10 Biggest Superstars in the NBA Next Season

The NBA lockout just turned ugly, when after the two sides met to negotiate and got nowhere, the league filed a lawsuit against the NBPA (Player’s Association) for “unfair labor practices."

I will now pause a moment to take two double shots of Jose Cuervo (Yes, I understand it’s cheap and bad tequila, but with the NBA situation depressing me, I have to budget wisely.).

Fortunately, stories like Kevin Durant dropping 66 at Rucker Park and free agent speculation have kept me excited about the NBA. The league, talent wise, is in a great situation. There haven’t been this many young or budding superstars in the league in my lifetime, and I refuse to let disheartening labor news ruin that fact.

With that in mind, I give you the 10 best superstars in the NBA for next season (please let there be a season).

10. Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers

The first player on our list is also the youngest. He already has a Rookie of the Year trophy and a Slam Dunk Championship (historically important) to his name. He averaged a double-double (22.5- 12.1) in his first season, made the All-Star team and was cheated out of the All-NBA Team (Pau Gasol...really?).

However, his most incredible feat to date is that he made the LA Clippers “Must See TV”… let that soak in for a moment.

B-Grif (yuck, that doesn’t work) was the most electric player in the league last season whose name wasn’t LeBron James, and played as hard as any player in the league. The crazy thing is, he did all this damage at the rim without a jumper to keep defenders honest. If, and when, he develops an 18-footer, he’s going to be unstoppable (think ‘07 Amar’e, only better).

Along with the midrange game, Griffin needs to improve upon his free throw shooting (especially because people are going to foul his reckless drives more) and defense. I’m sure he will get better in all these areas with time, but until then, he’ll have to settle for No. 10. 

9. Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls

That’s right, the reigning league MVP is ninth. The defense will now take the floor.

His shy demeanor and incredible work ethic (Kobe-esque) won him that award moreso than his on-court play. He was really good last season, but every sports writer with a vote would have voted for Satan before LeBron James (Satan actually had three votes; look it up), and Rose was in the right place at the right time.

Also, his point guard skills are lacking.

Rose averaged 3.4 turnovers per game last season compared to Chris Paul’s 2.2, and you can’t tell me that Paul had a better supporting cast. His shooting is nothing to write home about, and I still question him playing one-on-one defense.

Look, D-Rose is entertaining to watch, ridiculously explosive and a great player, but he shouldn’t have been MVP and I can’t put him any higher than No. 9 on this list. The defense rests. 

8. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

In the twilight of his career, he is still one of the most feared players in the NBA.

In fact, I’m a little nervous not to put him No. 1 for fear that he may find out and make it a point to annihilate me. It’s that killer instinct that has allowed him to play at such a high level for so many years (13 straight All-NBA teams, 11 All-Defensive teams).

I could discuss Kobe’s achievements for hours, but I know he wouldn’t want that. He only wants to focus on next year, so that’s what I’ll do.

He will be 33 when the season starts, and is no longer the explosive athlete that won the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest. Yet he has reinvented himself from a high-flyer into a low post savant with a killer fadeaway (wait, that sounds familiar). He still has the ability to carry the Lakers on a nightly basis, but has learned to pick his spots better.

After three straight trips to the NBA Finals, last season’s second round exit may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Kobe’s fire seems to be burning stronger than before, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he elevated his game to “Best in the World” status next season.

But at 33 and with 40,000-plus minutes on that body, it seems unlikely, and so, Kobe Bean Bryant will have to settle for No. 8 on the list (please don’t hurt me). 

7. Deron Williams, New Jersey Nets

Let me start with this: Deron Williams is the most underrated player in the NBA.

I don’t know if it’s because he played in Utah and now New Jersey or because he got blamed for running off Jerry Sloan, but he always seems to get left out of the conversation of great point guards and great players.

D-Will was third in the league in assists while averaging 20 PPG. Dude is country strong and knows how to use his body as well as anybody in the league. He can get to any spot on the floor, stop on a dime and beat you with a jumper, finish at the rim or on a pinpoint pass.

His biggest “weakness” is that I’ve never seen him take over for an extended period of time. I’ve seen him do it for minutes, quarters and even games, but his game is tailored to “fit in” to the rhythm of the game, and that prevents him from being better than Chris Paul.

Still, being the second best point guard and the seventh best player in the NBA is pretty freaking good. 

6. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat

D-Wade was the most difficult person to rank. I feel like you could make the argument for him to be anywhere in the order from 10-1.

We’ve seen him be, literally, the best player on the planet (while playing with potentially the best player in the world), and we’ve seen him make decisions so terrible that even the guys at your local YMCA would shake their heads.

Ultimately I think six is pretty fair.

He is the best shooting guard in the league, regardless of what the All-NBA Team voters say, and is a stats geek’s fantasy with his efficiency (50 percent from the field last year). He single-handedly won an NBA Title, showing his takeover ability and was the best player during the Finals for the Miami Heat in 2011. Finally, he plays a lockdown defense that would make Scottie and MJ proud.

Wade’s two biggest negatives: he is always one maniacal drive away from missing 15 games, and his three-point shooting is atrocious (seriously, 29 percent for his career; Miami should fine him $5,000 every time he shoots from beyond the arc).

With that said, I’d much rather have my shooting guard be overly aggressive than skittish (Richard Jefferson), and if D-Wade is going to get me nine free throw attempts a game, I can live with him jacking up a few ill-advised three-pointers.

Wade only at six shows how good the top tier of talent is in the league right now.

5. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks

The current media darling of the league seems to be getting better with age. After 10 All-Star Games, 11 All-NBA Selections and an MVP, Dirk finally won his first NBA championship.

He was the best player in a series that featured two other players from this list (hint: it’s not Chris Bosh), and he carried a team on which Jason Terry was the second-best player. Even at 33, he can still play at an elite level because his game doesn’t require much athleticism.

Dirk is undoubtedly the greatest shooting big man of all-time, and is in the discussion as one of the greatest shooters, regardless of position, ever.

While I don’t see the Mavericks repeating as champions, I do see them in the running to win the Western Conference again mainly because of Dirk. For my money, he is the best offensive power forward of all time, and thanks to a brilliant zone defense scheme, his liabilities on the defensive end are not as obvious (though his team defense is far superior to his one-on-one defense).

If you have Dirk on your team, you always have a chance to win a title, and next year will be no different, which is why he kicks off the top five.  

4. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder

KD may be the coolest player in the NBA.

Dude signs an $85 million extension sans television cameras to stay in Oklahoma City because he can enjoy life anywhere and doesn’t need a major market to be recognized globally. He does stuff like play at Rucker Park, and sits courtside at WBNA games because he loves the game of basketball. Sounds like a guy you’d want to build a franchise around, right? Plus, he doesn’t even turn 23 for another month.

Durant is already the best scorer in the league, and once he develops a more versatile post game he could become the greatest scoring forward of all time. While his defense isn’t All-NBA caliber, he definitely puts in the work to help the team, and when a player’s pouring in 28-30 points per game, you put up with average defense.

There will come a time when he is No. 1 on this list, and the NBA will be a better league when that day happens. Until then, though, he’ll have to settle for No. 4. 

3. Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets

CP3 is the best point guard in the league, and he’s not even 100 percent healthy. When healthy, Paul is the best point guard in NBA history, and he’s never even played alongside another NBA All-Teamer.

He is good enough to carry the Hornets on a nightly basis while somehow still looking like he is picking his spots. He led the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.4:1), passing to people like Emeka Okafor, Jason Smith and Trevor Ariza, and led the league in steals per game (2.4).

Numbers, however, don’t tell the whole story. Watching Chris Paul play point guard is what it must have been like to watch Mozart compose; it’s poetry in motion.

If he can get that knee brace off (the elephant in the room), he will be well on his way to becoming the greatest point guard of all time.

He may get there anyway.

2. Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic

Of all the players on this list, nobody frustrates me more than Dwight Howard.

His seemingly great concern with everything BUT winning is an obnoxious thing to witness in a basketball game. He is far and away the best center in the game and, besides LBJ, the most incredible physical specimen in the league.

There is no way he shouldn’t be averaging 30 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks a game. He has all the tools except for one: He doesn’t really want to.

Dwight wants to entertain and be the center of attention, and if they win while he gets to do that, great. Even when he went to work out last year with Hakeem Olajuwon, I always felt like he was just doing it for the publicity.

For such a dominant superstar (No. 2 in the league), opponents don’t fear him like they do the other players on this list. Maybe it’s because he acts like everyone’s best buddy or shrinks in the big moments (a.k.a. pulling a Carlos Boozer), but if my favorite team had to face a Dwight Howard-led team in the NBA Finals, I’m not sure I’d feel doomed.

Barring injury or a genetic re-wiring, he will never get to No. 1 on this list. Maybe he’s okay with that like Shaquille O’Neal was okay with his career arch. Who knows?

But even if he doesn’t fully utilize his all tools and reach his potential, he is still the most dominant big man in the league and the second best player overall. 

1. LeBron James, Miami Heat

Nobody should be surprised by this pick, but where do I even begin?

Most athletic- check.

Most talented: check.

Most complete player: check.

LeBron is the total package. We can nitpick about how he should develop a low post game (if he did, his teams would NEVER lose) and how he doesn’t seem to understand the moment, but he is the best basketball player on the planet. Period.

He should be the MVP every year for at least the next five (he won’t be for stupid reasons), and when he starts to win multiple titles, we are all going to feel like idiots for ever questioning his ability to win.

Because of our current society, off the court stupidity (“taking my talents to South Beach”) has made us view on-court performances differently.

If ever there was a player to average a triple-double for a season, LBJ’s the guy. We whine and moan about his antics, but we always tune in. We want to watch him like we wanted to see Michael. The reasons are different, but the bottom line is still the same; he generates interest in the NBA.

I never saw Jordan in person, but I’ve seen Kobe and LeBron, and James is the best player I’ve ever seen live. Kobe carries a more competitive attitude but LeBron is the better player.

Someday, we will all realize just how truly great he was, and when that day comes, LeBron will finally get his last laugh. Until that day comes, he’ll have to settle for being first on this list.