Preseason Player Rankings

Today I've decided to rank the best players in the NBA as I see them. This is only my opinion, based on efficiency, effect on the game, and my perception of their dominance and importance. Obviously, the success of respective teams will have an effect on where they are ranked. This ranking is of the players as I see them coming into the 2007-2008 season. Again, this is only my opinion.

By Position

First comes the Center position. Many consider this position the most important. It's no secret that comparatively, the Center position has thinned in this era of NBA Basketball. However, I consider it to have just moved over to the Power Forward position. Interestingly enough, it seems that many of the players that are listed as 6'10-6'11 would probably have been considered 7'0+ 10-15 years ago, and placed at the center position. As you can see I've set Shaq relatively low, however I don't believe many will disagree that he's just not the same player anymore. Also I've placed Memet Okur above the likes of Okafor, Wallace, and Jefferson. I simply believe that his range and clutch play last season show that he's much better than his stats indicate. Regardless, here are my top 10 Centers in the NBA, divided into 2 Tiers. These tiers are applicable only to the Center position.

Center -
TIER 1
1. Yao Ming HOU
2. Amare Stoudamire PHO
3. Dwight Howard ORL
4. Marcus Camby DEN
TIER 2
5. Shaquille O'neal MIA
6. Mehmet Okur UTA
7. Emeka Okafor CHA
8. Ben Wallace CHI
9. Al Jefferson MIN
10.Tyson Chandler NOH

Second is the Power Forward position. In my opinion this is the strongest position in the NBA today. I can imagine many Raptor and Grizzly fans getting up in arms about where I have Bosh and Gasol, especially considering Boozer is not above them, but in Tier 1. Honestly, where to rank these 3 was a very hard decision. But after watching Boozer routinely surpass the 30/15 mark against my Rockets during the playoffs last year, I just had to give him the nod. He's an absolute beast offensively and on the boards, and he'll only get better as he meshes with an ever improving Deron Williams. Many would also question my placement of Jermaine O'Neal not only as a Power Forward, but so low on this list. I still consider him a Power Forward, and I just don't see how he's better than the 7 I have listed in front of him. Anyway, here are my top 10 Power Forwards, divided into 2 Tiers.

Power Forward-
TIER 1
1. Tim Duncan SAS
2. Kevin Garnett BOS
3. Dirk Nowitzki DAL
4. Carlos Boozer UTA
TIER 2
5. Chris Bosh TOR
6. Pau Gasol MEM
7. Elton Brand LAC
8. Jermaine O'Neal IND
9. Zach Randolph NYN
10.Antoine Jamison WAS

Next is the Small Forward position. I believe this is the second weakest position in the NBA today. Interestingly, I've always overlooked Paul Pierce, simply because the Celtics have always sucked. Now that they are hitting the headlines hard, Pierce has gone from underrated to almost overrated. The truth is he is an amazing rebounder, clutch, versatile, and an incredible overall player. Many would consider Marion to be too low on this list, however I believe because he plays 3rd wheel on a very strong Phoenix team, it lowers his value a bit. Kirilenko could also be considered low, but recent years have shown that he's been declining a bit, even at the ripe old age of 26. Perhaps if he is traded to a system that's a better fit, he could sneak back into Tier 1. Prince for me was a tough choice even at number 10... however I think that because Detroit is so stacked, his actually ability is overlooked. Obviously LeBron is the King, especially after his display against Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals. Here are my top 10 Small Fowards, divided into 2 Tiers.

Small Forward-
TIER 1
1. LeBron James CLE
2. Carmelo Anthony DEN
3. Paul Pierce BOS
4. Shawn Marion PHO
TIER 2
5. Rashard Lewis ORL
6. Gerald Wallace CHA
7. Andrei Kirilenko UTA
8. Ron Artest SAS
9. Lamar Odom LAL
10.Richard Jefferson NJN

The Shooting Guard position is my personal favorite, given that I played the position in High School. For me, however, it was tough placing Carter, though one of my favorite players, in Tier 1. He's incredibly talented, there's no arguing that. Unfortunately, as New Jersey fans will testify, he's too streaky. His heroics in the playoffs however, solidify his greatness and I feel confident in where I have him placed. Like Pierce, Allen, in my eyes has suddenly gone from underrated to slightly overrated, due to Boston's recent craziness. I expect his stats to drop off a bit this year in regards to quantity, but not efficiency. Look for his 3pt% to increase from all those open looks he gets. I've also place Manu above players like Joe Johnson, Jason Richardson, and Richard Hamilton. While those players are incredible and have very important roles on their respective teams, Manu has shown incredible efficiency in regards to both offensive prowess and defensive ability, consistantly outplaying his opponents by a significant margin. If it weren't for both Parker and Duncan's prominate roles as scorers, we'd definitely see Ginobili show, at least statistically, how good he really is. Another notable point is how good Dwayne Wade will be upon his return from a very significant injury. Regardless, Here are my top 10 Shooting Guards, divided into 2 Tiers.

Shooting Guard-
TIER 1
1. Kobe Bryant LAL
2. Dwayne Wade MIA
3. Tracy McGrady HOU
4. Vince Carter NJN
TIER 2
5. Ray Allen BOS
6. Manu Ginobili SAS
7. Joe Johnson ATL
8. Jason Richardson CHA
9. Richard Hamilton DET
10.Michael Redd MIL

Last we have the Point Guard Position, which I believe is the second deepest position. Some choices here were easy, such as Steven Nash at number one. However, with Tony Parker's recent domination of the NBA Finals, it pains me to place him at only number 4. However, seeing as the talents of both Arenas and Iverson are undeniable, it had to be done. Another tough placement was Jason Kidd, seeing as his show of sheer brilliance as Team USA's court leader was a true testimate to Kidd's true ability. However due to his age and declining role as a scorer and his lack of athleticism, his placement at 5 is understandable. As you can see, the Point Guard Position is the only position with more than 4 Tier 1 players. This number could even increase in coming years due to the amazing young talents of Deron Williams, Chris Paul, and Kirk Hinrich. Hinrich I could not leave off this list, due to his very impressive playoff run, and his obvious defensive ability. He might be the best defensive point guard on this list. Anyway, here are my top 10 Point Guards, divided into 2 Tiers.

Point Guard-
TIER 1
1. Steve Nash PHO
2. Gilbert Arenas WAS
3. Allen Iverson DEN
4. Tony Parker SAS
5. Jason Kidd NJN
6. Chauncy Billups DET
TIER 2
7. Baron Davis GSW
8. Deron Williams UTA
9. Chris Paul NOH
10.Kirk Hinrich CHI

By Role

Here I've narrowed down my rankings by the three dominate roles in Basketball; Bigs, Wings, and Points. I believe almost any player in the NBA can be classified into one of these ranks, thus why I've made a top 10 for each respective role. There are no Tiers here as I didn't think it was appropriate for this particular ranking. This list gives a better perspective as to where I rank each player.

BIGS
1. Tim Duncan
2. Dirk Nowitzki
3. Yao Ming
4. Kevin Garnett
5. Amare Stoudamire
6. Carlos Boozer
7. Chris Bosh
8. Pau Gasol
9. Dwight Howard
10.Marcus Camby

WINGS
1. Kobe Bryant
2. LeBron James
3. Dwayne Wade
4. Carmelo Anthony
5. Tracy McGrady
6. Paul Pierce
7. Shawn Marion
8. Vince Carter
9. Ray Allen
10.Manu Ginobili

POINTS
1. Steve Nash
2. Gilbert Arenas
3. Allen Iverson
4. Tony Parker
5. Jason Kidd
6. Chauncy Billups
7. Baron Davis
8. Deron Williams
9. Chris Paul
10.Kirk Hinrich

(Note: Obviously the PG list did not change, but I thought I'd still include it.)

OVERALL

My next ranking is where I rank the players overall. There are no numbers here, as I believe the Tiers should speak more as to each players role on their respective teams. They are not divided equally. I also have included what I believe their "video game rating" should be. This could also be considered as a response to the recent ratings from NBA Live 2008 and NBA 2K8.

TIER 1

Nash PHO 97
Kobe LAL 99
LeBron CLE 98
Duncan SAS 99
Yao HOU 95
Dirk DAL 96
Garnett BOS 95

TIER 2

Kidd NJN 90
AI DEN 92
Arenas WAS 93
Parke SAS 91
Melo DEN 92
Wad MIA 92
T-Mac HOU 90
Pierce BOS 90
Amare PHO 93
Boozer UTA 92


TIER 3

Billups DET 88
Davis GSW 87
Williams UTA 86
Paul NOH 85
Hinrich CHI 85
Allen BOS 88
Marion PHO 89
Carter NJN 88
Manu SAS 87
Dwight ORL 88
Bosh TOR 89
Gasol MEM 89
O'neal MIA 86
Camby DEN 85

Just for fun, here's a little table of some "top 3's" on some different teams that would qualify to have a top 3. Again, all my opinion.

PHO = 97+93+89 = 279
SAS = 99+91+87 = 277
BOS = 95+90+88 = 273
DEN = 92+92+85 = 269
HOU = 95+90+81 = 266
UTA = 92+86+84 = 262
NJN = 90+88+83 = 261
WAS = 93+84+82 = 259

So that does it for my rankings. We'll see how they compare to the players performances in the upcoming season!