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Let’s put it all to rest now. After a full season of basketball, in which the NBA probably saw more turnover in its star players than in its average season, we are now fully equipped to assess just who is the best player in the NBA.
When it comes to the game of basketball, thankfully, we don’t have to get too technical in determining who the best players are. For example, Michael Jordan is considered the best ever. He didn’t score the most points, grab the most rebounds or dish out the most assists, but we saw his impact on games he played in, and collectively, he was the best.
The same criteria can be used to determine who the best players in today’s NBA are. Will I throw some stats at you? Of course. But by in large, it all comes down to who makes their team reach its max potential…and then some. And that’s what I’m here to answer today.
Honorable Mentions:
Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat – Dwyane Wade makes this list purely because of the heights of excellence he displayed in the NBA Finals 2 years ago. He even managed to show flashes of greatness throughout this past season. But injuries have derailed him considerably since he led Miami to that unbelievable come-from-behind win in the 2006 NBA Finals. If he can ever get back to full strength, Wade will be back in the Top 5.
Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics – Recently, Paul Pierce told reporters in Madrid that he thought he was the best basketball player in the world. Hard to disagree with him after he won the NBA Finals MVP…or at least you can’t use the tape of the NBA Finals to prove him wrong. However, he is still just Paul Pierce. A much improved Paul Pierce that would have never even made the honorable mention list without having the type of season he just had, but he is still Paul Pierce nonetheless. He is a great scorer, one that can score on the likes of Kobe and LeBron James alike. And his defense is vastly improved, as he did things to Kobe in the finals that we never thought he could do. So I’ll give him his due and reward him with this honorable mention, but best player in the world? I think not. [And apparently, neither does Laker Nation.]
Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns – Steve Nash is a 2-time MVP, and that cannot go ignored. He is one of, if not the, best passers in the NBA and he continues to be a difference maker for the Phoenix Suns. So why is he not in the top 5? Well, his lack of defense certainly hurts him, as the people in the top 5 are all NBA-all defensive players (except for Chris Paul who will be someday). And also, you can tell he is slowing down. He can’t quite play the same number of minutes and even his numbers suggests that he wasn’t quite the point guard that Paul was.
5. Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics – KG comes in at number 5, and if I had written this list last season, his ranking would certainly be an improvement upon where he would have stood just a year ago. KG reasserted the fact that he can be the cornerstone of an NBA franchise. After having two-non playoff seasons in Minnesota, I was very disappointed in KG’s level of play, because even if you are on the worst team in the NBA, a true Hall of Famer is supposed to carry his team to a playoff berth. That said, KG came back with a vengeance this year, and a little help on the side. His commitment to defense won him the NBA’s defensive MVP award, and his efficiency on the offensive end warranted his consideration for the overall MVP. He deserved it, and hopefully, he can give us a repeat performance this year.
4. Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs – Going into last season, Tim Duncan would have been number one on this list. He does nothing but win championships, was the most effective player on the block, he was a 1st Team all NBA-player 8 out of 10 seasons going into last year (the other two he was 2nd team all NBA), and he was a 1st team all NBA-defender all but 3 times-- and one of those non 1st team seasons was derailed by injury. So clearly, he was the best player entering the 2007-08 NBA season. However, injuries and age have now slowed him down. While he is still the centerpiece of the Spurs franchise, he now requires that the other players around him step up in order for the team to win. But even in his downhill years, there is still no other big-man that I would rather have. He still made 1st team all NBA defense last season, and he was a 2nd team All-NBA player overall, and that was probably due to a stint on the injury list.
3. Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets – What can I say? This guy was amazing in his first full season as an NBA threat on a contending squad. Paul dominated just about every point guard he faced. He was too quick for Jason Kidd, too big for Steve Nash, and too energetic for the likes of Derek Fisher. Now, he had his troubles with Derron Williams and Tony Parker, but he dominated the rest of competition at levels those two point-guards could never reach. The only real test left out there for Chris Paul is Baron Davis, and maybe with Davis playing for the Clip-show now, that could be a potential playoff match-up. Nevertheless, Paul is an NBA phenom and is well on his way to becoming one of the best point guards to ever play the game.
2. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers – Paul Pierce may think he is better than Kobe Bryant, but true basketball purists know better than that. Now, did Pierce outplay Kobe in the finals? Of course, he did. Was it a result of a collective defensive strategy against Kobe, as well as the Celtics having the better team? Yeah, that had something to do with it. But Pierce still did a great job of guarding Kobe at times, and he also scored at will on Kobe on the offensive end— seemingly will sometimes. But at the end of the day, Kobe just had a bad series, and while it’s tough to negate playing badly on the sport’s biggest stage, I’ll let it slide for now, and give Kobe his due. Afterall, he is the reigning NBA MVP, and he is the one who probably officially knocked Tim Duncan off, as the best player in the NBA, by scoring at will on the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. But you will witness Kobe’s true greatness during the Olympics, when he is used as a perimeter-defensive stopper, something that is very rare for a shooting guard who scores as much as he does.
1. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers – Welcome to the top of the mountain, LeBron! All season long, I said that Kobe Bryant was better than you were, but the NBA Finals shifted the ball back in your court.
I was right during the regular season, but LeBron’s performance against the Celtics was the best competition the Celtics saw throughout the playoffs. LeBron nearly pioneered a Game 7 defeat of the Celtics in Boston, but came up just short despite putting up 40+ on the Celtics vaunted defense. But that’s nothing new for the King. The man is a beast, and he scored on players at will all season. Yet it’s not just his accumulation of points, because this man fills the stat sheet up! In addition to his 30.0 ppg, LeBron averaged 7.9 rebounds and 7.2 assists, with only 3.4 turnovers. He also overcame that label of not being clutch, by outperforming Kobe Bryant in virtually every meaningful statistic that you can contrive in situations where his team was up/down 5 points with less than 5 minutes to play in the game. No longer shall LeBron be called a poor clutch performer. So King him already!
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