Jokic Led NBA in Game Score Last Season, Doncic and SGA Close Behind
A per-game Game Score ranking of the 2025-2026 season's top box-score producers, led by Nikola Jokic despite ranking only 8th in scoring, with Luka Doncic leading pure scoring volume.
Published: · Figures as of September 2, 2026
Asked: Who are the best nba players right now?
Jokic's box-score profile led the league last season, Doncic and SGA right behind
The NBA is between seasons right now, so "right now" has to mean the most recent evidence there is: production from the 2025-2026 season, the last one played. Ranked on Game Score — the fullest composite production measure this data supports, weighing scoring, rebounding, playmaking, shooting efficiency, turnovers and fouls in one per-game number — Nikola Jokic (28.7 per game) finished first among the 234 players who cleared the NBA's statistical-title floor (58 of 82 games), with Luka Doncic (26.4) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (26.4) close behind.
Top box-score producers, 2025-2026 (Game Score per game)
| Rank | Player | Team | GmSc | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikola Jokic | DEN | 28.7 | 65 |
| 2 | Luka Doncic | LAL | 26.4 | 64 |
| 3 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | OKC | 26.4 | 68 |
| 4 | Kawhi Leonard | LAC | 22.5 | 65 |
| 5 | Victor Wembanyama | SAS | 22.4 | 64 |
| 6 | Tyrese Maxey | PHI | 22.1 | 70 |
| 7 | Donovan Mitchell | CLE | 20.9 | 70 |
| 8 | Anthony Edwards | MIN | 20.7 | 61 |
| 9 | Jamal Murray | DEN | 20.6 | 75 |
| 10 | Cade Cunningham | DET | 20.0 | 64 |
| Player | Game Score (Game Score per game) |
|---|---|
| Jokic | 28.68 |
| Doncic | 26.438 |
| SGA | 26.416 |
| Leonard | 22.48 |
| Wembanyama | 22.384 |
| Maxey | 22.071 |
| Mitchell | 20.944 |
| Edwards | 20.652 |
| Murray | 20.632 |
| Cunningham | 19.956 |
Worth flagging the split this composite reveals: Jokic tops the box-score board despite ranking only 8th in pure scoring (27.7 points per game). The volume-scoring order is different — Doncic led all qualified players at 33.5 points per game, with Gilgeous-Alexander second at 31.1 and Anthony Edwards third at 28.8 — so who you'd call "best" shifts depending on whether you're weighting all-around production or scoring load specifically.
A few things this ranking can't tell you, and shouldn't be read into: it has no defensive rating, no play-by-play-based value (we don't carry PER, BPM, or any plus-minus-based impact metric here), and no accounting for playoff performance. It measures box-score production, full stop — which makes it a strong evidence base for "who produced the most" but not a complete answer to "who's the best player," which also turns on defense and two-way value we can't measure from this data. Confidence in the ranking itself is High for what it measures (a full season, a real qualification floor, 234 qualified players); treat it as one dimension of "best," not the whole answer.