THE 48 INDEXNBA PLAYER PERFORMANCEPRESEASON LEADERS
Who is performing best in preseason?
Cade Cunningham has the highest Overall Index among qualifying players in the recorded 2025-26 preseason: 48.60 across 3 played games.
“Best” here means the highest box-score-based Overall Per48 Index, not a prediction of regular-season performance. 109 qualifying players have fewer than three recorded games.Top 20 by Overall Index
Full ranking & filters ↗| Rank | Player | GP | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | Overall /48 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 |  Cade Cunningham DET | 3 | 20.7 | 20.7 | 3.3 | 7.3 | 48.60 |
| #2 |  Ajay Mitchell OKC | 1 | 15.0 | 16.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 48.32 |
| #3 |  Shai Gilgeous-AlexanderOKC | 3 | 19.0 | 17.0 | 2.3 | 5.3 | 45.49 |
| #4 |  Jalen DurenDET | 2 | 16.0 | 14.0 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 42.08 |
| #5 | JSJustin SmithHAPOEL | 1 | 21.0 | 16.0 | 7.0 | 2.0 | 41.14 |
| #6 |  Walker Kessler UTAH | 1 | 26.0 | 14.0 | 10.0 | 8.0 | 39.69 |
| #7 |  Luka Doncic LAL | 2 | 27.0 | 28.0 | 6.0 | 6.5 | 38.22 |
| #8 |  Victor Wembanyama SA | 5 | 20.6 | 17.0 | 8.8 | 4.0 | 38.20 |
| #9 |  Alperen Sengun HOU | 3 | 24.0 | 13.3 | 7.3 | 8.7 | 37.80 |
| #10 | AAAkech AllirMelbourne Pnx | 1 | 20.0 | 16.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 37.68 |
| #11 |  Quentin Grimes PHI | 1 | 26.0 | 22.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 37.66 |
| #12 |  Joel EmbiidPHI | 1 | 19.0 | 14.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 37.64 |
| #13 |  Nikola Jokic DEN | 4 | 21.5 | 15.3 | 7.0 | 5.3 | 37.21 |
| #14 |  Luke KornetSA | 5 | 18.2 | 12.6 | 6.8 | 1.8 | 36.68 |
| #15 |  Zion Williamson NO | 4 | 19.0 | 13.5 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 35.82 |
| #16 |  De'Andre Hunter CLE | 3 | 18.7 | 17.0 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 35.78 |
| #17 |  Wendell Carter Jr. ORL | 4 | 19.3 | 14.0 | 7.3 | 2.3 | 35.19 |
| #18 |  Aaron GordonDEN | 3 | 19.6 | 16.3 | 4.7 | 1.3 | 34.74 |
| #19 |  Pascal Siakam IND | 3 | 18.7 | 13.3 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 34.69 |
| #20 |  Derrick White BOS | 3 | 28.0 | 21.7 | 6.3 | 7.0 | 34.29 |
Recorded coverage: 2025-10-02 – 2025-10-17 · 71 games. Individual samples vary; this is not a claim of complete NBA coverage.
How should I read a preseason ranking?
Each recorded positive-minute appearance counts equally. Qualification requires at least one played game and more than 10 average minutes; individual games shorter than 10 minutes still count. Scores use the full selected preseason, not the default latest 20 across competitions.
Preseason samples are short and rotations vary. The index does not adjust for opponents, lineups or role. Use games played, minutes and the actual box-score averages alongside the projected score.
Scoring methodology ↗