Over the year, the NBA has shifted from the duo of a guard and a big man to now favoring talented backcourts where your guards can take over the game. This type of duo was founded in the modern era by the Golden State Warriors with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, but the formula has been copied by teams like the Houston Rockets, Portland Trailblazers, and most recently the Utah Jazz.
The NBA's 2019 free agency shook up plenty of rosters, but it still left the league with some impressive backcourt duos. Let's look at the 10 best starting backcourt duos in NBA 2K20.
10 New Orleans Pelicans (Ball, Holiday)
The assumption is that Lonzo Ball and Jrue Holiday will be the starting backcourt for the New Orleans Pelicans heading into next year. If for some reason it happens to be Holiday and the newly acquired JJ Reddick, then #10 is still a great spot for that combination as well.
Both Holiday and Ball will have the chance to distribute the ball to Zion Williamson, the rookie athletic phenom, and will also have a pick-and-roll partner in the recently signed Derrick Favors, who was an anchor power forward for the Utah Jazz for many years.
9 Indiana Pacers (Oladipo, Brogdon)
Victor Oladipo quickly rose to All-Star status when he went to the Indiana Pacers and was able to run his own team without the shadow of other NBA superstars. He sadly suffered a season-ending injury last year, but he'll now have a backcourt Robin to his Batman with Malcolm Brogdon coming over from the Milwaukee Bucks.
Brogdon isn't necessarily a superstar, but he's the type of personality and talent that could be a great compliment to Oladipo's game provided he returns to the court as the same type of emerging superstar he was before the injury.
8 Boston Celtics (Walker, Brown)
Given their previous situations, both Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker probably couldn't be happier that they're going to be starting next to one another. Walker is coming from a team in the Charlotte Hornets where he's been their only beacon of hope for a number of years and can now play for a team that's looking to win.
Jaylen Brown now gets to exchange his difficult to deal with point guard in Kyrie Irving with another great starting point guard who's a great leader and unselfish teammate. They both were two of the biggest winners during the 2019 NBA offseason.
7 Phoenix Suns (Rubio, Booker)
Ricky Rubio has been considered a solid point guard in the NBA for a number of years, but his inability to hit an open shot has hurt him in both Utah and Minnesota. He's now going to be starting alongside one of the league's best young scorers in Devon Booker which means if things go as planned he won't need to worry about scoring.
Booker was making a big push for D'Angelo Russell to sign with the Phoenix Suns, but getting Rubio as a consolation prize is pretty great in its own right. Now they just need to find a competent front office.
6 Oklahoma City Thunder (Westbrook, Roberson)
With Russell Westbrook asking for a trade following the shocking deal that sent Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers, this pairing could be irrelevant in a months time. If Westbrook gets moved to the Miami Heat, the pairing of him and Jimmy Butler could prove as a future-proof choice for this #6 spot as well.
The casual NBA fan may not know who Andre Roberson is, but he happens to be the starting shooting guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder and is one of the league's best defenders at that position.
5 Los Angeles Clippers (Beverly, George)
In a world where defensive prowess was the most coveted skill, the Los Angeles Clippers would be the best backcourt starting duo by a mile. Pairing Pat Beverly and Paul George with Kawhi Leonard gave the Clippers a brick wall to the basket heading into next season. Beverly's lack of skill outside of defending and the occasional 3-pointer puts them at #5.
That's not too shabby for a Clippers team believed to only have Beverly for most of the NBA offseason. As long as Paul George can stay healthy, they'll be a frustrating duo for years to come.
4 Golden State Warriors (Russell, Curry)
If Klay Thompson never tore his ACL then the Golden State Warriors would obviously be the #1 duo on this list. The injury did happen, and for most of the next season, the starting backcourt will be comprised of D'Angelo Russell and Steph Curry.
This combo is still dangerous and can score with the best of them, but Russell is nowhere near the shot creator that Thompson is, and no one knows how good the chemistry will be given Russell likely understands he's moved at the trade deadline to make a better roster for Thompson's return.
3 Portland Trailblazers (Lillard, McCollum)
The Portland Trailblazers had a coming out party of sorts during the 2019 NBA Playoffs. Both Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum showed the NBA world at large that they can compete with the league's best. Despite showing how much of a superstar he is in the first round, Lillard lacked consistency against the Golden State Warriors and aided in their defeat.
If both players can be consistent on a team with a solid frontcourt to match, they can assert themselves as one of the league's best backcourt duos once again.
2 Utah Jazz (Conley, Mitchell)
Donovan Mitchell has proven himself an emerging NBA superstar and the Utah Jazz understood they needed to bring in another guard who could alleviate playmaking pressure from their young cornerstone.
They happened to trade for a veteran point guard and arguably the league's most underrated player, Mike Conley. Conley's coming off of his best statistical year in the NBA and immediately made the Utah Jazz better. The pairing of the two gives the Jazz an athletic backcourt that's capable of knocking down open shots and creating for others.
1 Houston Rockets (Paul, Harden)
Chris Paul and James Harden are the best starting backcourt in the NBA despite all of the dysfunction surrounding them during the 2019 NBA offseason. Harden continues to be an MVP contender and one of the league's Top 3-5 players, whereas Paul's age is catching up to him and deteriorating his game.
Paul still happens to be one of the league's best point guards, but his consistency and playmaking ability is starting to fade pretty rapidly. In a years time, the two might not be together anymore, or worse Paul may have fully regressed into a subpar starter.