Anyone can list the best players in the NBA, but basketball is as much about chemistry as it is talent. In this series, we rank each team's starters for a broader look across the league. Who are the top No. 4 options?
Anyone can list the best players in the NBA, but basketball is as much about chemistry as it is talent. Within each of the league's 30 teams is a hierarchy, and how well each of the five players on the court understands and performs his role within that hierarchy is every bit as important as his individual skill.
While depth was vital to the success of the Thunder and Pacers last season, and we understand coaches often say, "It's about who closes the game; not who starts it," the pursuit of a roster's most cohesive five-man unit is still paramount. Three of last year's top four starting lineups on our list — the Thunder, Knicks and Timberwolves — reached the conference finals.
In this series, we rank each team's starters for a broader look across the league. Ideally, a lineup has its superstar, a deferential co-star, a third star who owns his role, a fourth option and a fifth starter to tie it all together — clear Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. How close does your team come to an ideal lineup?
No. 4s: The Fourth Options
What is a No. 4? Here is how we described him last year ...
Generally, he is not a star; if he is, he better be a role player first. And if he is both, then your team is a bear. At the very least, he should be too good to ever deny a starting spot. He can be a table-setter or a rim-runner, but his skills have to complement everyone above him in the pecking order. He can get you 20 points on any given night, but he will not on most, because his defense is of greater import. You cannot be a one-dimensional fourth option, for if you are, your team is likely not very good.
It is a funny thing: Nos. 4 and 5 can be comparable in ability, and if they are both good, your team is good. And if they are both not good, your team is not good. It is often here where teams are separated — where delineations become a little clearer and rosters decline a little steeper. And money plays a part in that. You do not want to pay your fourth option a max contract, but you want to pay him what he is worth, and whether he provides value could mean the difference between contending or pretending.
Not bad. But let us add: The NBA's most recent salary restrictions, which include a second apron that acts as a hard cap, actually preclude teams from paying a fourth option what he might deserve for any significant period of time. Consider the Celtics, who had to sell off parts from their championship core once the luxury taxes became too punitive. It cost them Jrue Holiday, who was interchangeable as a fourth or fifth option, starring in his role on both ends and never at any point taking away from the team.
That reallocation of resources, coinciding with Jayson Tatum's Achilles injury, dropped Boston from the top spot on our overall rankings this season, which we will get to by week's end, and it could come for the Thunder as soon as the end of this season. Value may be the most important aspect of a No. 4, though we will rate them on both their skill and fit.
Lastly, we sourced these lineups and each player's status within them with beat reporters around the league. We appreciate everyone who casted a roster; there are too many people to thank in this space. And we recognize that not every player listed here will be in an opening-night starting lineup. Injuries occur. Coaches change their minds. But just know that this is our best guess at the rotations we will likely see most often from each team.
We've unveiled our rankings of the top No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 options. Without further ado, your five best No. 4s ...
1. OG Anunoby, New York Knicks
The Knicks were not a deep team last season. Nor were they an especially top-heavy roster. They rode a handful of rock-solid players — four of whom will be making more than 20% of the salary cap as soon as next season — to the Eastern Conference finals, ousting the defending champion Celtics in the process.
One of those players is Anunoby, who is in the second season of a five-year, $212.5 million contract. That is expensive for a fourth option. It stings less since their best player, Jalen Brunson, took a below-market deal. It stings even less when Anunoby earns his keep, which he did last year, playing the most games of his career, defending all five positions and serving in a more prominent offensive role when called upon.
Anunoby can and did do a bit of everything, especially over the final month of last regular season, as injuries winnowed New York's rotation to six or seven reliable players. Over a 20-game stretch, Anunoby averaged a 24-5-3 on 49/42/84 shooting splits, adding 2.7 blocks and steals per game, catapulting the Knicks to the No. 3 seed and a pair of playoff series victories for the first time since the 2000 campaign.
He can do more as a playmaker, collecting as many as eight assists in a game (despite his average of 2.2 a night), and the Knicks would surely like to see him be that player more often, but he is predisposed to being a deferential player. That is what they need from their fourth option, who can be interchangeable with Mikal Bridges as a third option. And here's to Anunoby being a little more assertive at the age of 28.
2. Jarrett Allen, Cleveland Cavaliers
Allen is a recent All-Star, making the team for the first and only time in 2022, when he averaged a double-double as a rim-running and -protecting dynamo. He has been the same player over the past four years, posting 15 points (on 66.3% shooting from the field) and 10.2 rebounds per game and finishing as high as 10th in the Defensive Player of the Year race. Allen is one of the best role-playing centers in the league.
His frontcourt combination with Evan Mobley — one of the highest-rated second options in the NBA — is devastating on defense. Together they allowed 110.3 points per 100 meaningful possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass, which would have ranked fifth in the league if averaged over the full season. Just as impressively, that combination yielded 121.7 points per 100 non-garbage possessions on offense, which would have led the league. Their net rating as a tandem (+11.5) helped the Cavaliers to 64 wins a year ago.
Here's the thing: He can pick-and-roll to the rim, where he converts two-thirds of the time, or he can screen away from the ball, freeing up teammates, and he does not seem to prefer either way. You never have to call a play for Allen, but he will find his way to a nightly double-double one way or another.
3. Cam Johnson, Denver Nuggets
Last season, we slotted Michael Porter Jr. as a third option on the Nuggets, if only because he imagined himself as such. After all, Porter is one of the league's best shooters, converting 40.6% of his six 3-point attempts per game for his career, and at nearly 7 feet tall that is a serious weapon. His defense was not at the same level, though, and at a cost of $38.3 million this season his salary became a team-building obstacle.
So, they flipped him for Johnson, whose $21.1 million salary is more befitting a complementary player. And Johnson is a more willing fourth option, a role he played to some degree on a contender in Phoenix. He is a superior connector to Porter, ceding whatever control necessary to Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon (a more dynamic two-way player than Johnson), while playing superior defense, too.
Johnson's shooting is not that far from Porter's, either, as he has shot 39.2% on 5.9 3-point attempts per game in his career. He played as a primary option on the Nets last year, averaging a 19-4-3 on 48/39/89 shooting splits, but he has the basketball IQ to become just as efficient in a smaller role. He is a better fit for the Nuggets, who enter this season with the NBA's second-best title odds, trailing only the defending champion Thunder. Johnson's ability to expand on Porter's role with fewer touches is a big part of that.
4. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
Surprised to see Flagg so high on this list? He is the only player among this cohort who has a realistic chance at becoming a first option sometime very soon. As is, the Mavericks will ease their No. 1 overall draft pick into the season, slotting him behind veterans Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson and D'Angelo Russell as a fourth option. But there are multiple layers to what Flagg can accomplish this season.
He could be undeniable right away, assuming control of this team, even in the presence of Davis, and forcing the Mavericks to reconsider their longterm direction. He could be the connective tissue that ties this team together as a playoff contender in the West, as it bides its time for the return of Kyrie Irving.
Either way, he should be very, very good. Remember: Flagg graduated early from high school and announced himself as the best player in college basketball — by far — at the age of 18. He does not turn 19 until four days before Christmas, but he has all the tools in the shed, which makes him equally dangerous as a future first option or a current fourth option. He is, first and foremost, a winning player.
5. Jalen Suggs, Orlando Magic
The Magic identified Desmond Bane as their third option behind Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, trading the rights to four first-round draft picks to get him. It was a masterful bit of roster construction, not only because Bane was already one of the league's best third options, but because it pushes Suggs one spot down the pecking order, where his complementary two-way skill set makes him a perfect fit.
When last Suggs submitted a healthy season in 2023-24, he made the All-Defensive second team and shot 40% on a handful of 3-point attempts per game. That is him as a player, along with some juice as a playmaker, though he was less efficient as both a shooter and passer last season, when he got injured.
Health is a major factor for Suggs. He has missed 117 games over his four-year career. But his recent practice work, which included contact, has him on pace to meet his target return date of the season opener. Here is hoping he can stay healthy, because the acquisition of Bane allows him now to focus on what he does best as one of the league's most dependable 3-and-D role players on a fringe contender.
The honorable mentions
6. Dyson Daniels, Atlanta Hawks
7. Lu Dort, Oklahoma City Thunder
8. Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves
9. Jabari Smith Jr., Houston Rockets
The rest
10. Josh Giddey, Chicago Bulls; 11. Aaron Nesmith, Indiana Pacers; 12. Ausar Thompson, Detroit Pistons; 13. Dillon Brooks, Phoenix Suns; 14. Bradley Beal, Los Angeles Clippers; 15. Andrew Wiggins, Miami Heat; 16. Herb Jones, New Orleans Pelicans; 17. Harrison Barnes, San Antonio Spurs; 18. Deandre Ayton, Phoenix Suns; 19. Immanuel Quickley, Toronto Raptors; 20. Jaylen Wells, Memphis Grizzlies; 21. Toumani Camara, Portland Trail Blazers; 22. VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers; 23. Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings; 24. Collin Sexton, Charlotte Hornets; 25. Sam Hauser, Boston Celtics; 26. Brandin Podziemski, Golden State Warriors; 27. Terrance Mann, Brooklyn Nets; 28. Alex Sarr, Washington Wizards; 29. Taylor Hendricks, Utah Jazz; 30. Kevin Porter Jr., Milwaukee Bucks
Category: General Sports
