My top ten (counting down =D)
10. Rajon Rondo. Sure the guy's been out-shined by Pierce, Garnett, and Allen in the past, but last season, the guy lead the team to the NBA finals, pending injury to Garnett. He's really impressed me this past season; I may not like the Celtics, but he's the greatest Celtic I've seen play the game since Larry Byrd.
9. Deron Williams. He's got the desire to win, and the heart. He puts forth the effort that impresses me, and he's great in the playoffs. He may not be deserving of this spot, but I'll give it to him- he's got the props to take it.
8. Chris Bosh. He's a great power forward who can shoot and rebound to nearly the level of Dirk; my only fear is that he won't shine as brightly with Dwayne and LeBron to take the shots with him.
7. Dirk Nowitzki. He's a great big man, he can rebound the ball, drive the lane, pass well, and he can shoot the three ball. How many power forwards can do that as well as he can? Not many, that's for sure. I feel he's more than deserving of this spot not only for his stats, but for his desire to win and for the effort; he always seems to give it 110%.
6. Steve Nash. He's the best distributor in the game, he can shoot, and he can drive the lane. He's an excellent player, but with Stoudemire off to New York, I feel the number of assists may suffer to his shooting; Phoenix just doesn't have the supporting cast to get him the assists now, in my opinion.
5. Dwayne Wade. I would love to say he's above Dwight, but I just feel that he's not as good as we think. He's still young, but his best year IMO was the year he lead the Heat to a title. Shaq left, and he was never quite as good IMO. Now that he's got LeBron and Chris Bosh aside him, I think his stats may dip even more by sharing the ball with the other two future Hall of Famers that signed this offseason, but if he manages to pull of a season like he has, he'll be above Dwight.
4. Dwight Howard. He may likely be at the end of his career the best big man the game's ever seen; better than Shaq, perhaps even better than Hakeem. He lead the Magic this past season, and he's on his A-Game every time out.
3. Kevin Durant. More than likely too high on the list, but I feel that with his scoring ability, and with the show he put on with the kind of supporting cast he has in Oklahoma City, he's more than deserving of this spot.
2. LeBron James. James is probably a more effective player than Kobe, but his supporting cast was too ineffective until his signing with Miami to make it show; if his stats remain the way they are even with the Heat, I'll put him number one, but I think that with Bosh and D-Wade, his stats will dip a bit. Also, lack of success in the playoffs takes away from my thoughts of him.
1. Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant is at least number two here, but I think that his success in the playoffs and that his stats still are as good as they are with the cast around him all able to score big is what puts him ahead of LeBron.
Some others that might've made the cut that didn't:
Chris Paul. He's a great Point Guard, but after injury last season, I'm not sure he'll do his best in the upcoming year; a wrestling term to describe this is "ring rust", when a wrestler doesn't fight for a while for any one of various reasons, and then doesn't fight 100% of his ability in his first few matches back.
Carmelo Anthony. He's good, but the thought on my mind is, how good? I feel he may be past his prime by a bit.
Tim Duncan. Let's face it; he's getting old.
Chauncey Billups. He's good, you can't argue it.
Vince Carter. To be honest, this is more from a fan's point of view. He played well last season with the magic, and in his prime up in Toronto, he would've made the top 5, but he's getting old, so I'm not putting him on the list.
Edited to add on Vince Carter in "those who didn't make the cut" list.
Last edited by clubcool at 8/8/2010 4:52:26 PM