Predicting Where Current NBA Stars Will Rank All-Time by 2030
On Monday, Bleacher Report released a list of the top 100 NBA players all-time. It included plenty of active superstars who aren't done padding their career resumes. In fact, some are just getting started.
Some fans were predictably appalled by where their favorite current stars landed in our rankings. In some cases, the voting—which was conducted by a panel of writers and editors—kept prominent current stars out of the top 100 altogether.
The order will surely change over the next handful of years. We're here to offer hope on some painful omissions and other current stars who could rank higher in 2030 than they did in 2025.
Cooper Flagg
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Current Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 90
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 70
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Klay Thompson (98), Dave DeBusschere (95)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Robert Parish (68), Joel Embiid (66)
Cooper Flagg being here at all may feel overly ambitious to some, but Luka Dončić already cracked the top 60 despite having played in only seven NBA seasons.
If Flagg takes to the NBA as quickly as he did prep school and the NCAA—he was the National Player of the Year after graduating early from high school—he could boast career averages around 20 points, seven rebounds, five assists, a block and a steal by 2030.
The fact that he's already on a veteran-laden roster that includes top-100 selections Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis means he could have some early team success to go with those projected numbers.
That could put Flagg within range of another teammate (Thompson), while also cracking the door open to climb to around the range of the superstar he's essentially replacing (Luka, who should also do plenty of climbing of his own).
Paolo Banchero
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Current Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 90
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 80
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Klay Thompson (98), Dave DeBusschere (95)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Nate Archibald (80), Paul George (78)
The first thing you likely notice here is Paolo Banchero's dream range being slightly worse than Flagg's. That's a nod to the younger Dukie's defensive versatility and significantly better shooting numbers in college.
Still, even if Banchero's long-term outlook may be slightly lower than Flagg's, he's already proven capable of high-volume scoring in the NBA. He's averaged at least 20 points per game in each of his three seasons and put up a career-high 25.9 points last year. He's also averaged over five assists over the last two seasons. Maintaining that for a few more years will make his career stat line compare favorably to Klay's.
If Banchero and his up-and-coming Orlando Magic shock the NBA world between now and 2030 and win it all (or even make a deep playoff run), someone like George could be well within reach.
Devin Booker
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Current Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 90
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 50
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Klay Thompson (98), Dave DeBusschere (95)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Paul Pierce (49), Elvin Hayes (47)
This might be the first player so far whose exclusion from the top-100 list raised some of the hackles of NBA fans.
Devin Booker already has an NBA Finals appearance on his resume. He's 114th in league history in total points scored. If he keeps scoring at the same pace he has the last five seasons for the next five, he'll be in range of the top 20 of that list.
That'll be a tough bullet point to ignore.
Booker's Phoenix Suns are in a rough spot in terms of being able to compete for titles in the near future. But if he can scrap his way to another deep playoff run, Booker could go from outside the top 100 to inside the top 50.
Jalen Brunson
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Current Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 90
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 50
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Klay Thompson (98), Dave DeBusschere (95)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Paul Pierce (49), Walt Frazier (43)
After a relatively quiet start to his career in which he averaged 11.9 points and 3.7 assists per game for the Dallas Mavericks, Jalen Brunson became a bona fide star for the New York Knicks.
If Brunson maintains his level of production in New York (26.4 points and 6.7 assists per game) from now to 2030, he'll be threatening the top 80 of the career points leaderboard.
Add that to a few more deep playoff runs for the Knicks, and contemporary fans may start to wonder if he's on the same level as another franchise icon.
Brunson might need to guide New York to a championship to pass Frazier, who won two. But in the NBA's parity age, that's within the realm of possibility.
Donovan Mitchell
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Current Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 90
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 50
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Tony Parker (86), Jimmy Butler (83)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Russell Westbrook (48), Walt Frazier (43)
Donovan Mitchell isn't quite as high up the career points leaderboard as Booker, but he's similarly poised to be well within the top 100 by 2030. He's also currently seventh in league history in career playoff scoring average.
Those two things combined make Mitchell a near lock to crack the next version of this list, especially given the trajectory of his Cleveland Cavaliers. With Darius Garland and Evan Mobley still developing, the Cavs could be in the championship mix for the remainder of the decade.
That could allow Mitchell to squeeze past some of the best guards in league history on the next list.
Anthony Edwards
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Current Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 90
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 50
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Earl Monroe (89), Sam Jones (85)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Ray Allen (51), Walt Frazier (43)
Anthony Edwards hasn't even turned 24 yet. But he's averaging 23.9 points per game across his five-year career, and his 26.9 points per game in the playoffs ranks 13th all-time.
Given the level of parity in the NBA right now, a title for Edwards' Minnesota Timberwolves is within the realm of possibility. Adding that to his scoring prowess could make it hard to keep him out of the top 100 in 2030, even if he's only 28 years old at the time.
Tyrese Haliburton
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Current Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 90
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 80
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Sam Jones (85), Nate Archibald (80)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Paul George (78), Hal Greer (73)
Thanks to his brutally timed torn Achilles in the NBA Finals, expectations are more tempered for Tyrese Haliburton than they were for some of other stars featured here. He figures to miss all of next season, but he still has a shot to emerge from this half-decade as this generation's version of Chris Paul.
Among players with 10,000-plus career minutes, Haliburton is ninth in career assists per game. He's also averaging 17.5 points per game and shooting 39.2 percent from deep.
Haliburton has already led the Pacers to two unexpected Eastern Conference Finals appearances and one NBA Finals. If he leads them on a few more deep playoff runs, he could find himself comfortably inside the next iteration of the top 100.
Victor Wembanyama
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Current Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 60
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 30
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Pau Gasol (62), Carmelo Anthony (60)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Bob Cousy (37), Elgin Baylor (26)
If you think this is overly ambitious for a 21-year-old, soon-to-be-third-year player who didn't sniff the latest version of the list, consider the following.
Victor Wembanyama has career averages of 22.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 3.7 blocks and 1.2 steals per game. No one in league history matches or exceeds all five of those numbers.
Wembanyama could realistically win Defensive Player of the Year every year from now through 2030. And with De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper on the roster alongside him, Wemby could make the San Antonio Spurs a playoff staple again as early as this coming season.
The Spurs also have the assets necessary to add another superstar at some point in the next half-decade.
We knew Wembanyama had a wild potential trajectory before he was even drafted. All that he's done in the NBA is confirm those projections.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
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Current Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 40
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 20
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: George Gervin (42), Bob Cousy (37)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Karl Malone (22), Moses Malone (21)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander not making the final cut in the 2025 version of our top-100 list may be its biggest failing.
This season, SGA became just the ninth player in league history to have all three of an MVP, Finals MVP and scoring title on his career resume. He checked all three of those boxes in one campaign.
That isn't the only reason why Gilgeous-Alexander missing out on the top 100 felt at least a little off. SGA is 21st all-time in career scoring average, 20th in career box plus/minus and 35th in career MVP shares.
Given the resume he already has and how well the Oklahoma City Thunder are set up to compete for titles for the foreseeable future, Gilgeous-Alexander is essentially a lock for the top 100 in 2030.
Him being in the top 30-40 may even be more likely than him missing out entirely.
Klay Thompson
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Current Top 100 Ranking: 98
Realistic 2030 Range: Unranked
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 90
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Joe Dumars (96), Dave DeBusschere (95)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Earl Monroe (89), Draymond Green (88)
Klay Thompson barely snuck in to the latest version of the top 100. Given the burgeoning resumes of some of the unranked players, he's almost certainly going to get bumped from the top 100 by 2030.
Given his age (35) and injury history, he likely won't have many more chances to meaningfully improve his position on the list.
If he has a late-career renaissance and is a key part of another championship team, he could still climb. But the odds of that happening appear slim.
Jayson Tatum
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Current Top 100 Ranking: 93
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 80
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 40
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Paul George (78), Paul Arizin (72)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Patrick Ewing (40), Bob Pettit (38)
Like Tyrese Haliburton, Jayson Tatum is expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season to recover from the Achilles tear that he suffered in the playoffs. But once he returns, he should be in for a steep climb from his spot just inside the top 100.
Even though he's only 27 years old, Tatum is already 34th in career playoff points scored. He's the face of one of the league's most storied franchises. As long as he's been healthy, his presence on the roster has almost guaranteed the Boston Celtics a deep playoff run.
When he returns from his Achilles injury, the Celtics will look a lot different than the roster he won a championship with in 2024. But Tatum and one or two other stars should have them right back in the title mix.
Four more seasons anything like his last four should have him cruising past players in the 60s and 70s and toward some of the highest-ranked players without titles.
Draymond Green
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Current Top 100 Ranking: 88
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 100
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 80
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Alonzo Mourning (87), Tony Parker (86)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Grant Hill (79), Paul George (78)
Like his former teammate Klay Thompson, Draymond Green is likely too old and too far removed from the right situation to rise significantly on these rankings by 2030.
His raw totals will inevitably be higher, but those numbers have never been a big part of his legacy anyway. The one thing that could vault him—another Warriors title—is getting harder to imagine with each passing year.
It's not impossible, though. Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler are both still capable for extended stretches of "top 20 player in the league" level play. If they both hit that in the playoffs while Green is providing his unique combination of playmaking and all-over-the-floor defense, Golden State may have a realistic title shot in the next year or two.
If Draymond gets a fifth ring while essentially being Curry's version of Scottie Pippen, he could still move up these rankings.
Jimmy Butler
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Current Top 100 Ranking: 83
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 90
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 50
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Grant Hill (79), Paul George (78)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Dominique Wilkins (50), Patrick Ewing (40)
Jimmy Butler's potential range in 2030 is a little wider because there's only one thing missing from his resume: a championship.
It may not be likely for any one player (aside from anyone in OKC) to win a title between now and the summer of 2030. But if Butler does, the mythos surrounding "Playoff Jimmy" could send him flying up lists like this.
Butler is already 26th in career postseason box plus/minus. He led the Miami Heat to two unlikely Finals berths in 2020 and 2023. Only 14 players in league history match or exceed each of his career totals for points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in the regular season and playoffs.
Putting a championship ring-shaped cherry on top of that resume would help him threaten a title-less player like Patrick Ewing.
Paul George
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Current Top 100 Ranking: 78
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 90
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 70
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Pete Maravich (77), Hal Greer (73)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Chris Bosh (71), Damian Lillard (64)
Like Jimmy Butler, Paul George has an impressive all-time resume for a player without a title. But given his team situation—the Philadelphia 76ers might be wiser to go all-in on a rebuild around Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain and VJ Edgecombe than to chase contention right now—and recent news of another knee injury, it feels like PG is probably stuck around his current range.
Yes, there's an outside chance that he fully recovers and is a meaningful contributor to a title team. But at 35 years old, time is running out.
If he does pull off that miracle, perhaps he could catch someone like Damian Lillard, who's also without a ring and has the unfortunate task of returning from an Achilles rupture in his late 30s.
Kyrie Irving
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Current Top 100 Ranking: 69
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 70
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 50
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Robert Parish (68), Joel Embiid (66)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Gary Payton (53), Russell Westbrook (48)
Kyrie Irving is another player who'll spend the bulk of the 2025-26 campaign recovering from a serious injury. He's now in his mid-30s and is coming off a torn ACL.
With that in mind, the chances of him climbing much higher on this list are slim. Not gone entirely, but certainly slim.
However, if Kyrie does get back to 90-95 percent of his old self, he could crack the top 50 on the all-time scoring list within a few years. Combining that with his ball-handling, shooting and cultural impact could make a climb possible. Soaring up might require another title run, though.
If you believe Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, he'll get that shot. Cooper Flagg may extend his window, too.
But at 33, and in an age when seemingly a third of the league has a realistic shot every year, winning even one more figures to be tough.
Joel Embiid
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Current Top 100 Ranking: 66
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 70
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 20
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Vince Carter (65), Bob McAdoo (61)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Moses Malone (21), David Robinson (19)
The range on this one is somewhat ridiculous.
Between his injury history, size and age (32 this season), there's a real chance that Joel Embiid won't move up at all between now and 2030.
But if he can stay healthy for just a few months in the spring and summer, shake his playoff demons and lead his team to a championship, Embiid's legacy would be flipped upside down.
Despite being in the league since the 2014 draft, Embiid hasn't played enough to qualify for most career leaderboards. But among players with 10,000-plus minutes, he's fourth in career scoring average and is tied with Larry Bird for seventh in box plus/minus.
When available, Embiid has proven to be one of the most prolific scorers the league has ever seen. In recent years, he's shown off a bit more playmaking chops as well.
Without question, Embiid is an all-time great talent. But the 2022-23 MVP needs some good injury luck for the first time in his career to move up significantly higher in these rankings.
Damian Lillard
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Current Top 100 Ranking: 64
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 70
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 40
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Carmelo Anthony (60), Dolph Schayes (56)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Patrick Ewing (40), Bob Cousy (37)
Damian Lillard just turned 35, and his most recent campaign abruptly ended with an Achilles tear in the playoffs. He's going to miss most or all of the 2025-26 campaign, and there's a good chance he'll never be the player he once was again.
In all likelihood, Lillard will stay around the mid-60s when lists like these start coming out in 2030. That's still a heck of a legacy.
But if Lillard could combine his career averages of 25.1 points, 6.7 assists and 3.1 threes with a championship, he could soar up the ladder and pass a legend like Patrick Ewing, who finished his career without a ring.
Luka Dončić
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Current Top 100 Ranking: 57
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 40
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 10
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Patrick Ewing (40), Bob Cousy (37)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Kevin Durant (13), Larry Bird (8)
We've never seen an NBA career start quite like Luka Dončić's did.
Through seven seasons, he has career averages of 28.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game. Tim Duncan and Larry Bird are the only other three-point-era players with at least five first-team All-NBA nods in their first six years. And despite still being just 26 years old, Dončić trails only Michael Jordan on the career playoff points-per-game leaderboard.
That's an absurd resume for a player in his mid-20s, but it's still missing some key checkmarks.
Though he's finished in the top five of MVP voting three times (and top 10 five times), he still hasn't secured that award. He also hasn't won a championship.
But players who are this statistically dominant typically find ways to achieve both. And many break through before they turn 30.
If Luka pulls off both feats in the next half-decade while continuing to produce like he has thus far, he could be in top-10 conversations by then.
Russell Westbrook
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Current Top 100 Ranking: 48
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 55
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 40
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Elvin Hayes (47), George Mikan (44)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Patrick Ewing (40), Clyde Drexler (39)
Now that Russell Westbrook has entered the journeyman phase of his career, his chances of moving up the ranks seem low.
Even if the 36-year-old secures a championship, he'll likely do so as a bench contributor. But that doesn't mean one more climb is impossible.
Adding a ring and a Sixth Man of the Year-like campaign to a resume that already includes an MVP and a five-year run with 26.0 points, 10.3 rebounds and 10.1 assists per game could move voters to start comparing him to stars in the top 40.
Anthony Davis
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Current Top 100 Ranking: 45
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 50
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 30
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: George Mikan (44), Patrick Ewing (40)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Chris Paul (30), Charles Barkley (25)
In terms of raw numbers, Anthony Davis already has a solid argument to be considered for a top-40 spot.
For his career, he's averaged 24.1 points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.3 steals per game. He's 16th all-time in career box plus/minus and fourth in player efficiency rating.
He also has a championship on his resume, something several players ahead of him never captured.
But AD was the No. 2 option on that 2019-20 Los Angeles Lakers team. Whenever he was the alpha, his teams never made it deep into the playoffs.
He has another shot now as the leading man for a Dallas Mavericks squad that includes plenty of defensive versatility around him.
If he proves general manager Nico Harrison right and leads Dallas to a title, he could skyrocket up the all-time ladder.
James Harden
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Current Top 100 Ranking: 34
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 40
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 25
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: John Stockton (29), Isiah Thomas (27)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Charles Barkley (25), Karl Malone (22)
James Harden is well past his prime, but he's still more of a needle-mover than his former teammate, Russell Westbrook.
In his most recent campaign, he averaged 22.8 points and 8.7 assists per game while leading the Los Angeles Clippers to a 50-win season despite getting only 37 games out of Kawhi Leonard.
If he keeps playing at or near that level over the next few seasons while helping a team secure his first championship, it'll be difficult to keep Harden behind some of the ringless players ahead of him.
The ultimate team honor is the only box left to check. Otherwise, Harden's prime is about as good as anyone's.
From 2012-13 (his first season with the Houston Rockets) through 2022-23, Harden put up 28.1 points and 8.3 assists per game, won three scoring titles, averaged over 34 points twice and won an MVP. His career box plus/minus is 14th all-time.
On numbers alone, it's hard to find many players across league history who were more consistently impactful on offense.
Kawhi Leonard
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Current Top 100 Ranking: 32
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 35
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 20
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: John Havlicek (31), Scottie Pippen (28)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Karl Malone (22), David Robinson (19)
Kawhi Leonard is 34. His injury history has been well-chronicled. In 2024-25, he appeared in only 37 regular-season games.
In all likelihood, his all-time legacy is probably set in stone.
But he also averaged 25.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.1 threes and 1.1 steals in a seven-game first-round series against the Denver Nuggets this past spring. In one of those contests, he went off for 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting.
When carefully managed throughout the regular season, Kawhi can still perform like the best player on a championship team when it matters most. If he adds one more title to a resume that already includes two Defensive Player of the Year awards and two Finals MVPs, he could seriously threaten the top 20 all-time.
Chris Paul
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Current Top 100 Ranking: 30
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 35
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 25
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: John Stockton (29), Isiah Thomas (27)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Charles Barkley (25), Karl Malone (22)
As is the case with Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul winning a title now, in what is likely his farewell season, wouldn't do as much for his legacy as one during his prime would have. But we're leaving the possibility open.
If whichever team he signs with for 2025-26 secures a championship, his overall resume would look strong next to the title-less Charles Barkley and Karl Malone.
Even with his post-prime numbers pulling his averages down, CP3 is at 17.0 points, 9.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game for his career. He's 10th on the all-time box plus/minus leaderboard, ahead of both legendary power forwards.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
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Current Top 100 Ranking: 24
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 20
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 10
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Dwyane Wade (23), Dirk Nowitzki (18)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Wilt Chamberlain (9), Tim Duncan (7)
Giannis Antetokounmpo is another superstar whose 2025 rank already feels too conservative.
The Greek Freak has averaged 27-plus points, 11-plus rebounds and five-plus assists in each of the last seven seasons. No one else in league history has more than two such campaigns.
He is this era's version of Shaquille O'Neal, an indomitable force inside the three-point line. But he also has more guard and wing skills than the legendary big man.
Antetokounmpo's list of accolades and accomplishments is already eye-opening, too. He's 13th all-time in career MVP shares, and he has both a Finals MVP and a Defensive Player of the Year award.
If he wins another championship, it may be borderline impossible to keep him out of the top 20. Even if he just stacks up a few more seasons like his last seven, he'll almost certainly move up the ladder over the next half-decade.
Nikola Jokić
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Current Top 100 Ranking: 17
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 15
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 3
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Kevin Garnett (16), Kevin Durant (13)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Shaquille O'Neal (6), LeBron James (2)
Nikola Jokić already has three MVPs, five straight top-two finishes in MVP voting, a Finals MVP and the top spot on the career box plus/minus leaderboard.
He's seventh in career MVP shares, behind only LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Bill Russell.
He's the only player in league history with career averages of at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Over the last half-decade, he's put up 26.8 points, 12.3 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game.
If Jokić stays anywhere near that level of production for another half-decade, he'll take the lead on the all-time triple-doubles leaderboard and have an unparalleled statistical resume. He may already have the latter.
Add another title or two to that, and we might have to start mentioning Jokić in GOAT conversations.
Kevin Durant
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Current Top 100 Ranking: 13
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 20
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 10
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Hakeem Olajuwon (12), Kobe Bryant (11)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Stephen Curry (10), Larry Bird (8)
One of the most talented and enigmatic superstars of his era, Kevin Durant nearly cracked the top 10 of our list thanks to his four scoring titles, two Finals MVPs, a regular-season MVP and a quietly stellar track record of longevity.
KD is 36, yet in his most recent campaign, he still managed to averaged 26.6 points (barely shy of his career average of 27.2), 4.2 assists and a career-high 2.6 threes. He also shot 57.4 percent on twos and 43.0 percent from deep.
For almost two decades, Durant has been a metronome-like source of high-volume, high-efficiency scoring. But his legacy has been impacted by him becoming a journeyman since he left the Golden State Warriors in 2019.
With each passing season that ends with an early playoff exit (or no playoff berth at all), whispers about his only titles coming with Stephen Curry grow louder.
He still has a chance to shut all that back down, though. In 2025-26, he's headed to an up-and-coming Houston Rockets squad that appears tailor-made for him. If he leads them to his third title, the narrative will shift dramatically.
Stephen Curry
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Current Top 100 Ranking: 10
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 15
2030 Dream Ranking: Top 4
Realistic Notable Stars He Could Leap: Wilt Chamberlain (9), Larry Bird (8)
Dream Stars He Could Leap: Shaquille O'Neal (6), Magic Johnson (4)
Stephen Curry already has a strong argument to be considered the best point guard in NBA history.
His numbers stack up favorably to Magic Johnson's. (In fact, they actually beat Magic's handily in a blind poll.) He won two of his four championships without Kevin Durant, while Magic had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for all five of his.
Perhaps most importantly, Curry is indisputably the best shooter in league history. Considering that the entire point of the game is to put the ball through the hoop more often than your opponent, that's an important trump card.
So, why is Curry behind Magic now? Well, the latter has more MVPs and Finals MVPs. He's also the NBA's all-time leader in assists per game.
While Curry isn't likely to catch Magic in any of those categories, there's still a chance that a few more strong individual seasons and another deep playoff run could scoot him all the way up to the top four.
At the same time, younger players like Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo have a real shot to bump Curry from the top 10, too. Despite his absurd career-long climb to this perch, Curry isn't quite locked in there yet.
LeBron James
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Current Top 100 Ranking: 2
Realistic 2030 Range: Top 3
2030 Dream Ranking: 1
Dream Star He Could Leap: Michael Jordan (1)
LeBron James has been chasing the ghost of Michael Jordan for at least the last decade. And there are reasonable arguments that he's already caught him.
Those arguments aren't likely to get any stronger between now and 2030. He already has a longevity advantage over MJ. He's always been a better passer, too.
But for many NBA fans—and B/R's voting panel—LeBron will never match Jordan's peak. He almost certainly won't match his six rings. And he can't match his undefeated Finals record.
But if LeBron plays in each of the next five seasons (through his 45th birthday), wins one more title and further extends his lead over everyone else in career points, he may be able to win over enough Jordan acolytes to finally reach the top spot.
