NBA playoffs 2026 rankings: Who have been the 10 best players so far?

The Oklahoma City Thunder swept the Phoenix Suns but did so after losing Jalen Williams to a hamstring injury. The Minnesota Timberwolves are also adjusting to a knee injury that will sideline Anthony Edwards for at least the rest of their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets. The top seed in the Eastern Conference, meanwhile, sits on the brink of elimination after the Orlando Magic took a 3-1 series lead on the Detroit Pistons and the preseason favorite in the East (New York Knicks) is locked in a tied series.

Through all this during the opening 10 days of the NBA playoffs, some of the league's biggest stars and a few unexpected names have emerged to produce compelling and clutch performances. Here's a look at the 10 best players in the 2026 NBA playoffs through games played on Monday:

Honorable mention: Jaylen Brown, Chet Holmgren, Alperen Sengun, Tyrese Maxey, Jalen Williams, Cade Cunningham, Marcus Smart, OG Anunoby, Desmond Bane, Deni Avdija, Evan Mobley, Stephon Castle

10. CJ McCollum, Atlanta Hawks

McCollum's clutch shot-making in Games 3 and 4 gave the Hawks a series lead over the Knicks before New York evened the matchup with a dominant Game 4 win. The 34-year-old is averaging better than 24 points per game on 51% shooting, harkening back to the numbers he put up during the Trail Blazers' 2019 run to the Western Conference Finals.

9. Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic

Banchero's outside shooting remains inconsistent and a potential issue in these playoffs, but he and Desmond Bane have the Orlando Magic on the cusp of knocking off the Eastern Conference's top seed. Only Gilgeous-Alexander is getting to the free throw line more times per game than Banchero so far this postseason.

8. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

This hasn't been Jokic's best postseason series by any stretch, with his defensive flaws magnified because the Timberwolves' Rudy Gobert-led defense has been effective at slowing him down at times. But Jokic is still averaging almost a triple-double in five games against Minnesota (25.4 points, 14 rebounds, 9.4 assists) after his second triple-double of the series in Game 5.

7. Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks

Towns has been a stabilizing force against the Atlanta Hawks and the Knicks used him to facilitate their offense to even their first-round series in Game 4. Towns registered his first-career playoff triple-double (20 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) after a 21-point, 17-rebound double-double in Game 3.

6. Ayo Dosunmu, Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota's trade-deadline acquisition of Dosunmu looks like a steal after back-to-back huge performances, including a 43-point explosion in Game 4, moved the Timberwolves one win from ousting the Denver Nuggets despite injuries to Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo. Dosunmu is averaging 22.8 points and four assists on 64% shooting coming off the bench.

5. Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors

Barnes has been the best player through four games of the Raptors' tightly-contested first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, with his two-way versatility allowing Toronto to go small featuring Collin Murray-Boyles. He's averaging 25.8 points and 7.3 assists while also connecting on 7 of his 15 3-point attempts through four games.

4. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers

James turned back the clock to lead the Lakers to three wins to start their first-round series against the Rockets, averaging 25.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 8.7 assists while sparking the likes of Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves sidelined by injury.

3. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Tatum's return from injury was the NBA's most remarkable late-season storyline and he appears to be rounding into form during this first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers. Tatum's points (24.8) and and shooting percentage are up through four games and he's among the league's leaders in assists (8.5) this postseason while leading the Celtics' offense.

2. Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs

Wemby might be even higher on this list if not for missing most of Game 2 and Game 3 of the Spurs' first-round series while in the NBA's concussion protocol. But he's otherwise been dominant in the two full playoff games he's played in against the Portland Trail Blazers, with 35 points in his postseason debut in Game 1 and 27 points, 12 rebounds, 7 blocks and 4 steals in his return from injury in Game 4.

1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

The defending NBA champions didn't really flinch when Jalen Williams went down with an injury because Gilgeous-Alexander wouldn't allow it. The reigning NBA MVP (and the favorite to be the back-to-back winner this year) shot 55.1% from the field and averaged 33.8 points and 8 assists per game during the Thunder's sweep of the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.