NBA Superstar Rankings: Anthony Davis' Rise Ushers in New Blood in the Top Tier
What exactly is a superstar in the NBA?
The definitions change depending on who you ask—some refuse to call more than five players by that term, while others might refer to any household name as a superstar. Maybe each team can have one, or maybe we're limited to just three per conference.
Whatever your personal rule may be, there's one thing that can't change—superstardom is constantly in flux. Some players evolve and build upon their celestial status, while others experience falls back toward the ground, whether in Icarian fashion or more naturally and over the course of many years. That's why this countdown is already markedly different than the version that stood heading into the season.
These rankings work for all definitions, as not all of the players have to be considered superstars. If you want to call all 20 by the term, fine. If you're only looking for five, then just consider the top five your current qualifiers.
Regardless, these players are ranked largely by their performances during the early portion of the 2014-15 campaign. But with so few games under their respective belts, we can't exactly ignore the past either. Reputation matters at this stage of the season, though the early work will certainly lead to big boosts and declines.
Injured Players
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Before delving into the rankings themselves, it's worth noting that injured players are not considered for any of the featured spots, nor will they be listed as honorable mentions.
If a player is expected to be out of action for a prolonged period, he's automatically ineligible for the remainder of this article. As a result, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Paul George will not be appearing, although they would certainly make the cut if the injury imp didn't dictate otherwise.
20. Al Jefferson (Previous Ranking: Unranked)
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Team: Charlotte Hornets
Position: C
Age: 29
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 21.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.6 steals, 1.4 blocks, 21.1 PER
The second year of the Steve Clifford-Al Jefferson pairing has proved to be just as fruitful as the first, at least in the early goings of the 2014-15 campaign. The big man is constantly surrounded by solid defensive players and asked to serve as the featured player on offense.
Sure, his rebounding numbers have declined—partially because Lance Stephenson loves stealing them and padding his stats on the boards—but Jefferson is adding new pieces to his game to make up for that negative element.
For example, take a peek at his free-throw shooting.
Averaging 4.9 attempts per 36 minutes, Jefferson is getting to the line at a career-best clip. His 0.25 free-throw rate is the highest it's been since his days with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and that's allowed him to rack up some easy points.
Once Jefferson's 59.6 shooting at the stripe regresses to the mean (he's a 71.1 percent shooter throughout his career), his scoring numbers will only go back up and shine more light on his positive value in the middle.
Honorable Mentions: Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Rudy Gay, Gordon Hayward, Kyrie Irving, Brandon Knight, Zach Randolph, Nikola Vucevic, John Wall, Deron Williams
19. Rajon Rondo (Previous Ranking: Unranked)
3 of 21
Team: Boston Celtics
Position: PG
Age: 28
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 10.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 12.0 assists, 1.9 steals, 0.3 blocks, 19.0 PER
Welcome back, Rajon Rondo.
Though the Boston Celtics point guard has struggled to win games for his team over the last few years, it's hard to fault him, given his sensational two-way impact. Rondo has continued to assert himself as one of the league's best rebounding backcourt members, but it's still his passing that takes the cake.
Even though Boston has a limited number of standout offensive options, the 28-year-old floor general has averaged a league-best 12.0 assists per game. His assist percentage of 48.4 percent is right in line with where it's hovered throughout his prime, so it's not as though he's suddenly receiving more chances to work with the ball in his hands.
Of course, the same problems exist that have for quite some time now. Rondo's lack of scoring ability is always going to be an issue until he can hone that outside shot, and it's prevented him from being all that valuable.
Ultimately, Boston has been only 0.2 points per 100 possessions better on the offensive end when Rondo plays. It's tough to pin too much blame on him there, but he's still not as beneficial a presence as he could be if defenses were forced to respect him as a scorer.
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18. Dwyane Wade (Previous Ranking: No. 23)
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Team: Miami Heat
Position: SG
Age: 32
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 19.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.6 blocks, 23.6 PER
It's been a mixed bag for Dwyane Wade during the early portion of the post-LeBron James portion of his career. He's already played in as many back-to-backs as he did all of last season, but he's also missed a pair of games while dealing with a tight hamstring.
Then again, should we be surprised? It's not as though there were many people operating under the faulty assumption that Wade would come anywhere close to playing a full season. The best news of all is that it was a bum hamstring at the heart of the absences, not trouble with his notoriously balky knees.
What's most important is that Wade has been quite effective whenever he's stepped onto the floor. He's still making over half his shots from the field, his perimeter jump-shooting work has looked solid and he's getting to the line when he attacks the basket. There just isn't much to complain about, save the unfortunate fact that he has to preserve energy and can't go at 100 percent on both ends of the floor.
However, that's a significant issue.
Wade's minus-1.4 defensive box plus-minus (DBPM) is not impressive at all, and it would make for the second time he's been in the negatives throughout his entire career, the first being minus-0.4 during the 2007-08 campaign. Plus, the Heat have allowed 10.2 points per 100 possessions more when he plays.
There's no hope of him staying on the court game in and game out, but there's a chance his defense returns to at least adequate levels. If that happens, he'll elevate himself further up the ranks.
17. Klay Thompson (Previous Ranking: Unranked)
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Team: Golden State Warriors
Position: SG
Age: 24
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 23.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.9 blocks, 22.8 PER
Say hello to the early favorite for Most Improved Player.
Klay Thompson was massively overrated heading into the season by virtue of a gaudy points-per-game total from the 2013-14 season that didn't reflect his inability to create shots for himself or make an impact when his jumper wasn't connecting. But that's no longer the case, as Thompson is working off the bounce, continuing to play excellent defense, justifying his newly inked extension and always remaining valuable.
After requiring assists on 62.2 and 94.6 percent of his makes from inside and outside the three-point arc respectively last year, Thompson's numbers are now down to 45 and 89.3. That's a monumental difference, and it's allowed him to become far less reliant on setup passes from his teammates.
Plus, the 2-guard is now averaging 3.3 assists per game, which would be a career-high mark. His assist percentage has skyrocketed from 10.2 to 16.6 percent, and that's made him into an even more threatening offensive player.
While it will be tough for Thompson to maintain his shooting figures throughout the entirety of the 2014-15 season, it's already abundantly clear that he's added plenty of new tools to his ever-growing arsenal.
16. Chris Bosh (Previous Ranking: No. 22)
6 of 21
Team: Miami Heat
Position: PF/C
Age: 30
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 20.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.8 blocks, 20.9 PER
Chris Bosh took to his alpha-dog role with aplomb at the beginning of the 2014-15 campaign.
Though the Miami Heat have taken a step back without Dwyane Wade in the lineup, Bosh has put up big numbers and left little doubt that he's capable of carrying a squad while he's in his 30s. Doubt existed before the season, given Bosh's role as the third wheel in the Miami Heat's Big Three, but it shouldn't any longer.
This big man is still one of the elites at his position, just as he was the last time he filled a glamorous role, which came back with the Toronto Raptors.
Not only has Bosh scored over 20 points per game—though his shooting percentages have plummeted and need to rise quickly—but he's also rebounded the ball more effectively than he has in years. Plus, he's playing solid and underrated defense, protecting the rim and helping anchor the Heat's point-preventing unit.
Unfortunately, the 30-year-old has cooled down significantly over his past three outings, which has coincided with Miami's three-game skid. During those losses to the Indiana Pacers, Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks, Bosh has shot only 24.5 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from beyond the arc. The lowlight was a 2-of-17 outing against the Bucks' surprisingly potent defense.
That can't continue, or else it will ruin both Bosh's chances of remaining ranked in the next installment of these standings and Miami's hopes of earning a top seed in the Eastern Conference.
15. Kyle Lowry (Previous Ranking: Unranked)
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Team: Toronto Raptors
Position: PG
Age: 28
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 18.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.1 blocks, 23.1 PER
Despite taking 0.7 fewer shot attempts per game, Kyle Lowry is now producing an additional 0.4 points during the typical contest.
How? Efficiency.
His field-goal percentage is up from 42.3 to 48.5 percent, and while he's struggled to put the ball in the basket from the perimeter with any sort of consistency, the floor general is getting to the charity stripe with much more frequency. In 2013-14, Lowry set a career mark by averaging 4.9 free-throw attempts per game.
Now he's up to 5.8.
Though the 28-year-old has struggled a bit defensively, still playing with plenty of effort but failing to slow down the opposition as much as he did last season, his offensive value has been through the roof.
Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard and Chris Paul are the only players with higher offensive box plus-minus (OBPM) figures, and despite his pedestrian defensive numbers, Lowry still ranks No. 8 in value over replacement player (VORP) throughout the league.
If you're looking for the primary reason the Toronto Raptors have gotten off to a scorching 8-2 start, you can stop now. You've found him.
14. Kevin Love (Previous Ranking: No. 7)
8 of 21
Team: Cleveland Cavaliers
Position: PF
Age: 26
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 17.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.3 blocks, 17.7 PER
This is a precipitous fall for Kevin Love, who was ranked No. 7 heading into the season. But the beginning of the year is the time for overreactions. While the past still matters, we're dealing with a small sample of information from this particular campaign, and that matters quite a bit for a player in an entirely new situation.
A player like Love, in other words.
Will Love return to form once he gains comfort in David Blatt's offensive system? Almost certainly, but his shooting woes—37.7 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from beyond the arc—have made it impossible to overlook his defensive inadequacy and all-around decline on the boards.
As it stands, the Cleveland Cavaliers have actually been worse when he's played.
With Love on the floor, the Cavs have scored 115.8 points per 100 possessions and allowed 113, good for a differential of 2.8 points per 100 possessions. But when he sits, those numbers shrink to 110.1 and 105.5 respectively, giving Cleveland a more impressive margin of 4.5 points per 100 possessions.
Again, this should change. But right now, it's Love's pedigree and skill set that's carrying him to this placement, not his actual production. Kudos to Chris Bosh for seeing this coming, as he explained to Bleacher Report's Ethan Skolnick before the season started:
"It's going to be very difficult for him. Even if I was in his corner and I was able to tell him what to expect and what to do, it still doesn't make any difference. You still have to go through things, you still have to figure out things on your own. It's extremely difficult and extremely frustrating. He's going to have to deal with that.
"
Bosh figured it out, and Love will too.
13. Blake Griffin (Previous Ranking: No. 6)
9 of 21
Team: Los Angeles Clippers
Position: PF
Age: 25
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 23.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.5 blocks, 19.5 PER
Blake Griffin entered the 2014-15 season with remarkably high expectations, but he's been unable to meet them thus far. Though there's plenty of time for that to change, it's disconcerting that Griffin is scoring more inefficiently than before, failing to make much of a defensive impact and struggling on the glass.
The rebounding is especially troubling because Griffin's numbers are starting to follow a negative trend across the board:
| 2010-11 | 10.2 | 26.9 | 18.6 |
| 2011-12 | 10.7 | 25.1 | 17.8 |
| 2012-13 | 8.7 | 21.5 | 15.2 |
| 2013-14 | 7.7 | 21.2 | 14.7 |
| 2014-15 | 6.9 | 16.7 | 11.6 |
Additionally, the area of Griffin's game that is supposed to be getting better every year isn't doing so.
The big man has shot only 34.8 percent from between 10 and 16 feet, down from last season's 39.8 percent. Between that and some struggles around the rim, it shouldn't be surprising that his overall scoring game appears to have declined during the year's opening salvo.
Griffin is only 25 years old and should soon render this an early-season fluke, but it's troubling nonetheless.
12. Damian Lillard (Previous Ranking: No. 16)
10 of 21
Team: Portland Trail Blazers
Position: PG
Age: 24
2013-14 Per-Game Stats: 20.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.2 blocks, 23.5 PER
Remember Damian Lillard's slow start? He averaged 13.7 points per game on 26.8 percent shooting from the field during his first three outings, but that already seems like a distant memory.
Since then, the Portland Trail Blazers point guard has produced 23.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 7.7 assists during the average game, and he's done so with a field-goal percentage well above 50 percent. Plus, Lillard has drilled 53.1 percent of his triples over that stretch, leaving no doubt he's one of the very elite snipers in the Association.
Lillard's shooting exploits haven't been mythologized like Stephen Curry's, but perhaps it's time for that to change. The Weber State product took 6.8 three-point attempts per game in 2013-14 and made 39.4 percent of them. Now, he's attempting 7.1 per contest and hitting at a 46.5 percent clip. With a league-best 33 makes from downtown, he's on pace to splash in 270 over the course of the season and come within two of Curry's single-year record.
Additionally, the 24-year-old is finally playing better defense. As a rookie, he recorded a minus-2.2 DBPM. That number rose to minus-1.6 as a sophomore, though he was still worse than a league-average player would have been.
But in 2014-15, Lillard's DBPM is 0.3, finally putting him on the right side of the ledger.
11. LaMarcus Aldridge (Previous Ranking: No. 11)
11 of 21
Team: Portland Trail Blazers
Position: PF
Age: 29
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 21.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.4 steals, 1.3 blocks, 21.8 PER
The extent to which LaMarcus Aldridge has become the heart and soul of the Portland Trail Blazers offense is absolutely remarkable. Everything revolves around his ability to post up or knock down mid-range jumpers, and consistency from the 29-year-old is of paramount importance.
That's good news for Rip City, which has been 12.9 points per 100 possessions better when Aldridge is on the floor. However, there are still some flaws in this big man's game.
Aldridge is ultimately reliant on the game's most inefficient shot—mid-range jumpers. It depresses his overall field-goal percentage, and he rarely gets to the line in order to compensate for the inherent negative aspects of that style of play.
Fortunately, he's finding a new way to mitigate the ill effects.
Through his first nine appearances, Aldridge has gone 5-of-12 from beyond the three-point arc, and that's great news for Portland. After all, the more he can stretch out the court, the better.
He's only made more than a handful of triples once—seven during the 2008-09 season—so he's on pace to shatter that career mark. If he can keep up this pace while maintaining his level of defensive presence and still shouldering a huge amount of offensive responsibility, he'll only keep moving up the ranks.
10. Marc Gasol (Previous Ranking: No. 12)
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Team: Memphis Grizzlies
Position: C
Age: 29
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 18.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.6 blocks, 20.8 PER
The leader of the no-stars All-Stars, Marc Gasol is absolutely incredible at doing all the little things that don't necessarily show up in the box score. And all the while, his traditional and advanced stats are still pretty darn excellent, as evidenced by that plus-20 PER and his well-rounded line during an average game.
But Gasol is just as likely to make the proper pass to a player who will then record an assist. He's going to set brutal screens for his teammates and open up the floor for everyone with his dual-threat nature on the offensive end.
And he's even better on defense, where he can anchor one of the league's most suffocating units while completely deterring opponents from entering into the paint.
Gasol has already done enough to rank No. 5 on Sekou Smith's MVP countdown for NBA.com:
"Gasol's individual numbers (17.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks) might not dazzle. His overall impact on one of the best teams in the league, however, is undeniable. The Grizzlies are a different team when Gasol is healthy and serving as their overall epicenter. What he doesn't bear in a huge scoring and rebounding load down low (thanks to Zach Randolph) he makes up for in the leadership burden he carries. His screen freed Courtney Lee for the game winner against the Kings Thursday night.
"
Rarely has there been a more appropriate play than the one Smith references. Courtney Lee gets all the glory for his incredible reverse layup that he somehow pulled off within 0.3 seconds, but he's not in position to make that crucial play without Gasol freeing him first.
9. Carmelo Anthony (Previous Ranking: No. 5)
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Team: New York Knicks
Position: SF/PF
Age: 30
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 23.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.2 blocks, 20.8 PER
Carmelo Anthony already has a 46-point game to his credit in 2014-15...but it came in a loss to the Utah Jazz.
That about sums up the season for Anthony, who is floundering away as a volume scorer on an overmatched team that's trying to learn an entirely new system. He's had a few poor performances. But they've been cancelled out by his excellent ones, and the result is 23.9 points per game on 45.4 percent shooting from the field, 36.8 percent from beyond the arc and a 76.1 percent arc at the stripe.
Now that he's spending more time on the perimeter and typically lining up at the 3, as opposed to switching between the two forward positions in 2013-14, his rebounding numbers have dipped after last season's excellent effort on the glass. But Anthony is also passing the ball quite well and doing what he can to fit in with the triangle offense Derek Fisher and Phil Jackson are running for the New York Knicks.
Quite simply, it's hard to blame this superstar for New York's overall futility. He's playing solid basketball, even if he's declined slightly since last year's incredible performance. Wins and losses are team statistics, after all, not ones solely controlled by individuals.
8. Dirk Nowitzki (Previous Ranking: No. 15)
14 of 21
Team: Dallas Mavericks
Position: PF
Age: 36
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 20.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.4 blocks, 27.5 PER
Now with more points on his resume than any other international player in NBA history, Dirk Nowitzki is once more refusing to let old age be his downfall. He's developed so many ways to score with finesse that defenses are still as hopeless as ever when trying to prevent him from splashing in jumpers.
Through 10 games, Nowitzki is not only averaging over 20 points per contest, but he's shooting a scorching 55.9 percent from the field and knocking in 47.5 percent of the shots that come from outside the arc. Those are obviously unsustainable numbers for a player who rarely scores in the paint, but it's a wonderful testament to just how good Nowitzki has become.
Only 12.5 percent of his shots have come from inside 10 feet, and he's still been that efficient. That's supposed to be impossible.
Throughout all of NBA history, only 15 individual seasons—including two from this year—have been recorded in which a player at least 35 years old averaged 20 or more points per game: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (four times), Kobe Bryant (this season), Alex English, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone (five times), Nowitzki (twice, including this season) and Lenny Wilkens.
Nowitzki already has the second-most three-pointers of anyone on the list, and he's only played 10 games. The most? That would be Nowitzki in 2013-14.
7. Dwight Howard (Previous Ranking: No. 9)
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Team: Houston Rockets
Position: C
Age: 28
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 19.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.9 steals, 2.6 blocks, 20.9 PER
Even though Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant have taken their turns yelling obscenities at Dwight Howard, he's in the midst of a truly impressive season. At times, the big man has looked as though he's in an Orlando Magic uniform, playing with explosiveness and enjoying the relatively clean bill of health that has eluded him over the past few seasons.
Though his free-throw shooting has inexplicably broken its upward trajectory and left him with a career-worst 44.8 percent shooting, he's been a two-way force, providing plenty of efficient offense and serving as the centerpiece for the NBA's best defense.
When Howard has been on the floor, the Houston Rockets have allowed just 90.1 points per 100 possessions. When he's sitting, that number rises all the way to 102.8, 12.7 points worse than the on-court mark. And he's had a similar effect on the Rockets' offensive numbers, as they're scoring an additional 13.7 points per 100 possessions.
That's quite the impact.
Howard's not winning any popularity contests, and his approval rating seems to be hovering in low territory. But there's no denying just how well he's played throughout 2014-15.
6. DeMarcus Cousins (Previous Ranking: No. 10)
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Team: Sacramento Kings
Position: C
Age: 24
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 22.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.4 blocks, 27.2 PER
Mature DeMarcus Cousins is scary.
The dominant big man is keeping a level head throughout the 2014-15 season, avoiding technical fouls, maintaining his level of effort when calls don't go his way, holding back head coach Mike Malone when he gets too fiery and yukking it up with his teammates.
Of course, it helps that the Sacramento Kings are winning for the first time in what seems like decades, but there's been a noticeable change from Cousins.
He's been at the center of everything for the surprising Kings, playing the best defense of his career and still thriving on the offensive end of the floor. Cousins has an unfair blend of size, athleticism and finesse, and more so than every before, it's allowing him to dominate virtually any type of defender.
The only part of his game that's regressed is his passing, as he's averaging a career-worst 1.6 assists per game. Once that catches up to speed, he'll only continue to assert himself as the new standard bearer at the center position.
It's a spot he's been close to earning for some time now, and he's finally there.
5. James Harden (Previous Ranking: No. 13)
17 of 21
Team: Houston Rockets
Position: SG
Age: 25
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 25.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.0 blocks, 24.8 PER
James Harden has actually been trying on defense.
Though it's a testimony to Dwight Howard's rim-protecting excellence that the Houston Rockets have the league's best point-preventing unit while Harden plays 37 minutes per game, let's not be too quick to decry the bearded 2-guard's efforts on the less-glamorous end.
Houston has actually been 5.9 points per 100 possessions better on defense when he plays, and his individual numbers aren't too shabby either. Harden's DBPM is an impressive 2.6 after posting negative or null values each of his past four seasons. He's even earned a league-high 0.9 defensive win shares.
Plus, 82games.com shows that Harden has held the opposition to a minuscule PER of 10.0, even better than last year's 13.9. Of course, his opposing PER was only impressive last season because he cherry-picked the spots in which he'd play defense, often sleepwalking his way through that part of the game.
"James' biggest improvement has been on the defensive end," Houston head coach Kevin McHale told Jonathan Feigen for Bleacher Report. "He's been solid for us. He's out there defending."
Well, talk about the narrative flipping around.
Harden has been nothing shy of stellar on the offensive end—please don't look at only his field-goal percentage, as it's remarkably misleading, given his free-throw-earning proclivities—and now he's actually playing defense? If that keeps up, any debate about the league's best 2-guard should be met with laughter.
4. Chris Paul (Previous Ranking: No. 3)
18 of 21
Team: Los Angeles Clippers
Position: PG
Age: 29
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 18.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 10.1 assists, 2.4 steals, 0.5 blocks, 26.0 PER
Chris Paul just continues to play fantastic basketball on both ends of the court.
Currently leading the league in steals per game for the fifth consecutive season, he's hounding opposing point guards just like he always has. Having a dominant defender at the 1 is more of a luxury than a necessity, but Paul certainly qualifies as such, setting the tone for the Los Angeles Clippers as the first line on both ends of the floor.
And of course, there's his offense.
Though he's not getting to the charity stripe as often as he typically does, the 29-year-old floor general is shooting the ball efficiently from all over the floor and finding his teammates easily, both in transition and while operating within the confines of a half-court set.
His assist percentage of 49 percent is actually the highest mark he's produced in the last six seasons, and it puts him on pace to lead the NBA for the third year in a row.
Paul certainly isn't declining at this stage of his career, but he's also not improving. And that's what finally tears him away from the No. 1 spot among point guards.
3. Stephen Curry (Previous Ranking: No. 4)
19 of 21
Team: Golden State Warriors
Position: PG
Age: 26
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 24.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 2.3 steals, 0.0 blocks, 27.5 PER
Even though Stephen Curry has struggled with his shot from the perimeter—and to be clear, a struggling Curry is still hitting 39.7 percent of his 7.8 attempts per game—and is still turning the ball over with remarkable frequency, he's now ascended to the top of the point guard leaderboard.
After all, he's fixed his biggest weakness.
We all know what Curry can do on offense. He's a fantastic scorer with some of the most creative passing chops in the league, allowing him to drop 30 points and 15 assists, as he did against the Los Angeles Lakers, seemingly without breaking a sweat. Nothing new is happening there, though Curry is on pace to average a career high in points per game and is getting remarkably close to the 50/40/90 club.
It's defense where he's always struggled, but that's no longer the case in 2014-15, as Grant Gibbs writes for USA Today Sports:
"It's not so much that he’s made vast improvements as a dominate-your-man, on-the-ball defender — he's converted into completely buying into the team's defense philosophies, and shading his man towards where the help is build in. His improvements in these areas have made the Warriors defense, at least in the early part of the season, go from good to exceptional. These are the things that turn good teams into championship caliber teams.
"
Curry has a 2.1 DBPM—the first positive mark of his six-season career. He's helped the Golden State Warriors build one of the best defenses in basketball. And he's sacrificed none of his offensive production in order to achieve that.
He's an MVP front-runner in the early stages of the current go-round, and it's not just because of his shooting touch.
2. Anthony Davis (Previous Ranking: No. 2)
20 of 21
Team: New Orleans Pelicans
Position: PF/C
Age: 21
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.3 steals, 4.1 blocks, 35.5 PER
Anthony Davis is putting up numbers that haven't been seen since Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson were playing out their primes. Everything about him seems hyperbolic except that Davis is apparently operating in an alternate reality where impossible basketball feats have suddenly become possible.
Any guesses when the last time someone averaged at least two assists, steals and blocks per game was? Robinson in 1992, and only he and Olajuwon have done it over the course of a full season. Oh, and Davis is doing so while averaging 20 and 10 with room to spare.
How about the last time a player had a PER above 35?
It's a trick question. No one has ever done that, seeing as Wilt Chamberlain's record from the 1962-63 season stands at 31.82.
And when you look at win shares per 48 minutes, Davis' mark of 0.355 both leads the league and resonates on a historical scale once more. Were he to maintain that throughout the season, he'd top Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time record of 0.3399 in 1971-72.
Davis is earning all these comparisons at just 21 years old, and it still seems as though he's getting better each time he steps onto a basketball court. At this point, it feels as though ascending to No. 1 is a matter of "when," not "if."
1. LeBron James (Previous Ranking: No. 1)
21 of 21
Team: Cleveland Cavaliers
Position: SF/PF
Age: 29
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 27.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.6 blocks, 26.3 PER
So much for those struggles LeBron James endured at the beginning of his homecoming season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. While it will take him time to gain full comfort with his new star teammates, there's already no doubt that the four-time MVP remains at the top of the heap (for the time being, at least).
James seems to have lost a bit of explosiveness and isn't finishing as many plays above the rim, but that's more of a stylistic concern. He's a remarkably potent basketball player, not just a superb athlete.
During his last three games, James is averaging 35.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game while shooting 59.4 percent from the floor and 50 percent beyond the arc. Those are ridiculous numbers, but they haven't seemed too much of a burden for the 29-year-old, even when he's forced to carry his team's offense, as he did during a comeback victory over the Boston Celtics.
It's tough to see James maintaining that level of play for even a month, but he's still the league's most dominant player when he turns his game all the way on. That much hasn't changed, nor will it for quite some time.
Anthony Davis is coming for the throne, but it's still James' seat to lose.
Note: All stats, unless otherwise indicated, come from Basketball-Reference.com and are current as of Nov. 17.
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