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NBA League Pass Rankings for the 2023-24 Season

By Michael Shearer

DENVER, CO - MARCH 25: Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks steals the ball from Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets in the second half of a game at Ball Arena on March 25, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - MARCH 25: Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks steals the ball from Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets in the second half of a game at Ball Arena on March 25, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /
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7. Sacramento Kings

The Kings were the best offense in league history last year and also had the sixth-worst defense. That’s a recipe for some fun games!

De’Aaron Fox might be in line for a stronger MVP push. He was the inaugural winner of the Jerry West Clutch Player of the Year award, and he still has one of the quickest first steps in basketball. If he can improve his three-point shooting, he’ll hit All-NBA levels.

The Kings ran many of the movement- and passing-heavy actions that Golden State has traditionally favored, but they had an even greater emphasis on high-post playmaking, thanks to Domantas Sabonis’ passing and screening wizardry. A bevy of fun rotation players like Ronald Threesley (Kevin Huerter), Malik Monk, Davion Mitchell, and European import Sasha Vezenkov ensures the pace stays high and the shots keep flying.

Sophomore Keegan Murray may be the breakout player of 2023. After Fox and Sabonis, there’s a need for someone to emerge as a true third threat. Murray is ready to take up that mantle as a long-distance sniper with more bully-ball in his game than you’d expect.

6. Minnesota Timberwolves

Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Anthony Edwards barely played together last season, and their ability to fit in will determine Minny’s ultimate ceiling.

Don’t sleep on Jaden McDaniels, a rising offensive force and my personal prediction for Defensive Player of the Year. He is developing into a polished two-way force capable of creating his own offense on one end and locking down the league’s best perimeter players on the other. He also protects the rim better than perhaps any non-center in the league.

There’s just so much intrigue with this team, and if KAT gets traded (as is heavily rumored), they could be even more entertaining. With Gobert, Edwards, and McDaniels, this team will be too good to tank, so any trade should still bring in some fun new pieces.

Edwards has a chance to make a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-like leap this season. He is an explosive athlete and high-level shotmaker with a burgeoning defensive side. It wouldn’t be shocking to see him make an All-NBA push.

5. Oklahoma City Thunder

And speaking of the Thunder, here we are!

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a different offensive player. He’s one of the best scorers in the league, but instead of dropping threes, he worms his way into the paint for Inspector Gadget finger-rolls and bizarre wrong-foot pivots. He uses a subtle knife to poke holes in time and space, always getting to his spots despite never taking a direct route. His improvement last season was breathtaking.

We finally have the long-awaited debut of Chet Holmgren, the proto-Wemby! A 7’1″ telephone pole with a pull-up three-pointer and a snarling ferocity belying his two-dimensional frame. Holmgren’s preseason battle with Victor Wembanyama somehow delivered on its impossible hype, and I can’t wait to see what he looks like in the regular season.

Jalen Williams has been overshadowed, but he nearly snatched Rookie of the Year from Paolo Banchero last season. His ability to do a bit of everything may become an ability to do a lot of everything.

Oklahoma City is still incredibly young, and the play-in seems a likelier outcome than a full playoff spot. But you don’t have to squint too hard to see a future contender shaping up before your eyes. Get on the League Pass bandwagon while there’s still room.

4. San Antonio Spurs

Newly-rich Devin Vassell is on track to become the next Khris Middleton, making winning plays in the shadow of a colossus. Jeremy Sochan is a playmaking, shapeshifting, non-shooting piece of abstract art. Zach Collins is a sweet-passing big man with impeccable hair and a tendency to get under his opponents’ skin.

But the Spurs wouldn’t sniff the top half of this ranking if it weren’t for one man: Keldon Johnson.

Juuust kidding. Of course, I’m talking about Victor Wembanyama, the most hyped prospect since LeBron James. The 7’4″ big man has already proven to be a better passer than we expected. The shooting will probably be rough to start, but rookie years are about flashes and potential.

Even more than Holmgren or KAT or Poku or Porzingis or whatever tall guy you want to compare him to, Wembanyama has a ballhandling fluidity we’ve never seen from someone anywhere remotely close to that size. He might be one of the best defenders in the league from Day 1.

The hype is too much, of course, at least for right now. But Wembanyama is the perfect mix of novelty and substance to sustain interest in the Spurs the likes of which they haven’t had since Duncan and The Admiral roamed the paint together.

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