If you’re drafting 10 guys for a random team to be on your roster for 2025-26 — and just that season — who do you pick?

We're looking ahead as comeback stories (Lonzo Ball) and rising stars (Reed Sheppard) are among 10 players that have the best chance of making the NBA Top 100 rankings next season.

Who are the best defenders in the NBA for the 2025-26 season? In Part 2 of this project, Steph Noh runs from No. 1 to No. 10.

Veterans like CJ McCollum and Klay Thompson still bring a lot of value, while younger players like Dyson Daniels and Brandon Miller have room to room.

These are the players that our staff consider to be the most underrated in the NBA going into the 2025-26 season. The Pelicans are so cursed that the one reasonably consistent part of their team is by far the most overlooked.

It’s a title that has been held by some of the game’s most auratic superstars, from Michael Jordan to Kobe Bryant. And while the comparison might seem blasphemous to some, his age (24) and career playoff averages of 26.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists suggest it’s not.