Top 10

Welcome to The Basketball Oracle Top 10 Best Players!  On this page I will post the top 10 players in the NBA, along with a paragraph describing them.  This ranking will be changed throughout the year, depending on how well as player his doing, as well as his team.

10. Joe Johnson - Atlanta Hawks

Joe Johnson wasn’t thought of as much before the 07-08 season, but during the season he captured NBA fans attention everywhere with his spectacular all-around play and amazing performances.  Johnson is one of the best leaders in the NBA and led the #8 seeded Hawks to a 7-game series with the league-best Boston Celtics.  When no one game them a chance, he won the Hawks games with his clutch shooting and cemented himself as a superstar player in the NBA.  He improved on his play in the 08-09 season and the Hawks were much better, getting the 4th seed in the East.  After defeating the Heat in 7 games in the 1st round, the Hawks were easily disposed of in 4 games by the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Even with the terrible end to the season, Joe Johnson showed everyone why he is a star.

 

9. Deron Williams - Utah Jazz

Deron Williams is a top 10 player in the NBA easily, but he isn’t an all star yet.  This season he was snubbed from the all-star team because of an injury, as was Carmelo Anthony, but unlike Anthony, he wasn’t an all-star the season before either.  That will all change next year since, barring another injury, he will be an automatic choice for the all-star game.  D-Will is the 2nd best passer in the league behind Chris Paul.  But, he is also a much better shooter and always gets the best of Paul in their head-to-head matchups.  Williams’ game isn’t based on speed like Paul’s is, so he has the potential to be better once they both reach their 30′s.

 

8. Carmelo Anthony - Denver Nuggets

Until the 08-09 season, Carmelo Anthony was just thought of as a super scorer, but not much else.  But last season, with the help of Chauncey Billups, he developed into a complete leader.  He started giving a strong effort on defense and became a leader for his Nuggets team.  He also passes a lot more than in his previous seasons.  Carmelo has always been a premier clutch player, including have the NBA record for game-winning shot FG%.  ‘Melo is developing into a superstar player, and will be higher up on this list by the end of next season, barring an injury.

 

7. Tim Duncan - San Antonio Spurs

The Big Fundamentals is consistently one of the top players in the game.  Referred to many as the best power forward ever, Tim Duncan is, year in and year out, a 20/10 guy, as well as a top defensive player in the league.  He has one of the best post games ever, and is really good passer out of the low post.  He does everything that you want a franchise cornerstone power foward to do.  He is even considered by many to be the best power foward ever, but at this late stage in his career he is no longer a top 5 player.  He can still run a team and is still a superstar, but more and more the Spurs are transitioning into Tony Parker’s team.

 

6. Kevin Garnett - Boston Celtics

The Big Ticket was injured for the end of last season and the playoffs, but he is still one of the elite players in the NBA.  Garnett is one of the elite defensive players in the NBA, and is the anchor of the league’s best (or 2nd best) defense.  He is the most passionate player in the league, but that is also one of his problems.  He gets so into the game sometimes that he starts acting like a classless jerk and doesn’t stop cussing……ever.  Many players have complain about his obnoxious and classless behavior.  KG needs to keep his head level so he can focus on winning the game, and not literally acting like a dog on the court.  When not crazy, Garnett has one of the best big man mid-range games in the NBA, as well as a deadly post game.

 

5. Dwight Howard - Orlando Magic

Howard is a beast in every sense of the word.  He is huge, athletic, tough, and extremely good.  He led the league in rebounds the last 2 seasons, and will continue his reign for a long time.  He is the most athletic center in the league, and has a knack for blocking shots and rebounding.  He was named defensive player of the year last season, but he is still very raw and will continue to grown into a dominant post player and smarter defensive player.  His one weakness is his lack of a post game.  Other than dunking, his one post move is an awkward looking jump-hook, which doesn’t go in most of the time.  One of Dwight’s criticisms has been that he isn’t a good leader, but with their finals appearance last season, Howard showed he can lead a team.  Until he improves his free throw shooting and develops a strong post game, there will be a way for teams to stop him.

 

4. Chris Paul - New Orleans Hornets

CP3 is the best point guard in the NBA right now and led the league in assists the past 2 seasons, but his team has had little success in the playoffs.  Chris Paul and the Hornets were the hot team of the 07-08 season, but after an amazing regular season they fell to the veteran San Antonio Spurs in 7 games in the 2nd round of the playoffs.  None of that is Paul’s fault though.  He has been simply amazing the past 2 seasons and will continue to be for a long time.  He is super quick and can get into the lane with ease in score, but his speciality is finding teammates wide open and getting them the ball when most players couldn’t.  Chris has a solid, but not great jumpshot, but that will continue to improve as he practices on it through the seasons and offseasons.

 

3. Dwyane Wade - Miami Heat

D-Wade is the new old Kobe Bryant.  He is a superstar player in a mediocre team.  Every night he has to go out and play 40+ minutes while scoring 30+ points, just to win 43 games.  On his team, Wade has an over-the-hill Jermaine O’Neal, a young and immature Michael Beasley, and 2 above-average role players in Udonis Haslem and Mario Chalmers.  Mostly the rest of the team is average young players who have not yet matured into solid NBA players.  Flash led the league in scoring last season, while averaging of 7 apg and leading all guards in blocks, but that was not enough to even get the Heat past the 1st round of the playoffs.

 

2. LeBron James - Cleveland Cavaliers

LeBron is definitely the most athletic player in the NBA, that is also the reason he can be so dominant.  But on top of his crazy athleticism, LeBron also has Magic Johnson-esque skills.  He is one of the best passers in the league as a small forward.  He is also a superb leader, something that Bryant hasn’t yet mastered in his 12 years in the league.  LeBron needs to continue working on his jumpshot and free throws, because they are far from spectacular.  If James is able to develop a killer jumpshot, similar to Kobe Bryant, he will easily be the best player in the league and will be nearly unstoppable on the court.

 

1. Kobe Bryant - Los Angeles Lakers

Kobe Bryant gets the #1 spot over LeBron James in part because he led his team to a championship, and LeBron didn’t.  Kobe is also a much better shooter, and more skilled defender, though LeBron is better due to being 3″ taller and 40 lbs. heavier.  LeBron is the better leader, but Kobe stepped up when it mattered most and got his team the championship, while LeBron did not.  But Kobe is getting older, and with so many star teammates, his stats will start to fall and he will not longer be able or needed to do as much, thus making him lose the title of best player in the league.  Kobe has been the best player in the league for a couple years now, and according to The Basketball Oracle, his reign continues……for now.