theScore's All-Half-Decade 1st Team: Top 5 NBA players of the 2020s

With the 2020s at their halfway point, we've been unveiling our NBA All-Half-Decade team: the 15 best players of the last five years. We've already shared the All-Half-Decade second and third teams. Today, it's the first team, comprised of the period's five best ballers.

As a reminder, all stats and accolades referenced are from the 2020-21 season through the 2024-25 campaign.

All-Half-Decade first team

Nikola Jokic

2020-2025 stats: 26.8 PPG, 66.3% TS, 12.3 RPG, 9.0 APG, 2.1 Stl+Blk
5x All-NBA, 5x All-Star, 3x MVP, 2023 Finals MVP, 2023 WCF MVP

No one defines this mini-era like Jokic, who's accomplished everything humanly possible - and plenty of things we assumed impossible - over the last five years. During this period, the Nuggets superstar has accounted for 60% of the league's MVP awards. He's finished top two in MVP voting all five years, led the NBA in VORP and PER five straight times, set a single-season record for PER, led in win shares four out of five years, and put a bow on everything by averaging a 30-point (29.6) triple-double in 2024-25.

We may never see another five-year run like this again, just like we may never see another big man with Jokic's offensive skill set. The 6-foot-11 Serbian is automatic inside thanks to an Olajuwon-esque combination of size and footwork, he just shot nearly 42% from deep last season, and he's one of the greatest passers in basketball history. He's also a force on the glass, and while his defense can lag, he usually dials it up in the postseason, where he's staked his claim as one of the great playoff risers of his time.

The only question left is how close Jokic can get to No. 1 on the all-time list.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

2020-2025 stats: 30 PPG, 62.9% TS, 11.6 RPG, 6.1 APG, 2.1 Stl+Blk
5x All-NBA, 5x All-Star, 2x All-Defense, 2021 Finals MVP, 2021 ASG MVP

After ending last decade with two straight MVP awards, the Greek Freak opened this one with a title run for the ages, pouring in 50 points, 14 rebounds, and five blocks in the Bucks' 2021 championship clincher. That performance was emblematic of the all-around player Antetokounmpo has become (minus his shocking free-throw performance in that game). His ability to unstoppably rampage his way to the rim negates most shooting concerns. He's also a fine playmaker, a relentless rebounder, and one of the best defensive players of his generation.

Antetokounmpo has somehow gotten better since that 2021 triumph. He added a decent mid-range jumper to his repertoire last season, during which he averaged 30-plus points for the third straight year while adding roughly 12 rebounds, seven assists, and a block per game. He's also the only player who's made five straight All-NBA first teams in the 2020s. No wonder Milwaukee will do anything to keep him happy - and the rest of the league would risk almost anything to acquire him.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

2020-2025 stats: 29.3 PPG, 61.9% TS, 5.1 RPG, 6.0 APG, 2.5 Stl+Blk
3x All-NBA, 3x All-Star, 2025 MVP, 2025 Finals MVP, 2025 WCF MVP, 2025 PPG leader

Critics have tried to devalue Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's accomplishments by labeling him a free-throw merchant, but that overlooks one of the many skills (drawing fouls) that make up the flawless Thunder guard's arsenal.

SGA has led the league in drives (per game) in each of the last five years, putting defenses on their heels before the Canadian star has even made a move. His herky-jerky game is all craft and balletic footwork, which forces his defender to confront an impossible conundrum: Try to keep up with Gilgeous-Alexander and put him on the free-throw line, or wall off the rim and let him operate from the mid-range, where he's as efficient as any player in history. Oh, and he's an excellent perimeter defender who's improved as a pull-up 3-point shooter.

Gilgeous-Alexander is the most complete guard we've seen since Kobe Bryant, and he just wrapped up the type of season only Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Shaquille O'Neal can relate to. Given his age (27) and the fact the defending champions are set up to contend for years, no player on this list is as well-positioned to top it again at the end of the 2020s.

Joel Embiid

2020-2025 stats: 30.9 PPG, 63.3% TS, 10.7 RPG, 4.1 APG, 2.5 Stl+Blk
3x All-NBA, 4x All-Star, 2x PPG leader, 1x All-Defense, 2023 MVP

Not even a string of debilitating injuries or postseason failures could knock Embiid off the All-Half-Decade first team. He's been too dominant for too much of this period to overthink it.

Embiid was limited to 58 games across the last two seasons, disqualifying him from award eligibility in those years, but he finished top two in MVP voting three straight times to begin the 2020s and won two scoring titles in the process. Embiid was even better in 2023-24, becoming the first player since Wilt Chamberlain to average more than a point per minute before another knee injury sidelined him.

The 7-footer is an unfathomably skilled player at his best. He's a dominant force inside with a buttery mid-range game that belies his size and legitimate 3-point range. He's an excellent free-throw shooter (on absurd volume) and a destroyer of worlds on the defensive end. The only thing he seemingly can't do is stay healthy.

Stephen Curry

2020-2025 stats: 27.4 PPG, 62.9% TS, 5.1 RPG, 5.9 APG, 1.4 Stl+Blk
5x All-NBA, 5x All-Star, 2024 Clutch POY, 2022 Finals MVP, 2022 WCF MVP, 2x ASG MVP, 2021 PPG leader

It came down to Curry and Luka Doncic for the last first-team spot, with the latter holding the edge in both raw numbers and advanced metrics. However, Curry's impact on winning remained undeniable, with his 2022 championship and Doncic's tumultuous 2025 campaign leading me to this decision. It's also worth noting that the 37-year-old Curry played (10) more games than the 26-year-old Doncic did over the last five years.

The team around him may have changed, but Curry's still a devastating offensive force capable of warping opposing defenses and tilting the scales in the Warriors' favor. Curry opened the decade with a career-high scoring year, followed that with another championship and his first Finals MVP award in 2022, won Clutch Player of the Year in 2024, finished top 10 in MVP voting four out of five years, and was one of only four players to be named an All-Star and All-NBA selection in each of the last five seasons.

Joseph Casciaro is theScore's lead NBA reporter.