The NBA preseason is underway, and teams are knee-deep into the figuring-out process — figuring out who to cut, deciding who to keep, and most importantly, determining which players work best in specific lineups. It’s a short span to completely nail the latter task, but not nearly impossible, even with many new faces in new places.
One of the more important lineups to master is the starting five, and we at For The Win want to set our tempo for the 2023-24 with a lookahead at the best starting fives in the NBA.
From five to one, here are NBA’s five best starting fives, ranked.
5
Golden State Warriors
Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Projected Starters: Stephen Curry (G), Klay Thompson (G), Andrew Wiggins (F), Draymond Green (F), Kevon Looney (C)
I’m going to assume that a fully healthy Warriors team rolls out a Curry-Klay-Wiggins-Draymond-Looney starting five since it was one of the best five-man lineups in the NBA last season. Oh yeah, and it was a group that won an NBA championship together slightly less than a year and a half ago. Why change anything?
4
Phoenix Suns
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Projected Starters: Devin Booker (G), Bradley Beal (G), Kevin Durant (F), Josh Okogie (F), Jusuf Nurkic (C)
This is honestly just a bet that the Big 3 of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal live up to the hype. I also like Josh Okogie as the dirty-work guy who perfects his role, but the jury is still out on Jusuf Nurkic and his lack of versatility and mobility on defense. The early returns of the new-look unit have passed the test to this point in the preseason.
3
Milwaukee Bucks
Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Projected Starters: Damian Lillard (G), Pat Connaughton (G), Khris Middleton (F), Giannis Antetokounmpo (F), Brook Lopez (C)
Gotta love the NBA. Weeks after Giannis Antetokounmpo put his foot in the ground regarding the future of the Milwaukee Bucks — BOOM, Damian Lillard happens. Those two players alone are enough to send most five-man units toward the top half of any lists, but the fact that Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez fill in two of the remaining three spots is like the cherry on top. I’d bump them up even higher if I knew their fifth starter was trustworthy.
2
Boston Celtics
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Projected Starters: Derrick White (G), Jrue Holiday (G), Jaylen Brow (F), Jayson Tatum (F), Kristaps Porzingis (C)
The Celtics’ talent doesn’t run very deep into the bench, but Denver already proved last season that depth may be overrated — if you’ve got a strong five (and maybe six), you’ve got enough to reach the mountaintop. Boston’s acquisition of Jrue Holiday via trade gives them an incredibly versatile and well-rounded starting five, so long as Joe Mazzulla actually starts him. But if Holiday comes off the bench, go ahead and move them down the list of Tier 1 starting fives.
1
Denver Nuggets
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Projected Starters: Jamal Murray (G), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (G), Michael Porter Jr. (F), Aaron Gordon (F), Nikola Jokic (C)
There was a ton that happened this NBA off-season and hardly any of it involved the Denver Nuggets. Of course, they did see a key reserve, Bruce Brown, head to the Midwest for a boatload of money, but there weren’t any changes to Denver’s championship-winning starting unit. The Nuggets will run it back with the best player in the league in Nikola Jokic, a nearly unstoppable two-man game between him and Jamal Murray, and other role players who know exactly how to impact winning. Let’s consider this the best starting five in the league until someone dethrones them.
