It’s been a couple of years since I did this, but I did my ranking of my top 25. We hear all of the time from players and from fans that this player is top 25 or such player is top 10. When you sit down and do your ranking, it’s a lot harder than you realize. The league is so deep with players. I personally believe this is the deepest the league has ever been in terms of the amount talent in the league. Because of that, I was surprise the players that was left off my list.
Before I get into my list and the players I left off (honorable mentions), I want to share my formula on how I rank players.
• Regular season numbers over the past 3 seasons. I focus more on the advanced stats than the traditional stats. My personal stat favorite is win shares per 48 minutes and VORP (Value Over Replacement Player). Those stats is a little flawed, but more times than not it’s good indicator how valuable a player is.
• Eye test. Is the stats backing up the eye test? Are their stats translating to winning? What is their overall impact on the game? How do you get your numbers? Through the flow of the game or for the detriment of the team? Some players have good traditional stats, but their stats is not contributing to winning games. Some players may not have the traditional stats to back them up, but you can tell watching the games that they’re impacting the game (Draymond Green is the greatest example of this).
• Playoff performances. Playoffs matter. The goal is to win a championship. Does this player game translating into winning in the playoffs? In the last five minutes of game 7 of a close game, would you want this player to be one of your two best players on the floor for your respective team?
Before I show the list, here’s my honorable mentions.
•Jaylen Brown
•Anthony Edwards
•Mikal Bridges
•Darius Garland
•Paul George
•Jaren Jackson Jr
•Zion Williamson
•Julius Randle
•Branden Ingram
•Trae Young
•Kyrie Irving
•Draymond Green
•Jrue Holiday
•Karl Anthony Towns
Here we go…..This is the list
1. NIKOLA JOKIC
2. Stephen Curry
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo
4. Joel Embid
5. Jayson Tatum
6. Luka Donkic
7. Kevin Durant
8. Jimmy Butler
9. Anthony Davis
10. Devin Booker
11. Lebron James
12. Kawhi Leonard
13. Shai Gilgeous Alexander
14. Damien Lillard
15. Jamal Murray
16. Ja Morant
17. Jalen Brunson
18. Donovan Mitchell
19. De’Aaron Fox
20. Bam Adebayo
21. James Harden
22. Pascal Sakiam
23. Domantas Sabonis
24. Lauri Markkanen
25. Tyrese Haliburton
Thoughts…
•Leaving Lebron out of the top 10
At first it felt weird because it’s fucking Lebron. But he is 39 and his numbers doesn’t have the same impact as it once did. It makes sense because he’s an older player. Lebron is entering year 21. Lebron needs that guy who can do that heavy lifting night in night out. That’s why I had Davis over him. I picked Booker over him because he’s younger, and he has a higher upside of carrying a team in playoff series than Bron. Even though the athleticism is declining, Lebron is still a superstar player because of his IQ of the game. He is still probably the smartest player in the league. His knowledge how to attack teams from both offense and defense is still elite.
•The Top 4 was pretty simple
I personally those are the best players in the league. I don’t think it’s that much of a debate. The only thing that matters is the order you have those four players except….
•Jokic is the best player by solid margin.
He has been the best player in the league for the past three seasons. The previous two seasons he didn’t have the players on his team due to injuries to make a deep playoff run. Now this season he had the horses to make a run and look what he did. This guy is the like combination of Kevin Mchale, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson combine. It’s pretty fucking sick. If he retires right now, he would be a top 30 all time player.
•Brunson over Mitchell
I just watched in back to back playoffs Brunson outplaying Mitchell head to head. He’s better. Enough said.
•I had to reward Jimmy
Last year he was one shot away of making the finals. This season he took his team to the finals. The team he took to the finals wasn’t really your typical finals team that was stacked with talent. They had an all time great coach, and a player who raises his game to another level in the playoffs. I know he fell off a little bit towards the end of the playoff run for Miami, but we can’t ignore he did in that Bucks’ series. That was some all time shit against an elite defensive team that has all time great defensive players. Incredible.
•Underrated Lauri
I watched the Utah Jazz more than any other team in the league during the regular season. A little bit odd. They had a really good coach with an interesting offensive scheme. Jordan Clarkson played games with nail polish. I always found that interesting because I’ve never seen that from a NBA player. Most of all, I like watching Markkanen play. He had a breakout season. Made the all star team. He probably could have made All NBA if the Jazz didn’t shut him down at the end of the season. I like him because he gets points within the flow of the offense. I believe players like that, especially your best player who plays that way are so valuable for a team because it keeps everyone engage throughout the game (Jokic and Curry are the two best examples of this). He has a good three ball, and he can attack mismatches if the opportunity is there. He can hold his own defensively. I don’t think he’ll ever be the best player on a contending team, but he certainly can be a #2 for a championship team. Underrated player, Lauri Markkanen.
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