NBA Power Rankings: Who Would Be the NBA Best Player To Start a Franchise With?
This slideshow will take a look at the top 50 NBA players to build a franchise around. From the diminutive point guards to the giants of the paint, there are numerous ways you can go about constructing a franchise from scratch.
While age is a big consideration in building a franchise, I have not left off all players older than 30. You will notice several of the league's elder statesmen in this list, quite simply because they are the best.
There's a lot of ways you can go with selecting a franchise player, and while not all of these players are franchise cornerstone types, they are all pieces that would be very valuable in forming a contending team. Without further ado, here are the top 50 players to start an NBA franchise with.
50. Aaron Brooks
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Height: 6'0"
Weight: 161
Age: 25
Brooks had a breakout season last year and though small, played much larger than his size in leading a Yao-less Rockets team to a 40-42 record.
He hits a lot of threes and takes a lot of shots, and in some ways reminds me of a poor man's Allen Iverson.
49. Roy Hibbert
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Height: 7'2"
Weight: 278
Age: 24
Hibbert is primed for a breakout year. He worked with Bill Walton this summer and thus far in the preseason has shown an initiative to have the offense run through him at times.
Though he is struggling a bit from the field, his hard work has still been apparent, and he may eventually outperform many in his draft who were selected before him (he was chosen 17th overall in 2008).
48. Kevin Garnett
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Height: 6'11"
Weight: 253
Age: 34
Garnett is the first "old" player on this list, but I just couldn't justify leaving him off of it.
He is still a vocal leader and defensive presence and the kind of player whose leadership makes everyone on his team feel a bit better about going into the gauntlet every night.
47. Eric Gordon
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Height: 6'3"
Weight: 220
Age: 21
Eric Gordon is a bit undersized for a shooting guard, but is showing all the tools to be a premier scorer in time.
He played for Team USA in the FIBA world championships, and showed flashes.
He's a great shooter and pretty decent passer, and should be getting only better as time goes on.
46. Andrew Bogut
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Height: 7'0"
Weight: 260
Age: 26
Bogut discovered last season, magically, that he could block shots. Despite never averaging more than 1.7 a game prior to last season, Bogut emerged as a top shot blocker last year, managing 2.5 blocks a game.
He is also a great passer and option on the offensive end, and despite his wrist injury, he remains a top prospect as a big man.
45. Stephen Jackson
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Height: 6'8"
Weight: 215
Age: 32
Jackson is beginning to get up there in years, but that really doesn't matter. Last year, at age 32, he averaged his career high in points, 21.2 and led the Bobcats to their first ever playoff berth.
A true "point forward," Jackson can create well for teammates or for himself and is a great tool to have on offense, especially if a team lacks a premier point guard.
44. Kevin Love
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Height: 6'10"
Weight: 250
Age: 22
Love, despite not being overall athletic, finds his way to average a ton of rebounds. If he was playing the number of minutes that Dwight Howard does, the rebounding crown would be neck and neck between the two of them.
In addition to that, Love can step out and hit the three. His unique skill set makes him a valuable piece to any team.
43. Joakim Noah
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Height: 6'11"
Weight: 232
Age: 25
Noah proved himself last year to be one of the league's best rebounders and defensive presences.
He has the length and athletic ability to continue to increase his blocked shots numbers and can anchor a defense as well as anyone not named Dwight Howard.
For defensive purposes, Noah lands himself in the top 50 of this list.
42. DeMarcus Cousins
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Height: 6'11"
Weight: 270
Age: 20
Cousins has the potential to be one of the best big men in the league. The question is whether he has the mindset and behavioral tendencies to do so.
Gifted with very soft hands and great touch around the basket, Cousins could eventually develop to be a more talented version of Al Jefferson, but first he just needs to prove himself.
41. Jrue Holiday
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Height: 6'4"
Weight: 180
Age: 20
The youngest player in the league last year, Holiday came through big when called upon. Down the stretch, he had four 20+ point games, as well as a couple games when he dished out 12 or more assists.
As talented defensively as he is offensively, Holiday would be a great point guard to build a team around, as his three-point shooting and skilled passing game make him a difficult matchup for opposing point guards.
40. Brandon Jennings
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Height: 6'1"
Weight: 169
Age: 21
Jennings bucked college to play overseas before entering the NBA, and it may have made a big difference for him.
While he suffers from having a poor shot selection, we have to think that will improve in time, and he led a surprising Bucks team to the No. 5 seed in the playoffs last year, where they would have upset the Hawks had Bogut been available.
39. Rudy Gay
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Height: 6'8"
Weight: 230
Age: 24
Gay received a max contract this summer and now has the pressure of living up to it.
He is as athletic as they come, but has yet to really come into his own.
He's been compared to Danny Granger and has yet to still realize his full potential.
38. Gerald Wallace
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Height: 6'7"
Weight: 220
Age: 28
Few play harder than "Crash" Wallace.
An undersized power forward, Wallace makes up for it with his great athleticism, which enabled him to average 10 rebounds a game last year (including 2 offensive per game).
Wallace is a great defender, too, and is able to shut down many of the game's best wing players on a nightly basis.
37. Al Jefferson
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Height: 6'10"
Weight: 265
Age: 25
Still only 25, Jefferson was one of the league's best bigs until he suffered an ACL injury.
Since then he has been slowly working his way back into form and should have a good year this year playing in Utah with Deron Williams.
He's a 20-10 threat still and with such a big body he is a great piece to have in the paint. With a feather-soft touch, Jefferson hits a variety of low-post shots.
36. David Lee
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Height: 6'9"
Weight: 250
Age: 27
David Lee is about as solid as an offensive power forward as you will find.
He gets to the hole well using his speed and is one of the best rebounders in the league.
His defense is suspect at times, or he would rank much higher on this list.
35. Russell Westbrook
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Height: 6'3"
Weight: 187
Age: 21
Westbrook really showed his stuff this summer in FIBA play.
Though only 21, he was a great backup point guard off the bench and sporting his mohawk, he played tight "waterbug" defense on opposing teams.
Paired with Durant in Oklahoma City, Westbrook is a part of that young nucleus and as of right now, it's hard to imagine OKC parting ways with him.
34. Manu Ginobili
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Height: 6'6"
Weight: 205
Age: 33
You never really appreciate just how good Ginobili is until you see him play for Argentina in international play.
There, he shows he has the goods to be a lead player and he makes Argentina a very tough opponent in FIBA and the Olympics.
Ginobili plays his heart out every night and can score in heaps. He also plays terrific defense and ignites a lot of fast breaks with his steals on the perimeter.
33. Darren Collison
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Height: 6'0"
Weight: 160
Age: 23
Collison is tiny. It's hard to get how tiny he is across until you have seen him in a game, but that might not be what catches your attention.
Collison is quick. I mean, he is really quick. Sideline to sideline, it would be hard to determine who is the fastest in the league between Collison, Rondo, and George Hill.
When Chris Paul went down last year, Hornets fans knew they weren't going to the playoffs, but Collison and teammate Marcus Thornton provided them with enough excitement to keep butts in seats, and Collison is going to go a long way towards helping the Pacers contend for a playoff slot this year.
32. Monta Ellis
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Height: 6'3"
Weight: 180
Age: 25
Ellis is still entering his prime and is one of the league's best scorers. Last year, he averaged a career high 25.5 points a game, and is a great backcourt tandem with Stephen Curry.
Ellis has never seen a shot he didn't like and can always be counted upon to pick up the scoring slack when the team is going through a slump.
He's great at leading comebacks (as Golden State needs more often than not) and keeps teams in games.
31. Joe Johnson
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Height: 6'7"
Weight: 240
Age: 29
Joe Johnson is a version of Brandon Roy that is a couple years older and a bit less sharp. He's a great playmaker, but falters sometimes as the No. 1 option late in games.
He's a great player to have on your team, but you're going to need someone else to rely on late in games.
30. Blake Griffin
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Height: 6'10"
Weight: 251
Age: 21
Before suffering a cracked patella last year, Blake Griffin was primed and ready to lead the Clippers back to the promised land (if we can consider making the playoffs the promised land!).
Amazingly athletic and with a great instinct for the game, Griffin should be one of the best power forwards for years to come.
29. Carlos Boozer
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Height: 6'9
Weight: 260
Age: 29
Boozer is rock solid. He puts up 20-10 almost every night and is one of the game's best undersized power forwards to come around in a long time.
Excellent in pick-and-pop play, Boozer's mid-range jumper makes him an effective power forward to play alongside a good distributor at the point.
28. Paul Pierce
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Height: 6'7"
Weight: 235
Age: 33
Pierce is getting a bit long in the tooth, and is slowly declining as he leaves his prime, but he showed last year in the playoffs that he can still be relied on as a go to player in crunch time.
He's difficult to defend and often gets his defenders up in the air so he can lean in and get "cheap" fouls.
It's not one of our favorite moves to see, but it's one that Reggie Miller patented (his famous leg kick) and has become a great tool for perimeter players ever since.
27. Andre Iguodala
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Height: 6'6"
Weight: 207
Age: 26
"Iggy" has consistently been one of the league's best wingmen over the last few seasons and at age 26 still has a lot of good years left.
His calling card is his defense, but he can score too (17.1 ppg).
Iguodala is a great piece to have on a team because he can be thrown at the league's top offensive talents, and usually with pretty good results.
26. Chauncey Billups
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Height: 6'3"
Weight: 202
Age: 34
Billups is beginning to get up their in age, but as we'll see, that doesn't necessarily mean he won't be productive. "Big Shot" Billups earned his name. He hits the key shots that matter with uncanny accuracy.
He's the ninth-highest rated point guard, and as you will see, point guards score high on the "buildability" realm, as having a stud point guard makes everyone on the court better.
25. Jason Kidd
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Height: 6'4"
Weight: 210
Age: 37
Kidd only has a few years left in the league, but his guile is enabling him to remain far more effective than any of us thought he would be able to.
Despite seldom being labelled one of the game's best shooters, Kidd is FIFTH all-time in career threes and hits the big ones when it matters.
He's always a threat for a triple double and rebounds extremely well for a point guard.
Yes, he is in his twilight years, but they are going to be good and productive ones for sure.
24. Steve Nash
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Height: 6'3"
Weight: 178
Age: 36
Nash only has a few more years left in this league, but based on what we've seen, they will be productive ones. He is still among the league's best at creating for teammates and averaged 11 assists a game last year.
Nash makes even average players look good, and will enable any big man to get easy dunks and close shots around the basket due to his penetration.
I realize he is 36, but I'd rather have Nash for three years than a mediocre point guard for 10.
23. Derrick Rose
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Height: 6'3"
Weight: 190
Age: 22
Rose gets the nod over the three point guards before him because of his youth.
While his career may or may not be as celebrated as Nash's and Kidd's, he has a long career ahead of him, and is doing everything it takes to be the best player he can be.
He recently added an outside shot, which should make him even more difficult to defend.
22. Josh Smith
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Height: 6'9"
Weight: 240
Age: 25
Josh Smith finished second last year in defensive player of the year voting and is definitely one of the game's best shot blockers and defenders.
Perhaps best of all, he stopped shooting so many threes, of which he hits only 26 percent on his career.
When he focuses on getting to the basket or cleaning up offensive rebounds, he is at his best.
21. Al Horford
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Height: 6'10"
Weight: 245
Age: 24
Horford is just flat-out solid. He's the kind of power forward (playing center right now) who can anchor a team.
He'll eventually round out to be a solid 18-10 guy with great percentages and he can make an impact on games without scoring.
20. John Wall
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Height: 6'4"
Weight: 195
Age: 20
Wall is as athletic as they come and has a strong and tall frame for a point guard that is reminiscient of retired legend Gary Payton (I'm not drawing any comparisons on their defense...yet).
Being a couple inches taller than most point guards will enable Wall to see the court better and create for his teammates.
He was a sure-fire consensus No. 1 pick and promises to have a great NBA career ahead of him.
19. Tyreke Evans
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Height: 6'6"
Weight: 220
Age: 21
Evans stormed into the league last year, becoming only the fourth player to average 20/5/5 as a rookie (the other three being LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Oscar Robertson...pretty exclusive company).
He led a horrible Kings team, but did not put his head down doing it.
A natural two guard by build, he showed himself able to run the point quite adeptly and was often too strong for opposing point guards to keep out of the paint.
Evans promises to be a top 20 player in the league for the next decade.
18. Brandon Roy
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Height: 6'6"
Weight: 211
Age: 26
Roy is a great combo guard who can initiate an offense and run a team, from the 2 guard slot. He's hit a number of clutch shots already in his career and should be just entering his prime now.
If you pair Roy with a big who has a decent shot, 2-4 or 2-5 pick-and-rolls should be a staple of that offense, and Roy will create good shots for himself and for the big.
17. Rajon Rondo
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Height: 6'1"
Weight: 171
Age: 24
Rondo is just a tad behind Paul and Deron Williams to be the best point guard in the game.
Defensively, he is probably superior to both of them, and if he ever gets a jump shot and a free throw, he'll be near unguardable.
16. Tim Duncan
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Height: 6'11"
Weight: 260
Age: 34
Duncan is the third highest ranked player over the age of 32 on this list, but he seems to still have a few good years left in the tank.
If you drafted Duncan first, you would be in win-now mode, and seek to surround him with other "win-now veterans," who could immediately contribute and help a team towards a championship.
15. Chris Bosh
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Height: 6'10"
Weight: 245
Age: 27
Bosh is entering his prime as one of the best power forwards in the game. Like Wade and LeBron, his supporting casts were underwhelming in Toronto and he often struggled with no legitimate second fiddle on his team.
But his numbers are hard to ignore: 24 ppg and 10 rpg while shooting 50% from the field and 80% from the line is nothing to sneeze at.
While it's questionable if you could form a championship team with Bosh as your No. 1 player, he clearly belongs here.
14. Danny Granger
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Height: 6'9"
Weight: 228
Age: 27
Granger quietly has put together a very solid NBA career. Playing in a small market for a poor team, most of this has went unnoticed.
However, Granger has a deadly outside shot (averaging 2.6 threes a game last year) and frequently averages 1+ stl and 1+ blk per game (last year was an exception in the blocks).
If you need a high scoring small forward who can play lockdown defense, Granger is your man.
13. Amar'e Stoudemire
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Height: 6'10"
Weight: 245
Age: 27
Amare is dead in the center of his prime and recently inked a max contract with the Knicks, who hope that in addition to his great offensive game, that he starts to play some defense.
A player with Amar'e's athleticism should be an excellent defender, but it seems Amar'e seldom puts his full effort forth on the defensive end.
Still, though, his offensive dominance is something to marvel at. He took a good defender in Tim Duncan in 2006-07 and averaged 26.5 ppg, including a 38-point outburst in the Game 7 loss.
12. Stephen Curry
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Height: 6'3"
Weight: 185
Age: 22
Son of NBA legend Dell Curry, Stephen burst onto the NBA scene last year after a high scoring notable career at Davidson in college.
His quickness and shooting skill make him a deadly combo guard who has all the play-making abilities of a top-notch point guard.
He's also adept defensively, as he averaged nearly two steals a game last year.
Possibly best suited for the up-tempo offense that he is currently a part of, any run-and-gun team would be well-suited to have Curry run the point.
11. Brook Lopez
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Height: 7'0"
Weight: 265
Age: 22
Brook Lopez has all the makings of this generation's Tim Duncan. Solid and steady as a rock, Lopez anchored the middle for a horrible Nets team last year, but you could hardly blame their lack of success on Brook.
He managed 18.8 ppg and 8.7 rpg to go along with nearly two blocks a game. If you're building a team with a big man in mind, he's third to only Pau and Dwight in terms of talent.
10. Pau Gasol
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Height: 7'0"
Weight: 250
Age: 30
Pau Gasol is the piece that made the LA dynasty we are witness to right now.
Acquired in a complete steal of a deal for the Lakers, Jerry Buss angered the league by acquiring Pau for next to nothing, which made an already strong Lakers team ridiculously strong.
Pau is the most offensively gifted big man in the league and still has enough years in the tank to build a team around him that could contend for five more seasons.
9. Deron Williams
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Height: 6'3"
Weight: 207
Age: 26
Deron Williams is the clear cut No. 2 young point guard in the league and is nearly as good as Paul. He's a 20/10 threat every year and has anchored a tough Utah team over the last five seasons.
While he is not as fleet of foot as Paul and some of the other guards in the league, he has the precision and craftiness to make up for it, and he is a lights-out shooter, often hitting key threes in the fourth quarter.
8. Carmelo Anthony
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Height: 6'8"
Weight: 230
Age: 26
Carmelo is just entering his prime, and last year represented a breakout career year for 'Melo. He's shown that he can come through in the clutch and that he is capable of scoring in heaps.
Along with Billups, he helped make Denver a contender in a very tough Western Conference over the last few years, and if he continues to work on his game, he could find himself winning a Larry O'Brien trophy sooner than later.
7. Dirk Nowitzki
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Height: 7'0"
Weight: 245
Age: 32
Dirk's aging like fine wine, but fails to fall higher on this list just due to his age. He's a great alpha dog for any team, but you do have to question how well a team can do with Dirk as their main player due to his meltdown during his MVP season in the playoffs, losing to eighth seed Golden State in the first round.
Still though, Dirk is the best international player to come through the league and is an absolute freak of nature.
Despite being 7'0", he moves like a guard and shoots like one, too. He opens up the floor for teammates and hits the glass. Dirk is a great first option for any offense.
6. Kobe Bryant
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Height: 6'6"
Weight: 205
Age: 32
Kobe is getting up there in years. That's the only way to plausibly explain the game's best player coming in at the six slot.
While I think Kobe can remain productive into his late thirties, you definitely would like someone younger to build a team around.
Nonetheless, Kobe continues to dominate and is the best closer in the game. He works as hard as anyone, and would be sure to push his teammates in practice.
And using his age as a positive, his veteran leadership is better than any and he would be able to guide a team of young guns in the right direction towards eventually taking it down on their own.
5. Dwyane Wade
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Height: 6'4"
Weight: 220
Age: 28
Wade has played with scrubs for years, and still managed to take them to the playoffs. Charles Barkley criticized the other Heat players last year, calling them "a bunch of 'Tito's" and it was clear that Wade was a one-man team last year in Miami.
This summer, however, he recruited two of his best friends, who also happen to be two of the best players in the league, to join his forces.
Last time Wade had a decent second fiddle he won a championship, and this year will probably be no different.
While it's difficult for many of us to stand behind a team like the Heat, I can sympathize with Wade, who had to deal with mediocre supporting casts, casts even worse than the ones LeBron played with in Cleveland, for years.
Wade plays fearlessly and aggressively and puts it all on the line every night, which is infectious. Pair Wade with a couple of good three-point shooters and a defensively capable big man, and you have an instant contender.
4. Chris Paul
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Height: 6'0"
Weight: 175
Age: 24
In no equivocal terms, Chris Paul is the best point guard in the game right now, and point guard is probably the most important position on the floor (unless you're running the triangle offense, I digress).
Paul makes everyone on his team better and is able to create for teammates or hit the big shot himself if called upon.
When it's all said and done, Paul will go down as one of the best point guards ever to come through the NBA, and if he has the longevity, he will challenge Magic John Stockton's assist record of 15,806.
What's more, is that Paul is a superior defender to most of the other point guards in the NBA, and runs passing lanes better than any one else, which enables him to get nearly three steals a game.
3. LeBron James
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Height: 6'8"
Weight: 250
Age: 25
In terms of dominance on the offensive end, LeBron is right up there with Durant, but it's hard to imagine that LeBron hasn't reached his ceiling. I would say he has.
It's not like it's that bad of a thing when his ceiling is 29/8/7. His passing skills make his teammates better, and he makes the likes of JJ Hickson and Anderson Varejao appear to have offensive skills with his wrap round baskets to them diving into the lane.
If a player can make Varejao look skilled, you know he has something going on! LeBron has yet to win a ring, and while he may have taken the easy way out as far as that goes, it's still hard to deny his overall talent package.
Really, though, you couldn't go wrong with any of the top five on this list, and I'm sure there will be a number of comments arguing that James should be No. 1.
2. Dwight Howard
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Height: 6'11"
Weight: 265
Age: 24
If you're talking about pure impact on a game, it's hard to argue with anyone other than Dwight Howard. In a recent poll last year, more NBA GMs picked Dwight Howard as their choice to build a team around than LeBron James.
His dominance on the defensive end covers for the blunders of teammates on a play by play basis, and his offensive skills are improving, too. The best thing about Howard is that no matter who you surround him with, you're already going to have one of the best defensive teams in the league.
Having worked with Hakeem Olajuwon this summer is only going to help Howard, who is finally feeling comfortable enough in games to try things he's already worked on in the past. This preseason he felt very comfortable with his 16-18 foot bank shot from the wing.
If he continues to hit this shot at a high clip, it's just going to make it that much more difficult to cover Howard. And god forbid, if he ever starts hitting 70 percent from the line, he will be a total nightmare for opposing teams.
1. Kevin Durant
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Height: 6'9"
Weight: 230
Age: 22
It's hard to argue with a talent that finished first in the league in scoring in just his third year. Moreover, Durant showed strong leadership, both on Oklahoma City and in the FIBA Championships with Team USA.
In his first playoff series of his life, Durant averaged 25.0 ppg against Ron Artest, one of the best defenders in the game, in taking the Lakers to six games, two games further than anyone thought they would take them.
Beyond that, no one in their right mind was picking Oklahoma City to even make the playoffs prior to last year, but Durant and his young running mates shocked the league.
If I'm building a team, I want Durant's fearless playmaking, and he already is making his teammates better. What's more, he is three and a half years younger than LeBron, and probably already more mature.
