Top 20 NBA Players of the Last 20 Years

Since the GOAT retired in 1998…

These rankings were weighed by the following seven factors:

1. Was he the best basketball player alive at any point in his career? If so, for how long? If not, was he in the conversation?
2. Could you win a championship with him as your best player? If not, could you win with him as your second-banana?
3. How well did he play on the game’s biggest stage? Did he shrink from the moment, or rise to the occasion?
4. At his absolute apex, how high was his ceiling? How long did his peak last? Also, how long did his prime last?
5. Individual accolades (in order of most to least important): Finals MVP, NBA MVP, NBA scoring champion, All-NBA selections, All-Star selections, NBA Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defense selections, etc.
6. Statistics — Postseason>Regular season
7. Team postseason success

Before we get to the top-20, let’s discuss a few things.

• To be considered, a player must be in Year 10 (at least). As a result, disqualified were guys that, while on pace to one day crack the top-20, haven’t played ten years in the league. The notables: Anthony Davis (Year 7), Kawhi Leonard (Year 8), Kyrie Irving (Year 9), and…