After watching way too much early season NBA basketball, I think I can now successfully march out a Top-10 players list. The main criteria I will be using is - Which single player in 2007 would give a roster the best chance of winning an NBA Championship? So my apologies to Dwight Howard, who is easily a Top-20 player and whose upside will undoubtebly land him in the Top-5 in the near future - This is a list of the Top-10 NBA players RIGHT NOW. A quick sidenote - In my opinion there is a clear cut 7 best players in the NBA, with players 8,9, and 10 can easily be interchanged with about a half dozen or so players from the TOP-20.
Before I go into the list, allow me to expound on the very first sentence of this column - "After watching way too much early season NBA basketball." For those of you who do not own the NBA League Pass, and only watch the NBA when televised nationally on ABC, ESPN or TNT, you may not fully understand how poorly played a game can be when players know there is only going to be a local audience watching. Before I had the League Pass I never understood why fans or columnists would say that NBA players "mail" games in. But after a full 2006-2007 season with the League Pass, which is great for gambling purposes, I can easily say I've seen some of the ugliest, most un-inspired games ever played. Players are lucky that only highlights are shown on SportsCenter. So in short, some of these early season NBA games were almost insufferable to watch, even for a basketball junkie like myself.
The Top-10 NBA Players
The Top-10 NBA Players
1. Kobe Bryant - The most gifted offensive player since Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant is also an elite defender, which is best exhibited by his shutdown defense during the Olympic trials. When Kobe guarded T-Mac in an early Lakers-Rockets game, McGrady seemed so frightened by the possibility of being embarrassed by Bryant that he completely backed down from the challenge - choosing to act purely as a distributor until he guarded by somebody else.
I can write 10,000 words on Kobe's scoring ability and it still wouldn't be enough, so I won't go into the details about how Kobe's just an assassin, in every sense of the word, and how he night in and night out makes the most difficult of shots look routine. But I will lay out a compelling argument as to why Kobe Bryant may be better than Michael Jordan using the a Seinfeld vs. Curb Your Enthusiasm analogy - Though I myself am a firm believer that Jordan was considerably better than Kobe - but that's another column.
Kobe is a more polished player than Jordan. He's a better ball handler and a better long range shooter. Curb Your Enthusiasm is a more polished version of Seinfeld; both the individual episodes and seasons "come together" or "tie-in" better than Seinfeld ever did, the shows are more aesthetically pleasing, and the dialogue is improvised - a perfect fit for that type of comedy and somewhat revolutionary for a sitcom.
I can write 10,000 words on Kobe's scoring ability and it still wouldn't be enough, so I won't go into the details about how Kobe's just an assassin, in every sense of the word, and how he night in and night out makes the most difficult of shots look routine. But I will lay out a compelling argument as to why Kobe Bryant may be better than Michael Jordan using the a Seinfeld vs. Curb Your Enthusiasm analogy - Though I myself am a firm believer that Jordan was considerably better than Kobe - but that's another column.
Kobe is a more polished player than Jordan. He's a better ball handler and a better long range shooter. Curb Your Enthusiasm is a more polished version of Seinfeld; both the individual episodes and seasons "come together" or "tie-in" better than Seinfeld ever did, the shows are more aesthetically pleasing, and the dialogue is improvised - a perfect fit for that type of comedy and somewhat revolutionary for a sitcom.
BUT, Kobe will never be considered better than Jordan, just like Curb will never be considered better than Seinfeld because:
1) Jordan was in his prime the same time the NBA was at its peak in terms of viewership, therefore many, many more people understand how great Jordan was. Similarly for Curb, Seinfeld was on a major network (NBC) during prime time, while Curb is on HBO on Sunday night.
2) Jordan was the first of his kind, he had nobody to pattern himself after, and he became the blueprint that all young basketball players modeled their game after. He completely changed basketball. Seinfeld did the same thing for television. Any current sitcom you watch today tries in some way to be like Seinfeld. With the perception that the first of its kind is always the best, even when an improved version comes along the original always gets the benefit of the doubt.
3) Hardware: Jordan has 6 championship rings, 6 Finals MVPs, and 5 NBA MVPs to go along with countless other awards. Seinfeld has won a ton of Golden Globe's, Emmies, and other accolades. I think its fair to say that both Kobe and Curb, due to various axillary circumstances, have never gotten the credit they deserve, at least from an award perspective.
Fatal Flaw(s) - Sometimes bad shot selection, often times doesn't get teammates involved, and not to mention degrading his entire team through vehenement trade requests.
2. Tim Duncan- As tempted I was to put LeBron James in this spot, with the ridiculous statistical season he's having, how could I put him over the owner of 4 rings (and counting) and greatest power forward in NBA history? Duncan's stats won't WOW you, and on some nights he'll have like 12 points and 8 rebounds. But if he wanted to average 28+ a game he could easily. He sacrifices his individual game for the greater good of his team, but will still impose his will as the most dominant post scorer in the game when the time calls for it. It's like Albert Pujols in baseball. Can he hit 50-55 home runs ever year? Sure, but Pujols hits 35-49 every year because he's not going to sacrifice his AVG, OBP, and strikeout 120+ times each year for more gaudy numbers. This guy strikes out well, well under 100 times each year, while A-Rod is usually in the 140 range and Ryan Howard is eerily close to 200. Then when you factor in that Duncan is one of the most dynamic interior defenders in the NBA, with the ability to block /alter shots, defend athletic post players, and play impeccable help defense, you undoubtedly have the 2nd best player in the NBA, with a strong case to be made for the #1.
Fatal Flaw(s) - Poor free throw shooting, occasionally mails it in during regular season games.
3. Lebron James - You could conceivably make the argument that he's better than Kobe because he's a superb passer that always gets his teammates involved - but when you consider that LeBron isn't much of defender despite being the most physically gifted specimen maybe ever, you can't give him the nod. With that said, what he's doing statistically through the early part of this season, where he's averaging 30+ points per game, with a high field goal percentage, and triple-double like numbers every night, is amazing. Still, his flaws, which will be mentioned below, are limiting him enough for the time being, from being catapulted to legendary status.
Fatal Flaw(s) - Doesn't play to his potential defensively, inconsistent jump shooting, poor foul shooter, sometimes settles for jumpers when he can drive to the hoop at any time.
4. Dwyane Wade - Wade, who is yet to make the All-NBA first team, is one player along with LeBron and Dwight Howard, that will be fending for the title of Best NBA Player in the next 5 years. Wade is also the only player, at least that I've seen, that Kobe Bryant has legitimately struggled to guard - with my evidence being the Heat vs Lakers on Christmas Day game last year. He's that fast. Wade is also a complete player, a team player, and extraordinarily potent during crunch time scorer - the one factor that could possibly launch him past LeBron James in the future, if it didn't already, meaning if you opine that his championship ring and Finals MVP gives him the edge.
Fatal Flaw(s) - Struggles every year with his health.
5. Kevin Garnett - When discussing Garnett's greatness, we will always compare him to Tim Duncan. Garnett is a better regular season player than Duncan - his overall stats are historic, though as we mentioned, Duncan's stats could be higher if he desired. Garnett and Duncan are also pretty similar defensively, you can give the nod either way, depending on who's style of play you prefer. The difference for me is scoring ability. Though Garnett is a terrific scorer and an impossible match up for almost any forward, he's not the type of player that you'd want to feed on 4 straight possessions, down the stretch, in a playoff game, with your season on the line. In other words, you wouldn't want him to be THE GUY offensively when all your chips are down. He can score 35 on any given night, but you'd rather put the ball in Paul Pierce or Ray Allen's hands on the final possession of the game. Anyway, the silver lining for Garnett is that he has a chance of launching himself into the greatest power forward of all time argument, if he wins a battle with Tim Duncan in the NBA finals. We're a long way from that, but it's something to potentially look forward to.
1) Jordan was in his prime the same time the NBA was at its peak in terms of viewership, therefore many, many more people understand how great Jordan was. Similarly for Curb, Seinfeld was on a major network (NBC) during prime time, while Curb is on HBO on Sunday night.
2) Jordan was the first of his kind, he had nobody to pattern himself after, and he became the blueprint that all young basketball players modeled their game after. He completely changed basketball. Seinfeld did the same thing for television. Any current sitcom you watch today tries in some way to be like Seinfeld. With the perception that the first of its kind is always the best, even when an improved version comes along the original always gets the benefit of the doubt.
3) Hardware: Jordan has 6 championship rings, 6 Finals MVPs, and 5 NBA MVPs to go along with countless other awards. Seinfeld has won a ton of Golden Globe's, Emmies, and other accolades. I think its fair to say that both Kobe and Curb, due to various axillary circumstances, have never gotten the credit they deserve, at least from an award perspective.
Fatal Flaw(s) - Sometimes bad shot selection, often times doesn't get teammates involved, and not to mention degrading his entire team through vehenement trade requests.
2. Tim Duncan- As tempted I was to put LeBron James in this spot, with the ridiculous statistical season he's having, how could I put him over the owner of 4 rings (and counting) and greatest power forward in NBA history? Duncan's stats won't WOW you, and on some nights he'll have like 12 points and 8 rebounds. But if he wanted to average 28+ a game he could easily. He sacrifices his individual game for the greater good of his team, but will still impose his will as the most dominant post scorer in the game when the time calls for it. It's like Albert Pujols in baseball. Can he hit 50-55 home runs ever year? Sure, but Pujols hits 35-49 every year because he's not going to sacrifice his AVG, OBP, and strikeout 120+ times each year for more gaudy numbers. This guy strikes out well, well under 100 times each year, while A-Rod is usually in the 140 range and Ryan Howard is eerily close to 200. Then when you factor in that Duncan is one of the most dynamic interior defenders in the NBA, with the ability to block /alter shots, defend athletic post players, and play impeccable help defense, you undoubtedly have the 2nd best player in the NBA, with a strong case to be made for the #1.
Fatal Flaw(s) - Poor free throw shooting, occasionally mails it in during regular season games.
3. Lebron James - You could conceivably make the argument that he's better than Kobe because he's a superb passer that always gets his teammates involved - but when you consider that LeBron isn't much of defender despite being the most physically gifted specimen maybe ever, you can't give him the nod. With that said, what he's doing statistically through the early part of this season, where he's averaging 30+ points per game, with a high field goal percentage, and triple-double like numbers every night, is amazing. Still, his flaws, which will be mentioned below, are limiting him enough for the time being, from being catapulted to legendary status.
Fatal Flaw(s) - Doesn't play to his potential defensively, inconsistent jump shooting, poor foul shooter, sometimes settles for jumpers when he can drive to the hoop at any time.
4. Dwyane Wade - Wade, who is yet to make the All-NBA first team, is one player along with LeBron and Dwight Howard, that will be fending for the title of Best NBA Player in the next 5 years. Wade is also the only player, at least that I've seen, that Kobe Bryant has legitimately struggled to guard - with my evidence being the Heat vs Lakers on Christmas Day game last year. He's that fast. Wade is also a complete player, a team player, and extraordinarily potent during crunch time scorer - the one factor that could possibly launch him past LeBron James in the future, if it didn't already, meaning if you opine that his championship ring and Finals MVP gives him the edge.
Fatal Flaw(s) - Struggles every year with his health.
5. Kevin Garnett - When discussing Garnett's greatness, we will always compare him to Tim Duncan. Garnett is a better regular season player than Duncan - his overall stats are historic, though as we mentioned, Duncan's stats could be higher if he desired. Garnett and Duncan are also pretty similar defensively, you can give the nod either way, depending on who's style of play you prefer. The difference for me is scoring ability. Though Garnett is a terrific scorer and an impossible match up for almost any forward, he's not the type of player that you'd want to feed on 4 straight possessions, down the stretch, in a playoff game, with your season on the line. In other words, you wouldn't want him to be THE GUY offensively when all your chips are down. He can score 35 on any given night, but you'd rather put the ball in Paul Pierce or Ray Allen's hands on the final possession of the game. Anyway, the silver lining for Garnett is that he has a chance of launching himself into the greatest power forward of all time argument, if he wins a battle with Tim Duncan in the NBA finals. We're a long way from that, but it's something to potentially look forward to.
Fatal Flaw(s) - Sometimes plays too much like guard, sometimes too unselfish, sometimes too intense.
6. Steve Nash - A 2x time NBA Most Valuable Player, the best point guard in the game, the best passer in the game, one of the most efficient jump shooters in the NBA, the best free throw shooter in the NBA, a warrior, a leader, a heroic clutch performer, AND ARGUABLY THE WORST PERIMETER DEFENDER IN THE NBA. Last night, Don Nelson's strategy to attack Steve Nash while he was on defense semmed borderline malevolent. Baron Davis and Monta Ellis literally took Nash behind the wood and gave him a Kunta Kinte like whooping - for you Roots fans out there. The difference between Nash's defense and Stephon Marbury's defense is that Nash tries really, really hard. So when he's getting smoked off the dribble for 40 minutes a night by elite western conference point guards you kind of feel bad him - because he's fighting for his life out there. But when you elevate the play of everybody on your team to the level he does AND you play as hard as Nash does, you can get away with shabby defense.
Fatal Flaw(s) - Haircut and Defense.
7. Dirk Nowitzki - On any given night he's the most incredible player you'll ever see, and he's also the most impossible match up in the NBA. When I say most incredible player, that's not to the casual fan that is solely interested in dunks and alley oops. But when Dirk is hot and reigning 20+ footers over 6'10 defenders like he's shooting over a chair, THEN runs the floor like a small forward and handle the ball like a 2-guard, I am in complete disbelief - Like I'm watching a 7 foot version of Larry Bird. The reasons Dirk doesn't rank higher than he does on the list is because he usually only has an impact on the game from a scoring perspective. Though he is a good passer and a good rebounder, he cannot dominate a game in any way other than scoring. And though I must count his recent post seasons failures against him, I still give him credit for a historic Game 7 performance against the Spurs in the 2006 playoffs.
Fatal Flaw(s) - Recent postseason meltdowns, can only dominate through scoring.
8. Yao Ming - I have a feeling Yao will be the most disputed player on my list, but how can I leave off the NBA's best center? As far as centers go, I give him the nod over Amare Stoudemire in the western conference. What about the east? Shaq? No. You want me to say Dwight Howard, who is on the cusp of greatness, but he is not a polished enough low post scorer to play at a championship level - But I'll talk about him more it in my next NBA entry. Yao has quietly improved his play every year, was an MVP candidate last year before injury, and is a nightmare to guard for anybody because of his inside/outside prowess. And anybody that Jeff Van Gundy is on the record vouching for as "the hardest working player I've ever coached" gets bonus points with me.
Fatal Flaw(s) - Yao is a below average help defender because his feet are so slow, had a tendency to get into foul trouble, and has a tendency to be inconsistent. I don't think he's soft, though.
9. Carmelo Anthony - Similar to Nowitzki, Carmelo is a very solid all-around player but can still only dominate the game with one phase of his game. But in that one phase of his game, scoring the ball, Anthony is amongst the 3 or 4 most proficient players in the league. So, though he's not the most complete player in terms of defense, rebounding and passing, he may very well be the most complete offensive player outside of Kobe Bryant. Carmelo is a tremendous athlete that can beat a defender off the dribble, at the rim, or just shooting over them. He may also have the best post-up game of any small forward in the NBA. 'Melo should definitely make several All-NBA 1st team appearance before his career is over.
Fatal Flaw(s) - Cheap shots players and runs away, can only dominate through scoring.
10. Jason Kidd - I know Kidd is getting towards the end of his career and I know his defense is somewhat romanticized, though he is a very good defender, but of all the remaining great players in the NBA, which one gives you the best shot of winning a championship? I'd take Kidd, though you can make an argument that Deron Williams and Chris Paul are just as good. The reason - he's been in the NBA finals twice, nobody outside of Steve Nash elevates the level of his teammates more than Kidd, he's a very good defender, and he's a triple-double threat every night. And he doesn't just barely eke out triple doubles - he had 19 rebounds from the point guard position the other night! So in the end, Kidd's experience and defense outweighs, at least in my opinion, the scoring ability and youth of Deron Williams and Chris Paul. I also love how Kidd is one of those rare ambidextrous players, especially since he's a point guard. Others include Steve Nash and Carlos Boozer.
Fatal Flaw(s) - Age, barking knee, inconsistent (and that's being friendly) shooter.
Notable Honorable Mention List
Gilbert Arenas - Great scorer, great clutch shooter, but a shoot-first point guard that doesn't defend.
Tracy McGrady - Immensely talented, but like Yao is missing an intangible. Yao makes the list over McGrady because he's the best at his position in the NBA. And because if they were both Top-10 players, they'd be legitimate title contenders. But more on T-Mac and the Rockets next entry.
Carlos Boozer - One of my favorite NBA players, I think he barely misses the list. He has around 70 more games to make his case.
Deron Williams/Chris Paul/Baron Davis/Tony Parker- Sooooooooo close, especially Williams and Paul.
Allen Iverson - Similar to the argument with McGrady and Yao, if he was really a top-10 player the Nuggets would be a finals favorite. Though, he's really tough to leave off the list.
Dwight Howard - Again, I'll be writing more about him next entry BUT despite his awesomeness and dominance, there's just too many nights where he gets under 10 shots in a game.
Deron Williams/Chris Paul/Baron Davis/Tony Parker- Sooooooooo close, especially Williams and Paul.
Allen Iverson - Similar to the argument with McGrady and Yao, if he was really a top-10 player the Nuggets would be a finals favorite. Though, he's really tough to leave off the list.
Dwight Howard - Again, I'll be writing more about him next entry BUT despite his awesomeness and dominance, there's just too many nights where he gets under 10 shots in a game.
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