<font size="4"><u>Top 50 NBA Players </u></font> <u>The Cream of the Crop</u> 1) Kevin Garnett 1) Tim Duncan 3) Shaquille O'neal 4) Kobe Bryant 5) Tracy McGrady Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan share the number one spot, as they the best players in the league. Shaq the most dominant comes in at 3rd, and the 2 best SG's in the league are 4th and 5th. <u>Franchise Players</u> 6) Jermaine O'neal 6) Elton Brand 6) Dirk Nowitzki 9) Yao Ming 10) Jason Kidd [when healthy] 11) Baron Davis 12) Andrei Kirilenko 13) Paul Pierce 14) Vince Carter 15) Ray Allen 16) Lebron James 17) Allen Iverson 18) Michael Redd 19) Steve Francis The big tie at the top includes Jermaine O'neal, Elton Brand, and Dirk Nowitzki. Jermaine is the PF that can't shoot over 43%, and has questionable passing skills, but is a very good defender, rebounder, and all-round player. Elton Brand is the do it all PF who just hasn't had good luck in terms of his team, team injuries, and personal injuries. Very good defender, good passer, can block shots well even at his height, and is an extremely efficient scorer. Dirk Nowitzki is the unstopabble offensive player than also makes his man look unstopabble with his weak defense. Not the greatest rebounder, but good nonetheless. Yao Ming comes in after these guys because he hasn't shown the agressiveness offensively, and the agressiveness on the boards yet. Baron Davis and Jason Kidd are the league's top PG's, and though their flaws can be pointed out, they're still able to lead their teams on both ends of the floor when they are playing. Kirilenko is the big boy that does it all, if he can get a reliable go to offensive game, he can be a top player in the league, if not, he'll still be up there with his all-round abilities The league's second unit of SG's lineup between 13 and 18, with Iverson who is now a PG in the middle of the list, not sure about AI as a PG again though. Franchise is back people, he was on vacation, but Steve Francis is back and doing the dirty business, alone he's a 20-6-6 player, and he's capable of doing good things for his team. <u>Borderline Franchise Players</u> 20) Ben Wallace 21) Stephon Marbury 22) Shawn Marion 23) Peja Stojakovic 24) Ron Artest 25) Gilbert Arenas 26) Lamar Odom 27) Chris Webber [Healthy] 28) Amare Stoudemire 29) Kenyon Martin 30) Pau Gasol 31) Zach Randolph 32) Corey Maggette 33) Richard Jefferson 34) Dwyane Wade 35) Carmelo Anthony Ben Wallace leads the list of borderline franchise players, as he's not a guy that can carry a team, but add some scores and put Ben Wallace in the mix, and that is one dangerous team. Shawn Marion the second do it all SF is second on the list, he's a great second guy, and a guy that can't carry a team offensively, put can do just about everything for a team. Peja Stojakovic just needs to learn to create some offense and he could be a top tier player. He also needs to realize that playoff time is not when you should start to suck, if Peja faces a high intensity defense, he'll have troubles being the same player he is on a nightly basis. He cannot carry a team. Peja is offense, Artest is defense, though Artest does have offense, the efficiency of his offense is repulsive, they're about the same. Arenas can bounce back with an impressive year for the Wizards and name himself a top PG, Lamar Odom is now in Laker land, but still expect im to do big things, a healthy Webber is a very good all-round player, not if he would go in the post and also play better defense. Amare is becoming a force in the post, his post up game isn't the best, and for those who think he has no jumper, he shot 35.6% on jump shots(53% of total shots attempted), and let's visit some play by play's from last season <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"><font size="1">http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/gamelog?gameId=240414026 11:11 Amare Stoudemire made 24 ft Three Point Jumper. Assisted by Antonio McDyess. 8:17 Amare Stoudemire made 12 ft Two Point Shot. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/gamelog?gameId=240402029 11:03 Amare Stoudemire made 18 ft Jumper. Assisted by Joe Johnson. 8:49 Amare Stoudemire made 14 ft Two Point Shot. Assisted by Leandro Barbosa. 1:42 Amare Stoudemire made 8 ft Two Point Shot. Assisted by Maciej Lampe. 2:00 Amare Stoudemire made 18 ft Jumper. 8:03 Amare Stoudemire made 7 ft Jumper. Assisted by Shawn Marion. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/gamelog?gameId=240320021 Amare Stoudemire made 12 ft Two Point Shot. Amare Stoudemire made 7 ft Two Point Shot. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/gamelog?gameId=240303021 Amare Stoudemire made 11 ft Jumper. Amare Stoudemire made 9 ft Two Point Shot. Amare Stoudemire made 17 ft Jumper. Amare Stoudemire made 11 ft Jumper. Amare Stoudemire made 7 ft Jumper. Amare Stoudemire made 17 ft Jumper. </font></div> Kenyon is a great defender, and still needs offensive improvmeent, but will do big things in Denver, Gasol needs defense, Randolph needs to learn to pass and play defense. Maggette is a very effiient scorer, good rebounder, and has improved in every aspect of his game, but still needs to improve his ability to create for teammates. Jefferson will be the man on his team and 20-6-4 is not out of the question. Wade will flourish with Papa Shaq, and should have a nice season 18-5-5. Carmelo is a rising star, and with defensive improvment, and being less selfish he'll do very well. <u>The 2nd Best</u> 36) Antawn Jamison 37) Carlos Boozer 38) Sam Cassell 39) Michael Finley 40) Steve Nash 41) Rasheed Wallace 42) Antoine Walker 43) Mike Bibby 44) Andre Miller 45) Rip Hamilton 46) Chauncey Billups 47) Brad Miller 48) Rashard Lewis 49) Manu Ginobili 50) Zydrunas Ilguaskas Jamison leads the list of the complimentary/secondary stars. He was the man in Golden State, but now is one of the men in Washington, very effiecient scorer, weak on the defensive end, and a good rebounder at the SF spot. Carlos Boozer should see big things on the Jazz with Kirilenko and co. beast on the boards. Cassell is a great and efficient PG, but age is catching up to him. Michael Finley can still ball, and should not be overlooked, good shooter, tough defender, and he can score. Steve Nash is a great PG, can shoot the lights out, and is a great passer, put Nash with big name, and expect big things. Rasheed Wallace is still taming himself, and he'll still be getting in refs faces, but he's capable of playing very good defense, is a weak rebounder, but can shoot. Antione Walker might recieve a lot of hate, but he's still a great all-round player, has many faults, shots selection, defense, turnovers, but he can help a team in multiple ways. Bibby's numbers don't reflect how good he is due to the Kings offense, but he's a good PG. Andre Miller is still Dre', and still a good PG, very good defender, good passer, great in the post and when he get's in the lane, but can't shoot. Both are good to have as the guy getting the go to guy the ball. Mid-range shots are killer, word is that he came to camp with a three point shot, and Larry was displeased and told him many guys in the league envy your mid-range game, and you go an do this? Medoicre defender, good shooter, improved passing, and will open the floor for other players and is thriving in the Pistons system. Billups is clutch, a good defender, can score, and is a decent passer, good player to have, and thrives in the Pistons sytem. Brad Miller is a top 5 center, surprised all with his passing, and is overall a good player. Rashard Lewis seemed to have stunted in his development, needs more agressiveness, and more defensive intensity, good shooter and rebounder. The Spurs could have been the only top team with one top 50 player, but Ginobili is one the rise and is a do it all SG on both ends. Ilguaskas is still a top center. Detroit comes out with 4 Top 5 players, and one in the top 20, the talent on the team might not stick out, but it's spread out very very nicely.
04-05 1. Garnett 2. Shaq 3. Duncan 4. Kobe 5. Jermaine 6. Tracy 7. Lebron 8. Yao 9. Nowitzki 10. Wade
Don't you think that Steve Nash is a little low? Many people could make a case for him being the second best point guard in the league. He averages 8.8 assists per game (2nd in the league), 14.5 points per game (shooting 47%), while grabbing 3 rebounds per game. Compare those stats to his teammate Michael Finley's stats (who you had ahead of him). Finley averages 18.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, and 2.9 apg shooting 44%. Maybe assists are just a very underrated category, because I can assure you that if Nash was #2 in scoring you'd have him a lot higher than #40. When I look at their stats, I don't think it's very hard to pick the better player. Also, Richard Jefferson and Dwyane Wade seem pretty high for my liking as well. Anyway, I'm not in a position to criticize; nice job on the top 50.
MR_SAC's Top TEN! 1.Kobe 2.T-Mac 3.Shaq 4.Lebron 5.Carmelo 6.Yao 7.Bibby 8.Duncan 9.Iverson 10.Norwitzki
Nice rankings og, but obviously I disagree with a few of ur choices, but still a very good list overall. I think you should have Carter and Pierce tied for 13. I also think Francis should be higher than Redd, because without Van Gundys system, and now in the East, it looks like he'll be the old francis, not that the old one was perfect, but he's maturing, and now with more options than ever (Mobley, Hill, Howard), you can bank on him getting his teammates involved more, he knows the team isn't all him. I also think Yao should be ranked lower. He's been turnover prone this whole pre season, and even with Shaq gone, I think it'll be atleast a year before he cracks in as a top 10 player, it'll take a while for him to get use to playing with T-Mac, though thats not a big concern. Peja IMO is ranked too high. I don't see him repeating what he did last year, since C-Webb is back, though its not a given that he'll be healthy for the whole season. I think he'll shoot even more to showcase himself to other teams even though the Kings aren't trading him. I have a few more issues with your list, but they're minor, very good overall. <u>Banks top 11:</u> 1. Kevin Garnett 1. Tim Duncan 3. Shaquille O'Neal 4. Kobe Bryant 5. Tracy McGrady 6. Jermaine O'neal* 7. Dirk Nowitzki* 8. Elton Brand* 9. Paul Pierce 9. Vince Carter 11. LeBron James * I had these PF's ranked in this order, because it was very hard to determine the ranking based on projected individual performances. As a result, I took into account their Team project overall record, and how well they'll play. Very close still.
Actually, this is one of the most reasonable top 50's list I've seen around, but I have some players that I would have to disagree with you about. First off, Yao Ming at 9? I know he is already a very good player and has the potential to be one of the best down the road, but the 9th spot for a 17/9 guy? Although I understand that this is mostly because of the lack of quality big men in the league, I'd place Yao behind Baron Davis, Andrei Kirilenko and Paul Pierce. All these guys had better stats than Yao, but their main undoing is their teams' lack of success. Skill-wise, I'd argue that these guys are just as good, if not better than Yao is. Another ranking I don't agree with is Stephon Marbury at 22. I don't know if your basing this on stats or skill rating, but for either, I'd have him ahead of the likes of Vince Carter, Michael Redd and Steve Francis. Stat-wise, Marbury resides in the top 10 in scoring and top 3 in assists almost every season. Whatever you need him to do, Marbury can and will do. He has a great all-around game, and although his teams never had much success, Marbury is an undeniable talent. For Voodoo Child's reasons stated above, Steve Nash does seem a bit out of place, even under guys like Richard Jefferson and Gilbert Arenas. Although these guys have better stats than Nash, Nash's leadership skills and proficiency is undeniably better than the aforementioned two's. Also, everyone is aware that had Nash been asked to score more and pass less, there is no doubt that he would be a lot more respected than he really is.
Andrei Kirilenko is too high. He's the most underrated player but he's only a top 25 player. Jefferson is too low as I think he will be a top 20 player next season. Since Martin and Kittles are gone, he's going to flourish especially with the perfect compliment that any player can get which is Kidd.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Voodoo Child:</div><div class="quote_post">Don't you think that Steve Nash is a little low? Many people could make a case for him being the second best point guard in the league. He averages 8.8 assists per game (2nd in the league), 14.5 points per game (shooting 47%), while grabbing 3 rebounds per game. Compare those stats to his teammate Michael Finley's stats (who you had ahead of him). Finley averages 18.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, and 2.9 apg shooting 44%. Maybe assists are just a very underrated category, because I can assure you that if Nash was #2 in scoring you'd have him a lot higher than #40. When I look at their stats, I don't think it's very hard to pick the better player. Also, Richard Jefferson and Dwyane Wade seem pretty high for my liking as well. Anyway, I'm not in a position to criticize; nice job on the top 50.</div> I think Richard Jefferson could explode into the scene this year, maybe I'm giving him too much hope, but I think he can become one of those 20-5-5 guys, but more rebounds and less assists. We'll see. He is a top PG 5, but some things though, as a PG I'd take Nash over Francis, to start a team I'd take Francis over Nash, if I did positional rankings, they wouldn't match this, mainly at the PG position because I'd also take him over Arenas. I thought I had Wade too low, so if you think he's high, then he must be just right <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trip:</div><div class="quote_post">First off, Yao Ming at 9? I know he is already a very good player and has the potential to be one of the best down the road, but the 9th spot for a 17/9 guy? Although I understand that this is mostly because of the lack of quality big men in the league, I'd place Yao behind Baron Davis, Andrei Kirilenko and Paul Pierce. All these guys had better stats than Yao, but their main undoing is their teams' lack of success. Skill-wise, I'd argue that these guys are just as good, if not better than Yao is.</div> So would I, he got the ranking just because he's a center, and I like to be nice and hope he will improve a lot, if he doesn't at the end of the season, then he definately wouldn't be 9th again if I did another. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trip:</div><div class="quote_post">Another ranking I don't agree with is Stephon Marbury at 22. I don't know if your basing this on stats or skill rating, but for either, I'd have him ahead of the likes of Vince Carter, Michael Redd and Steve Francis. Stat-wise, Marbury resides in the top 10 in scoring and top 3 in assists almost every season. Whatever you need him to do, Marbury can and will do. He has a great all-around game, and although his teams never had much success, Marbury is an undeniable talent.</div> I was doing the list, and when I was done I realized I hadn't included Marbury anywhere, I had him in the teens, but was shuffling and took him out, so I just put him in without much though so he'd at least me in there. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting "Banks":</div><div class="quote_post">Nice rankings og, but obviously I disagree with a few of ur choices, but still a very good list overall. I think you should have Carter and Pierce tied for 13. I also think Francis should be higher than Redd, because without Van Gundys system, and now in the East, it looks like he'll be the old francis, not that the old one was perfect, but he's maturing, and now with more options than ever (Mobley, Hill, Howard), you can bank on him getting his teammates involved more, he knows the team isn't all him. Peja IMO is ranked too high. I don't see him repeating what he did last year, since C-Webb is back, though its not a given that he'll be healthy for the whole season. I think he'll shoot even more to showcase himself to other teams even though the Kings aren't trading him. I have a few more issues with your list, but they're minor, very good overall. </div> 20-6-6, Francis definately will be a beast, but I want to see how the team does first, but I agree. I actually think Lebron will pass both Pierce and Carter this season, his defense is improving, and he's already a great all-round player. If he can get that FG% up because for a guy that drive so much, 41% is bad, and play good defense, he'll definately be moving on up. Anyways, not much difference in 13 and 14 It's always harder when doing more players because you forget where some players are, but thanks for the feedback...
i like that list great job but i think that you should have expanded your frainchise becuase most those borderline ones are indeed franchise players <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Borderline Franchise Players 20) Ben Wallace 21) Stephon Marbury 22) Shawn Marion 23) Peja Stojakovic 24) Ron Artest 25) Gilbert Arenas 26) Lamar Odom 27) Chris Webber [Healthy] 28) Amare Stoudemire 29) Kenyon Martin 30) Pau Gasol 31) Zach Randolph 32) Corey Maggette 33) Richard Jefferson 34) Dwyane Wade 35) Carmelo Anthony</div> alright out of these guys well one Kenyon Martin is way too high considering that in NJ 80% of his game were dunks of gems from JKidd and his production will definitly slip in Denver...Carmelo is Denvers franchise player and should be ranked higher...in fact i think there is some hate on Carmelo here...Martin, Jefferson, Wade all are worse than Carmelo, have worse stats and are older so i dont understand that logic. The bold guys are all technically franchise players, and bonafied stars. Peja should be a franchise player and Wbber as well if he is "healthy" as you said. The italicized guys are a lot of potential and skill also making them franchise players... I dont think that you can have a defensive stopper like Artest and Wallace as a franchise player howeverr their teams make up with it because they are so deep. And Martin and Jefferson are pretty overated..they are one dimensional flyers who thrived off of Kidd and i dont see too much in them and they are ranked too high... But yeah great job!
Nice list OG, I agree with most, if not all of the players included. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> 1.Kobe 2.T-Mac 3.Shaq 4.Lebron 5.Carmelo 6.Yao 7.Bibby 8.Duncan 9.Iverson 10.Norwitzki </div> Are you serious? Where is Kevin Garnett? Jason Kidd? You put Bibby ahead of Duncan?????
20) Ben Wallace 21) Stephon Marbury 22) Shawn Marion 23) Peja Stojakovic 24) Ron Artest 25) Gilbert Arenas 26) Lamar Odom I agree, but lamar odom will never be a Franchise player..he was given that shot in LAC
Your list is pretty good and I agree with most of your list,however I have to defend the Sixers' franchise player,Allen Iverson who seems very low and I'm not sure why,care to explain Og?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Silky Smooth:</div><div class="quote_post">Your list is pretty good and I agree with most of your list,however I have to defend the Sixers' franchise player,Allen Iverson who seems very low and I'm not sure why,care to explain Og?</div> He had a terrible year last year, so he doesn't deserve a very high ranking. His outside shooting was atrocious and he didn't create for his teammates like he's capable of. But I think he'll be better this year.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">He had a terrible year last year, so he doesn't deserve a very high ranking. His outside shooting was atrocious and he didn't create for his teammates like he's capable of. But I think he'll be better this year.</div> Your right,he has admited sveral times of last season being the worst of his career,but I wasnt sure if the ranking were based on just one season.I know Bron was ahead of AI,but I thought it would at least be based on the last 5 seasons or something. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> he didn't create for his teammates like he's capable of </div> Even though he didnt do what he was capable of,last year AI got better at creating for teamates,he did average 6.8 apg a 2nd best in his career,(7.5 when he was pg as a rook).
If Peja is ranked that high all I want to know is...where is Allan Houston. I know he missed a good chunk of last season but still he should at least be up there. They both shoot the same percentage but Houston generates his own offense. Unless your talking about the top fifty players from last year he should be up there. Sorry for the criticism it cant be easy picking the top fifty players in the NBA but I'm just voicing my opinion.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Tribute to H2O:</div><div class="quote_post">If Peja is ranked that high all I want to know is...where is Allan Houston. I know he missed a good chunk of last season but still he should at least be up there. They both shoot the same percentage but Houston generates his own offense. Unless your talking about the top fifty players from last year he should be up there. Sorry for the criticism it cant be easy picking the top fifty players in the NBA but I'm just voicing my opinion.</div> Peja is much more potent offensively than Houston. He's constantly moving on the offensive end and he's extremely effcient from the field. Houston is also efficient with his shot, but not nearly as good as Peja (1.08 points/shot attempt versus 1.26 points/shot attempt). Houston is a little better at creating his own shot off the dribble, but Peja's skill at moving away from the ball is even more valuable. Peja also gets a higher ranking because Sacremento was a legit title contender and he was their best player last year. The problem with Houston is that he's below average in every aspect of the game other than shooting the ball. He's a terrible rebounder, he doesn't create for others, and defensively he struggled due to his injuries. Given that he didn't play much last season and the Knicks were only an average team, it's not surprising that he didn't rank highly.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Tribute to H2O:</div><div class="quote_post">If Peja is ranked that high all I want to know is...where is Allan Houston. I know he missed a good chunk of last season but still he should at least be up there. They both shoot the same percentage but Houston generates his own offense. Unless your talking about the top fifty players from last year he should be up there. Sorry for the criticism it cant be easy picking the top fifty players in the NBA but I'm just voicing my opinion.</div> Since he came out of college,and most importantly,since the trade from Detroit......his game has degressed. He want from a player that would drive the paint and score,rebound and create shots for others to nothing more than an overpaid version of Dennis Scott. I don't know the reasons Houston let his game lapse into that of a one dimensional player but it has hurt his overall career. Some people point to his injuries but he was nothing more than a shooter long before he had any injury. I like Houston. I watched him all throughout college (and damn,those were some sorry teams at Tennessee) but there is no way he deserves to be over Peja. Peja does what Houston does and does it alot better plus Peja actually has started to play defense and thats something Houston has never even pretended to do.
