Who else? He won MVP last year and this year, his shooting percentages and assists are up. His team has the best record in the league despite injuries to Mo Williams & Delonte West. His on-ball defense continues to improve and aside from Josh Smith, he is the best chasedown blocker in the league. He has improved his 3 PT% and is becoming elite among superstars in that area. He almost has no weaknesses. In short, the Cavs success as a team depends on Lebron. Plug any other single player in the league on the team and they wouldn't be as effective. He gets the most from his teammates and is now in his prime. Take him off the Cavs team and the team probably wouldn't even sniff 35 wins. Most Valuable Player. MVP. Value. This was cemented in early February when the Cavs went on a 13-game winning streak, mostly without their second best player, Mo Williams. Statistically, I don't think we've seen a season as the one Lebron is having since maybe '01 Shaq or '92 MJ. Gaudy stats. Best record in the league. This is why it was so easy to put him at #1. Follow his career as he begins to impose his will. He is already a complete player.
2) Kevin Durant
Sharpshooting smooth scorer, leading that OKC team to a decent record and improving on rebounding and defense. He should challenge for MVP for years to come and outright win a couple scoring titles. Insane wingspan and will get better around the baseline as he gets stronger. He's clearly a rising star being only 21 years old. At the time of this portion of typing (2/24), he's had 33 games of scoring 25+ points. Let's just say that I can count on only one dick how many players have done that. I'm not sure any other player compares to him in the league today (maybe a more athletic dirk? but even Dirk was not this good at 21). Actually, as the season neared an end, Durant just kept looking like a stronger #2 candidate. Sure, he has a triple double threat PG in Russell Westbrook, but he can still be inconsistent and TO prone. Durant is just a beast. Look no further than the +/- ratio.
3) Dirk Nowitzki
Ze big German. Again, very valuable for his team. Even though his rebounding is down, he's helping the Mavs win close games down the stretch, but he is the best shooting big man of this era and you know what you are getting out of him. It also helps that he's been posting up and using his size more the last couple seasons.
4) Kobe Bryant
The Black Mamba. He's such a polarizing player, pitting homers vs. hater batallions, armed to the gills. This is what makes it somewhat difficult to stay on topic as I can make an entire blogspot on this. Moving on, Kobe missed a few games. He had an ugly ass January. Let's not lose sight of that. He was shooting terribly, yet shooting high volumes and almost becoming a liability on the court. I had difficulty placing him here. His team was winning without him and moving the ball well, but do I hold that against him entirely? Like I said, this was tough for me to place. I really wanted to put the next player on this list. You could argue both ways really, but Kobe's 5/8 game winners with less than 24 seconds put him over the top in my rankings. Kobe misses a lot of shots in the final two minutes as well though. Look at the full picture here and not buy into hype. He's been shooting poorly overall on national TV this season. I don't know what it is, but this season is not his year.
5) Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard still has a tendency to disappear late in games. He needs to demand the ball and carry the team more, or at least set high picks that his guards can penetrate, finish or dish (VC). I have him much higher for Defensive Player of the Year award. He means a ton to his team though. He's even starting to hit free throws in crucial moments.
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Players not making the Top 5 cut, but getting close and worthy of mention: Bosh, Nash, Duncan, Wade, Anthony. I don't like to nitpick elite players, but that's what must be done. I much prefer to talk about underrated players, trust me. These are all franchise players.
6) Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo missed some games and Billups and Kenyon Martin really stepped up in his absence and continued to win games. For that reason, I don't have Carmelo in my top 5. He's a great scorer and improving on D. Maybe I'm holding his supporting cast against him, but Denver does have one of the nicest frontlines in the league and one of the best PG's in Chauncey Billups (who gets criminally overlooked even after a Finals MVP).
Some will say I'm just ranking Melo too low and using the rest of his team against him, but that's that. Melo can score in a lot of different ways, but Billups averaged something like 22+ points, 6.5 assists and 1.2 steals while Melo was out. Impressive. If I put Melo in the top 5, I'd have to put Billups in the top 10. Billups is one of only a small handful of PG's that can score, pass and defend. I'm also inclined to think that Nene would be so much better if he had a killer instinct about him, since he plays so efficiently. Anyway, I feel like ranking Melo higher. I really do. I mean he is clutch in the final possession of the game. He may not get it at the buzzer, but he is money in the last couple seconds. Billups has been to seven straight conference finals and yes, he's had players around him, but it's worth mentioning. I'm somewhat of a big Billups fan as far as his style of play. I guess favorite players past and present can be a whole different post.
7) Steve Nash
Nash has two MVP's (you can argue if the 2nd was really appropriate, but that's a different post). That means he has a template. I know D-Will is putting up similar numbers, but I tend to think Nash is just slightly more effective from a team standpoint on the offensive end. Nash is having a resurgent year with a couple revolving cast of new teammates. He's averaging 18.3 points, 11.1 assists and all his %'s are above his career average. In fact, he is leading all PG's in assists and FG%. He is the grease in the chains and the one who gets that team going and if you think about it, one of the best pure shooting guards of this era. I mean, he's 6 feet tall and has averaged several seasons shooting above 50%. You do not want to leave him open for a set shot. Being a Laker fan, I know the times he's killed them in the '06-'07 playoffs. Let's be real here, we're not talking about someone who has blazing speeds and can jump out of the gym. I realize he might be the worst defender on this list, but what he does offensively and for his team is hard to overshadow. Nash has less talent around him than Dirk but is still putting up stellar stats so I stand by this ranking. He's just an effective basketball player and the best PG of the era alongside Jason Kidd.
8) Chris Bosh
Contract year explains this one. His stats are some of the most impressive on the list, but his team may barely win 50 games. I'm not a fan of the unspoken of '50 win' rule but if we're gonna follow it, we have to apply to all players. If Bosh found a killer instinct, he would be oh, so much better. He also kind o tailed off at the end of the season. I could have switched Nash & Bosh, but for now this is how I feel.
9) Dwyane Wade
Wade had a down year, battling through some injuries. He's probably frustrated dealing with a weak supporting cast. He's honestly one of my favorite players to watch. He makes a ton of circus shots, drives it relentlessly and is big towards end of games. He also has a nasty crossover dribble. He just has to do so much for the team: lead in points, assists, steals, etc.
10) Tim Duncan
Duncan had a few too many DNP's. Even though Duncan is putting up big numbers, I have to fault the team wins once again. As I said, I've never been a fan of the rule, but it has to be taken into account. Richard Jefferson hasn't exactly been fitting into the offense too well. His team has just not been playing that well, which is a factor, albeit a minor one. Parker has missed games, but it is what it is. Manu is showing the most heart on that team. In normal years, Duncan would be #4 or #5 quite easily. Expect consistency from the Big Fundamental, but it's fair to criticize this season, or just plainly analyze.
Honorable Mentions: Deron Williams, Brandon Roy, Joe Johnson, Pau Gasol, Carlos Boozer
NOTE: #5-8 was REALLY close.
Criteria:
1) Consistency
2) Record: Again, not a fan of the rule. D-Wade had a great season last year and was snubbed of 1st-team all defense and his rankings in MVP were low as well.
3) Injury free: Otherwise guys like CP3 would be in the top eight.
This is tough, probably tougher than ranking albums but not as tough as ranking my favorite wrestlers :) Sooo, that was this year. If we're talking decade list, of course Duncan would be ranked way higher. I don't go by name recognition. At least I try not to. The hardest decision was really Kobe/Nash as it could have gone Nash/Kobe. Overall, it was all fairly close and I won't subscribe to the idea that I'm an "expert". I'm a fan and not a homer. I like to discuss team trends, upcoming players, etc. You can argue this a multiple number of ways, based on what you think is "valuable". In the end, I feel pretty confident with the #1 pick.
One thing I've learned over the years debating sports, politics and whatever in general is that it's impossible to be truly unequivocally unbiased. We all have latent opinions, but hopefully this list at least made sense. I'm open to feedback. I think the most controversial picks will be Nash & Melo. You can argue it different ways and convince, but I did put some time in to research this. As I said, I'm not big on plastering stats all over the place. From the beginning of this blog to the end was a little over a month, so don't punish me on stats if they aren't updated. I know how to look them up, thanks.
I will try to make this a bit more interesting in the future, but I don't want to sound cheesy in the process. I'm not here to be a journalist. Fuck that shit. Actually, that's only a 2/3 expletive ratio. Let's go 2/2 and be even less creative. Fuck shit. Motto of the day.
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