Top 100 NBA Players: #68

Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant is by far the youngest player to be ranked among my top 100, and although he is still only 22 years old, he has done some very impressive things in the early stages of his career.

In his first season in the NBA, playing for the Seattle Supersonics, Durant won the Rookie of the Year award by averaging 20.3 points per game while starting every single night. It turns out that his rookie season would start to look weak after what he started doing in year two. At only 20 years old, he was one of the top 10 players in the entire league and ranked #5 in scoring at 25.3 points per game, while also increasing his rebounding average from 4.4 to 6.5.

The next season he became the youngest player ever to lead the league in scoring, averaging 30.1 points per game and supplanting Max Zaslofsky as the youngest scoring leader, breaking a record that had stood for 62 years. He was also named to the All-NBA First Team, came in second in the MVP race, and led the Thunder to the playoffs. He also grabbed 7.6 rebounds per game and shot 90% from the free throw line while leading all players in minutes played.

His fourth season was even better somehow. His stats may have slipped slightly in each major category, but he was still one of the top 5 players in the league and led Oklahoma City to the Western Conference Finals as the best player on a very good Thunder team. He led the league in scoring for the second straight season and matched that feat in the playoffs, where he averaged 28.6 over 17 games.

At this point in his career it's impossible to tell exactly where he'll end up at the end of his career. We could be looking at one of the top 10 players of all time, or he may turn into a Penny Hardaway or Grant Hill, who dominated the league early on the same way but succumbed to injuries. Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: we are currently witnessing the rise of one of the most talented players to ever take the court, and even though it's still early, he just can't be overlooked.

Durant has reached such a high level at such a young age that very few can compare to him at this point in his career, and those that can are all in the top 10 players of all time. Elton Brand has been a very good player, even winning a Rookie of the Year award like Durant, but it took him about 8 years to reach the peak level that Durant reached in three, and Durant has already led his team on a deeper playoff run than Brand ever has, which is why I'm placing him here for now. By the end of next season, who knows? I could easily see him making the jump to top 50 of all time if he can match his last two seasons.

Top 100 NBA Players: #69

Elton Brand

(BBR: #102)

Elton Brand was one of the best players of the past decade, but he has been ignored and forgotten by most fans for two main reasons. He spent the majority of two recent seasons on the injured list, and he's almost always played on horrible teams. But there is a good reason to put him on this list.

Over the first eight seasons of his career, during which time he was generally healthy, he put up some of the strongest numbers in the entire league. Here are his overall averages from 1999-2007:

Brand - 20.3 pts, 10.2 reb, 2.7 ast, 2.1 blk, .505 FG%

He stayed pretty close to those averages every year, except in 2006, when he exploded, making the All-NBA Second Team and leading the Clippers to their best season in decades, which lasted into the second round of the playoffs, a huge accomplishment for the franchise. Here are his numbers from that season:

Brand - 24.7 pts, 10.0 reb, 2.6 ast, 2.5 blk, .527 FG%

Just one season later, Brand's career took a nosedive thanks to his first major injury, a ruptured Achilles' tendon that limited him to just 8 games that year. He left the Clippers for the 76ers that summer, then missed most of the following season due to an unrelated injury, a shoulder dislocation. At this point he was pushed to the back of most people's minds, but he did see a nice resurgence in 2011, when he averaged 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds while making just the second playoff appearance of his career. It's unlikely that he will make it back to his previous level, but he was pretty good before injuries took over his career.

Looking at the chart of Brand compared to Johnson, it's easy to see that Johnson was a bit better early on in his career, but that injuries slowed him down much earlier, at the exact same point when Brand hit his peak, which was significantly higher than Johnson's. The lack of playoff success doesn't hurt Brand much in this matchup, because Johnson only had 3 significant playoff runs in his career, and he was only the best player on one of those teams.

NBA MVP Rankings - 2008-2009

2009 was an exciting season for the NBA. LeBron James, who had been the league's best player for quite a while, won his first MVP award as he led the Cavaliers to the league's best record. Three teams finished with at least 60 wins, and one of those, the Los Angeles Lakers, ended up taking home the championship, with Kobe Bryant winning his first NBA Finals MVP award. I have re-ranked the contenders for each of the major awards that year statistically, and the following is where I would have ranked each one, with actual voting results in parentheses.

Most Valuable Player

1. LeBron James - CLE - 28.4 pts, 7.6 reb, 7.2 ast (1)

Not much of a question here. He was the league's best player. His team had the league's best record. He was name Eastern Conference Player of the Month 4 times. He was named to the All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team. He was 2nd in the NBA in scoring. The only knock on LeBron's season is that Cleveland failed to win the championship, but this award is for the regular season only.

2. Kobe Bryant - LAL - 26.8 pts, 5.2 reb, 4.9 ast (2)

Kobe's stats were down across the board from his MVP season, but I'm pretty sure you won't hear him complaining that he won the Finals MVP rather than the regular season version. His team won the Western Conference by 11 games in the regular season, then went 16-7 in the playoffs as Kobe earned his 4th ring.

3. Pau Gasol - LAL - 18.9 pts, 9.6 reb, 3.5 ast (NR)

If you want to know why the Lakers were able to improve so quickly and win the title despite Kobe having a decrease in production, look no further than the Lakers' new big man. Pau was the piece the Lakers had been missing since Shaq left, and while he took a small statistical hit when he moved to LA, the title makes it all worth it.

4. Dwight Howard - ORL - 20.6 pts, 13.8 reb, 2.9 blk (4)

Howard led the league in rebounding and blocked shots while winning the Defensive Player of the Years award for the first time, then guided Orlando through upsets of Boston and Cleveland in the playoffs before losing to the Lakers in the Finals.

5. Brandon Roy - POR - 22.6 pts, 4.7 reb, 5.1 ast (9)

Roy had his best overall season as he led Portland to a tie for the second-best record in the West and a trip to the playoffs. The former Rookie of the Year set career highs that are still standing in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage and was named to the All-NBA Second Team.

6. Dwyane Wade - MIA - 30.2 pts, 5.0 reb, 7.5 ast (3)

Wade led the league in scoring and was probably the only reason that Miami made the playoffs, but they were barely above .500 for the season and lost in the first round of the playoffs. It was the first time in three years that Wade had not missed significant time to injuries, and he took advantage, posting his best season to date.

7. Chris Paul - NOH - 22.8 pts, 11.0 ast, 2.8 stl (5)

Paul was another example of a great player on an average team, leading the league in both assists and steals for the second straight year while averaging over 20 points as well. It was also the only time that Paul had shot over 50% for a full season, and it remains the best season of his career.

8. Dirk Nowitzki - DAL - 25.9 pts, 8.4 reb, 2.4 ast (10)

Dirk had a better year statistically that he did in 2007, when he won the MVP, but the Mavericks were only good enough to grab the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs, although they were able to upset San Antonio in the first round. It was his 9th straight season averaging over 20 points per game, and he isn't through yet.

9. Tim Duncan - SAS - 19.3 pts, 10.7 reb, 3.5 ast (11)

Duncan averaged under 20 points per game, just the 3rd time that had happened, and the Spurs ended up ranked 3rd in the West going into the playoffs, where they were upset by the Mavericks in the first round. Even though he wasn't at his peak anymore, he was still the face of the Spurs and their best player.

10. Tony Parker - SAS - 22.0 pts, 3.1 reb, 6.9 ast (8)

This appeared to be the year that the Spurs passed the torch from Duncan to Parker, who set career highs in scoring and assists as he led San Antonio to the playoffs yet again. Injuries have prevented him from duplicating his performance from that season, but he's young enough that he may still have a chance to regain it.

Not quite there:

Carmelo Anthony

Rookie of the Year

1. Derrick Rose - CHI - 16.8 pts, 3.9 reb, 6.3 ast (1)

Rose's stellar rookie year was a sign of things to come in Chicago. In just his first year, he was able to lead the Bulls back to the playoffs and very deservingly won the Rookie of the Year award against a pretty good class of contenders. As good as he was then, he is that much better today.

2. Russell Westbrook - OKC - 15.3 pts, 4.9 reb, 5.3 ast (4)

I can't quite figure out why Westbrook was voted 4th in the Rookie of the Year race after a season in which he showed that he could do it all. Besides his very solid numbers in scoring, rebounds, and assists, he averaged over a steal per game and didn't miss a single game, a streak that is still intact today.

3. O.J. Mayo - MEM - 18.5 pts, 3.8 reb, 3.2 ast (2)

Mayo may have been the highest scoring rookie, but Rose and Westbrook both had better assist and rebound numbers. Mayo has not been able to return to the form of his rookie year, with significant drops in every statistical category each season.

4. Eric Gordon - LAC - 16.1 pts, 2.6 reb, 2.8 ast (5)

Gordon may not be in the potential MVP class of Rose and Westbrook yet, but at least he hasn't fallen down where Mayo has. The current leading scorer for Los Angeles played his way into the starting lineup within his first month with the team, and he's stayed there ever since.

5. Brook Lopez - NJN - 13.0 pts, 8.1 reb, 1.8 blk (3)

Lopez immediately showed that he was ready to be an NBA big man with a very strong rookie year for the Nets. He shot over 53% for the season and has not missed a single game yet in his career. His career, like most on this list, continues to show a lot of promise.

Sixth Man of the Year

1. Jason Terry - DAL - 19.6 pts, 2.4 reb, 3.4 ast (1)

Terry had his best scoring season since his sophomore campaign with the Atlanta Hawks nearly a decade earlier and gave Dallas the firepower it needed off the bench. He also shot 88% from the free throw line, very close to his career high set 6 years before.

2. Nate Robinson - NYK - 17.2 pts, 3.9 reb, 4.1 ast (3)

The 5-foot, 9-inch Robinson showed that he was more than just someone to entertain at the All-Star Dunk Contest with his best season by far. He set career highs in every category, all of which are still standing, and ensured that he would be around the league for many more seasons.

3. J.R. Smith - DEN - 15.2 pts, 3.7 reb, 2.8 ast (2)

The long-range marksman got the most consistent playing time of his career and rewarded the Nuggets by having his best season up to that point. He may not score big every night, but when he's hot, no one in the league can stop him.

4. Lamar Odom - LAL - 11.3 pts, 8.2 reb, 2.6 ast (4)

Odom became a bench player for the first time in his career, but his production per minute didn't change at all. Odom's move to the bench opened up space for Pau Gasol on the front line, a move that proved to be very important for the Lakers in their championship run.

5. Ramon Sessions - MIL - 12.4 pts, 3.4 reb, 5.7 ast (NR)

In Sessions' first full NBA season, he showed a lot of promise after a great stint with the Bucks after being called up from the D-League the previous season. He may not have great shooting range, but his assist to turnover ratio was very close to 3 while guiding the team off the bench.

Most Improved Player

1. Nene - DEN - +9.3 pts, +2.4 reb, +0.5 ast (5)

My guess is that Nene didn't win this award because many saw him as a better candidate for the Comeback Player of the Year Award, which no longer exists. After missing 2 of the 3 previous seasons due to a torn ACL and testicular cancer, his strong resurgence in 2009 deserves recognition.

2. Kevin Durant - OKC - +5.0 pts, +2.1 reb, +0.4 ast (3)

In the team's first year in Oklahoma City, Durant went from the runaway Rookie of the Year winner to superstar in just his second year. He finished 6th in the league in scoring before becoming the league scoring leader in his third year, a very tough jump to make when you're already a very good player.

3. Marquis Daniels - IND - +5.4 pts, +1.7 reb, +0.2 ast (NR)

Daniels took over as a starter in Indiana when Mike Dunleavy went down with an injury, and he had the best season of his career. It wasn't enough to convince the Pacers to keep him after the season, but he was able to land a spot on Boston's bench the next year, where he has been a solid role player.

4. Paul Millsap - UTA - +5.4 pts, +3.0 reb, +0.8 ast (4)

Millsap spent a lot of time starting in place of an injured Carlos Boozer, and looked a lot like a previous Jazz power forward from Louisiana Tech. His performance made Boozer expendable, and now that he is a full-time starter, he's living up to the high expectations.

5. Jeff Green - OKC - +6.0 pts, +2.0 reb, +0.5 ast (25)

Green's improvement wasn't noticed as much as Durant's, but he also proved that the was an important piece of Oklahoma City's future along with rookie Russell Westbrook. It was Green's best season so far, but he hasn't dropped very far in the two seasons since.

NBA Player of the Day

Elton Brand - PHI - 33 pts, 16 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk, 14-23 FG, 5-5 FT

This is not a throwback like everything else in this post, even if it looks like it. Elton Brand actually scored over 30 points for the first time in over 3 years as he led the 76ers to an upset of the Knicks last night. The 76ers used a 15-0 run in the 4th quarter to eke out the victory right at the end.