NBA Power Rankings: The 10 Best Second-Best Players in the League Today
Scottie Pippen was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame, and quite deservedly. Pippen, one of the 50 greatest players of all time, was only the second best player on his team. That's because he had the good fortune of being the teammate of Michael Jordan. Of course, it goes without saying that Jordan had the good fortune of playing with Pippen as well. When Pippen came along, Jordan went from the guy that "couldn't win the ring" to the guy that became the epitome of the champion.
To be a dynasty you don't just need one great player, you need two, and the second has to be willing to be the second best, to take that role. If he's not willing to take that role, you have a team in controversy. Pippen was exactly what the second best man needed to be. Here are the ten best second-best players in the NBA today.
First up just missing the list are Wilson Chandler (not in the starting lineup), Marc Gasol (oh so close!), Brandon Jennings (50+ game and a triple double already--Wow!), and Chauncey Billups (probably the best defending point guard in the NBA). Also not in are any of the big three of the Celtics because it's just too hard to say which is the second best, the best is Rondo now though.
10: Brook Lopez
1 of 10
Some would say that Lopez is the best player on the team, and in many ways you'd be right. However Harris is the guy who drives the car. Harris is the one who takes the team on his back when it's crunch time. Lopez is content to let Harris get the glory while he quietly goes about doing the dirty work. The Nets are an improved team this year, in large part because of the continued improvement of Lopez who will quietly deliver his 20 points and 10 rebounds along with a couple of blocks.
9: Jason Kidd
2 of 10
Kidd is on the very short list of players with 10,000 assists, and the list of players that have more assists than him begins and ends with John Stockton. Only two players, Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson have more than his 105 career triple doubles.Those three are also the only three who have averaged more than 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 13 points per game. Finally, in all likelihood Kidd will become the first player in NBA history to record 10,000 assists and 8,000 rebounds before the end of the season, needing only 127 boards to reach that accomplishment. Kidd is very much in the conversation of greatest pure point guard of all time. He may have lost a step, but he's still a heck of a facilitator, and still the second best player on the Dallas Mavericks.
8: LaMarcus Aldridge
3 of 10
Consider all that attention that Brandon Roy gets as the front man for the Trailblazers. He gets all of what, one or two national articles a year? OK. Not very much, which means that Aldridge gets even less. Oden, when healthy, might be in the conversation for second best, but he's not been often healthy yet. That's not a swipe at Oden, just an acknowledgement. Aldridge just keeps playing, more than any other player for Portland. No one has more rebounds, and only Roy has more points. For a franchise constantly hit by injuries to big men, Aldridge has been the most stable presence, even if he gets virtually no national recognition.
7: David West
4 of 10
Since 2005-06 there are nine players with 6500 points, 2500 rebounds and 300 blocks. LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Pau Gasol, Kevin Garnett and Amare Stoudamire are eight of them. Those you would guess. Most people would probably be stumped to find the 9th though. David West may very well be the most under-valued player in the league. A young man by the name of Chris Paul is the leader of the Hornets, but that young man goes West on a lot of his assists.
6: Paul Mlilsap
5 of 10
The Jazz have been one of the best teams in the NBA for the last few years, and a large part of that has been the combination of Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer. The only thing is that you can pretty much count on Carlos Boozer getting hurt from time time. When he was hurt, Paul Millsap always stepped in and very capably filled Boozer's shoes. Now that Boozer left, the Jazz brought in A Jefferson, who is still trying to find his way there, but Paul Millsap just keeps performing. Look for him to maintain his 20/10 pace this season, and play better than newcomer Jefferson.
5: Russell Westbrook
6 of 10
Westbrook's experience in playing for the national team may have helped him as much as it did his teammate, Kevin Durant. At a time when the point-guard position is as strong as it has ever been in the NBA's history, Westbrook is among the five or six very best in the league. Players who have averaged 20 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds a game are limited to some of the most prestigious names in the game's history. Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan..names like that. In fact, no player who is eligible for the Hall of Fame who as accomplished that feat and not made it in. Westbrook could very well accomplish that this season.
4: Josh Smith
7 of 10
In the weird stat of the day, Josh Smith has more blocks per game of any player 6' 9" or under. He's also the youngest player to ever record 10 blocks in a game, and the youngest to reach 1000 for his career. He fills up a stat sheet like few others. Since he came into the league in the 2004-05 season he is the only player in the NBA with 6000 points, 3000 boards, 1000 assists and 1000 blocks. He does everything well. In all honesty he's probably a better player than Joe Johnson, but since Johnson got the max contract we'll pretend he's better.
3: Carlos Boozer
8 of 10
Over the last three years there are only four players with 19 points and 10 rebounds per game each season. The others are Zach Randolph, Dwight Howard, and Al Jefferson. Of those five players Carlos Boozer has the most assists per game, averaging nearly 3. It makes him ideal as a number two kind of guy. He can score in the paint or pass out of the paint. Derek Rose is the leader of the team, but Boozer will make the Bulls a top four team in the East.
2: Pau Gasol
9 of 10
The stats are there for Pau, but the best argument for him isn't a statistical one. He plays on the same team and Kobe Bryant, and this year he could win the MVP. That's the best argument for Pau. If, as the Lakers are saying, Kobe will be limited to 32 minutes for most of the regular season, Pau will be the one who takes up the slack, and if he keeps playing the way he's started this season, he'll be a very credible choice for the award. You could make a very reasonable argument that Pau is one of the five best players in the league. Of course on the Lakers, there's a guy who's even better.
1: Dwyane Wade
10 of 10
Say what you want about LeBron and the decision. While he took a hit on his image, James, didn't become a worse basketball player because of it. Dwayne Wade is the third best basketball player in the world, and the second best player on his team. Which, logically makes him the best second best player in the league. The Heat have put on some frightening beatings on some teams of late, and the more they get to know each other, the more frightening things are going to get, especially if they figure out how to get Bosh involved at some point.
