The NBA top 10 debate is the oldest barroom argument in the sport, and BFW just dragged it onto X with a working list that's still too long. He floated a candidate pool — Brunson, SGA, Jokic, Giannis, Cade, Wemby, Luka, Ant, Tatum/Brown, Kawhi, LeBron, Steph, Donovan Mitchell, KAT — and admitted he's struggling to trim it to 10. That's the whole problem with these lists right now: there are easily 14 guys with a real case.
I’m working on a current top ten nba players list. No rankings yet but having trouble getting down to ten. These are candidates. Who do I add? Brunson SGA Joker Giannis Cade Wemby Luka Ant Edwards Tatum/Brown Kawhi? Lebron? Steph? Donovan Mitchell KAT?
Cheah came back fast with a counter-list and a controversial filter: availability. He cut Giannis, Tatum, and Haliburton on health grounds, kept Brunson, Jokic, Wemby, SGA, Luka, Ant, Kawhi, Steph, Cade, and Jaylen Brown, floated Donovan Mitchell over Brown as a swap, and slammed the door on LeBron and KAT entirely. That's a real philosophical split — do you rank guys for what they ARE or for what they can give you on the floor right now?
Should be illegal to look like that and be that good at poker
BFW wasn't buying the health argument. His reply was short and direct: Giannis and Tatum are close enough to healthy to be ranked. That's the crux of it. If you punish a top-5 talent for a recovery timeline, you end up with a list full of healthy-but-clearly-lesser guys, and suddenly Jaylen Brown is in your top 10 over a two-time MVP. That feels wrong even if Cheah's logic is internally consistent.
@StevenCheah Giannis and Tatum are close enough to healthy to be ranked.
The honest answer is somewhere in the middle. Jokic, SGA, Wemby, Luka, and Brunson are locks on any version of this list. Giannis and Tatum belong on talent — you don't fall out of the top 10 because of a recovery window. The real fight is the back half: Ant vs. Cade vs. Kawhi vs. Steph vs. Mitchell vs. Jaylen Brown, with KAT and LeBron as the bubble names nobody wants to commit to anymore. BFW will land his 10. He just has to decide whose feelings he's willing to hurt.