New season preview: Top 10 Eastern Conference stars ranking!

The league is currently in offseason, and it is during this period that players can become stronger. Everything summer does is outside the spotlight, the stars are training in the stadium, and that is the key to getting players from qualified to excellence. Have they made up for their weaknesses? Have new skills been developed? Now is the time to readjust and move towards a new stage. Below

, we will count the top 10 stars in the Eastern Conference in the new season, but this list has a premise: the two stars who were reimbursed for the season due to an Achilles tendon injury, Tatum of the Celtics and Halliburton of the Pacers, will not be included in the list. But what is certain is that if it weren't for the injury, these two people would definitely be able to occupy a place, but we won't consider them for the time being in this list.

The first place, Antetokounmpo

Frankly speaking, the gap between Antetokounmpo and others in the new season is quite large. After all, no one in the opponents in the same district can hold two MVPs or one finals MVP.

Antetokounmpo is at his peak and is almost undisputedly the most comprehensive star on both sides of the league's offense and defense. He is unstoppable when charging, and the inside frame protection is also extremely threatening. Although free throws and three-pointers are still short-term, he can still occupy the head of the ball in the East.

In the past four seasons, Antetokounmpo has been able to contribute 30+10 per game per game, and is also the only player who averaged 25 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block per game in multiple seasons. He still has difficulty in matching the division dominance.

second place, Jaylen Brunson was selected into the second team of the best team for two consecutive years, which is enough to prove that Brunson is among the top point guards. He also won some MVP votes in 2025 and was a key player last season.

Brence Brunson grew up quite fast from a second round rookie, Dallas substitute, and eventually becoming a New York storefront. He has agility in control and stable middle distance, and is also willing to take the last blow. Although he sometimes falls into a dilemma of not being able to pass the ball, and he is a little unqualified in the point guard position by only 5 assists in his career, without him, it is definitely difficult for the Knicks to achieve results.

third place, Donovan Mitchell was selected for the All-Squad last season, which was enough to get Mitchell into the top ten in the Eastern Conference. After the Jazz made a name for themselves, they have now brought the Cavaliers to the top teams in the division.

From the standards of guard players, Mitchell has excellent rebounding ability in guard position, passes the ball, and is qualified on the defensive end. He is considered a star guard with both offense and defense. Even though his shooting performance is good and bad, his scoring has declined for three consecutive seasons, from 28.3 points in the 2022-23 season to 24 points last season, his influence on the game has always existed.

Especially at critical moments of the game, his value is an irreplaceable choice. He scored a total of 88 points at critical moments last season, ranking 15th in the league.

fourth place, Paul Bancero

2024-25 season, Bancero only played 46 games due to a muscle tear, but at that time he was gradually approaching the level of the star. With outstanding height and size, Banchero can not only open up space in the offense, but also participate in fast break counterattacks and low-post attacks, which is the key to the flexibility and change in the Magic tactical lineup.

Although playing time was limited last season, Benchero still delivered a comprehensive data average of 25.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. If the franchise protection ability can be improved in the new season, there will naturally be a chance to strengthen his position as the top player in the East. Especially considering that he is only 22 years old, he still has unlimited potential in the future.

Fifth place, Cad Cunningham

After a breakthrough season, Cunningham has proved his No. 1 pick, selected as the All-Star and NBA All-Squad, leading the Pistons, who are at the bottom, back to the playoffs.

In the 2024-25 season, Cunningham averaged 26.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game. Compared with the chaos in the previous season, after clarifying the team's status, he began to be able to sort out the team's offense on the court, make the right choices, pass good goals, and create misalignment opportunities. Unsurprisingly, at the age of 24, he is the new hope for the future of the Pistons.

6th place, Embiid's former MVP actually ranked sixth. Some fans may think it is too low, but it can also be understood that Embiid's attendance is not enough, so would it be too high to rank sixth?

The reality is that Embiid has never played 69 games in a single season, and has only played 58 games in total in the past two seasons. His physical condition has always been a big problem, and his injury history and weight are likely to continue to affect his attendance in the future.

Despite this, he is still a MVP-level player who can take over the game on both offense and defense. He averaged more than 30.6 points per game in three seasons in the past four seasons. He is a good three-pointer big shooter, averaging 11 rebounds in his career, and is the top-level inside franchise protection option in the league.

7, Evan Mobley

is currently the best defensive player and was selected for the NBA's All-Second Team. No surprise, Mobley is in the process of evolution and has also made the Cavaliers one of the most competitive teams in recent years.

Compared with the Cavaliers of the offensive team, Mobley's value comes from defense. It can switch multiple positions and is rarely targeted by misalignment. Last season, when the opponent was facing Mobley's defense, his shooting percentage was 44.5%, and he was averaging 10.4 times per game, which was the top level in the league.

Behind the stable defense basic set, Mobley's offense is still in the development stage, but there are also many scoring records of 41 points in a single game, with a career shooting percentage of 54.8%, which is quite efficient..

8th place, Jaylen Brown's performance in the 2023-24 season declined slightly, averaging 23 points and 5.5 rebounds per game), but don't forget that he is the NBA Finals MVP after all. As the second leader of the team, although Brown is not perfect, he is already among the top forwards in the league. If he were not by Tatum, Brown would definitely be the only protagonist in other teams.

But as Tatum's new season may be reimbursed throughout the season, we will be able to see the moment when Brown carries the team alone. This is a challenge for him, but it is also a chance for him to prove himself.

ninth place, Towns

fifth All-Star, was selected for the best team last season for the third time. Unsurprisingly, Towns is still the best shooting big man in the league, and is even the strongest shooting center in history.

Thanks to his outside ability, he became the ideal frontcourt candidate for modern basketball, but it also limited his traditional offensive ability in the penalty area. Last season, he scored 213 points in low singles 213 times last season. But even so, the career three-point shooting percentage is as high as 40%, which is still an advantage that benefits outweigh the disadvantages.

Average 12.8 rebounds per game last season reached a new high in his personal career, and it was also the sixth time in his career that he averaged 20+10 basic data. Although there are occasional invisibility moments, the overall performance is still stable enough and is a key force for the Knicks to break through the East in the new season.

10th place, although Trae Yang

Young Master Yang has not had any highlights in recent years, if you watch the Hawks' games in recent seasons, you can discover the player's transformation. It is no exaggeration to say that as the team's core scorer and passer, Trae Young's personal performance can still occupy a position on the league's back line.

has been selected as the assist leader in the season three times, leading the league with an average of 11.6 assists per game in the 2024-25 season, and was able to average 24.2 points per game. While revitalizing the entire team, the threat of outside shooting still exists.

Although the overall shooting percentage has declined to 41.1%, and the three-point shooting percentage has also dropped to 34%, the problem on the defensive end still exists, but from last season, at least he is working hard to make up for the defensive shortcomings, and when the Hawks equipped him with a suitable team, it is time to wait for Trae Young to achieve results.