The coronavirus has now shut the NBA, and the whole world, down for over 2 months. Conference Finals would’ve been going on now, debates would be heating up, fans would start getting hope or be in total desperation after yet another first round knockout. Sadly though, ‘The Last Dance’ is the only bit of NBA-entertainment we got to see. We’ll be looking at the 10 best NBA players (hopefully) going back into the season.
10 – Russell Westbrook (Houston Rockets, G)
Russell Westbrook is absolutely amongst the 10 best players in the league. The 2017 MVP averaged a triple double 3 consecutive times, and is this season averaging 28/8/7 on 47% shooting and with terrific defense. The Westbrook-Harden connection hasn’t as perfectly panned out as they had hoped, but they sit in the 6th seed, 4 games back of second.
The slow start can also be attributed to them still having to get used to playing with each other, they were after all the 2 players with the highest usage% over the past few years. And Clint Capela being traded, basically Mike D’Antoni saying “To hell with anything other than transition 3’s”, in the middle of the season was yet another weird situation that Westbrook needed to get used to.
But Westbrook is thriving, even though his shooting has somehow become even worse, and he stepped up when James Harden was going through an incredible slump, so definitely deserves a nod on this list.
9 – Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets, C)
After last year’s second-round exit in 7 games at the hands of a merciless C.J. McCollum, this Denver team was touted to blow up and become a really dangerous team to be reckoned with in the Western conference. But Denver had a rather slow start, where they combined impressive wins with strange losses.
Jokic also had a slow start, but picked up the pace along the way and is now averaging 20/10/7 on 53% shooting. The Nuggets sit in the third spot, but have once again flown under everybody’s radar. He runs the offense for the Nuggets, having the highest usage% on the team, ahead of point guard Jamal Murray. Jokic’ unique skillset and rather large physique make him tough to handle and guard for centers and forwards around the league.
8 – Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks, G/F)
Doncic came into the season as the Rookie of the Year, and apparently had his sights set on another piece of silverware to add to his cabinet. He was scorching hot in the first few months of the season, and even though he cooled off a bit, Doncic is averaging numbers no one else is. 29/9/9 on 46% shooting. Dallas sits in 7th (they have a really good team), and Doncic is averaging MVP numbers.
The only reason Doncic is not higher, is because he hasn’t brought his team to extreme heights and he hasn’t yet produced in the playoffs. And yes, this is because it is only Luka’s second season, but that’s the way the league works. Experience goes a long way.
7 – Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors, G)
Placing Steph Curry this low seems like a joke, we get it. But we can’t brush past the fact that Curry broke his hand a few games into the season and has only played a handful of games (no pun intended). The Warriors have been absolutely awful without Steph, but this means that if the NBA season resumes, his impact will be very limited. He almost didn’t make the list, like his ex-teammate Kevin Durant, who can’t be judged one year after an Achilles injury.
We also can’t judge him based on what he has done this season. Over 5 games his averages have been very poor, but that’s not fair towards him. Going into next season, Steph will have his place in the top 5 again, as he is an All-Time great.
6 – Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers, F/C)
Davis has been phenomenal this season on a team where he can finally win. AD is putting up amazing numbers (27/9/3/2/2) alongside LeBron James and is a problem on both ends of the floor, as the Lakers have snatched the #1 seed out West.
Don’t get it twisted however, as Davis is not the best player on the Lakers. LeBron is second in the MVP-race and is playing better overall basketball. Davis is still having trouble to create a shot for others or for himself to a lesser extent whenever James is not on the floor. If he can lead a team to championship remains questionable, as he still has only one playoff series win in his career.
5 – Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazerd, G)
Don’t let Portland’s lack of team success this season fool you. Dame has had to make do with 3 of his starters (Nurkic, Collins and Hood) out for almost the entirety of the season. Sprinkle in the fact that C.J. McCollum, Hassan Whiteside, Skal Labissière, Nassir Little, Anfernee Simons and even Dame himself have struggled with injuries, then you actually start getting impressed that they’re only 3.5 games back from a playoff spot.
But Dame has had a phenomenal season by himself. He’s averaging 29 points (5th in the league), 8 assists (6th in the league), 3.9 made triples (2nd in the league) in 37 minutes (1st in the league). He’s doing this while being deadly efficient. 46% field goal, 40% 3-point, 89% FT and only 2.7 turnovers per game. He had 2 60-point exploits this season, while there are only 5 other players in NBA history with multiple 60-point games (Wilt, Jordan, Baylor, Harden, Kobe).
His stretch from the 20th of January until the first of February was the hottest stretch by a player in NBA-history. Dame averaged 49 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, a steal and turned the ball over merely 3 times a game in 40 minutes. This was over a 6-game stretch. No one has ever accounted for as many points as Dame in a 6-games stretch. Nobody ever had 6 games of at least 6 3’s in a row. Not one player hit as many 3’s (49!) in a 6-game stretch. No one has averaged 45 and 10 over 6 games. No one has averaged 35/5/5 and 5 3’s over 6 games. Dame was simply incredible and if the NBA gives him the chance to compete in or get to the playoffs, we definitely will see some more firework.
4 – James Harden (Houston Rockets, G)
James Harden is, maybe alongside Durant and Curry, the best scorer of this generation. He has so many moves in his bag and can get to the foul line like no one else can. Harden, once again, leads the league in scoring and 3’s made. He’s averaging a cool 34/7/6 and is 6th in the league in steals. He does this while sharing the court with Westbrook, who at times has been the better player on the squad.
Harden went through a terrible slump, but has managed to score consistently. Like previously mentioned, he’s 1 of only 6 players to have multiple 60-point outings and is on his way to his 3rd scoring title in a row. Will he show up in the playoffs, that’s another question.
3 – LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers, F/G)
Yes, LeBron is the 3rd best player in the league. On the offensive end he has been able to create like no other year, and defensively he seemed more engaged than the past few years. The King has come back with a vengeance. He leads the league in assists, but has fallen out of the top 10 in scoring. He relies on his teammates more, mainly Davis.
But LeBron is still the leader and alpha on that team, and he is the one who decides where the ball goes at what time. He is the orchestrator for the best team in the Western conference, so credit where credit is due. He is already one of the greatest players of all-time, and a title or MVP this year will propel him to new heights.
2 – Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers, F)
I don’t want to hear the load management excuse. Kawhi only played 9 less games than LeBron this year, and 6 less than Giannis. Consider the fact that last year he missed way more games and that 2 seasons ago he missed 73 games, then you get why you want to be more cautious with your body. Kawhi won the championship last year and that’s what he wants to do this year as well. Missing a few games here and there doesn’t matter to him. In the playoffs, back-to-back is a term that doesn’t exist.
His Finals MVP should be enough to solidify his status as a top player in the league, but just in case it doesn’t suffice, here are some more stats. 27/7/5 with 2 steals, showing why there’s no one better as a two-way player.
1 – Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks, F)
Well, except maybe this guy. Giannis is an unstoppable force and he is well on his way to win his second MVP-award in a row. The Bucks have the best record again, He is averaging 30/14/6/1/1 on 55% shooting and 31% from deep. He still doesn’t have a lot of playoff success, but the was on the verge of going up 3-0, if it wasn’t for a questionable blocking-foul call in overtime of game 3 against the Raptors.
The Bucks are the clear favorites in the East and Giannis is the best player in the league, so don’t be surprised if the Bucks lift the Larry O’Brien trophy and Giannis becomes just the second player ever to lift the MVP, DPOY and Finals MVP awards all at once.
Courtside 