Jokic Edges Wemby for NBA Rank No. 1

Nikola Jokic retained the No. 1 spot in ESPN's NBA Rank for the 2026-27 season, edging Victor Wembanyama and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander by just three voting points for a third straight year atop the board. ESPN's seven-expert panel published the top 10 on Thursday morning, ranking players on predicted regular-season contributions only.

That razor-thin No. 1 is the board. Soft fantasy note only: rankings are not minutes. Jokic still profiles as the safest triple-double engine in a Nuggets offense that lost Peyton Watson this offseason.

Jokic averaged a triple-double for a second straight season in 2025-26, joining Russell Westbrook as the only players to do it multiple times. He finished second in MVP voting again and has either won the award or finished runner-up across six consecutive campaigns. Last season he also became the first player in NBA history to lead the league in both rebounds and assists per game.

The panel's top 10 ran Jokic, Wembanyama, Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards, Cade Cunningham, Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell. Each of the top three landed No. 1 on at least one ballot. Brunson's Finals MVP climb into sixth is the loudest New York subplot after the Knicks' title.

Nuggets fans care less about the graphic and more about whether Jokic's 3-point shot returns after a late-season dive. He shot 44% from deep before a December knee bone bruise, then 32% after returning in late January, and 7-for-36 (19.4%) from three in a first-round loss to Minnesota.

West depth with Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert and Walker Kessler means Jokic's spacing still decides Denver's ceiling. The ranking is a headline. The shot diet is the season. Soft fantasy note only: treat Jokic as the same category monster until the knee history shows up in minutes.

Wembanyama at No. 2 after a unanimous Defensive Player of the Year and a Finals trip will fuel the "passing of the torch" takes all fall. Gilgeous-Alexander at No. 3 after back-to-back MVPs will fuel the other half. Jokic sitting one slot higher for a third year is the panel saying the regular-season floor still belongs in Denver.

Media Day arguments write themselves. Jokic already said his desire is to play the rest of his life in Denver. The Rank graphic does not print his next contract. It just reminds everyone the center of the league's regular-season gravity has not moved yet.

Rank board

Jokic: No. 1 for third straight year. Three voting points clear of Wemby and SGA.

2025-26: second straight triple-double season. Led NBA in rebounds and assists per game.

Top 10 also: Doncic, Giannis, Brunson, Edwards, Cunningham, Tatum, Mitchell.

Fan closer

No. 1 is a graphic. Watch whether the deep ball comes back. That is the real Nuggets season opener.