The NBA offseason is dragging on, as it tends to do, but there’s still plenty of basketball-related debate to get into.
For example, who makes the best starting five for every letter of the alphabet? The good letters, anyway.
And what better place to start than on ‘A’, where we have no shortage of talent. A two-time MVP as the first option, last season’s most prolific scorer backing him up, and two reigning NBA champions gluing it all together.
The NBA’s A-team
PG – Jose Alvarado, New York Knicks
Alvarado might be the least-renowned name in this lineup, but few in the selection pool had a better 2025-26.
The Brooklyn native joined the Knicks from New Orleans in a February trade and settled in as Jalen Brunson’s backup, averaging 6.6 points and 3.8 assists in 28 games.
His biggest moment came in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. He scored eight points in the fourth quarter as New York came back from 29 down against the Spurs, the biggest comeback in Finals history.
One game later, “Grand Theft Alvarado” was an NBA champion. His defensive pressure is what this lineup needs at point guard.
SG – Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta Hawks
In one season, he went from 9.4 points a game to 20.8.
That was Alexander-Walker’s first year with the Atlanta Hawks after signing a four-year, $62 million deal, and it won him the 2025-26 Most Improved Player award.
He began the season as the sixth man and moved into the starting lineup when Trae Young hurt his knee. His 46/40/90 shooting splits were all career bests, his 251 threes set a Hawks record and he scored a career-high 41 against the Magic.
His cousin Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won MVP the same season, but he has to wait for the G-team.
SF – OG Anunoby, New York Knicks
Alexander-Walker’s season ended in the first round against the New York Knicks, who went on to win the title. OG Anunoby was central to that run.
He averaged 16.7 points and 1.6 steals in the regular season and made the All-Defensive Second Team for the second time.
He was even better in the playoffs. No player with at least 150 shot attempts has shot more efficiently in a single postseason (EFG%).
In that famous Game 4 comeback, Anunoby scored a playoff career-high 33 points, then won it with a tip-in with under two seconds left. He’s now a two-time champion, and the ultimate utility wing.
PF – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Miami Heat
Two MVPs, a Finals MVP, a Defensive Player of the Year award and 10 All-Star selections. Nobody else on this team comes close to being the first option.
Giannis played only 36 games for the Milwaukee Bucks last season. He still averaged 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists on 62.4% shooting. After years of talk about his future, they traded him to the Miami Heat in July, a move that had been coming for some time.
With shooters and defenders around him, the offense here would run through him.
And, funnily enough, his No. 2 in this lineup will be his No. 2 in Miami next season as well.
C – Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat
Only Wilt Chamberlain has scored more points in an NBA game than Bam Adebayo did on March 10.
The Heat center put up 83 against the Washington Wizards on 20-of-43 shooting. His 36 free throws made and 43 attempted are both NBA single-game records.
He averaged 20.1 points and 10 rebounds in 73 starts. Miami’s season ended in the play-in, when Adebayo left the loss to Charlotte early with a back injury.
He’s still one of the league’s best defenders, made his sixth All-Defensive team last season and owns two Olympic gold medals.
Few NBA teams could go toe-to-toe with this starting five defensively. Add efficient scoring at every position and elite physicality, and this ‘A-Team’ sets the bar high for the rest of the alphabet.
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