Ranking the Top 25 Players in the NBA

Every year, I take it upon myself to rank the top 25-30 players in the NBA. Rankings are a fun way to evaluate the very best the league has to offer and spark dialogue on how different people evaluate the game. We all have different criteria and traits we prefer in our stars over others. My thought process in making this list was that if I had the opportunity to draft a team to play in this past 2021-2022 NBA season, this is my big board in order of the players I would select. I based my list on statistical production, talent, skill set, impact on team success, and accolades. I prefer my franchise player to be an offensive weapon who can control the game with the ball in their hands as a dual threat bucket generator impacting an offense both through their individual scoring and playmaking creating advantages for themselves and others. Two-way ability is valued, being elite on both sides of the ball, but having multiple dimensions to your offensive impact can sometimes be even more valuable as an individual player can control a game far more on offense than defense. I also prefer playoff risers, versatility, and efficiency. 

I factored in the past 2 seasons with an obvious emphasis on this most recent season (what have you done for me lately) but for players that had injuries or a significant rise/drop off in one years time, it's important to factor in past performance to see if there could be some aberration.  Also durability matters. 

Players that didn’t make the cut:

Jaylen Brown: JB had a very strong postseason overall. He was Boston’s top performer in the NBA Finals and also had very strong showings vs Milwaukee and Miami. He’s definitely an Allstar caliber player and top 25 caliber but just like he didn’t make the actual Allstar game, he finds himself just outside my top 25. His playmaking leaves a lot to be desired and I think that’s the big separator between him and number 25 on my list. He isn’t quite elite at any aspect of his game to the point that it makes up for his playmaking weaknesses. 

Demar Derozan: Demar at one point was a top 5 caliber MVP candidate as one of the top closers in the league. His overall scoring dominance from the mid range was impressive to see. He even showed the willingness to take and hit the occasional 3 and was a focal point for a Bulls team who was the 1 seed at the All Star break before injuries derailed their season. The gap between this past season and San Antonio was so substantial that the truth of how good Demar really is right now is probably somewhere in the middle. The fact that he underperformed yet again in the postseason like he did in the play-in last year was the last straw in leaving him off the list.  

Khris Middleton: Middleton was another tough omission from this list especially considering how great he was for the Bucks in their title run coupled with how much Milwaukee missed him vs Boston. Simply put, this wasn’t nearly as impressive of a regular season for Khris and we didn’t get to see him rise on the bigger stages. 

Bam Adebayo: Bam is so elite defensively yet leaves so much to be desired on the offensive end. He was again subpar offensively in the playoffs despite a very good regular season on both ends.  

SGA: Shai is the unfortunate case of a very good player stuck on a bad team. He has a lot of really good traits as a versatile combo guard with size but with a larger sample size, we have seen that his perimeter jumper isn’t quite where it needs to be. That’s the main thing holding him back in comparison to some of these other more complete offensive weapons. 

Rudy Gobert: The advanced stats community absolutely loves Rudy Gobert. He did give me some great statistical feats  I liked this year including leading the league in rebounds, 2PT% and overall FG% shooting 71% on dunks and layups. Defensively he had another top 3 DPOY finish and won the award for the 3rd time in the 2021 season. Again however we see how limited he is offensively and in the playoffs no matter how many excuses people want to make, his defensive impact isn’t the same. Dallas even without Luka for half the series beat the Jazz by spacing the floor and attacking Rudy like he was food. 

Pascal Siakam: Pascal bounced back in a big way leading the league in minutes and the Raptors back to the playoffs after a rough season in 2021. He improved his efficiency across the board and was rewarded with an All-NBA nod. He just can’t justifiably rank above these other guys that made the list especially when you factor in his rough patches in the first half of the season. 

Darius Garland: DG took the jump that I hoped he would becoming an Allstar and one of the best dual threat bucket generators already. Not quite top 25 but he’s coming. 

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25. Brandon Ingram: BI over the past 2 years took a MIP level jump and led the Pelicans to the postseason. His 3PT shot did regress back to the mean after a huge increase in 2021 but overall he’s a talented 3 level scorer with length and very solid playmaking.

24. Zion Williamson: Zion is still a little better than Ingram to me and the gap may increase if he was healthy this season. Last we saw Zion, he averaged 27 PPG on 62 EFG% and was an Allstar. He has yet to tap into his defensive potential but we’ve seen flashes of the playmaking. He obviously has freakish athleticism and is already one of the most dominant inside scorers in the game. Even with the durability tax, he cracks the list and I expect him to move up significantly next season so long as he is actually available. 

23. Bradley Beal: Granted it was early, but the Wizards were in the playoff picture with a healthy Beal this season. Despite finishing under .500, they also made the postseason last year in a season where Beal averaged 31 a game finishing second just behind Steph for the scoring title. He’s seen a drop off in his 3 point efficiency but is still one of the top volume scorers in the game. He also averaged nearly 7 assists when healthy this season showcasing another element of his bucket generating arsenal. 

22. Karl-Anthony Towns: KAT continues to hold the title as the best shooting big in basketball and one of the best shooters in general. Towns is shooting 40% from 3 over the past two seasons on high volume while also boasting a 58 EFG% He is the only player to average 24+ PPG while shooting over 50% from the field and over 40% from 3 this past season. Efficiency from the field and 3 puts him over Beal. 

21. Zach Lavine: Zach in a lot of ways mirrors Bradley Beal’s play-style with efficiency that more closely resembles KAT. 26 PPG on 49-40-85 splits over the past two seasons is extremely impressive. Not to mention he was playing with a knee injury for most of the year which he eventually had surgery on after the season. Would love to see a healthy Zach next season hopefully with his backcourt mate also healthy. Given the injury and also how great DeMar was playing to start the year, Lavine took a backseat while still being ultra efficient. I do believe he is still Chicago’s best player and should be their offensive focal point. With the strides he’s made defensively, he’s actually one of the better defenders in this group too.   

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20: Chris Paul: Cp3 despite showing some signs of decline, remains one of the top players in the league. This is not a projection onto next season so he could definitely take another dive further down this list but based on what he’s done for the Suns over the past two years, this spot is justified. Paul led the league in assists this past season at 11 per game with only 2 TOVs a night. He did see a considerable dip in his 3PT% and it is noticeably more difficult for him to create his own offense. He had an underrated first round averaging 22 and 11 on 57% from the field including several games without Booker, but it would ultimately be overshadowed by how bad he and the Suns were to choke that series vs Dallas. In the last 5 games of the series, Paul averaged just 9 PPG and 6 APG. On his resume however, he did turn a play- in team into a top 2 seed in back to back years including a league high 62 wins. Paul also was a huge reason why the Suns made the finals in 2021 and he actually averaged 22 and 8 on 55 FG%, 52 3PT% in those finals. Paul is still more accomplished and impactful than everyone below him on this list. 

19. Donovan Mitchell: Mitchell has statistically been one of the best postseason scorers in the league. His volume and efficiency in the 2020 and 2021 seasons were incredible. Some said his 36 PPG bubble series vs Denver was a fluke but he followed it up the next year averaging 35 PPG vs the Clippers. Unfortunately, Mitchell’s scoring effectiveness and efficiency regressed back to what it was when he played Houston in back to back years as he shot just 40% from the field and 21% from 3 in a first round loss to the Mavs. Mitchell is a solid playmaker with room to grow and isn’t a very good defender. He needs to continue to elevate his offensive game in the playoffs and work on being at least a neutral defender if he wants to move up this list. At this stage, Mitchell provides more offensive value in the postseason than everyone below him.

18. Anthony Davis: Yes this might seem very low for AD but let me explain. Simply put the “AD when healthy” takes aren’t really referring to the past two seasons, they’re referring to who he was in 2020. Because in 2021 and 2022, Davis simply hasn’t been that same player. Davis is shooting a putrid 23% from 3 over the past two seasons. His mid range efficiency isn’t much better at 37% from 10 feet to the 3PT line. A lot of what makes AD such a special talent in addition to his elite defense is his versatile offensive skill set. He’s been a beast inside at 79% from 0-3 feet but being a worse jump shooter than Giannis over that span is alarming. AD is also a poor FT at 72.5% which is an aberration from his career numbers. When you add on the fact that he hasn’t played 82 games over 2 years and isn’t quite displaying the same defensive impact, it’s clear why he’s taken such a dip. I still have to rank AD over everyone below him because he still affects the game in a multitude of ways giving you solid scoring, rebounding and still elite defense. I expect Davis to look better next year but again this is not a projection, it's what you have done for me lately. 

17. Kyrie Irving: Similarly to AD, we have another player whose ranking has dropped and availability plays a factor. However there are huge differences that keep Irving ahead of Davis. Kyrie hasn’t missed significant time due to injury over the past two seasons (outside of his injury vs the Bucks in the playoffs), he’s missed time because of a vaccine mandate that he didn’t want to take. He gets some tax because we have a more limited sample size of not seeing him play but I’m not going to use that against his reliability because it’s a very unique circumstance. Even still, Kyrie has played more games than Davis over this span. He’s also just flat out been the better player. Statistically, this has been his best stretch of regular season basketball averaging 27 a game on basically 50-40-90 splits. He doesn’t impact the game defensively like AD but the fact that he’s considerably more effective and efficient than Davis at every aspect of offense is enough for me. If Davis improves any aspect of his offense volume, FT shooting, mid range or 3PT he moves well ahead of Kyrie but until then I’m giving Irving the edge. 

16. James Harden: James Harden hasn’t quite had the availability issue outside of the Milwaukee series, but the lingering effects of that injury are why he ranks so low on this list. Since the hamstring injury, Harden hasn’t had the same explosiveness and his stepback 3 isn’t nearly as deadly. He’s still an elite playmaker for others becoming more and more of a point guard but the scoring production just isn’t the same. I am factoring in what he did for Brooklyn in 2021 because I do believe he can get back to about 80% of that player who found himself in the MVP conversation despite being pass-first. Harden averaged 25 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 11 APG that year and even this past season was 22-8-10. Improved efficiency with those counting stats is the player Philly needs to get over the top. Harden maintains the edge over Kyrie because of the playmaking gap so long as he can keep the scoring relatively close. 

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15. Devin Booker: Booker was the best player on a Finals team in 2021 but got even better in 2022. His Suns had the best record in the league and individually, Booker made the first team All-NBA. His perimeter shooting was always there but the percentages didn’t quite showcase how good of a shooter he truly was. That changed this year with a career high 38% from downtown on 7 attempts per game. Booker also took strides as a defender. Unfortunately, the Suns folded in the postseason blowing a 2-0 lead to an underdog Mavs team and Booker played a big part in that collapse. Harden, Kyrie, and AD may be more talented than Booker even at this stage but the production and accolades Devin racked up in this frame gives him the edge for now. 

14.  Ja Morant: Ja was a very difficult player to rank for several reasons. For starters his team boasted the 2nd best record in the league but was 20-5 without him. He also was already a star in 2021 beating Steph and GSW in the play-in tournament but won MIP and was awarded 2nd team All-NBA in 2022. His athleticism is absurd but he can also control himself as a high IQ playmaker. As a scorer, he took an 8 PPG increase up to 27 PPG. In his first playoff series, he averaged 30 and despite just a 3 game sample size due to injury, he was averaging 38 PPG and 8 APG vs the eventual champs GSW. Morant is the best guard paint scorer shooting 71% from 0-3 feet and most of his shots coming from that distance. Ja still isn’t a great outside shooter but can hit deep 3’s when needed and will likely only get better in that regard. He can make athletic plays defensively but still isn’t very good on that end. Overall, I’d take Ja right now as my franchise player over this group of guys below him but still within this tier. 

13. Paul George: PG had one of the most impressive playoff stretches of his career after Kawhi went down. With the series tied 2-2, he led the Clippers past the 1 seed Jazz and put up a really good fight vs the eventual West champs Phoenix Suns. George averaged 29 PPG, roughly 10 boards and 5 assists in both series showcasing what he’s still capable of as a number 1 option. This past season was cut short due to injuries with George playing just 31 games. LAC went 18-13 in those games in playoff position despite still being without Kawhi. PG was back for the play-in tournament putting up 34 points including 6 3’s but it wasn’t enough to beat the T-Wolves. George unfortunately missed the second play in game due covid protocols and the clippers missed the playoffs. 

12. Jimmy Butler: It’s been a rollercoaster for Jimmy Butler over the past two seasons. After being humiliated in the 2021 playoffs, a sweep vs the Bucks in which Jimmy got outscored by role player Bryn Forbes, Butler bounced back in 2022 as one of the top playoff PPG leaders leading the Heat to game 7 of the ECF. Sadly, they lost in heartbreaking fashion as Butler missed what could’ve been the go-ahead 3. Butler has been a playoff riser for most of his career but the gap between his playoff and regular season form this year is astonishing. Butler is a poor outside shooter at just  24% 3PT over this stretch but makes up for it with 2PT efficiency, volume FT shooting, and defense getting about 2 steals a game. Who’s better between Jimmy and PG seems to shift every year but because Jimmy was actually able to play in these playoffs, after being the best player on the 1 seed out East, and getting to game 7 of the ECF, he is back ahead of George.

11. Damian Lillard: Dame was compromised with an abdominal injury for most of this season which affected his ranking a bit but he’s been a durable player for most of his career and had a stellar 2021 campaign. There is a clear gap between Lillard and the couple players below him. When last healthy, Dame was actually peaking as an offensive weapon averaging 29 PPG and 7.5 APG on 45-39-93 splits. The volume, efficiency, and range of Lillard puts him in rare air. The last time we saw playoff Dame, he averaged 34 and 10 including a 55 point masterpiece that is up there with the best offensive displays in playoff history. 

10. Trae Young: Speaking of rollercoasters, Trae Young definitely experienced his 2021 Jimmy Butler moment vs Jimmy himself in a horrific first round loss to Miami. His regular season output in that span is clear of Butler though and his 2021 ECF run was at least on par with what Jimmy did. Trae led the league in total points and assists this season. His best trait is his playmaking yet he’s nearly a 30 PPG scorer. His weaknesses are glaring too, being significantly undersized and a terrible defender. Being one of the 5 best offensive weapons in the game makes him a top 10 caliber player despite those shortcomings. 

9. Jayson Tatum: Tatum has officially taken the next step from a high-end star to superstar status. His Finals struggles don’t take away from how great he was to lead the C’s through a really competitive Eastern Conference. He was the primary defender on Kevin Durant, one of the best scorers in NBA History, and outplayed him on the offensive end for a 4 game Celtics sweep. In Round 2, Giannis and the Bucks had Boston facing elimination but Tatum responded with 46 points in a pivotal game 6. He then won the ECF MVP getting the best of Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat. Tatum, like Devin Booker, made the first team All-NBA for the first time in his career. Trae’s first round struggles this year are really what put Tatum over him but the extreme defensive gap also factored in. 

8. Kawhi Leonard: Yes this seems very low for Kawhi but it’s also a bit of a placeholder because he didn’t play this past season. Even factoring in the 2021 season, the 7 guys above Kawhi have just proven more to me in this window. The league didn’t stop when Kawhi got hurt and guys are constantly getting better. I am confident Leonard can make his way back up this list and potentially land in the top 5 again. 

7. Joel Embiid: Embiid has been so good but also so unlucky. He finished as a runner up twice in the MVP race but because the winner, Nikola Jokic, is a center, Embiid also found himself on the All-NBA second team those years. He also dealt with nagging injuries in both playoff runs. I love the offensive development of his game as he’s a much more consistent perimeter shooter while still having a dominant inside game. He can also hit his FT’s which is a plus especially for a big who can draw fouls at the rate he does. The players above Embiid either have had more playoff success, are more valuable on the offensive end mainly because of their playmaking ability or both. At this point of the list it’s mainly personal preference. Embiid has been penalized for durability in the past but ironically his durability in comparison to Kawhi is a significant factor in him ranking over Leonard.   

6. Kevin Durant: KD in 2021 had many seriously considering him for the best in the world title but after his horrific outing in the 2022 sweep vs Boston, wondering if he’s even top 5. He falls just outside the top 5 due to his lack of availability and the playmaking gift that each member of the remaining 5 gives their team nightly. The fact that Durant is even this high after a usually career altering Achilles injury is a testament of his skillset and unique frame that make him a walking mismatch. KD played just 35 games the first year back from the injury and 55 the past season for Brooklyn. If he was more available along with Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn definitely could have seen more success but even when they were together but missing James Harden, they failed to meet expectations. With Durant having requested a trade, his future is very much up in the air but what isn’t is his status as one of the best if not the best scorer in the league. 

5. LeBron James: LeBron and KD are so close without being able to factor in his 2020 championship run and all the incredible years prior. Strictly talking about the past two seasons, both have struggled to stay available for their teams and both older rosters that were viewed as “stacked” significantly failed to meet their title contending expectations. Both averaged basically 30 PPG and also filled the stat sheet in other categories while being very efficient. KD is the one who had a healthy playoff run, two in fact, but they were both on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. LeBron’s team failure to make the postseason hurts his case but I really can’t put it on him because he did everything you could ask from him outside of maybe some defensive lapses. LeBron’s decision making with the ball in his hands is the separator and his ability to set up his teammates for easier offense is just greater than Durant’s. LBJ cracks the top 5 but in 2022, there are 4 players that I’d give the edge to over the King. 

4. Nikola Jokic: Jokic is the back to back MVP and that alone deserves tremendous respect. Jokic is essentially a point guard in a 7 foot un-athletic body. He is the first center since Shaq to win MVP and his second MVP season was even better than the first. His passing and ability to get the most out of his supporting cast was showcased throughout the regular season and even allowed the Nuggets to steal a game off the eventual champion Warriors. Jokic also led the Nuggets past a red hot Damian Lillard and the Blazers in a series that Denver probably was the less talented team. He has operated most of the stretch without his second and third best players. The knock on Jokic outside of athleticism is his defense which teams pick on in the playoffs. He isn’t a terrible defender by any means but it’s hard to call him a good one. I think the impact of the Joker lately has even exceeded King James. 

3. Luka Doncic: Luka Doncic is a 23 year old superstar who already seems to coast during the regular season. That didn’t stop him from making back to back first team All-NBA’s. However, in the playoffs, he’s simply a different beast. Doncic averaged over 33 PPG and nearly a triple double through the past two postseasons. Though he struggles with FT shooting, he is relatively efficient overall. Luka has carried the Mavs offense for the majority of this span with the highlight being when he took down the overall 1 seed Phoenix Suns with two top 20 players in the backcourt. Luka over Jokic is a tough call but Doncic is the slightly better offensive player and defense is far more important for a center than a PG so the lack of rim protection Jokic provides is more significant. 

2. Stephen Curry:  Curry had the best individual season of his career in 2021 despite his team missing the playoffs. He averaged 32 PPG on 48-42-92 splits while being over 5 rebounds and assists per game. He did all of that with no Klay Thompson and really no semblance of consistent floor spacing. He had to shoulder more of an offensive load than ever before and thrived in doing so despite the doubters and critics thinking he was a product of the system/talent around him. In 2022, Steph actually had the worst 3PT shooting year of his career but with a much better roster around him, broke the All-time 3PT record, won ASG MVP, won WCF MVP, led the Warriors to a championship, and won his first long awaited FMVP. There is only one player in basketball who exceeds this combination of impact, production, and accomplishments in this span. 

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo: Giannis has finally reached the point where I can feel confident in saying he is the best player on the planet. Even when he won the championship last year, I wasn’t quite ready to give him that title but ironically in a year where he didn’t win, he left no doubt in my mind. I firmly believe Giannis should have won MVP this year as he was the only player in the league to make first team All-NBA and first team All-Defense. His team also had a better record and winning % than Jokic when he was on the floor. Giannis also was neck and neck with Embiid and LeBron for the scoring title. He continued his regular season dominance into the playoffs and pushed the East champs, Boston Celtics, to 7 games despite being without his co-star, Khris Middleton for the entire series. Boston had the number 1 defense in basketball and he still averaged 34 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists despite receiving tons of defensive attention. His dominant inside scoring has been complemented with further development of his jumper while being a really good playmaker at his size and one of the best defenders in the sport.