NBA top 40- Bill Simmons style

[Green Kool Aid]

Most of you who read this forum know that I am an NBA fanatic. About 90 percent of my sports watching and reading is devoted to the NBA. I watch about five games per week, and read everything from John Hollinger, Bill Simmons, and Kelly Dwyer (underrated NBA writer from cnnsi.com) There will be some definite influence from those three in these rankings:

The format of this is similar to Sports Guys’ rankings. The format under which I rank the players is as follows:

The NBA decides to rebuild itself. Every player is entered into an all league draft, and this is the order I think they should go in.

Basically the three main things I use to make my rankings were

1. Talent
2. Age (I use their age as of the end of 2007)
3. Durability

Group 1- Could not get traded for any one player. Period. Legit franchise players. NBA Superstars who are still young and you would love leading your team into the playoffs.

1. LeBron James, 23- LBJ23. The second coming. We are all witnesses. Etc.
2. Chris Bosh, 23- Love his game, attitude, and numbers.
3. Dwyane Wade 25- First of young guns to get a ring. Some injury concerns due to style of play.
4. Dwight Howard, 22- Has the body of a Greek god. Putting up 18/12 without a post-game, and still improving.
5. Chris Paul, 22- Historically good rookie season, and everyone raves about his personality. Cannot be stressed enough about your point guard.
6. Dirk Nowitzki, 29- 7 footer who would still be an all-star at 6’7”. Unbelievable talent, and will get his ring soon enough.
7. Amare Stoudemire, 25- STAT is back. Possibly better than ever.

Group 2- Perennial All-Stars. However, these players fall under the category of “Would trade for LeBron James” because of age or skill level. Still have some MVP seasons out of this group.

8. Carmelo Anthony, 23- I love his post up game and silky smooth jumper. Adding the 3 point shot to his arsenal would be huge though.
9. Kobe Bryant, 29- Best scorer since MJ. Only reason for semi-low ranking is wear and tear of 11 NBA seasons.
10. Yao Ming, 27- Underrated. I love watching that commercial of him knocking down those elbow jumpers consecutively. Passes the “Can you win a title with this guy as your best player?” test. Durability keeps him out of top group.
11. Pau Gasol, 27- Putting up very good numbers this year, after leading Spain to World Championship this summer. Great passer.
12. Tim Duncan, 31- Three rings and best post defender in the game.
13. Kevin Garnett, 31- Best teammates have included Wally Szczerbiak, Ricky Davis, and Steph Marbury. ‘Nuff said.

Group 3- No potential NBA MVPs, but perennial All-Stars.

14. Deron Williams, 23- Has given a reason for non-Bulls fans in Illinois to watch the NBA. Has everything you could want from your point guard.
15. Carlos Boozer, 25- Can someone please explain to me why he was a second round pick? This was unbelievably rigged because I thought he was unbelievable at Duke, possibly better than Brand, and THE CELTICS HAD NO FIRST ROUND PICK THAT YEAR!!!
16. Gilbert Arenas, 25- Agent Zero. I love his vigor, but think he needs to refocus himself. Getting a true point guard in Washington and getting him back over to the 2-guard spot would do wonders for his efficiency. (Bassy Telfair maybe??)
17. Elton Bramd, 29- Love his consistency. 20/10 for his career, never worse than 18/9 in eight NBA seasons.
18. Shawn Marion, 29- The versatility he brings on both ends of the floor are awesome. Reading Seven Seconds or Less made me think of him as a pouter, but I still love his game.
19. Joe Johnson, 26- Someone please rescue him from Atlanta? Reminds me of Paul Pierce. Career path unfortunately seems to be heading in the same direction.

Group 4- Steve Nash.

20. Steve Nash, 33- Couldn’t justify keeping him out of the top 20. I would bet money he will end up winning a championship before he retires. Because of that, he gets the nod here, even at his age.

Group 5- Young big men. I will probably get some flack for where these guys are ranked, but I don’t care. Young big men just don’t grow on trees, and I find them to be more valuable than 18-21 ppg wing players.

21. Al Jefferson, 22- NBA’s most improved player. Averaging 19 and 12 in 18 games since the all-star break. Show me an NBA player with better moves on the block.
22. Emeka Okafor, 25- Injury problems keep him this low. His offense has improved immensely since working with Hakeem Olajuwon, and is a defensive force.
23. Andrea Bargnani, 22- After a slow start in the NBA, Andrea is really warming up to the NBA. He will be an 18 ppg scorer by next year. Dirk has admitted he’s more talented at a similar age. Scary stuff.
24. Andris Biedrins, 21- Averaging close to a double double (10.3, 9.7) on 60 percent shooting. Should be a junior in college. Casual NBA fans have no idea who he is, but remember this name.
25. Tyson Chandler- 25- After looking disintested for most of his time in Chicago, is playing with a fire alongside Chris Paul. The NBA’s second leading rebounder is starting to get integrated into the offense more. Very good defensive player as well.
26. LaMarcus Aldridge, 22- Love this guy’s game. Put his name in the draft out of high school, got terrible reviews. Goes to college, learns how to play the game. 16 and 9 in March.

Group 6- As a Celtics homer, these guys just barely go under the category of “Would trade Paul Pierce for.”

27. Luol Deng, 22- Franchise player on a playoff team at his age is impressive. Like Carmelo, I would love to see him add 3 point range, but his defense, rebounding, and beautiful midrange stroke make him a dangerous player.
28. Andre Iguodala 23- Most know him from his ridiculous SportsCenter dunks, but Iggy is averaging 18, 6, and 5.5, to go along with 2 steals per game. He could be much higher on these rankings within a couple years.

Group 7- Aging superstars. It makes me feel incredibly old to think of these guys as being past their peaks.

29. Paul Pierce, 30- Still good for 25 per game, but he has gone from excellent to slightly below average defender in the past three years. Has never publicly asked for a trade, and I would love to see him win a championship and retire as a Celtic.
30. Jermaine O’Neal, 29- He’s come so far since being that kid on the bench during those very good Blazer teams of the late 90s.
31. Tracy McGrady, 28- Injuries have held him back at times, but aside from Kobe, there is no one more unstoppable when he’s “on.” Getting T-Mac and Yao healthy for the playoffs will be quite interesting.

Group 8- There’s about 25 players that could be argued for these last nine spots. It was tough. Deal with it. Guys like Zach Randolph, Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, and Ron Artest were kept off, because those are the guys who don’t sniff championships, even if they are more talented than guys I have ranked in the 20’s.

32. Michael Redd, 28- One dimensional, but it’s the most important dimension (scoring), and he’s very good at it. Not much else to say.
33. Caron Butler, 27- Gilbert’s work ethic has rubbed off on him, as he’s still improving a lot for his age. The scoring is great, but the 7.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals show the hustle.
34. Tony Parker, 25- This guy has one real skill, but it’s a skill which he does better than any point guard I have ever seen: Get into the lane and finish with a high success rate with either hand. Also, I forgot how young he was.
35. Kevin Martin, 24- I haven’t been shy about my mancrush on Kevin Martin. He has gone from being a poor man’s Michael Redd, to being on the career path of Michael Redd. Number 2 in most improved player this year.
36. Josh Howard, 27- Became a household as Dirk’s running mate during last year’s NBA playoffs. Not to NBA GM’s: Athletic players who can shoot, defend, and were ACC player of the year should not slip out of the lottery.
37. Josh Smith, 22- Has the skills of a young Shawn Marion. Not quite sure about his basketball IQ right now. Another guy with the potential to be a lot higher on these rankings in a couple years.
38. Tayshaun Prince, 27- The only Piston on the list. Numbers don’t tell the whole story because Detroit is so stacked, but Tay is the definition of glue guy. Also has incredibly long arms. Better 3 point shooter than JJ Redick to boot.
39. David Lee, 24- The Knicks’ best player. Averaging a double-double in his second year in the league. Improving post game, as well.
40. Gerald Wallace, 25- Brings it every night. Just wanted to say I have been a fan since his Sacto days.

Obv this is tl;dr for pretty much everyone, but any thoughts would be appreciated.