Where De’Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama would rank among the best NBA duos

The NBA has never featured so much talent across the board. Too often, fans get caught up in the past, mythogizing the likes of Michael Jordan or Larry Bird while refusing to acknowledge the greatness on display every night in today's league.

LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant have come to define a generation, but the next era continues to forge its own path, pushing new boundaries in a sport that's still evolving. We have several Hall of Fame-worthy players in the middle of their prime. We should appreciate them more.

As for who might define the next era of NBA stars, look no further than San Antonio Spurs wunderkind Victor Wembanyama. Hailed by many as the greatest prospect since LeBron, Wemby has delivered on the hype. In just his second NBA season, the 21-year-old is primed to win DPOY and put Tim Duncan's franchise back on the competitive map.

As Wemby treks closer to his MVP peak, the Spurs will endeavor to build a proper contender around him. That could start in the days leading up to the Feb. 6 trade deadline, with Sacramento Kings point guard De'Aaron Fox clearly on San Antonio's radar. Fox has already hand-picked the Spurs as his destination of choice. He understands the innate benefits of hitching one's wagon to such a dominant two-way force.

Should the Spurs pull out the necessary stops to land Fox, where might San Antonio's new All-Star duo rank among the NBA's best duos? It's a fascinating, complex, and ultimately subjective answer, and it's bound to shift as years pass and Wemby continues to grow.

For now, here's a stab at ranking the "best" NBA duos, with Wemby and Fox tossed in the fray.

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5. Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzinigs, Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics' championship encore has not been as dominant as folks expected, but it's still difficult to pick against them in the East.

Jayson Tatum continues to crystalize as one of our great modern wings — an immensely skilled, graceful three-level scorer with underrated passing chops and a stalwart defensive presence. Kristaps Porzingis, meanwhile, has found the perfect home in Boston. His blend of shot-blocking and 3-point shooting is hard to come by.

Let me get out ahead of the inevitable criticism. WhAt ABoUt JaYleN bROwN? Well... here's the thing. Brown is the reigning Finals MVP and he's easy to package with Tatum narratively as a fellow wing of a similar age bracket. But, Porzingis is actually the Celtics' best player. He anchors an all-world, championship-winning defense, and he's immensely valuable on offense, blending unmatched 3-point range for a 7-footer with incredible efficiency on post touches and finishes around the cup.

Porzingis has truly leveled up since arriving in Boston. It's not long ago that we were lampooning the 7-foot-3 Latvian whenever he attempted a post-up move in Dallas. Now it's a legitimate feature, not a bug. He has found new ways to leverage his height and compensate for limited strength, making full use of his feather-soft touch and unblockable reach. Brown is an incredible offensive weapon, but Porzingis' defensive utility sets him apart. What makes the Celtics so special, though, is that you could probably put a few players next to Tatum in this slot and fully justify it. Brown, sure. Derrick White? Jrue Holiday? Why not.

4. Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox, San Antonio Spurs

Some will say this is getting too far ahead of things, but Victor Wembanyama is already that dude. Please look me in the eyes and name 10 players better than him. Okay, now try five. If you were "successful," good do you feel about it? Wemby can still fine-tune his shot diet and improve his efficiency, but a lot of that will come naturally with a bonafide All-Star setting the table at point guard.

Wembanyama is the most dominant defender in the NBA, point blank. He is going to blow past Rudy Gobert's four DPOY awards in the French basketball canon. His 8-foot wingspan and uncanny mobility changes the geometry of the court for opposing offenses. Few players dare challenge him, and even fewer emerge unscathed on shot attempts at the rim.

In addition to his otherworldly defense, Wemby is becoming something of an unsolvable equation on offense. He boasts the NBA's widest catch radius and is an easy target on lobs or dump-offs in the paint. Equally capable of finishing with finesse or spiking it straight through the net, Wembanyama's physicality (or lack thereof) will become less problematic with each passing season. He is already so much better at handling defensive pressure than he was a season ago. Now, he's also hitting 35.8 percent of his 3s on 9.1 attempts per game. He may not be a great shooter, but Wemby is getting the up, and getting them up from well behind the line. That stretches the defense and opens up driving lanes, where he can deftly navigate traffic as a ball-handler, somehow.

Now, pair Wemby's increasingly dynamic three-level scoring with the downhill speed and playmaking chops of De'Aaron Fox, and the Spurs' offense will vault up several levels in the NBA hierarchy. Fox getting ahead of the defense with Wembanyama trailing on the fast break is going to leave defenses grasping at straws. Fox will make Wemby's life easier and vice versa. This would be a special, special duo.

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks

Are the Milwaukee Bucks too old? Maybe. Is Doc Rivers the wrong coach to lead them to the promised land? Probably. That said, it's hard to deny the sheer combined star-power of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.

The Bucks have struggled to build around their hastily-assembled star duo, but the top-tier talent remains, well, top-tier. Antetokounmpo is right back in the MVP conversation, mixing skill and raw physicality in a way entirely unique to him. Lillard, unsurprisingly, looks healthier than he did last season, and the offense is coming to him much easier as a result. His 3-point success has spiked, he's finishing better around the rim, and he's still capable of those special shot-making explosions that have defined his career thus far.

It's hard to find two players better suited to each other offensively. Antetokounmpo can collapse a defense at will, possessing too much speed, strength, and coordination for any single defender to contain. He puts constant pressure on the rim and has steadily improved upon his playmaking acumen with each successive campaign. Lillard, meanwhile, has the deepest pull-up range in the NBA, with the possible exception of Steph Curry. He stretches the defense in the opposite direction, and that push-and-pull of trying to limit both Giannis and Dame is where the majority of Milwaukee's offensive success originates.

The Bucks are on the decline, but Giannis and Dame have at least a few more strong years left in the tank.

2. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets

It has been a rocky campaign for the Denver Nuggets, but Nikola Jokic remains the best player in basketball. We can argue the semantics of "MVP" and Jokic's awards case, but there is not a more dominant all-around force in today's game. He continues to elevate his performance every season, taking on a new level of responsbility as Denver's supporting cast fissures around him.

The only reason Denver doesn't easily claim the No. 1 spot here is because of the lackluster "second star" options. Aaron Gordon has been hurt for much of the season, Michael Porter Jr. never quite leveled up beyond a solid third wheel, and Jamal Murray has spent a couple years laboring through his own injury bug. It's been a while since Murray operated at the level we saw during Denver's championship run, although he appears to be inching closer to his prime output in recent weeks.

An optimized, full-strength Jamal Murray earns Denver the top spot in these rankings. His syngery with Jokic is well-documented. Jokic's skill set is the tide that raises all boats. You'd struggle to find a wing or guard who plays worse when paired with the three-time MVP. That said, Murray has built his entire career around understanding Jokic on an intuitive level. That two-man game is straight gas. Murray knows when to cut, curl, pass or shoot. As for Jokic, the dude has eyes on the back of his head. He knows when and where to find Murray, often before Murray knows himself.

Murray is easily the weakest link mentioned in this entire article, but he's on the upswing and his fit alongside Jokic, a truly generational, all-time talent, is impossible to ignore.

1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder are 37-9 and Chet Holmgren has appeared in 10 games this season, which speaks to the job Sam Presti has done in the front office. OKC has the deepest, most well-rounded supporting cast in basketball. There are still holes to poke, but the Thunder have two All-Stars (plus Holmgren), several All-Defense candidates, and a top-ranked bench. All that, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is hurling toward his first MVP award.

This duo is special, and will be for years to come. Gilgeous-Alexander is 26, Holmgren is 22, and already their skill sets meld in such a beautiful way. Both are worthy DPOY candidates (or at least runner-ups) at full strength, with Gilgeous-Alexander's length and anticipation skills leading to incredible results on the perimeter, whereas Holmgren can anchor the paint and navigate space more nimbly than all but a handful of 7-footers.

Offensively, Gilgeous-Alexander is the NBA's preeminent slasher. He gets to the rim at will, drawing plenty of fouls and collapsing defenses with each hesitation or sudden burst of speed. We talk about players operating at their own tempo, but nobody embodies that concept better than SGA. He moves different. He's not the quickest or the most explosive athlete, but his dexterity, creativity, and IQ blend to create the NBA's deadliest ball-handler. He can mix speeds and directions better than anyone, playing angles and exploiting the slimmest lanes to the rim. Manage to stay in front of him, and you're probably going to foul anyway as he slinks his way to a shot attempt.

Holmgren is a legitimate floor-spacer, but he's quickly becoming much more than a stretch five. He's regularly attacking closeouts with tight handles and firing impressive live-dribble dimes. There just aren't too many 7-footers with his coordination and feather-soft touch. OKC's entire lineup generally poses some kind of dribble-pass-shoot threat. Holmgren is the ultimate Thunder archetype, the crown jewel of Presti's draft philosophy, and a future many-time All-Star. Don't be shocked if OKC hoists the Larry O'Brien trophy at season's end.