Monday, October 1, 2012

NBA's Best: Who are the Best Five Players in the NBA?



For the last few years, ESPN has ranked NBA players before the beginning of the season.  This year is no different and ESPN recently revealed its ranking.  Although they ranked hundreds of players, I will only discuss the elite players.  In my opinion, the top two players in the NBA are clearly defined.  After those two players, I think people have different opinions with respect to rankings.  Since ESPN released its rankings, I have heard very interesting dialogue on the subject.  For instance, Steven A. Smith argued that Dirk Nowitzki should be in the top five, while Skip Bayliss argued that Carmelo Anthony should be in the top five.  Ranking players is  a subjective process.  Some people believe a player’s individual statistics should determine his ranking.  Others examine the team success a player has experienced. While others look at the overall impact a player has had on his team.  In other words, if a player joined a team that won 30 games the year before they arrived, then won 45 the year they joined the team.  When making my rankings, I look at a combination of all three factors.

Honorable Mention:

Dwayne Wade is a great player and arguably the best shooting guard in the league.  People forget or ignore that Wade experienced a dip  in his production last year because of injury and because he believed the team would be better with Lebron James being the clear number one option.  He was not healthy during much of the 2011-12 season, but he still managed to put together a good year.  This year, he is recovering from knee surgery.  He did not participate in the Olympics, so he should be healthy and his legs should be fresh.  That said, I am anticipating a big year from Wade. 
Derrick Rose is one of my favorite players.  He is currently recovering from knee surgery, and I hope he regains his pre-injury form.  He is the kind of humble star that does not  exist in the NBA world of millionaires and billionaires.  When healthy, he is explosive and capable of carrying his team.  He is easily a top ten talent, and he is still very young, so he has a chance to move up the list.  The reason he is not in my top five is because he is unable to shoot a high percentage from the field and he is turnover prone.  He is an elite player now, but if he develops his jump shot, he may be able to supplant the number one point guard in the league.  Maybe.

Top Five:

Dwight Howard is the fifth best player in the NBA.  He is the most dominant defensive player and he has already received three Defensive Player of the Year Awards.  His offensive game is not as refined as Pau Gasol, or Andrew Bynum, but, despite his lack of post moves, he still managed to average over 20 points per game during the 2011-12 season.  He also averaged nearly 15 rebounds per game last season.  People often say that he does not have any post moves.  That is true, but does it matter when he still is an efficient scorer?  The biggest knock on his game is his inability to make free throws.  Because of free throw struggles, he is probably not quite ready to be the go-to player.  His defensive abilities simply cannot be ignored, so he still belongs in the top five. 
Chris Paul is the fourth best basketball player in the NBA.  He is the best point guard in the world.  Some people make the argument that Deron Williams is better.  If you watched the Olympics this summer, it is clear who Coach K believes is the better player.  Chris shoots nearly 50% from the field, and averaged 20 points and nearly 10 assists last year.  He also shoots well over 80% from the free throw line,and consistently leads the league in steals.  He also has one of the best assists to turnover ratios in the league, which is particularly impressive considering how much he handles the ball.  Again, he is the best pure point guard in the league.  There may be others that score at a higher clip, but there is not anyone who runs a team like CP3.       
Kobe Bryant is the third best player in the league.  At his age, and length of time in the league, his ranking is a testament to his uncanny work ethic.  He is not Michael Jordan, but he is the second best shooting guard to ever play the game.  Last year, he finished second in the league in scoring.  I think his defensive abilities regressed  and his shooting percentage was not as good as it had been in the past.  However, I think his shooting percentage will increase this year because he finally has an elite point guard to get him the ball where he likes it.  I think this will be his last year in the top five, but he has earned it and he is still capable of scoring 50 points on any given night. 
Kevin Durant turned 24 today, which means that he is not even in his prime yet.  Despite his young age, he is the second best player in the NBA.  He is the best scorer in the league.  He has won two or three scoring titles in a row.  He is a unique blend of talent, humility, and height.  If he continues making progress, puts on a few pounds and works on his defense, the NBA will be all his once Lebron begins to decline in his mid-30’s. 
Lebron James has finally earned his nickname “King James.”  He is the best player in the NBA, which he has been for a number of years.  People denigrated him because although he had experienced great individual success, he had failed to win the title.  He is a three time regular season MVP, which means that he owns two more than Kobe.  This past year, however, he became the first player since Michael Jordan to win a regular season MVP award, NBA Championship, NBA Finals MVP and Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year.  At this point, he does not have any glaring weaknesses, and he can become a better player by working on his post up game. 

Who is in your top 5?

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Peace 

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