Power ranking each NBA team by their 2-on-2 NBA Jam pairings

14. Indiana Pacers: Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis

Indiana’s last two representatives for the All-Star Game are also a good fit together. Sabonis may be a bit slow defensively, but he makes up for it with strength, motor and I.Q. Oladipo, a true two-way star, could be even better in a setting where he just has to get buckets and hold his own.

This pair has a ceiling though, and it’s directly related to both players’ individual ceilings. Neither one is the best player on an elite team; that will cap them in this exercise as well. Despite that, they still have the synergy and skillsets to steal a few more wins than they should.

13. Oklahoma City Thunder: Chris Paul and Nerlens Noel

The Thunder had no business being as good as they have been in 2019-20, and they’ll probably overperform in this framework as well. The common denominator is Chris Paul, who impacts winning like few others with excellent playmaking, good enough scoring, and tough-nosed defense that plays above his height.

His partner in crime is a tougher selection (if only Jerami Grant was still in OKC), but the choice is Noel. He’s a swiss-army knife defensively, capable of a slew of roles on that end without needing the ball offensively. These two, like the Thunder overall, are sneaky good.