Lillard's 130.2 points per 100 shot attempts is also a career high by an appreciable margin, trailing only Stephen Curry's 136.6 among all point guards. His explosiveness and highlight-level plays on the regular make him a game-wrecker on the offensive end, which helped him earn his first All-NBA honor last year. Dallass roster construction puts a tremendous burden on Doncics shoulders, and he has shown signs of wearing down late in games. The shorthanded Suns needed him to create offense, and the new-look Nets need more of the same. 50 Greatest Players | Top 10 Teams | Top 10 Coaches. The approach seems to be paying off, for -- when Leonard has been on the court -- the Clippers have been elite on both ends. Hes still a star, but you cant throw him out there with any four players and expect them to be legitimate title contenders. who has studied the game closely and shared his perspective on "First Things First," has devised his own list: The top 50 NBA players of the past 50 years. Ball is still in the bottom tier of point guards when it comes to finishing at the rim, connecting at just a 54% rate. He's averaging only 1.8 fewer points and one fewer assist per game since Jan. 1. The Warriors want to repeat as champs, and Wiggins is ready for the adventure. Paul, who will turn 37 during the 2022 NBA Playoffs, is doing it all in his 17th NBA season. 3. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Alex Barutha and Nick Whalen, RotoWire . He's still one of the top perimeter threats in the league, and a guy who is capable of dropping 30-plus on any given night. -- Colin Ward-Henninger, They say that change can be a good thing, and that's certainly been the case for Markkanen in Utah this season. However, the Bulls guard still is a scoring machine who can help lead his team to the playoffs. Last season, James averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. He'll also likely land on an All-NBA team for the first time at the end of the season. The uncertainty about his playing availability during the past season made Kyrie Irving slide in our rankings, but his talent cannot be questioned. It is entirely possible that the Washington Wizards believe in Bradley Beal a bit too much. Between DeRozan at absolute best being only average defensively and his lack of a 3-point shot, you wont see him much higher than 25 player-ranking lists. That's largely how the past few seasons have played out for Davis. But the fact remains that he is one of the most-skilled and toughest players to stop. So why isn't Curry in the MVP race? Injuries derailed last season for both Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers. He has done an excellent job of blending his scoring and playmaking abilities for Philadelphia, and as a result he's one of just three players to average 20 points and 10 assists per game on the season. But Antetokounmpos combination of strength, athleticism, length and motor make him deserving of the No. In his last 18 games, Bridges has averaged 22.7 points on 60.1 percent true shooting, plus 4.4 assists, including a45-point explosion right before the break. Were Doncic to transform his body and get into elite shape, its scary to think what hed be capable of. Centers aren't supposed to be able to run offenses as a primary playmaker, but Sabonis is doing that better any non-Jokic big man has in recent memory, and the gap between them isn't exactly gaping. If the second-year Raptor can take that next step in his game, Barnes will not only make the Raptors look smart for not trading for Kevin Durant but will end up a lot higher on next seasons list. Tatums 3-point shooting took a dive to 35.3%, the lowest mark of his career, but make no mistake, Tatum is still an elite shooter, and hes become one of the leagues toughest covers. The question is whether he has taken a step back defensively and whether he can carry a less-talented team. His 3-point shooting was down from 38.8% in 2021 to 33.7% in 2022, but he did shoot a career-high 58.3% from the floor. As Cleveland needed Garland to be more of a playmaker, one thing that also went up was his turnover rate. 2. The Suns ability to keep their title window open depends entirely on how they manage Pauls workload in the regular season. In the next series, the Mavs made it a point to punish him on the defensive end, and he showed signs of attrition as the series went on. After leading the league in scoring last year, Embiid is at an elite level again with 33.1 points per game, trailing only Luka Doncic's 33.3. There is not a long list of 6-foot-1 guys who can finish like Mitchell. Even if he and the Celtics haven't kept up the ridiculous pace they set in the first third of the season, he remains a leading MVP candidate for his strong two-way play, and the team maintains the best record in the league. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". 4. He is a force on offense and isnt a massive liability on the defensive end. 49 may be slightly low for a player that did as many things at a high level as Barnes. The Thunder are building something special. The Bucks' point guard is arguably the best perimeter defender around, capable of single-handedly changing games on that side of the ball. 1 spot. He's one of the best second options in the league, and his ability to mesh with Tatum is why the Celtics are once again title contenders. Because of his impact on both ends of the floor, Golden State has actually suffered more when Green sits than when Curry does. He's still amongst the best pure scorers in the league, with the ability to get hot quickly and torch a team for 40 points. There might not be a more exciting player in the NBA right now than Ja Morant. The only question is whether Kawhi can stay on the court. He has become more engaged on the defensive end and is now just a slightly below-average defender. 2. -- Brad Botkin, There's a reason the Suns were willing to make a Godfather offer to the Nets for Durant -- even at 34, his mere presence still immediately transforms practically any team into a title contender. Jrue Holiday cant be the best player on a title team. These deficiencies at the end of the day are minor, which is why Morant comes in at No. This unfortunate fact could easily keep him out of a packed Eastern Conference playoff race. LaMelo Ball makes NBA League Pass worth the price. 9. Each voter created their own list, and we averaged the rankings of each individual list to create the final product below. But rumors of LeBron's demise have been greatly exaggerated. You want the ball in Fox's hands to end games, a situation that has both boosted him to his first All-Star selection and raised the Kings' electric bill. James Harden is no longer in a Houston system that enabled him to put up ridiculous scoring averages like 36.1 and 34.3, but hes still an effective, crafty and creative offensive player who can pick apart defenses with his passing and scoring. -- Brad Botkin, McCollum isn't having his most efficient season -- and playing long stretches without Zion Williamson or Brandon Ingram might have something to do with that -- but he's still at 21 points a night on 39-percent 3-point shooting. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. He keeps defenders off balance, and when defenses decide to crowd or double him, he finds the open man. Injuries didnt let Damian Lillard play at his best, and he had to be shut down after 29 games. Nearly one million points scored. Make sure to Like, Comment, and Subscribe! Only a hamstring injury, which kept him out for nearly two months, prevented him from making a fourth consecutive All-Star appearance. The playoffs are now an expectation for this team. With the addition of Gobert to the team, Towns wont have to use a lot of energy defensively protecting the paint and will be able to focus more exclusively on offense, which is the best part of his game. -- Brad Botkin, It's been a disappointing season for the Bulls, but LaVine's production is still on par with his All-Star season from a year ago. He leads the NBA with 5.5 points per game in clutch situations -- a full point better than his closest rival -- while shooting 59 percent from the field. Green is still incredibly valuable and is a top-50 player in the NBA. Barnes finished the season averaging 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists with an impact that felt bigger than the box score. If the Nets lack chemistry and struggle to get stops, we could see a bunch of 40-point efforts from KD in eventual losses and a disappointing season. What has truly separated Fox this season, however, are his insane clutch statistics. The fit projects to be awesome, with Gobert making up for Towns defensive deficiencies and Towns shooting enabling Gobert to hang out in the paint without mucking up the spacing too much. Young's defensive deficiencies are sometimes glaring, but he's a truly special offensive player capable of turning almost any unit into a juggernaut. The big man is averaging a near-double-double with 14.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per performance, and he's also adding 1.7 assists and 1.2 blocks while serving as a dangerous lob threat. DeRozan ranks second in the league in clutch points per game (4.3), and while Chicago's clutch record of 10-17 isn't ideal, the veteran forward is at least giving his team a shot to win the game when it comes down to the wire. Green's offensive skills continue to be overlooked. -- Michael Kaskey-Blomain, Something very significant is happening to Bane this season. The next step is winning it all. -- Sam Quinn, About the only thing that's gone wrong for Brown this season was when he suffered a facial fracture via an inadvertent elbow from Boston's other All-Star, Jayson Tatum. -- Jasmyn Wimbish, Beal is having another solid season in Washington. Its very unlikely that Jokic three-peats as MVP, as nobody has done that since Larry Bird, and voter fatigue makes it very difficult. The Cavaliers have had a top defense in the league throughout the season, and Allen is a main part of the reason why. 1 player that hes ahead of a player of Jokics stature. 25 in our rankings. Browns limitations were on full display in certain parts of last years postseason, when he struggled to keep his dribble to himself, particularly in matchups against Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo. For each player, youll see the overall ranking, where we had them ranked on our 2020-21 Top 50 NBA players list, the highest and lowest ranks any of our voters ranked them on their individual lists, and a brief writeup about that player. The tier list contains the categories of Top 5 NBA players, Superstar, All. He's averaging 18 points on efficient clips while serving as a legitimate 6-foot-10 point guard. Green is getting older and the Warriors title window will close in a short amount of time. 6-keys: media/spln/nba/reg/free/stories, at By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. The Pistons have a true franchise player to build around in Cunnigham, and we are excited to see what this season will look like for him and what improvements he has made to his game over the offseason. Though his numbers and efficiency have taken a dip, he still ranks in the 87th percentile in spot-up situations. They want to bring an NBA Championship to the other Los Angeles franchise. He also makes deep 3s and can break defenses that surrender floaters and midrange jumpers. His ability to shoot over defenders at will makes him impossible to gameplan against. View the Community Ranking for this 2022 NBA Top 50 Players Tier List & recent user lists Follow @aycanigetapizza> Create a ranking for 2022 NBA Top 50 Players 1. When he has played, the Duke product is still shooting north of 60 percent on the season while averaging over 25 points a game, a feat accomplished by only two other players in league history: Charles Barkley and Kevin McHale. -- Jasmyn Wimbish, This has been something of a roller coaster season for Antetokounmpo and his Bucks, but coming out of the All-Star break both he and the team are poised to make runs at hardware. Dont let the numbers fool you, the Warriors dont win the NBA Championship last year without Green on the court. Though going from a volume scorer to an efficient one from his first to the second season was important, Edwards also has to improve defensively and cut down on turnovers the more he becomes the Timberwolves primary ball handler. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Fred VanVleet has been a steady presence during the changeover in Toronto since the Raptors championship in 2019. He is a career 43.3% 3-point shooter and shot 48.2% from the field last season. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. -- Sam Quinn, If Porzingis weren't on a middling team, his return to form would be a much bigger story. His defense compliments Young perfectly, and the Hawks should be very fun to watch this season. 1 ranked offense is scoring just 0.3 points per 100 possessions more than Sacramento's No. The Bucks are still helping him out by employing multiple elite screen navigators, but they've dialed back their protect-the-rim-at-all-costs philosophy, staying home on shooters and trusting Lopez to keep the paint locked down. He can also credibly guard wings that are taller than him. Also, while Morants shooting numbers have improved, he is not enough of a consistent threat from outside of the paint yet to make the defenses respect him enough to not go under every screen set. The master of the midrange comes in at No. After winning the NBA's Most Improved Player Award last season, Morant has elevated his game again. At this point, anything he accomplishes is just icing on top of his Hall-of-Fame-career cake. Published February 5, 2023 50 Best NBA players of 2023: New Mavericks star Kyrie Irving lands in the. Scottie Barnes may have won the Rookie of the Year Award last season, but on our list, Evan Mobley ranks as the best player from the 2021 NBA Draft Class. Barnes was able to be a playmaker on a Raptors playoff team as well as play a high level of defense. So it's incredible now, at 34, that he is playing more minutes than he has in seven years and having the best defensive season of his career. VanVleet posted career highs in points (20.3), assists (6.7) and even rebounds (3.8) per game. The players who fell out of the top 25 from last year were as follows: Adebayo, George, Irving, Lillard, Julius Randle, Bradley Beal, Zion Williamson, and Kawhi Leonard. When healthy, CP3 is still one of the best players in the game. CJ McCollums first full season with the Pelicans will come with some pretty high expectations, and they arent all because of him. Fresh off of his fourth NBA Championship and his first NBA Finals MVP, Stephen Curry doesnt really have anything to prove to anyone. No rookies are included in our top 50 NBA players list because we havent seen them in NBA action yet (preseason and Summner League dont count). You dont want him looking for his shot over and over in iso situations. Def Pen is a registered trademark. Mitchell comes in at exactly 20th on this list for the third year in a row. Conversely, Tatum shot a career-high 3-point percentage in the playoffs, converting 39.3% of his attempts from deep. Edit the label text in each row. In 2022, his shot was off, and he struggled to find ways to impact the game. Click 'Save/Download' and add a title and description. The new-look Los Angeles Lakers will still run through James, and hopefully, his supporting cast will prove better this season. And if not for Nikola Jokic, Embiid might very well be the big staring down a third straight MVP Award. If you play him at the 5, its likely the other team will kill you on the boards and score points in the paint in bunches. Against the Pelicans, CP3 put the team on his back and went absolutely nuclear to close New Orleans out. Fantasy Basketball Rankings: Top 150 for 2022-23 NBA season, 2.0. Lopez is not just the anchor of the league's No. Last season, he averaged 22.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. Allen, along with Evan Mobley, serves as the back line of Cleveland's defense, and he has a knack for making things tough for opposing offensive players, both at the rim and even out on the perimeter once in a while if needed. That also went up was his turnover rate is scoring just 0.3 points per 100 possessions than. The league throughout the season, and we averaged the rankings of each individual list to create offense and... Suns ability to shoot over defenders at will makes him impossible to against... 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