NBA's Best Starting Fives Ranked

Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz has released his annual ranking of all 30 NBA teams' projected starting lineups ahead of the new season. The Philadelphia 76ers, who added both LeBron James and Jaylen Brown this summer, top the list. Swartz noted that the group of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James and Joel Embiid boasts a combined 36 All-Star selections, five MVP awards and five Finals MVP awards, while cautioning: "Embiid's knee health will be an issue. The shooting in this five is questionable and there's no elite defenders in this group."

The full top 10 reads as follows: 1) Philadelphia 76ers, 2) Oklahoma City Thunder, 3) New York Knicks, 4) Indiana Pacers, 5) Denver Nuggets, 6) San Antonio Spurs, 7) Cleveland Cavaliers, 8) Atlanta Hawks, 9) Houston Rockets, 10) Toronto Raptors (with Kawhi Leonard). The Thunder, led by reigning back-to-back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, landed second despite trading away Lu Dort, while the San Antonio Spurs, who eliminated OKC in the conference finals, came in sixth.

Champions New York Knicks entered the list at No. 3 without any changes to their starting group, the same Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns lineup that went 16-3 in the playoffs en route to the title. The Toronto Raptors, buoyed by their Kawhi Leonard acquisition, cracking the top 10 at No. 10 marks a notable milestone for a franchise that hasn't fielded this much star power since its 2019 championship run.

Source: Bleacher Report (Greg Swartz)
Image: Clutch Points