Top 5s??

PGs:1.Derrick Rose 2.Chris Paul 3.Deron Williams 4.Steve Nash 5.Rajon Rondo

SGs:1.Kobe 2.Wade 3.Joe Johnson 4.Manu Gilnobili 5.Monta Ellis

SFs:1.Lebron 2. Kevin Durant 3.Carmelo Anthony 4.Paul Pierce 5.Rudy Gay

PFs:1.Nowitzki 2.Pau Gasol 3.Blake Griffin 4.Zack Randolph 5.Chris Bosh

Cs:Dwight Howard 2.Amare Stoudemire 3.Andrew Bogut 4.Andrew Bynum 5.Al Horford

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Mine:

PG:
1. Derrick Rose
2. Chris Paul
3. Deron Williams
4. Rajon Rondo
5. Steve Nash

SG:
1. Kobe Bryant
2. Dwyane Wade
3. Joe Johnson
4. Monta Ellis
5. Manu Ginobli

SF:
1. LeBron James
2. Kevin Durant
3. Carmelo Anthony
4. Paul Pierce
5. Danny Granger

PF:
1. Dirk Nowitzki
2. Amare Stoudemire
3. Pau Gasol
4. Lamarcus Aldridge
5. Zach Randolph

C:
1.Dwight Howard
2. Tim Duncan
3. Al Jefferson
4. Andrew Bynum
5. Brook Lopez

PG:
1. Chris Paul
2. Derrick Rose
3. Deron Williams
4. Rajon Rondo
5. Russell Westbrook

SG:
1. Dwayne Wade
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Joe Johnson
4. Monta Ellis
5. Manu Ginobli

SF:
1. LeBron James
2. Kevin Durant
3. Carmelo Anthony
4. Andre Iguodala
5. Rudy Gay

PF:
1. Dirk Nowitzki
2. Amare Stoudemire
3. Pau Gasol
4. Lamarcus Aldridge
5. Josh Smith

C:
1.Dwight Howard
2. Joakim Noah
3. Andrew Bogut
4. Al Horford
5. Andrew Bynum (when healthy)

Explanations of certain players missing or being on…

Paul Pierce- Paul is aging.  Iggy is a better all around player at this point, although he can’t score as well or make clutch shots.  Iggy is equally good, if not better in all other categories.  Rudy Gay is on the rise while Paul is on the decline, and I think now Gay just barely tops him due to his overall game.  Prior to injury, Gay was killing it. 

Josh Smith- He does sooo much for that team, people often overlook it b/c it doesn’t always show up in the box score.  His D is feared by NBA players of having thier shots sent into the bleachers.  His mid range game is solid, and can even hit an occassional 3.  He hits the boards hard, hustles, is a solid passer, and provides energy.  Amazing how underrated he is yet most people love his game. 

Joakim @ 2- similar to Josh Smith as far as what he gives outside of box score statistics.  Amazing energy guy, a defensive leader for Chicago. 

Brook Lopez- REBOUNDING!!!! For a center, that has to be better to make my list.  

Nash- aging, next to no D, can’t handle covering the upcoming athletic freak PGs.  Still a great playmaker and shooter, but there is so much talent @ PG in the league.

Wade @1- I think this would be the year where Wade has to top him.  Unless the lockout buys Kobe time to get healthier and rest.  I thought last year at the end of the season, Wade was a slightly better player.  Still gotta respect Kobe though.  Amazing that he is on here let alone @ 2 with all the wear and tear he has endured.

PGs:1.Derrick Rose 2.Chris Paul 3.Deron Williams 4. Rajon Rondo 5. Steve Nash

SGs:1. Wade 2.  Kobe 3.Joe Johnson 4. Monta Ellis 5. Eric Gordon

SFs:1.Lebron 2. Kevin Durant 3.Carmelo Anthony 4. Rudy Gay 5. Paul Pierce

PFs:1.Nowitzki 2.Pau Gasol 3. Amare Stoudemire 4. Zebo 5. Lemarcus Aldridge

Cs:Dwight Howard 2.Andrew Bogut 3. Al Horford 4. Andrew Bynum 5. Marc Gasol

I think Wade has passed Kobe with his overall play, Gay has passed Pierce caz of Pierce’s age.

No Granger not enough asts, rebs and his fg% was just .425,  I’d take Iguodala over him.

Marc Gasol can rebound, defend, block shots and score at Center he had a nice playoff run too.

Lopez doesn’t rebound enough, Noah does almost nothing on offense except pass well.

I don’t see how Duncan is top 5 at PF or Center now.

LMAO..Funny you can mention Lebron or Chris Bosh on this Site and out come the negatives….

I love J-Smoove but every time he tries and attempts those three point shots, it makes me cringe because I know only 15% of those would sink in… But his athleticism and amazing timing on defense is what makes him deadly…

Here are my picks, with an explanation:

PG:

1. Derrick Rose – He’s the most dominant player at his position right now, despite his “flaws” and had a great season. Still so young… He gets better every season and never seems to get “full” off of his success.

2. Chris Paul – This isn’t the 2007-2008 or 2008-2009 CP3. I have to see his knee before I put him back at the top.

3. Deron Williams – D Will is still a beast, but he had a forgettable season. His attitude and leadership qualities are questionable despite his talents.

4. Steve Nash – He’s still 50, 40, 90 and 10+ assists. He’s fun to play with. Still doesn’t defend and is getting old though.

5. Rajon Rondo – His mood stinks sometimes, but IF he could shoot, he could be near the top. Westbrook is nipping at his heels.

SG:

1. Kobe Bryant – I went back and forth, but had to put the Black Mamba at the top. All NBA First Team and All NBA Defensive First Team during a “down year”. Still the most complete player in the game. I think all he needed was some rest and he’s getting that.

2. Dwyane Wade – I can understand him being at the top. He’s younger than Kobe and more athletic at this point. However, I just still see holes in D. Wade’s game.

3. Manu Ginobli – Leadership. Intensity. Plays with a chip. High IQ. Very underrated player in my opinion and that’s at both ends of the floor.

4. Joe Johnson – I’ve been waiting to see the best of Johnson, but I think we’ve already seen it.

5. Monta Ellis – I feel somewhere in between about him as a player, but I can live with putting him here. I just don’t like him as the best player on a team.

SF:

1. LeBron James – He’s been such a monster his whole life that he never had to work on some of the little things in his game. He’s got holes in his game and everyone knows what they are by now. The best overall player in the world.

2. Kevin Durant – I want to see him become a little more physical. I want to see him get better when the game is on the line. I really do think he can become the best player in the NBA in a couple of more seasons, without being the overall player that LeBron is.

3. Carmel Anthony – Melo is a complete player offensively. We know what he can do there. I’m still waiting on him to get into great shape. Will he committ to defense the whole game? Will he start moving the ball more? Still waiting…

4. Paul Pierce – He’s aging, but he’s STILL in the top five EASILY. He has a complete game and still has reliable go-to moves down the stretch. Still can get past his defender and get to the line too.

5. Rudy Gay – I thought about putting Andre Iguodala here, but I went with Rudy instead. I think he’s on his way to being the player we’ve all been waiting for. I’m expecting a BIG season from him and putting the Grizzlies in contender status. I’ll be watching him closely this season to see if he’s improved the holes in his game.

PF:

1. Dirk Nowitzki – I had Pau Gasol here before the post season started. Then Pau played like trash and Dirk played damn near flawless basketball. Dirk is undefendable offensively, makes the right plays and puts himself in good positions defensively. Still a solid rebounder.

2. Pau Gasol – I’ve gone back and forth. I hated him during the playoffs. But now that I’ve settled down, I’ve come back to my senses. He’s still arguably the most complete big in the game. He’s a talent, just doesn’t always play tough.

3. Zach Randolph – I wouldn’t be mad if he was put at two. He’s a complete player offensively (now makes the extra pass), plus an amazing rebounder. Defensively, he’s not great, but he’s at least made a committment to being where he’s supposed to. He’s a great teammate and his leadership skills have improved.

4. Amare Stoudemire – He’s a great offensive player, but still a luke warm rebounder and defender in my opinion. Tough to stop offensively though, especially when his mid-range jumper is going in.

5. Chris Bosh – His weaknesses stood out in Miami while playing with two ball dominant offensive players, BUT he’s a better player now than he was in Toronto. He made huge improvements as a weakside defender and hedging/defending the pick and roll. I love Lamarcus Aldridge, but Bosh is more proven at this point in my opinion.

C:

1.Dwight Howard – Too bad this isn’t the 90’s. He really doesn’t have any competition at his position.

2. Andrew Bogut – Other than stay healthy, he’s really a great center and at both ends of the floor.

3. Al Horford – Two time All-Star and made All NBA Third Team last season. People argue he’s a power forward, but he’s played center since drafted.

4. Andrew Bynum – He can be a load at times at both ends. He’s immature and is an injury waiting to happen though.

5. Marc Gasol – He has similar skills to his brother, except he’s a lot bigger. I think he’s on the rise… Let’s see how he plays after getting paid though.

Actually, let me make a quick edit (post won’t let me). Rudeboy made me think. 

IF we’re considering Stoudemire a center, then put him as #2 on my center list and just move Gasol out.

And on my power forward list, take Stoudemire out, push Bosh up, and then put Aldridge at #5.

 PG

1.CP3- I doubted this during the year, but after his postseason vs. LAL, I gotta hand the crown back over.

2.Rose-Best scoring PG around and has an undeniable ability to win.

3.Deron-Best overall game as a pg. Can shoot,defend,drive,win, and even has a pass first mentality, just had something going on this past year that made me question him. New Jersey will deo that to yah I suppose.

4.Rondo-Best PG defender, great athlete, can score the ball when asked(see 08-09 playoffs), makes teammates better, is an incredible rebounder and knows how to get his guys the ball where they need to score. Jumper drops him a bit as does him being a punk IMO.

5.Westbrook-The guy is as athletic as they come, can defend, cause turnovers, suck the d in and make passes to the open guys and come out with 21-8 avgs while throwing down a monster dunk on the D. Has to become more of a legit PG though instead of a guy who can get numbers and win games off of talent alone.

SG

1.Kobe-This was a no brainer for me. The guy has the most complete offensive package IN THE GAME as he can score in ANY way possible, spot up, and can even be your primary ballhandler throughout an entire game while dictating with his passing. Defensively the guy has lost a step, but I think that’s primarily due to the fact that he had his first injury riddled season in a while along with 4 prior trips to the finals.

2.Wade-Dynamic scorer or can make terrific passes. HAs become the best defensive 2 in the game. Dynamite athlete.

3.Ellis-Most will rag on this choice, but like Mitch Richmond, the guy puts up ELITE numbers on bad teams. He has an increbily exploisve game being able to put up some BIG numbers in quick spans. Only thing he is missing is better D(still averages 2 steals), post game, and a better long ball(developed nicely this year) with some more wins. 

4.Ginobli-Smartest 2 outside of Kobe IMO. A born winner and naturally tough competitor. Complete package lacking only a post game. 

5.Gordon-May be a little too early to put this kid ahead of Johnson, but like someone else stated already, I think we’ve seen Joe’s best and are headed for the drop off. Gordon can light it up from deep or drive the basket and gets buckets. His defense is decent and can even make the occasional play for others when he sees it available. Like ellis, the kid just needs to get some wins to make this pick legit. Injuries are a slight concern.

SF

1.LBJ-Best all around player in the game as he’s a walking triple double with some developing Scottie Pippen like defense. Only draw back with LBJ is his mental makeup as a Scottie Pippen like #2 option.

2.Kevin Durant-Has become a terrific scorer and decent rebounder. His team D is coming around and only the sky is the limit for this League leading scorer.

3.Carmelo-2nd best offensive repetoire behind only Kobe Bryant. Developed into a better rebounder this past year and even started showing a consistent long ball. Will he begin passing and defending like he should next?

4.Pierce-Still a lethal late game scorer and good defender. has a strong passion for the game of basketball and is one of the few players who can score in every way possible. Probably the 3rd best offensive player IMO. Could even be 2nd with his ability to pass where Carmelo won’t.

5.Granger-Couln’t decide between Danny,Iggy, and Gay, but came out with Danny as he has the most complete offensive game of the 3, is a good late game scorer, and was the leader of the team who pushed the Bulls in the the playoffs with a big surprise. Iggy was tough to go against with his 2 way play, athleticism, and clutch shot making, but ultimately, Granger prevailed.

PF

1.Dirk-Soft. No D. Fades in the clutch. These are phrases that can no longer be said about the new Finals MVP who consistently proved to be the most clutch player in the 2011 playoffs. I’m not sure he can hold the top spot with all the upcoming talent, but for now, it’s his spot to lose.

2.ZBo-Developed into a late game scorer and actually bought into a team concept defesively and with sharing the ball. His bulk downlow and ability to step out and hit the jumper have made him a matchup nightmare. Great rebounder who isn’t afraid to bang around and will go from one block to the other for rebounds.

3.Pau-Soft.No D.Fades in the clutch. These are all phrases you can be said about the former Robin of the 09&10 champions. Assuming his posteason play was simply mental and physical fatigue and the thought of his fiance’ cheating, 2/3 seems like his rightful position.

4.Aldridge-Became a good low post threat and has always been a phenomenal pick and pop option. His defense and rebounding both developed nicely throughout the year as did his ability to take over games late in the 4th.

5. Amare- I was on the fence with this one between he and Bosh, but ultimately had to choose Amare based on his role with the team. If his back injury hasn’t healed up, this stpot is Bosh’s (or Griffin/Love’s) for the taking

C.

1.Dwight-I’m not even gonna explain this one for the 3time DPOY and athletic freak.

2.Noah-His defense anchors the Bulls and he is a natural born competitor and winner. Has a good all around game that is only held back by his lack of scoring.

3.Chandler-The defensive anchor of the 2011 champions and ran through every competitor he faced including Kendrick Perkins and Andrew Bynum. Athletic and is the best at throwing down the lob passes. Contract year may have played a part in this guys tremendous season/postseason.

4.Al Jefferson-Best back to the basket game available at the center position. Can get you 20 pts grab a good amount of rebounds and even block a few shots. his defense rotations and lack of conditioning/physical shape hurt him as an undersized 5. Probably could have been higher but injuries over the past few years have held him back a bit.

5.Andrew Bynum-This may seem like a homer pick, but I truely feel like he is unmatched by ANY center when he’s at his peak. Eevn in injury riddled seasons he still manages to give you 15 and 9. This past season he began to turn into more of a defensive presence than worry about getting his touches as evidenced by his 12-9-2 statline in only 26 minutes. Could probably put up 20-10-2 on a losing team like Milwaukee or New Jersey.

THose who have been left off.

Andrew Bogut-Doesn’t do enough for a losing team statistically and is far too injury prone.

Al Horford-Didn’t see him as a 5 since he started at the 4 for most of the year beside of Smith and Collins, and I thought he was closer to 7-8 at the 4.

Joe Johnson-Has began to fall off IMO and is slowly fading away from being the go-to guy for this ATL team.

Steve Nash-No D and is begining to age. Can no longer carry his team to the playoffs on passing and clutch shooting alone. Needs more help.

Gay-Injuries played a part in this as he had become a go-to player and workeed on his team play and D, just not sure how he’s going to manage to fit in with this team when he comes back.  

PG:

1) Derrick Rose

2) Chris Paul

3) Deron Williams

4) Russell Westbrook

5) Rajon Rondo

SG:

1) Dwyane Wade

2) Kobe Bryant

3) Manu Ginobili

4) Monta Ellis

5) Eric Gordon

SF:

1) LeBron James

2) Kevin Durant

3) Carmelo Anthony

4) Paul Pierce

5) Rudy Gay

PF:

1) Dirk Nowitzki

2) Amare Stoudemire

3) Zach Randolph

4) Pau Gasol

5) Blake Griffin

C:

1) Dwight Howard

2) Al Horford

3) Marc Gasol

4) Andrew Bogut

5) Tyson Chandler

 Damn, i just realized Marc Gasol was left off this llist. I’d have to say he ties Bynum at 5, very similar roles and responsibilities. In all reality, for the numbers Jefferson puts up, I honestly don’t feel like his impact is felt the same way either Gasol or Bynum’s are. If not for the near all-star numbers, I’d put him at 6 behind the two towering 7 footerts.

Wait Kobe the most complete player in the game not sure about that.

If you want to say most clutch during crunch time that I can’t really argue with.

 Kobe IS the most complaete player in the game. name one player that can dpo what he does from top to bottom. Scoring in every possible way,defense on and off-ball, ballhandling,passing,IQ,Rebounding(15 rebounds in a game 7 when his shot wasn’t dropping, leadership,clutch abilities. Can you name someone that can do what he does? I sincerely doubt it.

Dwayne Wade at this point, hence why I put him up there.

 I wouldn’t really say Dwayne Wade has a complete game though. 

What would you say is really lacking.  He does show post moves on occassion.  He hits the J from close, mid, deep.  He is a great slasher and defender.  He is a good ball handler and pretty good passer.  Very good rebounder for a SG.  Hes a leader and is clutch as well.  Am i  missing something?

He isn’t a good shooter. 

He isn’t great but he isn’t bad either.  He’s a pretty solid shooter IMO.  He choses to shoot very few threes but he knocks them down when left open (from how much I’ve seen). 

 He’s a worse shooter then LeBron and everyone attacks LeBron for being an average shooter. He’s mediocre from deep, and about solid from mid range. His shooting definitely isn’t a strength, but hey why shoot when no one can keep you outside the paint?

Yeah,Amare is a power forward,but the Suns use to play him at center and now the Knicks have him playing the pivot…

It’s really nitpicking since D. Wade is so great, but he could become a better free-throw shooter. He’s a C average free-throw shooter and misses them down the stretch. I’d also like to see him become better playing without the ball. That’s a problem both he and LeBron have, though I think LeBron is a lot worse.

Post game, I won’t say he doesn’t have one. He’s decent there, has good footwork and the ability to shoot towards either shoulder. He has a great mid-range game. He’s more streaky from three-point. While D. Wade gets a lot of credit defensively in the passing lanes and blocking shots, I STILL don’t think he’s a lockdown on ball defender. When Kobe was at his peak, he could lock down point guards, shooting guards and even small forwards.

I mean, D. Wade is great. I just don’t think he’s as complete as Kobe. Like Kobe isn’t just decent in some areas… He’s honestly great in majority of them.

I’ll agree that Wade isn’t quite as complete, but his athleticism and explosivness (due to him being so much younger than Kobe), I think that is what puts him over Kobe by a hair.  Plus at this point, Wade is a much stronger slasher and the things that he does better than Kobe, hes does them better by a good bit (thanks to the difference in athleticism and explosiveness).  No doubt if Kobe still had his athleticism and explosiveness of his youth, he would be by far the #1 player in the league, let alone SG. 

 @Dymes….. exactly, like I said, name one player who is more complete than Kobe? Wade is quite complete himself as he is able to do almost everything, but like @Indiana said, Kobe is great at everything and is just unpredictable because he can do a anything. Wade is great/complete, but not as much as Kobe. I repeat once again to @MDYMES and  moreso @NYK2010, name one player more complete than Kobe. 

PG:
1. Derrick Rose
2. Deron Williams
3. Chris Paul
4. Russell Westbrook
5. Steve Nash

SG:
1. Dwyane Wade
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Manu Ginobili

4. Monta Ellis
5. Joe Johnson

SF:
1. LeBron James
2. Kevin Durant
3. Carmelo Anthony
4. Paul Pierce
5. Danny Granger

PF:
1. Dirk Nowitzki
2. Amare Stoudemire
3. Zach Randolph
4. Pau Gasol
5. LaMarcus Aldridge

C:
1. Dwight Howard
2. Joakim Noah
3. Nene
4a. Andrew Bogut
4b. Al Horford

Kobe locked down SF’s, Paul Pierce and Carmello Anthony beg to differ.

Just look at the 08 Finals and 09 Conf. Finals.

Also he never shut down Lebron and the Cavs would beat the Lakers plenty.

He’s had success against Wade making him shot a bad % from the field I’ll give him that.

You’re talking about three of the premier small forwards in the world… Not locking them down doesn’t mean he hasn’t been able to lock other small forwards down in the past. We’re talking about when he was at his peak defensively. The point was that he was a shut down defender defending three positions.

 Not to mention he didn’t guard Pierce or Melo to start out. In 08 LAL had no one who could guard Pierce, Kobe moved over and Pierce suddenly struggled but Allen began going off. They moved Bean back over to Allen and suddenly Pierce started to go off. Not really a question of what was going on there. 

09 Ariza was given the job of guarding Melo and failed miserably, ultimately causing LAL to put Kobe on him and again, suddenly Melo stopped being  dominant force who was able to piggy back his team to wins. Kobe having to keep on switching onto all these bulky three’s because no one else could was the MAIN reason Artest was signed, because LAL expected Boston to be the big dogs for a while, just happened Ron’s offense fell off rather abruptly.

Not to metnion you’re talking about a Kobe Bryant who was past his prime physically, I believe when mentioning Kobe locking down 1,2,3’s he was talking about prime Kobe between 99 and 07. Steve Nash, T-Mac,Vince Carter, Stephon marbury and Gilbert Arenas all agree about his defensive abilities.

Stephon Marbury on Kobe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgVf2njWlw4

Yeah becaz Marbury knows everything give me a break.

If Kobe was that great on D and he’s already such a grt clutch player he’d be considered 1 of the top 3 players of all-time by everyone which he isn’t.

 Thats pretty ignorant, he’s not yet retired, and is arguably in the top 3 of all-time. You can’t really say he is or isn’t top 3 until he’s retired.

BTW, I’m pretty sure an NBA player who played against Kobe in his prime happens to know a little more about kobe Bryant’s on court ability than you do.

 Iguapops, we all love Kobe and admire his game and the way he has been able to keep his body in peak shape, but it is a bit of a push to say top 3. He is definatly top 7, and if you put him ahead of either Magic or Bird, you gotta put him over the other, so I can’t go beyond top 5 or even 4, with MJ, Kareem, Wilt, and Oscar Robertson.

Now I will definatly have Kareem and MJ on top of Kobe regardless, but I know how hard it is to compare players from different eras, so I can’t go too indepth about Kobe and Oscar. 

So at most I’ll go 4, but ideally I’ll have him at 7 for now, but in the end he’ll be 5.

I feel like everyone is forgetting Darko for their center list

I’m sure Marbury knows about guarding SF’s.

Yeah Marbury knows more than me but what made him the final say on anything in the NBA.

A player who had plenty of talent and couldn’t get out of the 1st round even and couldn’t get out of his own way most of his career.

We all know Kobe is a great all time player but top 3 lets be realistic.

To me his best years are behind him yeah he’s just 33 but he’s been playing big minutes since he was what 20.

Who knows how long the knees will hold up, the shortened regular season does help some.

They dropped his minutes almost 5 a game last obviously that’s not likely to happen again.  Who knows if Mike Brown makes him more of a role in the offense, no more triangle offense anything can happen.

Stats aren’t gonna change most ppls minds, Kobe will probably end up top 2 in pts scored anyway.

Its all subjective especially when comparing SG’s to Centers.