Top 25 NBA Player Rankings

It’s Saturday, December 10th as I write this and I’m here to give you my rankings of NBA players right now to this point in this season. You may be surprised at who’s on or off of this list and the placement of some on this list (I will be explaining myself for some). It’s about the best basketball players, not the the best shooters, scorers, dunkers, or most popular player. So, without further ado….

• Honorable mention or players who barely missed the cut : Dwyane Wade, Andre Drummond, Hassan Whiteside, DeAndre Jordan, Paul George, Joel Embiid, Kristaps Porzingis, Carmelo Anthony and George Hill.

Now wait, I know some are looking at the screen crazy but Melo isn’t exactly having an awesome season and neither is Paul George. Melo is averaging only 22 on 43% shooting and 34% from 3. The argument can be made that Porzingis is the better player right now and more touches should go to him down the line. As for Paul George, other than Minnesota and Dallas sucking, he’s been the biggest disappointment so far. This was supposed to be his MVP/Superstar season. Larry Bird, the President and Director of Basketball Operations for the Pacers, has given him the pieces for them to contend but their star hasn’t shown up. He’s only averaging 20 points per game and his team currently sits at 11–12 which is good for 10th in the East and outside the playoffs.

25. Gordon Hayward (Utah Jazz)

23.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 44% overall and 34% from 3.

24. Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers )

21.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.5 blocks, 45% from the field, and 41% from 3.

23. Marc Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies)

20 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1 steal, 1.6 blocks, 45% from the field, 44% from 3.

22. Blake Griffin (Los Angels Clippers)

20.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.6 blocks, 46% from the field.

21. Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors)

10.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 7.3, assists, 2.3 steals, 1.4 blocks, 43% percent from the field, and 32% from 3.

Anybody upset at Draymond over Blake? If so, let me plead my case. Draymond is the catalyst for the best team in basketball. He’s a top 3 defender in the league, he’s the Dubs leader in rebounds and assists, and dominated Blake in their lone head to head match up this season. Blake couldn’t do anything he wanted against Draymond. It’s upsetting to see that after 6 years in the NBA Blake hasn’t developed a reliable post game and still has atrocious footwork. He’s good no doubt but he hasn’t been number 1 overall pick good, since you know, he was the number 1 pick in his draft.

20. Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors)

21.3 points, 5 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.6 steals, 45% from the field, and 43% from 3.

19. Isaiah Thomas (Boston Celtics)

26 points, 2.6 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 0.9 steals, 42%from the field, and 33% from 3.

18. Kemba Walker (Charlotte Hornets)

23.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.6 steals, 46% from the field, 41% from 3.

17. Damian Lillard (Portland Trailblazers)

27.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.0 steals, 45% from the field, 36% from 3.

“Dame Dolla” would be a lot higher because this dude can ball but his performance hasn’t translated into wins. Also to be completely honest, he’s terrible defensively. People give Harden a lot of shit for not playing D but if you watch a Portland game, it’s evident with Dame.

16. Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors)

22 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.7 steals, 47% from the field, 38% from 3.

I shouldn’t have to justify Klay being this high but people hate the Warriors. So, here you have one of the best shooters ever (Top 5 if you ask me) and a good on ball defender which means a lot. He also had freaking 60 in 29 minutes!!!!

15. Karl-Anthony (Minnesota Timberwolves)

21.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.4 blocks, 47% from the field, 36% from 3.

14. Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers)

24.5 points, 3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 0.6 steals, 48% from the field, 42% from 3.

Kyrie has so much damn talent. He’s good enough to be top 5 but he’s got to improve defensively and more of a willing passer as a point guard.

13. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)

21.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 2.0 steals, 2.0 blocks, 51% from the field, 24% from 3.

The Greek freak is leading his team in every major statistical category. What’s keeping him out of my top 10 is his bad shooting.

12. John Wall (Washington Wizards)

23.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 9.5 assists, 2.2 steals, 45% from the field, 37% percent from 3.

The Wizards suck but John Wall doesn’t. He’s doing all he can to make sure his team is competitive. It seems kind of contradictory placing him above Lillard and Irving with his team at 8–13 but as an overall basketball player, give me Wall. He’s the better passer, defender, and he gets knocked for his shooting BUT he’s money from mid range and is an improving 3 point shooter. 37% is not bad at all. As a matter of fact, it’s better than Lillard’s.

11. Demar DeRozen (Toronto Raptors)

27.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.3 steals, 47% from the field, and 27% from 3.

Imagine how lethal he’ll be with the 3 ball in his arsenal? He’ll be Kobe basically! An athletic 2 that’s deadly from mid range and can shoot the 3. Sadly, DDR isn’t a good 3 point shooter and has only made 11 all year so far. Think about how good of a scorer you have to be to average damn near 28 and not make 3s most of the time… That’s DDR for you.

10. Jimmy Butler (Chicago Bulls)

25.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.6 steals, 46% from the field, 35% from 3.

9. Demarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings)

28.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.4 blocks, 45% from the field, 37% from 3.

Boogie Cousins is putting up MVP numbers on a bad team, Poor Boogie.

8. Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers)

17.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 2.5 steals, 45% from the field, and 39% from 3.

7. Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs)

24.4 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.5 blocks, 46% from the field, 38% from 3.

The only man in NBA history with more steals than fouls. The best defender in the league has an improved offensive game. What we will take him into that top 3 is creating for himself more. If he can improve his handle and be more reliable to takeover games in the final two minutes then he can be in the top 3.

6. James Harden (Houston Rockets)

28.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 11.4 assists, 1.5 steals, 44% from the field, 35% from 3.

Harden broke an NBA record for most turnovers in a season and is currently on pace to shatter that at 5.7 per game. That’s what is keeping the beard out of my top 5.

5. Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans)

31.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.7 steals, 2.8 blocks, 49% percent from the field.

Leading the league in points and blocks at 23 years of age and it’s being wasted on a team that’s 7–16 at the moment. Let’s sign a petition to get AD and Boogie Cousins to different teams!

4. Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder)

30.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, 11.3 assists, 1.4 steals, 42% from the field, and 31% from 3.

Russell is having a historic season but he should really stop taking 3s. He’s taking almost six 3s per game and making on average 1.8. He’s also tied for the leader in turnovers at 5.7 per game. It seems like I’m nitpicking but those things decide games.

3. Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)

25.9 points, 4 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.8 steals, 48% from the field, 40% from 3.

The best point guard in the league and reigning two time MVP is having another great season playing only 33 minutes a game. So on average he’s playing only 3 quarters a game. Pretty impressive stuff from a guy that’s “just a shooter”.

2. Kevin Durant (Golden State Warriors)

26.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.7 blocks, 54% from the field, and 40% from 3.

KD is averaging a career high in FG%, rebounds, steals, blocks, and is flirting with another 40/50/90 season. That’s not bad for a guy with four scoring titles and an MVP. Call me crazy, but the gap between the him and the number one player isn’t as far as people make it out to be.

1. LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)

24.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 9.1 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.5 blocks, 50% from the field, and 34% from 3.

The best player on the planet is having another great season averaging a career high in assists. While you can see the decline is coming, he’s still the best. That shows how good he is. Can anybody dethrone The King?