So, here’s the thing. You’re going to disagree with this list. You are, it’s the one true thing about lists. Nobody looks at a list and says, “Oh yeah, perfect list. I totally agree. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Maybe someone wasn’t on the list or maybe someone wasn’t high enough or maybe someone was given too much love. Whatever the case may be, here’s a top 20 list from one guy to the next.
1: LeBron James
A lot was made last year about the emergence of Stephen Curry and the ridiculous range that he has and how he is the poster child for the evolution of the NBA. All of that is true but, for now, LeBron James is still that guy. What guy? THAT guy!
You don’t even have to rattle off the accomplishments of James’ past. (3X NBA Champion, 3X NBA Finals MVP, 4X NBA MVP) All you need to understand is that James took a Cavaliers team that won 33 games after the ’13-14 season and made them a 53 win team that contended for the NBA Finals.
He did this the very next year with two other players (Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love) who never made the playoffs before.
Simply put, at 31 years old, James is the gold standard for what NBA players should be entering the ’16-17 season.
2: Stephen Curry
What else can be said about Curry? The man has the sort of range that even video games don’t allow and he’s perhaps the best 3-point shooter in the history of the NBA.
Think about the fact that the leader for three-pointers made in an NBA season was 269 by Ray Allen in the ’05-06 season. A decade later, Curry torched that record with 402. He’s also had seasons where he had 272 and 286.
With two MVP’s, an NBA championship and a massive chip on his shoulder after losing in the NBA Finals, Stephen Curry is the second best player in the NBA, but not by much.
3: Kevin Durant
Even though his numbers might take a hit this year, Durant is still a top three player in the NBA every night. Yes, it’s almost impossible for his numbers to stay where they’ve been because of Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green on the team, but considering he’s played with another ball dominant player in Russell Westbrook for almost a decade, you’d think he can adjust.
Last year, after coming off of a foot injury that has wrecked the career of other big men such as Yao Ming and Bill Walton, Durant came out and averaged 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, a block and a steal a game for a team one win away from making it to the NBA Finals.
At only 28 years old, Durant has the possibility to move up to number one on this list. It all depends on if James decides that he’s tired of going all in for the regular season and if Stephen Curry decides that he’s going to rest up so he’s fully healthy in the playoffs.
Honestly, depending on the night any of the three players ranked in the top three could be number one. It’s semantics and hair-splitting to actually say whom the best player is, if all we’re talking about is the regular season.
4: Russell Westbrook
The man who plays like his hair is on fire, Russell Westbrook, ranks number four on this list.
Last year, with Durant, Westbrook finally made it into the 20 & 10 category for the first time since Deron Williams in 2011. It only got better for Westbrook in the playoffs when he averaged 26.0 points and 11.0 assists and 2.6 steals per game.
Westbrook was one of eight players ever to average over 20 points, 10 assists and two steals per game. Magic Johnson has three, Isiah Thomas had two, Kevin Johnson had one and Michael Adams had one.
Now, with only Victor Oladipo to pass to it seems like a lock that the offensive numbers will rise. Maybe the assists will go down but he will have the ultimate green light whenever he has the ball.
5: Kawhi Leonard
If you’re here looking at offensive numbers then Kawhi Leonard isn’t your guy. For his career, Leonard averages only 14.3 PPG, however last year was the year where Leonard became the man.
After being groomed for four years under the Popovich and Duncan system, Leonard averaged 21.2 points per game, grabbed 6.8 rebounds per game, had 2.6 assists per game, 1.8 steals per game and 1.0 blocks per game. Not only that, but Leonard was nine made free throws away from accomplishing the elusive 50-40-90 club. (50% FG/ 40% 3PT/ 90% FT)
Oh, and he’s the back-to-back and reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Now, with Duncan retired, Manu Ginobili on his last leg and Parker on the decline it’s up to Leonard, Aldridge and Paul Gasol to carry the torch.
6: Chris Paul
For years Chris Paul was the best point guard in the game. Sure, players like Deron Williams and Rajon Rondo have had a great season or two but Paul has been the standard for the last nine years.
Since the start of the ’07-08 season, Paul has averaged 19.2 points, 10.3 assists, has been an All-Star every year and has eight NBA All-Defensive Team nominations. Even at the age of 31 he still may be the best pure point guard in the game, depending on how you look at the point guard position.
Still, the fact that he hasn’t made it out of the second round in his entire career hurts his legacy and makes it hard to move him any further up this list.
7: Damian Lillard
We now get to maybe the most slighted player on this list, at least if you ask Lillard.
Lillard came from a small school (Weber State) and has played with a chip on his shoulder ever since. Last year Lillard missed time for the first time in his career with plantar fascia and was left off of the All-Star game, even though he averaged 24.3 points per game, 7.0 assists per game and 4.4 rebounds per game.
It wasn’t as if he was loved by the fans, but hated by the voters. On January 22nd, when the NBA posted the final numbers on how many votes each player got, Lillard was tenth in terms of guards with 158,360 votes.
Coming into his fifth year Lillard, 26, is entering the prime of his career with backcourt teammate CJ McCollum. Lillard wants respect after never finishing worse than fifth in the west over the last three years and being the one constant since he got to Portland.
8: James Harden
James Harden gets a bad reputation for not playing defense and, to be honest, it’s earned. YouTube is littered with plenty of videos documenting how terrible he is year after year. However, on the offensive side he’s right up there with Curry, James and Durant.
Since Harden has been in Houston his points per game hasn’t fallen below 25 per game, his free throw attempts never fell below nine per game and he only once fell below 37 minutes per game.
Add in a trip to the Western Conference Finals two years ago, a claim that some of the players above can’t claim, and Harden is one of the most talented offensive threats in the NBA.
Now you bring in an offensive guru like Mike D’Antoni and you’re creating something that could possibly see Harden take his game to another level, if that’s even possible.
9: Paul George
If you need evidence to show how valuable Paul George is to the Pacers look no further than two years ago. While on the U.S. Men’s National team George suffered a compound structure on his right leg and his ’14-15 season was effectively over. George played in only six games and the Pacers missed the playoffs with a 38-44 record.
Last year, with a healthy George, the Pacers won 45 games, George averaged 23.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game and the Pacers made it back to the playoffs as if he never left.
Then he played in Rio for the 2016 Olympics and played in all eight games because, why not? Now, with a healthy George and the additions of Jeff Teague and Al Jefferson the Pacers look to improve from the 45 wins from last year.
10: DeMarcus Cousins
Probably the most polarizing figure of the players on this list. Cousins, the modern day Rasheed Wallace, has a reputation of being a hot head on the court (90 technical fouls in his NBA career) but he’s also a 2X All-Star and won a gold medal in the 2016 Olympics.
In Sacramento, he’s the guy, period! If you look at the Sacramento Kings last season, Cousins led the team in points, rebounds, blocks and PER. At 26-years-old, Cousins is a walking 20 and 10 player and someone who you have to double team on the block and at least keep an eye on from beyond the arc (70 threes last year).
11: LaMarcus Aldridge
Last year Aldridge decided to go to the Spurs after nine years in Portland averaging over 19 points and eight rebounds. In his first year in San Antonio, Aldridge had the regression season many expected when entering a new system with many solid NBA players.
Still, Aldridge made an All-Star team averaging 18 points and eight rebounds and actually had the best field goal percentage in his career (51.3 percent). Now, with the addition of Pau Gasol and the retirement of Tim Duncan, the responsibilities are now more aligned for him and Leonard to have better years and possibly take the Spurs to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2014.
12: Draymond Green
The heart of the Golden State Warriors is Draymond Green, period. He’s the guy who makes sure the team is always ready to go. You saw it a lot last year where Green would channel something to get his team ready for a game that they should have easily lost during the regular season.
His emotions, however, got the best of him last year as he had 13 technical fouls (3rd highest) and, in the case of Stephen Adams and LeBron James, helped contribute to losses in the playoffs.
Last year, Green made his first All-Star game, was a member of an All-NBA team and came in second on the Defensive Player of the Year voting. Considering how small the Warriors are going to play in some games Green needs to be the same guy he was last year, at least on the defensive side.
13: Kyle Lowry
Last year was the breakout year for the Toronto Raptors and Lowry. The team won 56 games, most in franchise history, thanks in large part to Lowry. He isn’t in the realm of Westbrook, Curry or Paul but he’s still somebody that teams would love to have. Last year Lowry finally made an All-NBA team and averaged over 19 points and six assists per game in the playoffs.
To put into context how great Lowry was he ranked in the top five amongst point guards in Real plus minus, win shares, PPG and steals. If Lowry can keep that up, he will get paid.
Yes, he’s now over that 30-year-old hill but the fact that he got into shape last year and had his best season by far you’d hope that he keeps doing that, especially considering that he has a player option after this year. Have you seen the amount of money that people around the league are getting? His teammate, DeMar DeRozan got paid $139 million, so staying on this same path seems to make sense.
14: Klay Thompson
Let’s all understand that we’re still in the top 15 and we’re on the fourth player who plays for the Golden State Warriors. The team is going to be scary. Even if they don’t try and go for the 74-8 record you can make a reasonable case that if any of the four players went down for the year they could easily withstand it.
With Thompson we have the guy who’s both above average on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. With all of that said, Thompson may be the player on this list who sees his numbers fall the most. Last year Thompson was the number two guy on a team that was historically great.
It’s funny to think about the fact that if it wasn’t for Curry we may think of Klay Thompson as the best three-point shooter in the history of the NBA. The only player with more threes in a season is Curry and Thompson is a better defender. If Curry didn’t exist we would love Thompson so much more.
15: Hassan Whiteside
If this list were made last year then Whiteside wouldn’t even have been on this list. However, after a year with 14.2 points per game, 11.8 rebounds per game and 3.7 blocks per game (Led the NBA), Whiteside has proven to be one of the best big men in the NBA and his contract of four years and over $98 million proves it.
The best case for Whiteside is his relatively reliable free throw percentage. Yes, 65 percent isn’t great, but his percentage has improved every year from 41.7 percent to 50 percent to 65 percent. At the very least you can’t play the hack-a-Shaq game with Whiteside.
16: John Wall
For John Wall next year represents the time where everything can finally come together for the entire team. The Wizards (and Bullets) haven’t made it to the Eastern Conference Finals since 1979 and over the last three years, it’s either been an injury to Wall or Bradley Beal that has prevented the team from advancing.
In 2015, Wall hurt his hand in the playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks and Bradley Beal has missed an average of 20 games every year since he came to the NBA.
For Wall, he’s a fantastic driver to the basket and was as durable as anyone. John Wall has logged 8,601 minutes over the last three seasons, the most of any point guard in that time. The problem comes when you look at his turnovers. He has 917 over those same three years; only James Harden (960) has more in that time.
17: DeMar DeRozan
What a time to be alive for DeMar DeRozan. Over the last three years, DeRozan made a total of $28.5 million. Next year DeRozan will make over $26.5 million. God bless the NBA Players Association.
If you look at DeRozan’s numbers it makes sense. Forget about the fact that he averaged over 23 points per game along with over four rebounds and four assists.
Those numbers are nice but he then, along with Kyle Lowry, led the Raptors to game six of the Eastern Conference Finals. In games where the Raptors won in the playoffs, DeRozan averaged 26 points per game, but when the Raptors lost, DeRozan averaged only 15.8 points per game.
This year you’d expect the same from him considering that the team relatively stayed the same and the east seems to not have a clue who the second best team is. The playoff numbers need to improve if the Raptors are going to have any hope of making it to the NBA Finals.
18: Kyrie Irving
The man with, perhaps the best handles in the history of the NBA. Kyrie Irving is one of the most vital reasons that the city of Cleveland has a title. No he’s not the most important reason, that guy will come later, but he hit the shot that got the city the ring and he’s coming off of leading the US in assists in Rio and being one of the three players, along with Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony, to start all eight games.
Last year was a down year for Irving after coming off of the left kneecap fracture but coming off of a successful playoffs and a successful Olympic run, it would make sense that he’s a top twenty player in the NBA.
19: Jimmy Butler
It was a weird offseason for the Chicago Bulls. They got rid of one hometown hero in Derrick Rose and brought in another one in Dwyane Wade. They also signed Rajon Rondo.
If you take the three players combined (Butler, Wade and Rondo) their average three-point percentage is 27.9 percent. Butler is at 31.2 percent and had a worst statistical year last year with Hoiberg (‘15-16) than he did in his final year with Thibodeau (’14-15).
Butler’s field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage were down and he turned the ball over more and talked about how the coach wasn’t pushing him as much. Still, he’s one of the best defenders in the NBA (3X NBA All Defensive Second Team) and he helped lead the United States to a gold medal in the Olympics.
20: Anthony Davis
This may seem low for this list but the injuries to Davis matters. Even though Davis is coming off of an injury he’s still someone who is both tremendously talented and often injured.
In the 2012-13 season, Davis suffered both a stress reaction on his ankle in November and had an MCL sprain in April, he missed 18 total games.
During the 2013-14 season, Davis had a non-displaced fracture in his left hand in December and missed the final four games in April because of back problems. In total, Davis missed 15 total games.
In the 2014-15 season, Davis had shoulder injuries from a botched alley-oop. Davis missed a total of 14 games that season.
During the 2015-16 season, Davis’ season was cut short because of a left knee injury and a torn labrum in the left shoulder. Davis missed a total of 21 games.
Even though Davis has never played 70 games in a season, Davis’ career still has him averaging 20.8 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game with a playoff trip two years ago. If at some point Davis can stay healthy throughout the year he can easily be a top 10 player.
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