Welcome back! Today I will be listing my top 50 NBA players going into the 20/21 season.
This was an exhausting process as initially I listed about 70 players who I could make a case for to list in my top 50. I thought the best way to assemble this list was to group players into tiers and then rank them this way. I will be factoring in injuries so be aware of this before going crazy!
*Remember* This is a projection of how well these players will perform next season.
50. De'Aaron Fox
Still only 22, Fox can still get better & certainly move up this list. Sacramento is not the ideal team for any player so I may be slightly harsh using his teams record to judge him. He also needs to improve his 3pt shooting if he wants to ascend this list.
49. D'Angelo Russell
To be on his 4th team in 5 season is crazy for such a talented player but each trade made sense at the time. I expect him to stay with the TWolves for the foreseeable future and build with KAT. D'Lo is capable of scoring and playmaking at a very high level but defensively he lets himself down and being on the 3rd worst defensive team in the league means there is nowhere for him to hide.
48. Zach Lavine
Zach Lavine has a pretty negative reputation in my opinion, he's seen as a empty scorer on a bad team (while other players in the same position are praised). He's an underrated playmaker and defender and as seen in Minnesota he can be a valuable 3rd option.
47. Jaren Jackson Jr
Having suffered with a season-ending injury during the bubble, I was hesitant to put JJJ any higher. Talent-wise he is close to top 20 rather than 47th but the other players above him have either proved themselves for a longer period or are healthier.
46. Jusuf Nurkic
Having recovered from a broken leg, the Bosnian Beast helped his team into the playoffs last season with some great performances. He shot lower than 50% in 9/13 games last season and admittedly he was rusty, I found it hard to justify putting him above anyone else in this list.
45. Ja Morant
Ja did everything he could to will Memphis to the playoffs. He dropped 35-8 and was unlucky to lose to Portland which summed up his rookie season. A worthy ROTY winner, he will only get better and we will see a lot more great performances soon.
44. Marcus Smart
Marcus Smart's impact is something that can't be measured by box-scores. He's the heart and soul of this Celtics team and the perfect teammate alongside more capable offensive players.
43. Fred VanVleet
Fred's story is great; undrafted to championship winner and everything in between. As a backup PG or starting SG he has done a great job and now he's a FA, I expect him to join a lesser team and become the man.
42. Domantas Sabonis
Sabonis is quietly one of the best rebounders in the NBA, a great post scorer and good playmaker for his position he contributes heavily to winning basketball.
41. Victor Oladipo
Despite his injuries, I still am quite high on VO. His game doesn't have too many holes in and if he can't be quite as athletic I'm confident he can improve his long range shooting and playmaking.
40. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
SGA is looking like OKC's main man after a season of learning invaluable traits from CP3. I fully expect his scoring and assists to go up with the loss of CP3 & Schroeder and although OKC will miss the playoffs he will have an outside shot at an allstar spot.
39. Malcolm Brogdon
Brogdon is a very solid player and the Bucks really missed him last season. 1 season removed from the 50-40-90 club, if he can come close to this whatever team he is on will be solid.
38. Nikola Vucevic
Vucevic is stuck in Orlando with not much hope. I think he's a solid player who can impact on winning, he dropped 35-14 on the Bucks in game 1 of the playoffs. Even though they lost the next four after that, I doubt they'd even make the playoffs without Vuc!
37. Rudy Gobert
As good as he is on defence, I think his lack of mobility lets him down. His offensive game is quite basic & teams who have a big man who can space the floor can cause the Jazz problems.
36. Zion Williamson
Zion's production was pretty good this season & if he played all season he would have probably won ROTY. He did mesh quite well considering he debuted late and was the 3rd option behind Ingram & Holiday. With Holiday now moved on and Zion looking healthy I wont be surprised if he becomes the 1st option and averages close to 25ppg.
35. Jrue Holiday
Jrue is a solid PG and his move to the Bucks will help them. I still see him as a 3rd star as opposed to a 2nd, hence him not breaking into the top 30.
34. Kemba Walker
Kemba was quietly the Celtics 2nd leading scorer in the regular season. A solid shooter and passer he is still very important to the Celtics success.
33. Khris Middleton
Khris was only 3 shots away from joining the elusive 50/40/90 club and as a 2nd option on a good team scoring over 20ppg it shows how skilled he is. I still think he can be the 2nd guy on a championship team due to his shot creation and playmaking.
32. Jaylen Brown
Brown is now a 20 point scorer despite being the 3rd option is Boston and I don't think his true potential will be realised until he becomes a clear 2nd option. His all around play is crucial to the Celtics success and he provides enough potential to use in a trade for a star player.
31. Trae Young
Trae essentially averaged 30-10 as a 2nd year player last season and he will only get better. His 3pt% has room for improvement as well as his suspect defence, but as he grows alongside Collins & co expect them all to improve.
30. CJ McCollum
CJ is coming off his 5th successive season scoring over 20ppg, but I feel like he's peaked. He's a great shot creator and shooter but I feel like there's something missing in his game that's stopping him being an all star.
29. Kyle Lowry
A criminally underrated player who can do it all. He's been a scoring PG when he shared the backcourt with DeRozan, he took on a bigger playmaking role when Kawhi was in town and he will always take charges! You can always count on Lowry to do what he needs to, to win.
28. Pascal Siakam
Maybe recency bias is sneaking in here, Siakam is fresh off a terrible series against the Celtics and yet they only lost in 7. Siakam is still a solid player and I expect him to bounce back next season and lead the Raptors to home court advantage.
27. Brandon Ingram
Last seasons MIP stepped up a lot last season, upping his scoring by almost 6ppg. He shot the ball well last season and his rebounding/playmaking are good for a wing player. I think he should remain the #1 option over Zion for next season.
26. Kristaps Porzingis
Although he will miss the start of the season, I'm still confident KP can build on his success with Luka. He only played 94 minutes in the series v the Clippers due to injury and a questionable ejection, I was convinced if he was healthy, Dallas would win that series.
25. Karl Anthony Towns
KAT might be the best shooting big man ever when its all said and done. His talent level is elite but something is holding him back, he has a perceived softness about him which is becoming hard to shake. He also need to improve his defence and he can become like AD.
24. Devin Booker
Last season was Bookers first season winning over 25 games. The Suns 8-0 bubble record helped elevate him into the top 25 as he proved he can perform when it matters. With solid averages of 26-6, I expect him to be in the running for top scorer in the league this coming season.
23. Klay Thompson
Klay is coming off of an injury, a serious one at that. Maybe his reputation is why I've put him quite high but I still trust him to knock down shot and play solid defence. With KD no longer there his scoring should increase and the Warriors should be back in the hunt for a ring.
22. Bam Adebayo
Bam proved his importance last season by playing solid defence against Giannis in the playoffs. He's one of the only players who can guard 1-5 due do his size and speed. He's still only 22 and can still get better. Expect him to be in the running for DPOY for the foreseeable future.
21. Ben Simmons
Ben Simmons is such an elite talent but his lack of shooting frustrates me. During the playoffs he becomes so easy to plan for. He at least needs to start taking 3's to help with spacing. Despite this he is a great passer and defender and his height, at the PG position makes him a match-up nightmare.
20. Jamal Murray
Jamal Murray proved how elite he is in the playoff last season. He dropped 40 in a game 7 against the Clippers after being 3-1 down and the round before he dropped 2 50 point games and 1 40 point game in elimination games v the Jazz. Not many players could do that! He always seems to hit clutch shots and he should become one of the best point guards in the NBA in the near future.
19. Donovan Mitchell
Donovan Mitchell had an elite series against Denver, although the Jazz blew a 3-1 lead. His 36ppg is something that will be hard to replicate. Most of Mitchell's points are unassisted meaning he has to create a lot of his own shots, something that makes him stand out to me.
18. Chris Paul
Chris Paul was apparently washed & overpaid when joining OKC. Leaving OKC he was heralded as the player who could take various teams over the hump. He's successfully restored his reputation through his clutch performances last season.
17. Bradley Beal
Averaging 30ppg is not an easy thing to do in the NBA so credit to Beal. Despite Washington being bad while Wall has been out injured, Beal has been doing his best, including averaging a career high in assists. When Wall is back I expect the Wizards to make the playoff with Beal keeping up his high scoring form.
16. Jayson Tatum
Tatum was incredible this season, averaging 25-10-5 in the playoffs. Hard to believe he's still only 21! He will be in the MVP conversation this upcoming season. He's clearly the Celtics best player and they have a bright future with him leading them.
15. Russell Westbrook
I'm not sure where Russ will be playing next season so its hard to tell if he will be judged on stats or wins. Russ remains an enigma, how can a player be so good but yet so disrespected? To be honest he is tough to fit into any team. He's still going to put up good numbers and be an all star so I think ranking him here is fair.
14. Paul George
Paul George did not end last season as he hoped it would. He had a number of bad playoff performances and earned various nicknames (WayOff P & Pandemic P being my favourites). He's still a great player on both sides of the ball and I expect him to bounce back.
13. Joel Embiid
Joel Embiid is a top 2 player at his position, he's fresh off averaging 30-12 despite being swept. Once the Sixers fix up and sort out this roster, they will go a lot further with Embiid being the main man.
12. Kyrie Irving
Kyrie is one of the most disrespected players currently in the NBA. Despite only playing 20 games he averaged 27ppg for the Nets and with KD coming back this season they will have championship aspirations.
11. Jimmy Butler
Jimmy Buckets was sensational last season. He went head to head with Lebron and AD in the finals and pushed them to 6 games. He's the heart and soul of every team he's been on and on the fringe of being a top 10 player.
10. Nikola Jokic
The Joker had yet another great season. He's the best passing big man we've seen and that makes Denver a tough matchup. He's a solid 20-10 guy and with 5 30pt games this post season he can up his scoring when necessary.
9. Damian Lillard
Dame had a pretty good season despite the team success not being there. Averaging 30-8, dropping 40 points 4 times in the bubble, he dragged his team to the playoffs. He's proven that he's an elite PG, can put a team on his back and win. I expect nothing less next season.
8. Luka Doncic
Luka looks like he's on a GOAT level trajectory. 2 seasons into his career and he's already been an All Star, All NBA, nearly averaged a 30 point triple double, came 4th in MVP voting and hit a game winner in the playoffs....and he will only get better. Going into next season I expect Dallas to improve on their 7th seed finish.
7. Kevin Durant
The main reason KD is so low is because I'm not sure if he will ever be 100% back to normal...but a 90% healthy KD is still a top 7 player. He's also with a new team so he may take time to settle in. Tbh I wouldn't be surprised if KD won MVP this season and was back in the conversation for the best player in the world, however I'm being cautious and maybe taking the easy way out with this pick.
6. Steph Curry
Again, I may be taking the easy way out by having a previously injured player at the lower end of the elite tier. Curry only played in 5 games last season and with Klay coming back from injury as well the Warriors may not be as sharp as they once were. I could be wrong but I don't see Curry in the MVP conversation this season unlike the 5 players above him.
5. James Harden
James Harden is the best scorer in the NBA and he is pretty much guaranteed to drag any roster to 50 wins due to his scoring and playmaking. His playoff performances can sometimes be a cause for concern but tbh, the 19/20 playoffs he had 1 bad game in 12. He shot over 50% in half of the Rockets postseason games and hopefully he can lose his 'choker' reputation.
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo
The back to back MVP being ranked 4th? How so? Well, so far Giannis has been found out in the playoffs. He is unstoppable in the regular season but the thing that separates the top from him is their post season success.
3. Anthony Davis
The Brow forms one half of the best duo in the NBA. AD had a great season and was close to be finals MVP while finishing 6th in the regular season MVP voting. His numbers are always going to jump out and not many players can stuff the stat sheet like he does. Next season I expect him to pick up where he left off.
2. Kawhi Leonard
The Klaw finished last season taking alot of stick for a bad game 7 performance in which his Clippers blew a 3-1 lead to the Nuggets. Kawhi is still elite on both ends of the floor and next season I expect the Clippers to be back and make a deep playoff run, led by Kawhi.
1.LeBron James
The easiest pick of this whole list. LeBron is still on top of the world. Coming off an MVP calibre season, a ring and finals MVP he proved even during year 17 he can still be the best. I honestly can't see him slowing down and won't be surprised if he picks up a 5th MVP, 5th ring and 5th Finals MVP next season.