shooters more than 8 percentage points below their norms around the basket.
11. Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks
2023 stats: 11.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 4.1 APG
We knew there’d be considerable changes to Milwaukee’s offense upon Damian Lillard’s arrival. Arguably no one has had to adjust more than Middleton, whose 9.9 shots per game are the fewest he’s taken since his 2012-13 rookie season in Detroit. It’s notable that Middleton — a player who often closed out games for Milwaukee offensively, even with Giannis playing — hasn’t had a 20-point game yet this season. What better time to remind folks what he’s capable of offensively than, you know, now, in the tournament?
12. Herb Jones, New Orleans Pelicans
2023 stats: 12.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 2.9 APG
Jones has great versatility and incredible length, which has led to a career-best 1.3 blocks per game and a tie for the league lead in 3-point attempts blocked (seven). Then there’s his budding offensive game, where he has hit more than half his shot attempts for the first time, and had double-digit points totals in six of his past seven contests — a noteworthy uptick considering he averaged less than 10 points per game in each of his first two seasons. The 25-year-old wing has clear DPOY potential — and maybe more.
13. Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers
2023 stats: 14.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 4.6 APG
The best thing about Reaves’ massive shot to win Tuesday’s quarterfinal game against Phoenix? That he had the confidence to take it in the first place. The shooting guard had struggled with his stroke from distance in recent weeks since coming off the bench, connecting on just 22.9% of his tries in the 10 games prior. (It had been a full month since he’d gone for 20 points or more.) For how well Anthony Davis and LeBron James are playing, the Lakers will certainly need Reaves to stay aggressive on offense this season — in the in-season tournament and otherwise — to get where they ultimately want to go.
14. Jonas Valanciunas, New Orleans Pelicans
2023 stats: 14.2 PPG, 9.1 RPG and 2.3 APG
Valanciunas, even at 31, is one of the league’s most physical and dependable players, and he’s still doing his dirty work in the trenches. He repeatedly sealed and bullied Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis in the post at times on Monday, and his willingness to set hard screens opens up a Pelicans offense that ranks 26th in 3-point attempt rate.
15. Bruce Brown, Indiana Pacers
2023 stats: 12.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG and 2.8 APG
One season after being arguably the league’s biggest stealth pickup in free agency — and helping the Nuggets to their first NBA title in franchise history — Brown has been huge for the Pacers, primarily tasked with ballhandling and defending the opposition’s best player. And, along with Haliburton and teammate Obi Toppin, Brown supercharges the Pacers’ up-tempo attack in transition, which ranks among the league’s top five in efficiency.
16. Bobby Portis, Milwaukee Bucks
2023 stats: 11.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 1.2 APG
It has been a slow start for Portis, a fan favorite in Milwaukee, who is struggling from midrange and distance (a career-low 29.6%). The upside, though, is the physical big man is shooting better than ever — almost 78%, per Basketball-Reference — from within 3 feet of the rim so far.
17. Trey Murphy III, New Orleans Pelicans
2023 stats: 17.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 1.0 APG
The talented wing is exhibit A of the Pelicans’ ridiculous, title-caliber depth. A likely candidate for the Most Improved Player award this season, Murphy just joined the lineup following an offseason meniscus injury that required surgery. But even as a 3-and-D role player, he can seemingly do a little bit of everything at a high level. He’s great from deep, having hit 39.9% of his career attempts on nearly five tries per game. But he’s equally competent when he puts the ball on the floor and tries to finish at the basket, where he has shot better than 70% for his career. It’s this sort of versatility that makes him — and the Pelicans — capable of delivering in a format like the in-season tournament.
18. D’Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers
2023 stats: 16.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG and 6.5 APG
The lefty playmaker has been largely solid this season. On first glance, his efficiency metrics look the same as they did last season. That is to say, pretty good! But his turnovers are down to career-low levels, he’s drilling wide-open threes — 24-of-52 so far, per NBA.com — and he has been committed far more often on the defensive end; even drawing praise from star teammate Anthony Davis. Those are exactly the sorts of traits that could put the Lakers over the top in Vegas — and come playoff time.
19. Buddy Hield, Indiana Pacers
2023 stats: 13.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 2.7 APG
The shooting guard’s game is far from a mystery at this point: It’s basically science. He’s going to launch between seven and 10 triples per night, and hit about 40% of them. That’s the equation, and it’s brutally effective. That dependability — and the defensive rotations it forces to take away his air space — is key to the Pacers’ historically explosive offense.
20. Rui Hachimura, Los Angeles Lakers
2023 stats: 11.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG and 1.0 APG
Hachimura showed considerable promise — with his back to the basket and as a spot-up shooter — with the Lakers last postseason, and he’s showing it wasn’t a fluke. And he has developed great on-court synergy with LeBron James. He has shot 12-of-17 off passes from James this season, including 4-of-8 from deep. A telling stat? The Lakers are almost 18 points better than their opponents per 100 possessions in the 119 minutes those two have shared the floor together.
21. Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana Pacers
2023 stats: 13.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 1.9 APG
The swingman can score, full stop, and makes it look easy. Just consider a back-to-back set last month in which he scored 48 points in less than 24 hours. It’s part of why he began the season as a starter. But he often finds himself out of favor with coach Rick Carlisle because of repeated lapses on defense. (Carlisle abruptly yanked him from a Nov. 27 game against Portland for not following the defensive strategy.) He has been back in a reserve role since late last month, but opponents still need to be aware of him — or risk having him go on a run all his own out of nowhere.
22. Malik Beasley, Milwaukee Bucks
2023 stats: 12.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG and 1.4 APG
The eighth-year wing, a clear beneficiary in a lineup with both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, is shooting 46% from the arc, by far a career high. What likely brings an even wider smile to coach Adrian Griffin’s face? Beasley’s desire to contribute on the other end. Earlier in the season, Beasley said he wanted to bring a physicality on defense to help make up for what was lost when the team dealt Jrue Holiday. While the team is still trying to find its balance there — they rank 21st after ranking 4th last season — Griffin has gone out of his way to praise Beasley’s defensive effort.
23. Aaron Nesmith, Indiana Pacers
2023 stats: 11.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 1.0 APG
As if the Pacers needed another explosive offensive threat, the 24-year-old has had three games scoring 20 points or more and has been dynamic at the rim (almost 76% so far, per Basketball-Reference). He has also made teams pay from the corner, where he has hit almost 57% of his 3-point tries.
24. Jose Alvarado, New Orleans Pelicans
2023 stats: 7.3 PPG, 2.1 RPG and 2.0 APG
The pesky floor general recently returned after missing the season’s first 14 games with an injured right ankle, and his presence has already been clear plus so far for New Orleans. In 131 minutes, the Pelicans have outscored opponents by a ridiculous 10.1 points per 100 possessions when Alvarado is on the court. And he’s already tied for the team lead in deflections per minute with second-year guard Dyson Daniels.
25. Jordan Hawkins, New Orleans Pelicans
2023 stats: 12.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 1.8 APG
He may be a rookie and forced into considerable playing time because of injuries to just about every Pelican, but Hawkins has performed as advertised coming out of the draft, shooting 37% from 3 on more than seven attempts per game. The sharpshooting UConn product has produced three separate performances of 25 points or more, including a career-best 31 points on the road against the defending-champion Nuggets.
