Honorable Mentions
Nikola Jokic and Gary Harris (Denver Nuggets): It is too early for these two to be a true top duo. Harris hasn’t been healthy enough this season. On top of that, Jamal Murray is slowly making a case for himself to be one of the top two players on the Nuggets. The Nuggets have won a ton of games, but it seems like their roster varies every night with all of their injury issues.
Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin (Detroit Pistons): These two statistically are a great duo, but they just don’t check the box when it comes to wins. Although they have the Pistons in the playoff picture, they are still well below a winning record.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins (Minnesota Timberwolves): Here is a once intriguing young duo that hasn’t made that next step yet. In the coming years, they could find themselves as a top-five NBA duo if Wiggins ever does so. For now though, he hasn’t, and they can’t get their team into the playoff picture.
John Wall and Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards): If only John Wall could stay healthy.
Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis (Dallas Mavericks): These two young, future stars obviously haven’t had a chance to play together yet. They are disqualified from being a top NBA duo for that reason, but must be mentioned. They will be fun for years to come if Porzingis decides to stay in Dallas long-term.
Just missed the cut
LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan (San Antonio Spurs): As a veteran duo, they are doing everything they can to keep the San Antonio Spurs relevant. That being said, it is their first season together and haven’t been elite enough to get into the top-five conversation.
Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz): These two are close to being a top-five duo, and barring injury, should be in the coming years. Although finding their way into the playoff race of late, Utah struggled the majority of the year to win games. Although this means next to nothing, neither of these two made the NBA All-Star team. Can you be considered a top-five duo if you don’t have at least one All-Star?
Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics): These two check almost every box. Boston is winning games and both of these guys are putting up great stats. But can anyone for sure say that Tatum is Boston’s second-best player? Between Al Horford, Gordon Hayward and other Boston stars, they are too well-rounded to consider these two as the clear-cut top duo.
Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors): Although they both made the All-Star team, Kyle Lowry has been relatively inconsistent, to the point where the Raptors were willing to potentially deal him at the trade deadline. The main reason this duo just missed the cut, however, is due to the amount of missed games for Kawhi. Understandably, Toronto has eased him into playing back-to-back games this season, but with how many games he has missed, they just miss the cut. They both have missed double-digit games this season.
James Harden and Clint Capela/Chris Paul (Houston Rockets): This one was tough. Harden next to a healthy Capela or CP3 is most certainly a top-five current NBA duo. With that being said, we don’t see it very often. Chris Paul has only appeared in 59.6 percent of Houston’s games, while Capela has only played in 73.6 percent. Harden has had to be a one-man team at many points during this season, proving that he hasn’t had a true duo consistently enough.