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Two days into 2026 and fully expecting early frontrunners Kawhi Leonard and Joel Embiid to soon limp their way out of contention, I’ll spare you the Way-Too-Early NBA Calendar 2026 Fab Five of the Year predictions.
Instead, let’s make sure everyone agrees on the defending champs, the 2025 Quintessential Quintet …
Center: Nikola Jokic, Nuggets
Let’s start with one of two no-brainers. Considering only games played in 2025, Jokic both finished last season and began this season as the leader among centers in points, rebounds and assists, while also playing more games and recording more wins than the competition. He could have taken a month off and probably still earned the honor … an obstacle he figures to have to deal with in 2026 as he sits out January with a knee injury.
With Victor Wembanyama missing way too many games to be award-worthy, the battle for runner-up was a tight one between the guy who had the most points and rebounds among the three candidates (Karl-Anthony Towns), the guy who had the best field goal percentage, most assists and most wins (Alperen Sengun) and the guy who had the highest 3-point field goal percentage and played the most games (Bam Adebayo). Towns dominated in his best categories and won just three fewer games than Sengun, so he gets my second-team award.
Power Forward: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks
Being that a calendar year represents a full 82-game season, it’s surprising that guys with just 68 games (Kevin Durant) and 62 games (Giannis) would be the top candidates at this position. But it is, after all, two of the heaviest of heavyweights, so – sorry, LeBron – there will be no sentimental write-in winner here.
Giannis outscored Durant by just 47 points, but had him by 338 rebounds and 100 assists, so again the choice was pretty clear. Durant could only hang his hat on a remarkable 3-point shooting percentage – 44.0% over the final four months of last season, 43.7% in the first two months this season – but this time, he takes the silver.
Small Forward: Pascal Siakam, Pacers
Nov 29, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) controls the ball against Chicago Bulls forward Emanuel Miller (2) during the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images The first inquiry sign flashes here as a pertinent question arises: Does anyone play small forward anymore? The top three candidates I’ve identified could have been labeled a power forward (Siakam), a shooting guard (Jaylen Brown) and a point guard (Luka Doncic). Maybe next year I’ll disqualify them all to open a spot for Cooper Flagg, but what position does he play?
Among my three finalists, Siakam led in points, field goal percentage, rebounds and, perhaps most importantly, games, where his 77 were 12 more than Brown’s 65 and 25 more than Luka’s 52. Brown did win 43 of his 65 games – six more than Siakam – and has dominated the competition so far this season. If 2025 had a 13th month, we might have a different winner. But for now, Brown will get second and Luka will get reminded: You might look great, but you need to stay healthier.
Shooting Guard: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder
Jan 2, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives against Golden State Warriors guard Will Richard (center left) during the third quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images The second of the “Well, Duh” picks as SGA was both the biggest scorer and biggest winner, each by a landslide. In fact, he had Jokic by a whopping 392 points and 13 wins, which earns him the cover shot on our 2025 Year in Review calendar.
The battle to be Batman’s Robin is the most competitive of the bunch, with Anthony Edwards (2nd to SGA in scoring), Devin Booker (leader in games played), Cade Cunningham (leader in rebounds and assists, 2nd to SGA in field goal percentage) and Donovan Mitchell (2nd in scoring this season to SGA) all worthy of consideration. I’ll throw in a new wrinkle – defensive prowess – and give Edwards a slight edge over Cunningham, a margin well represented by a 48-47 nose-out in wins.
Point Guard: Stephen Curry, Warriors
Nov 4, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) looks on against the Phoenix Suns in the third quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images Curry might seem like another obvious choice, but the numbers paint a different picture. He was outshot rather significantly from the field by Jalen Brunson, who also had 58 more assists despite playing seven fewer games.
But other than the serious lack of quality play at the position in 2025, perhaps the biggest surprise in the numbers is Curry’s 43-39 advantage over Brunson in wins. Playing seven more games helped there, but as noted earlier with Doncic, that’s a requirement for being considered for my awards: Showing up.
