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With LeBron James finishing first
for the third consecutive year, the SLAMonline Top 50 is finally at an end. Generally, this means regular-season NBA hoops is on the other side of the weekend. Not so this time. Still, it’s worth looking back on who SLAMonline projects to be the 50 best players in ’11-12, whenever the season may begin. You’ll find five four Bulls. Fifteen power forwards. Six newcomers. Twelve guys under 25 years old. We’re not saying our Top 50 is perfect… it’s just definitive. Peep the best players in the world in the gallery above.
| 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 |
| 36 | Eric Gordon | Clippers | SG | 7 |
| 35 | Tony Parker | Spurs | PG | 10 |
| 34 | Andre Iguodala | 76ers | SG | 6 |
| 33 | Al Jefferson | Jazz | PF | 11 |
| 32 | Al Horford | Hawks | C | 2 |
| 31 | Stephen Curry | Warriors | PG | 9 |
| 30 | Tim Duncan | Spurs | PF | 10 |
| 29 | Josh Smith | Hawks | PF | 9 |
| 28 | Manu Ginobili | Spurs | SG | 5 |
| 27 | Tyreke Evans | Kings | PG | 8 |
| 26 | Rudy Gay | Grizzlies | SF | 6 |
| 25 | John Wall | Wizards | PG | 7 |
| 24 | Danny Granger | Pacers | SF | 5 |
| 23 | Monta Ellis | Warriors | SG | 4 |
| 22 | Joe Johnson | Hawks | SG | 3 |
| 21 | Paul Pierce | Celtics | SF | 4 |
| 20 | Steve Nash | Suns | PG | 6 |
| 19 | Zach Randolph | Grizzlies | PF | 8 |
| 18 | LaMarcus Aldridge | Blazers | PF | 7 |
| 17 | Chris Bosh | Heat | PF | 6 |
| 16 | Kevin Love | TWolves | PF | 5 |
| 15 | Rajon Rondo | Celtics | PG | 5 |
| 14 | Blake Griffin | Clippers | PF | 4 |
| 13 | Pau Gasol | Lakers | PF | 3 |
| 12 | Russell Westbrook | Thunder | PG | 4 |
| 11 | Amar’e Stoudemire | Knicks | PF | 2 |
| 10 | Deron Williams | Nets | PG | 3 |
| 9 | Carmelo Anthony | Knicks | SF | 3 |
| 8 | Chris Paul | Hornets | PG | 2 |
| 7 | Dirk Nowitzki | Mavs | PF | 1 |
| 6 | Dwight Howard | Magic | C | 1 |
| 5 | Dwyane Wade | Heat | SG | 2 |
| 4 | Derrick Rose | Bulls | PG | 1 |
| 3 | Kobe Bryant | Lakers | SG | 1 |
| 2 | Kevin Durant | Thunder | SF | 2 |
| 1 | LeBron James | Heat | SF | 1 |
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.
