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The 2020s: heliocentric guards, passing centers and nowhere to hide

By the 99OVR editorial team at Sameer Studios

Half a decade in, the 2020s are already the most skilled pool in 99OVR: guards who run the entire offense, centers who run it instead, and very few places left to hide a non-shooter.

A decade still being written

This guide and the pool behind it stop at the end of the 2024–25 season, so the 2020s are a story half told. It opened strangely: the 2019–20 season paused in March 2020 for the pandemic and finished inside a bubble at Walt Disney World, where the Lakers won the title.

What followed was the opposite of the 2010s, when every Finals from 2011 to 2019 featured LeBron James or the Warriors. The six seasons since have produced six different champions: the Lakers, then Milwaukee (Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 50 in the clincher), Golden State, Denver behind Nikola Jokic, Boston, and Oklahoma City, whose Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won MVP and Finals MVP in 2025.

Ratings follow each player’s 2020s self. Chris Paul, LeBron, Russell Westbrook, Kyle Lowry, Mike Conley and Klay Thompson appear in both this pool and the 2010s pool, and the later cards are older: the reads are intact, the legs are not.

One ball, one brain

The signature offense of the 2020s puts the ball in one player’s hands and builds the floor around him. Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Jalen Brunson and Shai run possession after possession through pick-and-roll and isolation, hunting whichever defender a switch leaves in front of them; “heliocentric” became the standard word for it.

Shooting became the entry fee for guards and wings, so the scarce role-player skills are now defense at the point of attack (Alex Caruso, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday) and length on the wing (Herb Jones, OG Anunoby, Jaden McDaniels). The midrange crept back through stars good enough to live there, such as Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Shai, and from 2021–22 officials stopped rewarding offensive players who launched or veered into defenders to draw fouls.

The center changed most. Jokic won three MVPs as a passing hub, with Domantas Sabonis and Alperen Sengun running offenses the same way. Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren and Jaren Jackson Jr. block shots and shoot threes. The pure rim protector survived (Rudy Gobert won his third and fourth Defensive Player of the Year awards this decade) but playoff opponents kept dragging him out to the perimeter.

Skill inflation, round by round

In 99OVR’s editorial ratings the 2020s have the highest average of any decade at five of the six skills; defense, where the 2010s match or edge it, is the exception. The very top barely moved: Curry still owns the best jumper and Kyrie Irving the best handle. The inflation is in the middle, and that matters for grades. Each pick is graded against the roster you were dealt while OVR uses the rating itself, so in a deep draw a strong steal can come back with an ordinary letter (ratings and scoring explains the split).

Where it’s easy. Jumpshot is the deepest round in any pool; even among centers, shooters now outnumber non-shooters. Finishing and athleticism are rich too, led by Giannis, Zion Williamson, Ja Morant and Anthony Edwards.

Where it’s different. Playmaking moved into the frontcourt. Jokic is the best passer in the pool, and Sabonis, Sengun, Isaiah Hartenstein and Bam Adebayo turn the center playmaking round from a punt into a contest. Power forwards handle the ball better than in any other decade, though the elite handles still belong to a few guards.

Where it’s hard. The pool has more elite defenders than any other decade, yet many famous guards are liabilities: Trae, Damian Lillard, Jordan Poole, Anfernee Simons. Athleticism hides traps in the aging stars and in ground-bound creators like Jokic and Brunson.

Position notes

Point guard

The best-shooting point guard pool in the game, with a loaded playmaking round (Tyrese Haliburton, Trae, Luka, Chris Paul). Defense and, less obviously, athleticism are scarce: many of these point guards win with craft, not burst. Ja Morant and De’Aaron Fox are the loudest exceptions.

Shooting guard

Shooters stacked on shooters: Grayson Allen, Buddy Hield, Desmond Bane and Duncan Robinson are all serious jumpshot steals, and Edwards and Jalen Green raise the athleticism ceiling. Defense is thinner than in the 2010s; Caruso, White, Holiday and Mikal Bridges carry it.

Small forward

The six-nine wing who does a bit of everything defines this pool: Jayson Tatum, Franz Wagner, Scottie Barnes, Jalen Williams, Paolo Banchero. Defense and athleticism run deep. No small forward here has a truly elite handle, and playmaking leans on LeBron and the point forwards.

Power forward

The deepest position in the decade, strong at everything but playmaking. The bigs listed at PF and C (Wembanyama, Evan Mobley, Jackson, Anthony Davis, Giannis) make defense close to a sure thing, and Lauri Markkanen is the quiet jumpshot answer.

Center

Three kinds of center share the pool: passing hubs (Jokic, Sabonis, Sengun, Hartenstein), stretch shot-blockers (Myles Turner, Brook Lopez, Holmgren) and rim protectors with no jumper (Gobert, Walker Kessler, Nic Claxton, Clint Capela). The same twelve can hold a jackpot and a punchline side by side.

How the 2020s reach you

Positional runs land on the 2020s about one spin in six, like every decade from the 1980s on, and the depth makes it a welcome landing in most rounds.

The Best Player wheel is different. Only the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets carry a 2020s roster, built around their 2021 and 2023 champions, which makes this the rarest decade on the franchise reel along with the 1970s. Each of those franchises has exactly one other decade, so a decade re-spin is a straight swap: Giannis’s Bucks for the 1970s team of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson, Jokic’s Nuggets for the Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson years.

Luka, Shai, Ja and Trae debuted before 2020, so the Best Player wheel can deal their early-career cards on 2010s franchise rosters. Tatum, Edwards, Booker and Wembanyama are reachable only through positional runs.

Drafting from the 2020s

Let the grade drop, keep the number

In Budget, a deep 2020s draw is the place to economize. Prices follow the hidden rating in fixed bands, so a roster full of very good shooters is a roster full of expensive ones, but the gap between the best and the fourth-best shrinks once it passes through the OVR curve. Take the cheaper player, accept the lower letter, and spend the savings where a dealt roster is thin. The Budget strategy guide goes deeper on pricing.

Know which center you are holding

The 2020s turn a center run’s jumpshot and playmaking rounds from near-automatic groans into real chances, but rim protectors still hide behind superb clues. Nic Claxton’s card brags about his field-goal percentage and Walker Kessler’s about his blocks; both are finishing, defense or athleticism steals and nothing else. In Ball Knowledge mode, remember that Myles Turner and Brook Lopez shoot and Jarrett Allen and Ivica Zubac do not.

Check the birth certificate

Veterans carry their later-career cards. Chris Paul still passes with anyone but is one of the pool’s slowest players; LeBron remains elite at finishing and playmaking while his defense has slipped; Klay’s jumper survived two major injuries and his defense did not fully come back. When a veteran and a younger player look even in the defense or athleticism round, lean young.

Count your decades

The Same Era Squad synergy pays a small offensive bonus for three steals from one decade, and Time Machine pays for spreading across four. Positional runs are where the 2020s can realistically stack, and a 2020s landing is rarely one to re-spin away from, so if two of your steals already come from this decade, a third is worth a little more than its letter suggests. The positional builds guide covers how each target weighs the six skills.

Players worth knowing

Alex Caruso: His box score says bench guard; his defense sits with the very best in the pool. One of the cleanest specialist steals in the game.
Herb Jones: An All-Defense wing whose defense rates among the decade’s elite. Worth remembering in Ball Knowledge mode, where his name will not jump out at you.
Duncan Robinson: A movement shooter whose jumper ranks with the best in the pool while his other five skills are below average. A pure jumpshot-round steal.
Isaiah Hartenstein: A backup center whose passing ranks among the best of any big in the pool. In a center run’s playmaking round he can beat famous starters.
Trae Young: An elite passer with a deep jumper, and one of the weakest defenders in the pool. His finishing is a soft spot too, so steal the vision or the shot.
Nikola Jokic: The best playmaker in the pool and an elite finisher, but his athleticism is a genuine weakness. If he turns up in the athleticism round, look elsewhere.
Chris Paul: His 2020s card still passes with anyone, but the athleticism and finishing have faded. Take the vision and leave the legs.

On the Best Player wheel

When the franchise reel lands on one of these teams in the 2020s, the roster you read is the whole franchise across the decade, not a single season. The team that earned the slot is listed first; the rest of the roster is everyone else who played for the franchise in those ten years.

2020s Bucks · All-time · 68 players

2021 Bucks: 50 points in the closeout game. Fifty years of waiting, over. Headliners: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis.

2020s Nuggets · All-time · 55 players

2023 Nuggets: Jokic, Finals MVP, and Denver's first banner. Sixteen playoff wins, four losses. Headliners: Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Bones Hyland.

See every franchise on the wheel →

The 2020s positional pool

Positional runs deal twelve players at random from the chosen position’s pool when the decade reel lands on the 2020s. These are all 104 players who can appear, with the box-score clue from their roster card and the note shown beside it on wider screens. Players listed at two positions can be dealt in either pool. Skill ratings stay hidden until your verdict.

Point guards

Damian LillardPG: 25.9 PPG · 7.0 APGDame Time from the logo. Ask Paul George about the wave.
Ja MorantPG: 26.2 PPG · 8.1 APGGravity is a suggestion he keeps declining.
Trae YoungPG: 25.3 PPG · 9.5 APGSilenced the Garden at 22, then floated one over a center's outstretched everything.
Tyrese HaliburtonPG: 20.1 PPG · 10.9 APGFastest outlet pass in the league and an assist ratio that reads like a typo.
De'Aaron FoxPG: 25.0 PPG · 6.1 APGFastest end-to-end in the sport. Won Clutch Player of the Year the first time they printed it.
Jalen BrunsonPG: 26.0 PPG · 6.7 APGSix-two, no vertical, footwork clinic. New York's entire plan.
Chris PaulPG: 12.9 PPG · 8.9 APGThe Point God in his forties, still running pick-and-roll like an audit.
Russell WestbrookPG: 18.5 PPG · 7.4 APG · 7.1 RPGTriple-doubles by the truckload. Leave him open at the arc; he will take it.
Fred VanVleetPG: 19.3 PPG · 6.6 APGUndrafted, then 22 points in a Finals closeout. Steals with his feet already set.
Darius GarlandPG: 20.5 PPG · 7.5 APGThe handle is a magic trick. The screens are just the assistant.
Mike ConleyPG: 13.5 PPG · 6.0 APGFirst All-Star nod at 35. Collects sportsmanship awards like a hobby.
Kyle LowryPG: 14.0 PPG · 6.5 APGTook more charges than anyone alive and enjoyed every single one.
Scoot HendersonPG: 14.0 PPG · 5.4 APGThird pick, thunderous first step, jumper still at the shop.
Tyus JonesPG: 10.0 PPG · 0.9 TOVBest assist-to-turnover ratio in league history. Never starts, never coughs it up.
Josh GiddeyPG: 14.1 PPG · 6.4 APG · 7.9 RPGSix-eight Aussie who sees the pass a beat before the defense exists.
Immanuel QuickleyPG: 15.0 PPG · Sixth Man runner-upCame off the bench and immediately drew the other team's best guard.
Malcolm BrogdonPG: 18.0 PPG · 50-40-90The President. Efficient, articulate, and out four weeks.
Jamal MurrayPG: 20.0 PPG · Bubble legendRegular season fine, playoffs unrecognizable. Denver's second engine.
Monte MorrisPG: 10.2 PPG · 3.9 APGTurned the ball over roughly never. That is the entire scouting report.
Stephen CurryPG / SG: 29.5 PPG · 43% 3PTThe 99. Everything since is a footnote to the release.
Luka DoncicPG / SG: 32.4 PPG · 9.1 RPG · 8.6 APGPlays at one speed and it is still too fast for you. The step-back is a tax.
Shai Gilgeous-AlexanderPG / SG: 30.1 PPG · 6.2 APG · 2.0 SPGLongest strides in the league, arriving exactly one beat late on purpose.
Kyrie IrvingPG / SG: 26.9 PPG · 49% FGThe finest ball-handler who ever lived, arguing with the moon.
Jrue HolidayPG / SG: 18.0 PPG · 6.5 APGGuards the other team's best player and never once mentions it.
Marcus SmartPG / SG: 12.1 PPG · DPOY 2022First guard to win it in 26 years. Flops included at no extra charge.
Dejounte MurrayPG / SG: 21.1 PPG · 2.0 SPGAll-Star out of nowhere in San Antonio. Hands in every passing lane.
Cade CunninghamPG / SG: 22.7 PPG · 7.5 APGNumber one pick playing chess in a building that was actively on fire.
Tyrese MaxeyPG / SG: 25.9 PPG · Most ImprovedFastest smile in basketball bolted onto the fastest downhill guard.
Derrick WhitePG / SG: 15.2 PPG · 1.2 BPGA guard who blocks shots. The Game 6 tip-in explains the rest.
Alex CarusoPG / SG: 7.5 PPG · All-DefenseBald Mamba. Nobody's box score, everybody's plus-minus.

Shooting guards

Devin BookerSG: 27.1 PPG · 70-point nightMidrange assassin in a league that voted to abolish the midrange.
Anthony EdwardsSG: 25.9 PPG · Ant-ManBuilt like a linebacker, jumps like a rumor. Says he is the best. Might be.
Donovan MitchellSG: 27.4 PPG · 71 in a lossSpida. Six feet of shot-making with an engine block underneath.
Desmond BaneSG: 23.7 PPG · 41% 3PTArms of a hobbit, release of a sniper. That is why he went 30th.
Tyler HerroSG: 20.1 PPG · Sixth Man 2022Bubble Herro was real. The defense, less so.
Jordan PooleSG: 20.4 PPG · ring, technicallyBeautiful shot, terrifying decisions, and a defensive rating seeking asylum.
Klay ThompsonSG: 20.4 PPG · 37 in a quarter, onceTwo reconstructions later and the release is still identical.
Buddy HieldSG: 15.6 PPG · 3PT contest champNever met a shot he would pass up. Roughly four in ten go in.
Austin ReavesSG: 15.9 PPG · undraftedHillbilly Kobe. Wide open in the corner or drawing a charge; nothing between.
Jalen GreenSG: 19.6 PPG · G League IgniteAttacks the rim like a jet ski. Shot selection is a group project.
CJ McCollumSG: 20.8 PPG · LehighMidrange PhD. Torched Golden State once with a broken back.
Grayson AllenSG: 13.5 PPG · 46% 3PTLed the league from three and nobody outside Phoenix noticed.
Anfernee SimonsSG: 21.1 PPG · dunk champDeep range, real hops, and no help defense within a mile.
Jaylen BrownSG / SF: 23.0 PPG · Finals MVPDownhill on a rail. The left hand still files the occasional complaint.
Mikal BridgesSG / SF: 20.1 PPG · never missed a gameIron man whose whole job was guarding the other guy. Then Brooklyn asked for 25.
Josh HartSG / SF: 10.0 PPG · 8.3 RPGA six-four guard leading a playoff team in rebounds. Plays 48 on principle.
Duncan RobinsonSG / SF: 13.5 PPG · 44% 3PTDivision III to ninety million dollars on movement alone. Never stops running.
Jalen WilliamsSG / SF: 19.1 PPG · All-DefenseMeasured a 7'2" wingspan at the combine and has been stealing ever since.
RJ BarrettSG / SF: 19.6 PPG · Maple JordanBulldozing left hand, jumper that comes and goes with the tide.
Dillon BrooksSG / SF: 14.3 PPG · designated villainCalled him old. Guards like his next contract depends on it, because it does.

Small forwards

Herb JonesSF: 11.0 PPG · All-DefenseNot Left Wing Herb. Condor wingspan and a scouting report nobody wants.
Trey Murphy IIISF: 14.8 PPG · 40% 3PTSix-nine of catch-and-shoot with a dunk contest résumé hiding underneath.
Kelly Oubre Jr.SF: 20.3 PPG · Wave PapiScores in bunches, defends in spurts, dresses like a runway regardless.
Andrew WigginsSF: 17.1 PPG · Finals starterSpent years as a punchline, then guarded Tatum for six games and won a ring.
Brandon IngramSF: 23.8 PPG · Most ImprovedSeven-three wingspan pulling up from fifteen feet like it is still 1998.
Michael Porter Jr.SF: 16.7 PPG · 41% 3PTThree back surgeries and the prettiest jumper on a championship team.
Cam JohnsonSF: 16.2 PPG · 40% 3PTThe stretch forward they reached way too high for. He was worth it.
Keegan MurraySF: 15.2 PPG · rookie 3PT record206 threes as a rookie. Iowa's quiet answer to every question.
Jayson TatumSF / PF: 27.0 PPG · 8.4 RPGEvery shot in the bag and a Game 7 for each one. Finally got the ring.
Kevin DurantSF / PF: 27.5 PPG · 50-40-90 pedigreeSeven feet of unguardable, Achilles and all. The jumper is a formality.
LeBron JamesSF / PF: 27.0 PPG · age 40Still averaging 25 in year 22. The body is a science experiment that worked.
Kawhi LeonardSF / PF: 24.8 PPG · The ShotFour bounces in Toronto. Hands the size of a fable, load management included.
Jimmy ButlerSF / PF: 21.4 PPG · Playoff JimmyRegular season: fine. May: 56 points and a scowl.
OG AnunobySF / PF: 16.1 PPG · 1.5 SPGGuards one through five, corner three included. Speaks to nobody.
Franz WagnerSF / PF: 21.8 PPG · MichiganSix-ten German who drives like a guard and never looks like he is trying.
Paolo BancheroSF / PF: 22.6 PPG · Rookie of the YearTwo hundred fifty pounds of face-up. Orlando's first franchise guy since Dwight.
Pascal SiakamSF / PF: 22.9 PPG · the spinCameroon to a ring to All-NBA. The spin move is effectively copyrighted.
Lauri MarkkanenSF / PF: 25.6 PPG · Most ImprovedSeven feet, 40% from three, and Utah accidentally found a first option.
Jaden McDanielsSF / PF: 10.5 PPG · All-DefenseSix-nine with arms borrowed from a different building. The walls get punched later.
Scottie BarnesSF / PF: 19.9 PPG · Rookie of the YearPoint forward with a wingspan and a smile, both enormous.
Aaron GordonSF / PF: 15.0 PPG · robbed in 2016Traded the highlight reel for a ring and a defensive assignment named Luka.
Kyle KuzmaSF / PF: 22.2 PPG · the sweatersVolume scorer on bad teams, third option on good ones. The fits are undefeated.

Power forwards

Julius RandlePF: 24.1 PPG · All-NBA Second TeamLeft shoulder into the paint, again, until it works or the building boos.
John CollinsPF: 17.6 PPG · 40% 3PTLob threat who learned to shoot and got traded twice anyway.
Bobby PortisPF: 13.4 PPG · Bobby BucksUnderdog, underdog, underdog. Milwaukee handles the rest.
P.J. WashingtonPF: 13.6 PPG · Finals runNobody's idea of a needle-mover until Dallas needed twenty in May.
Giannis AntetokounmpoPF / C: 30.4 PPG · 11.5 RPGTwo steps from the logo. The free throw line is the only defense remaining.
Victor WembanyamaPF / C: 21.4 PPG · 3.6 BPGSeven-four with a guard's handle and a jumper. The alien landed.
Anthony DavisPF / C: 25.9 PPG · 2.3 BPGWhen the hamstrings agree, the best two-way big alive. They rarely agree.
Evan MobleyPF / C: 18.5 PPG · DPOY 2025Cleveland's eraser. Learned to shoot in year four and broke the East.
Chet HolmgrenPF / C: 16.5 PPG · 2.3 BPGSeven-one, 195 pounds, shoots threes and blocks everything. Physics objected.
Karl-Anthony TownsPF / C: 24.4 PPG · 40% 3PTBest shooting big who ever lived and the defense you agree to live with.
Kristaps PorzingisPF / C: 20.1 PPG · UnicornSeven-three pulling from thirty and blocking your answer. When upright.
Jaren Jackson Jr.PF / C: 22.5 PPG · DPOY 2023Block party host. Also the foul leader. Same skillset, different nights.
Draymond GreenPF / C: 7.5 PPG · 6.8 APGThe best defender of his generation and the worst jumper on a dynasty.
Zion WilliamsonPF / C: 25.8 PPG · 60% FG285 pounds of unstoppable, available on a lottery schedule.
Jabari Smith Jr.PF / C: 13.7 PPG · 36% 3PTWent third with the smoothest jumper in the draft. The rest is still loading.
Naz ReidPF / C: 13.5 PPG · Sixth Man 2024There is a shirt. There is, at this point, a whole Minnesota religion.

Centers

Nikola JokicC: 26.4 PPG · 12.4 RPG · 9.0 APGThree MVPs, a ring, and horses waiting at home. Passes like Magic in a beer-league body.
Joel EmbiidC: 30.6 PPG · scoring titlesUnstoppable anywhere inside twenty feet. Knees permitting. Always the knees.
Bam AdebayoC: 19.3 PPG · switches everythingGuarded Tatum on the perimeter and Jokic on the block in the same week.
Domantas SabonisC: 19.4 PPG · 13.7 RPG · 8.2 APGLed the league in rebounds and triple-doubles. His father passed like a myth too.
Rudy GobertC: 13.4 PPG · four DPOYsFour Defensive Player of the Year trophies. Do not, under any circumstance, ask him to shoot.
Brook LopezC: 15.9 PPG · 2.4 BPGSpent a decade in the post, became Splash Mountain at 30, still blocks everything.
Ivica ZubacC: 16.8 PPG · 12.6 RPGSecond-round Croatian who quietly became a top-ten center. No jumper, no complaints.
Clint CapelaC: 12.0 PPG · 11.0 RPGLobs and boards. Nothing else on the menu, and the menu works.
Nic ClaxtonC: 12.6 PPG · 2.1 BPGSeventy percent from the field. Fifty-five from the line. Read that twice.
Jarrett AllenC: 14.0 PPG · the hair, brieflyDeleted the afro, kept the verticality. Cleveland's other wall.
Isaiah HartensteinC: 7.8 PPG · 3.8 APGA backup center running dribble handoffs like a point guard. New York noticed too late.
Myles TurnerC: 17.5 PPG · block titlesLed the league in blocks twice and shot 38% from three. Perpetually in trade rumors.
Alperen SengunC: 21.1 PPG · 5.0 APGBaby Jokic in Houston, hooks included, nobody has scouted them yet.
Jusuf NurkicC: 13.3 PPG · Bosnian BeastGrabbed 31 rebounds in one game. Fouled out of several others.
Walker KesslerC: 8.1 PPG · 2.3 BPG as a rookieBlocked seven in a half before he could legally rent a car. Offense is a rumor.
Deandre AytonC: 16.7 PPG · No. 1 pickTaken over Luka. The midrange is genuinely lovely; the motor takes nights off.