The definitive ranking of the NBA’s best players.
by Shannon Booher / @Shannon_Booher
Kevin Garnett, please, do not read this. The summer lockout circuit is no place for aging vets, but I’m hoping a bored KG is not perusing internet basketball sites and does not catch even a whisper of this ranking. The last thing he needs is any more fuel for his basketball fire. He already runs too hot. The 16-year vet’s intensity is legendary—an intensity that was always admired and praised while melting ‘Sota winters, but that has drawn some scrutiny in recent years under the spotlight of the Celtics‘ contending status.
Just last year Spike Lee told him to “calm the f*ck down” and multiple players/coaches/execs called him “dirty” and a “bully,” insinuating that with diminishing skills, he has resorted to a new style of play in order to compete. Numbers don’t back up that theory, however, as his stats have been virtually the same for the past three seasons. That flare up was probably worth an extra yoga lesson or two.
Then Game 4 against the Heat in the Playoffs happened. Then the Heat took the series in five.
Fab said breathe, son, breathe. KG is a guy steadily trying to calm himself down, not pump himself up. He is the guy trying to slap, pound, bang and mumble himself into submission, and you present him with this? After channeling his ‘Sota-self and carrying the team on his back in the Elbow Game, he regresses to the mean in Game 4 and the blame is thrown at him? A team with many skeptics, based on its age and propensity to injury, and it’s the youngest and heartiest of their foundation players who gets hurt, killing its chance at taking out the Heat? Breathe, KG, breathe.
Now there’s a lockout. The Big 3 aren’t getting any younger. Garnett and Ray Allen won’t even be under contract if the ‘11-12 season is canceled. Can the Cs fade a missed season? What does the future hold? What does a bank account missing $21 million+ hold? Whoa. Now might be a good time for one of those Malibu Beach runs, Kevin.
Turn off the Drake and stay away from the headlines. You don’t need to hear all this. Kevin Garnett done seen it all and been through it all. The criticism, in some form or fashion, has been there for years, save for the brief respite during and following the Celtics title season. This offseason, despite an All-Defensive campaign, the same consistent on-court production, a season mostly devoid of injury, and the usual leadership role, the doubters are back. As evidenced by his drop (2010 — No. 29, 2009 — No. 12) in these rankings, people just aren’t sure he can can do it anymore. Uh oh.
So please, Kevin. Don’t read this. Turn off the TV and disconnect the internet. Don’t mumble SLAM’s name under your breath as you bang your head against the stanchion in your next pregame. Take Spike’s advice and calm down. We don’t need you to implode before the next season starts. We need you around for another doggedly consistent season, leading your team to contending status.
| SLAMonline Top 50 Players 2011 | ||||
| Rank | Player | Team | Position | Pos. Rank |
| 50 | Luol Deng | Bulls | SF | 8 |
| 49 | Andrew Bogut | Bucks | C | 7 |
| 48 | Ray Allen | Celtics | SG | 9 |
| 47 | Marc Gasol | Grizzlies | C | 6 |
| 46 | David West | Hornets | PF | 15 |
| 45 | Kevin Martin | Rockets | SG | 8 |
| 44 | Andrew Bynum | Lakers | C | 5 |
| 43 | Brandon Jennings | Bucks | PG | 11 |
| 42 | Lamar Odom | Lakers | PF | 14 |
| 41 | Gerald Wallace | Blazers | SF | 7 |
| 40 | Brook Lopez | Nets | C | 4 |
| 39 | Joakim Noah | Bulls | C | 3 |
| 38 | Carlos Boozer | Bulls | PF | 13 |
| 37 | Kevin Garnett | Celtics | PF | 12 |
Notes
• Rankings are based solely on projected ’11-12 performance.
• Contributors to this list include: Maurice Bobb, Shannon Booher, David Cassilo, Bryan Crawford, Sandy Dover, Adam Figman, Jon Jaques, Eldon Khorshidi, Ryne Nelson, Doobie Okon, Ben Osborne, Quinn Peterson, Dave Schnur, Abe Schwadron, Dan Shapiro, Irv Soonachan, Todd Spehr, Tzvi Twersky, Yaron Weitzman, DeMarco Williams and Ben York.
• Want more of the SLAMonline Top 50? Check out the archive.
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Also, even though the numbers don’t back it up, KG is still a better player than KLove, who will appear ahead of him. I guess Slam only cares about offense.
BOOZER.
Even in his dotage, Garnett murders Boozer. Bulls fans know this. They saw that Boozer wanted no parts whatsoever with KG.
Anyway, I can see him as the 37th best player in the League, even with his stellar defense because he is aging, but I can’t see him as only one spot better than Boozer. It just doesn’t compute.
Dirk, Bosh, LA, Amare, BGriff, Gasol, ZBo, KLove, JSmith, and DC. That leaves one more spot for a PF (unless Slam considers TD a C).
Also, his numbers dropped significantly with the Warriors.
Wow, the gems just keep on dropping from the Mightily Unintelligent Boy Wanting Attention…Really?
That’s tough to rank these PFs and especially the ones aging, because you always have the image of their glorious past that sticks to your mind, but that being said KG (as well as TD) is still a beast on defence, a team leader, a very reliable offensive force, and plays usually better when it matters most.
Should be top 30 to me.
NBA Most Valuable Player (2004)
NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2008)
14× NBA All-Star (1997–1998, 2000–2011)
4× All-NBA First Team (2000, 2003–2004, 2008)
3× All-NBA Second Team (2001–2002, 2005)
2× All-NBA Third Team (1999, 2007)
9× NBA All-Defensive First Team (2000–2005, 2008–2009, 2011)
2× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2006–2007)
NBA All-Rookie Second Team (1996)
4× NBA rebounding champion (2004–2007)
NBA All-Star Game MVP (2003)
J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (2006) ————————————————–
95-96 MIN 80 43 28.7 0.491 0.286 0.705 2.2 4.1 6.3 1.8 1.1 1.6 1.38 2.36 10.4
96-97 MIN 77 77 38.9 0.499 0.286 0.754 2.5 5.6 8.0 3.1 1.4 2.1 2.27 2.58 17.0
97-98 MIN 82 82 39.3 0.491 0.188 0.738 2.7 6.9 9.6 4.2 1.7 1.8 2.34 2.73 18.5
98-99 MIN 47 47 37.9 0.460 0.286 0.704 3.5 6.9 10.4 4.3 1.7 1.8 2.87 3.23 20.8
99-00 MIN 81 81 40.0 0.497 0.370 0.765 2.8 9.0 11.8 5.0 1.5 1.6 3.31 2.53 22.9
00-01 MIN 81 81 39.5 0.477 0.288 0.764 2.7 8.7 11.4 5.0 1.4 1.8 2.84 2.52 22.0
01-02 MIN 81 81 39.2 0.470 0.319 0.801 3.0 9.1 12.1 5.2 1.2 1.6 2.83 2.27 21.2
02-03 MIN 82 82 40.5 0.502 0.282 0.751 3.0 10.5 13.4 6.0 1.4 1.6 2.79 2.43 23.0
03-04 MIN 82 82 39.4 0.499 0.256 0.791 3.0 10.9 13.9 5.0 1.5 2.2 2.59 2.46 24.2
04-05 MIN 82 82 38.1 0.502 0.240 0.811 3.0 10.5 13.5 5.7 1.5 1.4 2.71 2.52 22.2
05-06 MIN 76 76 38.9 0.526 0.267 0.810 2.8 9.9 12.7 4.1 1.4 1.4 2.37 2.71 21.8
06-07 MIN 76 76 39.4 0.476 0.214 0.835 2.4 10.4 12.8 4.1 1.2 1.7 2.70 2.42 22.4
07-08 BOS 71 71 32.8 0.539 0.000 0.801 1.9 7.3 9.2 3.4 1.4 1.2 1.94 2.30 18.8
08-09 BOS 57 57 31.1 0.531 0.250 0.841 1.4 7.1 8.5 2.5 1.1 1.2 1.58 2.25 15.8
09-10 BOS 69 69 29.9 0.521 0.200 0.837 1.1 6.2 7.3 2.7 1.0 0.8 1.46 2.46 14.3
10-11 BOS 71 71 31.3 0.528 0.200 0.862 1.2 7.7 8.9 2.4 1.3 0.8 1.62 2.08 14.9
Career – 1,195 1,158 36.7 0.498 0.282 0.788 2.5 8.3 10.7 4.1 1.4 1.6 2.37 2.48 19.5 These are the facts peeps.
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