NBA Duos: The NBA has always featured strong teams. Thankfully, the era of three-star superteams is coming to an end, but some teams will always choose for a top-heavy squad when they have the choice. Rarely can a team reach championship levels with just one All-Star level player (whether both make the squad or not is another matter), and rarely can a team reach championship levels with just one All-Star level man.
But everyone is reasonably expecting the formation of a major partnership. You can envision a Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown future if you catch them while they’re young. Although it may be unusual, you may picture a situation where a partnership like that develops.
Let’s just say that the league has a tonne of incredibly intriguing NBA duos that are under the age of 25. I had intended to list my top five, but instead, I became bogged down in uncertainty for three days. Alas, these are the best five under-25 pairings that I’ve come up with and would want to see moving ahead.
The Top Five Under-25 NBA Duos
Check out the top five under-25 NBA Duos:
1. Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., Grizzlies
It’s incredible that Jackson Jr. is just 23 and Morant, by far the most seasoned and one of the best NBA duos on this list, is only 24. Three All-Star selections, one All-NBA pick, two All-Defensive nominations, a Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player, and Defensive Player of the Year, which Jackson won last season, have already been accounted for by the two of them.
Jackson, who is currently busy blocking World Cup shots for Team USA (he’s as ambidextrous a shot blocker as I can remember, and his recovery time is a blink), feels like it’s only the beginning of many DPOYs. Right now, I’d say Jackson is among the top big guys being considered for the Olympic squad for next summer.
On the floor, this pair has the Grizzlies—who also have 25-year-old Desmond Bane—set up for years of contention. Morant needs to get his act together off the court, too.
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2. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, Magic
Not one, but two players on the same squad who are darn near seven feet tall, one of whom is 21 and the other is 22, and who both fall outside of Cleaning The Glass’s 80th percentile? Orlando won the lottery. These two players combined for over 38 points a game last season, yet they haven’t even begun to reach their full potential either individually or as a pair.
Unfortunately, Wagner continues to be one of the finest players that not enough people are aware of. He does everything, on both ends (teachers I spoke to gushed about some of Wagner’s defensive play). His scoring footwork alone is reason enough to drool. I predict that coming ahead, he’ll shoot 3-pointers at a rate of up to 38% on solid volume.
Banchero, who last season became only the fourth rookie this century to average at least 20 points, five rebounds, and three assists, alongside LeBron James, Blake Gryphon, and Luka Doncic, is a logical match for Wagner as a more imaginative secondary scorer next to a possible scoring champion.
Orlando made a game-changing decision by selecting Banchero first overall in 2022 even though it wasn’t the consensus choice, and receiving the selection that would eventually become Wagner in the Nikola Vucevic trade with Chicago was a blessing.
3. Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, Cavaliers
Garland, a 23-year-old All-Star, was the only player in the league last season to average at least 21 points and seven assists while shooting 40% from outside the arc. When compared to the next-Kevin-Garnett excitement his rookie season sparked, Mobley, a 22-year-old first-team All-Defensive player, averaged 16 and 9 in his second season. This performance was actually seen as a small letdown. You can see how talented Mobley is from that.
Even if they both continue to be one-end dominant players, having this combo in place at such a young age is a great foundation on which the Cavaliers can construct their future. It’s true that Garland will probably never have a strong defensive game, and Mobley has to increase his offensive repertoire to reach the next level and become a superstar.
How about though? At this point, I wouldn’t completely rule out the prospect of trading Garland, who is about to begin the first season of a five-year, $193M agreement. Donovan Mitchell can be extended for an additional two years at a cost of about $260 million next summer, so I believe the Cavaliers will need to look about separating him and Garland. Even with the backline support the Cavaliers have developed, title defence with that tiny backcourt is hardly ideal.
Of course, all of it is just conjecture. Short of Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson, this is the league’s most experienced under-25 team right now. Although the combined size/skill combo of Banchero and Wagner would probably still be too difficult for me to refuse if I had to choose one tandem moving ahead, if I were 100% convinced that they’ll both stay together over the long haul, I would think about rating them above the Orlando lads.
4. Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels, Timberwolves
I could make a compelling argument for why this Minnesotan duet belongs higher on the list. It’s simple to think of McDaniels as a solid young player who just so happens to be on the same squad as a terrific young one (similar to Devin Vassell or Keldon Johnson with Victor Wembanyama), rather than as a Robin-level companion to Edwards’ Batman. However, be careful with your McDaniels ceiling. Even though he might never make the squad, I believe this player has what it takes to be an All-Star-level performer.
Last season, McDaniels upped his scoring average to over 12 points per game, and if given more chances, I think he can quickly reach an efficient 18 points. He has more than 40 weapons at his disposal, and he shot 39% from distance last year. He showed his ability to create by upping his unassisted baskets and making 75% of his efforts close to the rim. He also has a strong defence on top of all of this.
I would contend that if Karl-Anthony Towns is sold and Rudy Gobert reaches retirement age, the Wolves will end up constructing their team around this two-way tandem along with Edwards, who we all know is a superstar in the making.
5. Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, Trail Blazers
The moon is this pair’s positive side. But as of now, there are essentially just positives. Henderson hasn’t shown us anything, and the others on this list have all shown themselves to be considerably more capable than Sharpe. The key qualification for this category is that.
However, the Blazers effectively lost up on keeping Damian Lillard the moment he slid to them at No. 3 due to Henderson’s persuasive projection as a future superstar. Brandon Miller will get better the more he plays, in my opinion. However, I still believe Charlotte will regret not choosing Scoot. Portland got lucky and met a guy.
With regard to Sharpe, the “he’s untouchable” trade rumours may have portrayed a more promising picture than the third-year wing truly is, but the organisational commitment is not without justification. All of the athleticism—the pure shooting, the posterization finishing, and the rocket-booster athleticism—jumps off the screen. The Blazers are well aware of the limitations of offensive-only players, so it will be interesting to see how much Sharpe is willing to play defence.
However, Sharpe has a high-end, if not elite, offence, and he possesses the physical tools to develop into a solid defender. In his last 10 games of the previous campaign, Sharpe averaged 24 points, six rebounds, and four assists after the Blazers formally suspended Lillard. He is twenty years old. Henderson is a teen. It’s still nearly totally up to your imagination what they may develop into.
These are the Top Five Under-25 NBA Duos. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
