NBA Superstar Rankings 2015: Final Order Heading into All-Star Weekend
The NBA's superstars will converge on Madison Square Garden for All-Star Weekend, but that's not enough differentiation for us.
Sure, each of the league's biggest stars are going to be participating in the festivities—or sitting out with an injury—but how do they stack up amongst each other? Who's risen to the very top of the NBA's upper echelon?
To answer that question, we're looking at a number of factors. Obviously, defense and offense both matter, but we're even more concerned with how these players have performed in recent outings. If they're trending in the right direction, their stars are likely burning even brighter than they would otherwise.
Recent play will be one of the biggest reasons for changes since the last edition of these rankings, which came out in early January. But it's not as though we're forgetting about the bulk of the 2014-15 campaign.
As always, everything matters.
Injured Players
1 of 12
Before delving into the rankings, it's worth noting that injured players are not considered for any of the featured spots, and they will not be listed as honorable mentions.
If a player is expected to be out of action for a prolonged period or has missed too much time in the last few weeks, he's automatically ineligible for the remainder of this slideshow. Recent performances are weighted pretty heavily here.
As a result, Paul George, Blake Griffin, Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade will not be appearing, although they would make the cut—or at least be considered—if the injury imp didn't dictate otherwise.
Honorable Mentions
2 of 12
LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard has continued to produce big numbers over his last 12 games, averaging 20.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 6.4 assists per contest. He's struggled with his shot, but the overall production is still impressive and has helped keep the Portland Trail Blazers somewhat afloat as they struggle through a seemingly never-ending stream of injuries.
Meanwhile, LaMarcus Aldridge is fighting past his broken thumb and refusing to skip even a single beat. Since returning on Jan. 24 against the Washington Wizards after a two-game absence, he's posted 26.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.
If there were a leader among the honorable mentions, it would be Aldridge.
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks don't have one superstar who's carried them to the league's second-best record. Al Horford, Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver and the rest of Mike Budenholzer's troops have all contributed.
The NBA even named the Hawks' entire starting five—the four aforementioned players and DeMarre Carroll—the Eastern Conference's Players of the Month, completely shattering established precedent in the process. Hell, they're even the ninth team in NBA history with four All-Stars in a single season.
If the team is getting that type of credit, I can make the collective unit a combined honorable mention.
Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors
This first-time All-Star's MVP campaign has fizzled out, but it's not as though Kyle Lowry is suddenly having a poor season. Nothing could be further from the truth, even if his scoring has slowed down now that a healthy DeMar DeRozan is taking on more of an offensive burden.
During his last 10 games, the point guard is averaging just 14.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game while shooting 40.2 percent from the field. This isn't what the Toronto Raptors expect from Lowry, and he'll surely break out of his funk at some point in the near future.
But for now, it's enough to knock him out of the top 10.
Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
This is about more than one 52-point game and a record-setting quarter.
Klay Thompson has continued to scorch nets from all over the court, and he's averaged 23.7 points per game during his last 10 appearances. Over that stretch, he's shooting 47.5 percent from the field, 43 percent from beyond the arc and 85.3 percent at the charity stripe, all while continuing to play lockdown perimeter defense.
It's no longer appropriate to think of Thompson as a member of Stephen Curry's supporting cast. At this point, he's very much a star of his own.
Other Notables: Carmelo Anthony, Eric Bledsoe, Chris Bosh, Jimmy Butler, Mike Conley, Tim Duncan, Monta Ellis, Pau Gasol, Gordon Hayward, Kyrie Irving, Al Jefferson, Dirk Nowitzki, Zach Randolph, Nikola Vucevic
10. DeMarcus Cousins (Previous Ranking: No. 8)
3 of 12
Team: Sacramento Kings
Position: C
Age: 24
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 23.6 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.6 blocks, 24.1 PER
Per-Game Stats in Past 10: 22.9 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.9 steals, 1.4 blocks
DeMarcus Cousins hasn't been nearly as motivated under head coach Tyrone Corbin.
We've already seen him take a few possessions off, standing still and not even bothering to watch the action unfold around him. While he's remained quite productive, his shooting percentages and turnovers are trending in opposite directions.
Over his last 10 games, Cousins has knocked down only 41.5 percent of his field-goal attempts, and he's not getting to the charity stripe quite as often. Additionally, the big man had turned the ball over 4.7 times per contest during the 10-game stretch heading into Tuesday night's affair with the Chicago Bulls, a number that's a bit higher than his season-long average of 4.4 cough-ups.
Cousins is still a dominant center capable of lighting up the scoreboard and inhaling rebounds. His passing continues to be a bit underrated as well, even if his overall production has slipped a bit since the calendar turned to 2015.
Now we get to see how he works under a different coach, as George Karl is expected to take over for the Sacramento Kings after the All-Star break, per ESPN's Marc Stein and Chris Broussard.
Cousins and his camp resisted the idea of Karl pacing the sidelines, per USA Today's Sam Amick, to the point that the center went on an unprompted tangent/rant after hitting a dramatic game-winner against the Phoenix Suns last weekend. It's worth noting that Bleacher Report's Ric Bucher reported this was more stemming from confusion over the situation than a dislike of Karl.
But regardless of the feelings during this complicated saga, the new coach can bring out the best in Cousins, so long as the incumbent player is amenable to Karl's ideas and instruction.
And as we saw during Cousins' time under Mike Malone, he's capable of more than he's currently producing.
9. John Wall (Previous Ranking: No. 10)
4 of 12
Team: Washington Wizards
Position: PG
Age: 24
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 17.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 1.9 steals, 0.5 blocks, 20.7 PER
Per-Game Stats in Past 10: 18.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 10.6 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.3 blocks
"I got to give John credit—he's a totally different player than the one that came here," Miles Rawls, a longtime Washington Wizards season-ticket holder who runs the Goodman League, told Mike Wise for ESPN.com. "At first he was like a crash dummy, goin' 100 miles an hour, runnin' into whoever was under the basket. Now we got somethin' special."
There's no better analogy.
When Wall entered the league as a precocious No. 1 pick fresh off some dominance at Kentucky, he played with the pedal to the metal at all times, and he often got himself into some trouble. He wasn't particularly efficient, and while the natural talent was there, it wasn't manifesting itself in positive production every night.
So much for that.
Wall still has all the physical gifts, and he now knows how to use them. He's become a terrifying defender who can play help defense as well as any point guard in basketball. And even though his jumper isn't fully developed, he's such a savvy offensive contributor that he's still putting up massive numbers and leading his Wizards to plenty of wins.
His assist percentage of 46.1 is particularly impressive. Not only does he pace the NBA in total assists and dimes per game, but he's also leading the league in that third percentage category, which is arguably the most important.
8. Marc Gasol (Previous Ranking: Other Notables)
5 of 12
Team: Memphis Grizzlies
Position: C
Age: 30
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 18.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.7 blocks, 22.5 PER
Per-Game Stats in Past 10: 14.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.7 blocks
Marc Gasol hasn't been quite as heavily involved in the scoring game lately, deferring to Zach Randolph more and filling the role he seems more comfortable in. He's still scoring at a better rate than ever before, but now he's showing off his passing chops with even more frequency.
In Gasol's last 14 appearances, he's averaged 4..5 dimes per game. Somehow, he's recorded at least four assists in 10 of those outings. And as a result, the Memphis Grizzlies offense completely changes when he's on the floor, as defenses have to prepare for an entirely new point of attack.
Then again, it's not as though the defense is the same when he's playing, either. Gasol's impact may not be readily apparent, but it shouldn't be understated. That's where my FATS projections come in (based on historical similarities and explained in full here).
Since the calendars flipped over to 2015, the Grizzlies have played like a 41-win team when the Spanish center is on the bench, comparing most favorably to last year's injury-decimated Chicago Bulls. But when Gasol steps onto the floor, Memphis becomes the spitting image of a 53-win team that boasts the 1996-97 Seattle SuperSonics as the top historical comparison. Those Sonics went 57-25 before losing to the Houston Rockets in the second round of the playoffs.
Obviously, that's a big difference. Typical on/off numbers may not prop up Gasol as a driving force behind Memphis' success, but make no mistake about it. He's still the engine that makes this team go.
7. Chris Paul (Previous Ranking: No. 7)
6 of 12
Team: Los Angeles Clippers
Position: PG
Age: 29
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 17.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 9.7 assists, 1.9 steals, 0.2 blocks, 24.8 PER
Per-Game Stats in Past 10: 19.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 9.1 assists, 1.9 steals
Chris Paul's playing style might rub some the wrong way. He's annoyingly competitive, to the point that his penchant for exaggerating contact, complaining to refs and attempting every sneaky move in the book can be grating.
Perhaps that's why so many are excited to downplay his standing among the league's best point guards. Paul isn't declining rapidly. He's not going away, and he most certainly still belongs in the ranks of the elites.
If his scoring, passing and underrated rebounding don't give him enough credit, how about his jaw-dropping levels of efficiency? In a sport that increasingly looks upon mid-range shots with utter disdain, he continues to make plenty of attempts from all areas of the court, and he almost never turns the ball over.
Throughout all of NBA history, 106 seasons have featured a qualified player who averaged at least 9.5 assists per game. Excluding the 16 that came before turnovers were tracked, only Muggsy Bogues in 1989-90 averaged fewer cough-ups per game than the 2.2 Paul is currently recording.
He remains more point god than point guard, even if the new stalwarts at the position are drawing far more attention. Maybe that will change now that Blake Griffin is out of the lineup and Paul's usage rate is sure to spike rather dramatically.
6. Russell Westbrook (Previous Ranking: No. 6)
7 of 12
Team: Oklahoma City Thunder
Position: PG
Age: 26
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 25.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 7.6 assists, 2.2 steals, 0.2 blocks, 28.5 PER
Per-Game Stats in Past 10: 27.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 8.1 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.4 blocks
Russell Westbrook has put up some astounding numbers recently. He's a walking triple-double threat who seems capable of exploding for a 40-point game on any given night. Sure, he's still prone to putting up some ill-advised shots, but the production is there, and then some.
Throughout all of NBA history, just three players have averaged at least 27 points, six rebounds and eight assists per contest, as Westbrook has done over his last 10 outings. LeBron James did so in 2009-10 just before joining the Miami Heat. Michael Jordan achieved the feat in 1988-89. Oscar Robertson was the founder of the club, and he's actually an eight-time member.
Can Westbrook keep up this level of production? Probably not, though he's actually close to those marks with his season-long numbers. And even if he falls just shy, he's having a distinctly positive impact on the Thunder's playoff prospects.
"Well, he's a premier athlete, and his ability just to change gears and get to the rim—we were focused on him, and that shows you his ability and athleticism—to still get to the rim, finish and get to the free-throw line," former Orlando Magic head coach Jacque Vaughn said to The Associated Press about Westbrook after the dynamic point guard recorded a triple-double on Feb. 2, per ESPN.com.
He's not alone. Plenty of other coaches have had a similar feeling of helplessness after game-planning for Westbrook this season and realizing their efforts were all for naught.
5. Stephen Curry (Previous Ranking: No. 1)
8 of 12
Team: Golden State Warriors
Position: PG
Age: 26
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 23.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 2.1 steals, 0.2 blocks, 27.4 PER
Per-Game Stats in Past 10: 25.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 2.3 steals, 0.3 blocks
Here comes the Stephen Curry we all know and love from beyond the arc.
During his last 10 outings, the baby-faced assassin is launching 9.3 shots per game from beyond the arc and drilling 40.9 percent of them. That percentage is still a bit lower than the standard he's set for himself over the years, but it's an improvement upon the rest of his season and is still absolutely insane, given the number of three-point tries he's attempting.
The highlight, of course, came when Curry dropped 51 points against the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 4. He took 26 shots from the field and made 16 of them, which included a 10-of-16 performance from beyond the arc. It was only the 13th time this millennium a player broke the 50-point barrier without taking more than 26 shots.
And all the while, he's continuing to play great defense, which NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper expands upon:
"Except they should [notice his defense]. Except the Warriors are boasting about Defender Steph Curry at every opportunity, and not just in the way every team mostly has the back of every player in public—'He's got all the prerequisites to be great,' said Golden State assistant coach Ron Adams, who has worked with Curry in that area. 'Some games he is great.' Except the stats are compelling evidence, the way his man has a worse shooting percentage, especially from the perimeter, against Curry than the rest of the league.
"
Curry's three-point stroke is regressing to the mean—in this case, that means it's getting even better since he shot an uncharacteristically low percentage at the beginning of the year.
But as has been the case throughout the season, he's so much more than just a sniper.
4. Kevin Durant (Previous Ranking: No. 4)
9 of 12
Team: Oklahoma City Thunder
Position: SF
Age: 26
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 25.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.9 blocks, 28.2 PER
Per-Game Stats in Past 10: 27.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.7 blocks
It's now safe to say that Kevin Durant is back.
He's been in and out of the Oklahoma City Thunder lineup throughout the season, subject to various maladies and minutes restrictions. But nothing is holding him down anymore, and he made that quite clear by dropping 40 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the field during a Monday night victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Nothing special there. Just averaging over two points per shot.
Durant has now been back with the Thunder for three full games since the latest injury to his foot. During those contests, he's averaged 32 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists, shooting 53.3 percent from the field, 48 percent from beyond the arc and 80 percent at the stripe.
It's probably too late for Durant to elevate his free-throw percentage enough to join the 50/40/90 club again, but this is another historic scoring season, even if it's been a disjointed one. The list of players in NBA history who have posted a true shooting percentage of at least 63, averaged more than 25 points per game and taken at least four triples during the typical contest is a short one.
Durant did it in 2012-13 and again in 2013-14.
Now, he is doing it in 2014-15.
3. LeBron James (Previous Ranking: Injured)
10 of 12
Team: Cleveland Cavaliers
Position: SF/PF
Age: 30
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.7 blocks, 26.0 PER
Per-Game Stats in Past 10: 26.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.7 blocks
Let's not count LeBron James out of the MVP race quite yet.
He's by no means the favorite at this point in the season, but the impact he's had on the Cleveland Cavaliers since returning from his two weeks off has been quite impressive. The 30-year-old has averaged 27.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game during that stretch, and the Cavs have gone a stellar 13-2, even winning the one game he missed because Kyrie Irving went bonkers.
According to FATS, the difference between the Cavs with James and without him has been quite pronounced.
When the four-time MVP is on the bench, Cleveland plays like a 25-win squad, comparing most favorably to the iteration of the Minnesota Timberwolves that went just 17-65 during the 2010-11 season. But with him playing, the Cavs suddenly morph into a 61-win juggernaut whose best historical comparison comes courtesy of the 1980-81 Philadelphia 76ers, who won 62 regular-season games before bowing out in the Eastern Conference Finals.
That seems pretty MVP worthy, even if James has a lot more work to do before he's back into the thick of the race. A month-long sample isn't quite cutting it here.
2. Anthony Davis (Previous Ranking: No. 3)
11 of 12
Team: New Orleans Pelicans
Position: PF/C
Age: 21
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 24.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.5 steals, 2.7 blocks, 31.7 PER
Per-Game Stats in Past 10: 26.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.7 steals, 2.2 blocks
The shot you can see Anthony Davis taking in the above picture? Yeah, he made that.
Finishing off a crazy game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 6, Davis double-clutched to avoid Kevin Durant's outstretched arm and made the first buzzer-beating, game-winning three of his career. For that matter, it was also his first triple of the season, and it couldn't have come at a better time.
That shot was the capstone on yet another torrid run from the 21-year-old superstar, and the stats in his last 10 games are misleading. Factor out his 13-minute outing against the Chicago Bulls on Feb. 7, one in which he left with a sprained shoulder, and he's averaging 28.2 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 2.3 blocks per game in his last nine appearances.
Let's go back further. In his last 20 (again, excluding the injury-shortened one), he's putting up 25.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.6 blocks per contest.
We're nearly to the All-Star break, and Davis' player efficiency rating is still a scorching 31.7. Not only does that blow out everyone else in the league—Russell Westbrook is the No. 2 qualified player at 28.5—but it puts him on pace to earn the No. 4 PER of all time, trailing only seasons by Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.
At this point, PER might not be the best way to measure his performance. Might I suggest PAR?
This new-fangled stat stands for player alien rating, and Davis is the only one who even earns a positive score.
1. James Harden (Previous Ranking: No. 2)
12 of 12
Team: Houston Rockets
Position: SG
Age: 25
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 27.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.8 blocks, 27.8 PER
Per-Game Stats in Past 10: 30.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 2.2 steals, 0.6 blocks
James Harden is tired of his defense not getting the respect it deserves. He made that quite clear while talking to Chris Palmer in a fantastic Bleacher Report profile:
"I'm a great defender. But it's really about being able to focus on carrying a team, scoring 30, while locking somebody down. I've done a pretty good job of that this year. I'm definitely not worried about critics. I think everybody goes through stretches where they ball watch or let somebody cut behind them or just small things like that. But if the ball is in front of me, I'm great. It comes down to focus level and knowing where my guy is.
"
The stats back it up.
"Harden (42.1 DFG%) currently holding opponents to a lower field-goal percentage than defensive ace and Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard (44.3 DFG%)," Palmer writes. "Harden is sixth in the league in defensive win shares with 2.9. During the 11 games Dwight Howard missed, he averaged 2.3 steals and 1.2 blocks."
The narrative should be dead. Yes, Harden's defense was the subject of much discussion last year, and always for negative reasons. But he's put in the work, and the efforts have been easy to notice in 2014-15.
Plus, they've come while he leads the league in scoring and contributes in quite a few other categories.
Throughout all of NBA history, there have only been 42 individual seasons in which a player averaged at least 25 points, five rebounds and six assists. Among those 42, Harden already ranks No. 28 in defensive win shares, and he's on pace to finish the season at No. 13 if he remains healthy and maintains this level of performance.
He's very much become a two-way superstar, even if offense remains the primary calling card.
Note: All stats, unless otherwise indicated, come from Basketball-Reference.com and are current heading into Feb. 11's games.
.png?w=600 "New Mock with Lottery Odds Locked In 🔮")
