The Best Basketball Players In The NBA Today
It’s a shame we won’t get to see Julius Randle playing when the NBA comes back, because he’s been on a tear for the last couple of years. Since the 2018-19 season, when he was with the Pelicans, Randle has averaged 20.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. This season with the Knicks, he was even more efficient, giving his team 21.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per 36 minutes he played. His first All-Star Game appearance has to be right around the corner if he keeps that kind of production up.
The NBA gave out four rookie-of-the-month awards for each conference during the 2019-20 season, and Ja Morant won three of them for the Western Conference. The former Murray State standout has dazzled Grizzlies fans during his first season, averaging 21.2 points and 8.3 assists per 36 minutes played. The team was just below .500 when the season was suspended but had won four of its last six games and was holding onto a playoff spot. With Zion Williamson missing much of the season, Morant put himself in a great position to be named rookie of the year.
The only guy on this list who can rival LeBron James for age and experience is future Hall of Famer Chris Paul. He’s a few months younger than James, but at 35 years old, he’s got more than a decade on many of the other players we’ve listed. After a three-year hiatus, Paul was back on the All-Star Team again this season — his 10th selection — even though his steal and assist figures are at career lows. Still, he’s giving the Thunder 7.7 assists and 20.0 points per 36 minutes played, and we can’t leave him off a list of the league’s most gifted ballers.
One of the league’s most consistent scoring threats, Kemba Walker made his fourth consecutive All-Star Game appearance in 2020. His production had dipped ever slightly from his one-man show numbers in Charlotte since he joined the Celtics this season, but he’s still been good for 24 points per 36 minutes played, which helped Boston secure the third-best record in the Eastern Conference when the season was halted. It’s exciting to see him finally leading a title contender.
Latvian superstar Kristaps Porzingis was a major part of the Mavs qualifying for the NBA’s return to play. He gave the team 22.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per 36 minutes played. Towering at 7 feet, 3 inches has also made him one of the NBA’s true forces of nature on defense since his debut in 2015. Since then, Porzingis has averaged 2.0 blocks per game, and this season he was giving the Mavericks 2.4 blocks per 36 minutes.
The Cavaliers were truly dreadful this season, which led them to easily miss the action in the bubble, but Kevin Love’s production was right where it typically is. He’s gotten far less press since LeBron James shipped off to Los Angeles, but Love remains one of the most versatile veterans in the NBA. Since the start of the 2016 season, he’s averaged 18.0 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. When you break down his figures per 36 minutes played, Love is even more impressive, averaging 20.0 points and 11.1 rebounds this season. In that latter category, he ranked second only to Giannis Antetokounmpo among all starting power forwards in the first part of 2019-2020.
Since debuting in 2016, Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis has steadily improved his game every season, culminating in his dominant performance this year. He landed on his first All-Star Game roster by averaging 18.5 points, 12.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game, all of which are easily career highs and gave him 50 double doubles in 62 games played. It’s going to be tough for him to improve his figures much more than that in years to come, but if Sabonis keeps them at that level, he’ll be ranked right alongside the game’s best low post players for years to come.
When the Spurs restart their season, LaMarcus Aldridge will be missing inside the bubble after undergoing shoulder surgery in April. Before the injury, which also caused him to miss a few games before the break, the center’s stats were slightly diminished from what Spurs fans are used to. He was chipping in 18.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, which are his lowest averages since the 2016-17 season but are more than enough to rank him among the best in the game.
After five seasons of being a low-end double double machine in Miami, Hassan Whiteside came to Portland and dialed his numbers up to star level this year. When the season came to a halt, Whiteside was only one behind Giannis Antetokounmpo as the league’s leader in double doubles, giving the Blazers 51 of them in his 61 appearances on the year. Whiteside’s stats per 36 minutes were among the best in the game this season, as he was good for 18.7 points, 16.4 rebounds and 3.5 blocks, the latter of which led everyone. If the team misses the playoffs, it won’t be his fault.
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