Thursday, October 27th, 2011 at 6:28 pm  |  18 responses

Gallery: SLAMonline Top 50 Players 2011

Peep the NBA’s best in photos.

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.

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  • mersh Posted: Oct.27 at 6:42 pm
    this list just makes me feel old cuz players like KG, duncan, ray allen and paul pierce are so high up now and they used to be in the top 10. i’m gonna be bummed in 4 or 5 years when all of these guys are gone.

  • Enigmatic Posted: Oct.27 at 6:44 pm
    True.
    I still remember when they were calling KG “The Kid”. lol

  • Joey E. Posted: Oct.27 at 6:49 pm
    my main gripes: ZBo and LMA should flip flop. Wade and Rose should flip flop. Brook shouldnt be ahead of Bynum. Horford is a smidge too low. i’d have him ahead of Duncan. great list though. way better than ESPN’s

  • Ouse Posted: Oct.27 at 7:17 pm
    Only 4 Bulls dickwads.

  • kllllh Posted: Oct.27 at 7:40 pm
    rose should be number 2 prince behind the king

  • Fut. Posted: Oct.27 at 8:00 pm
    Damon Jones should be higher. Wait…

  • Johnq Posted: Oct.27 at 9:50 pm
    1.dwade 2.dirk 3.Durant 4.Lebron 5.Kobe that’s last years ranking too me when it counting who showed up for there teams respect is not giving its earned

  • Bill Sunday Posted: Oct.27 at 11:47 pm
    I know it is kind of irrelevant. But isn’t it awesome how the Mavs have only 1 dude on this list and still manage to win the championship. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think anybody else on the Mavs should be on this list, I just find it remarkable how they managed to win it all with the amount of talent they had.

  • Joey E. Posted: Oct.28 at 3:13 am
    ^yeah. i mean think of it too. who was their 2nd best player last season? Jason Terry or Jason Kidd or Tyson Chandler. yeah, amazing how they won the title.

  • tom Posted: Oct.28 at 5:08 am
    “I know it is kind of irrelevant. But isn’t it awesome how the Mavs have only 1 dude on this list and still manage to win the championship. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think anybody else on the Mavs should be on this list, I just find it remarkable how they managed to win it all with the amount of talent they had.” – I hope most people don´t forget this when creating and/or debating those kinds of lists…@Joey E. don´t forget the man from puerto rico ;) and the matrix and the custodian …

  • Tobiath Posted: Oct.28 at 10:32 am
    Ummm Hellloooooo. Where’s Brian Scalabrine?

  • Reals Posted: Oct.28 at 1:39 pm
    JohnQ right on brada

  • Dacre Posted: Oct.28 at 10:24 pm
    tom – aint NOTHING irrelevent about that.

  • jay ballin Posted: Oct.29 at 1:00 am
    kobe number 3. LMAO a troll hacked slam online and wrote this list.

  • Simba Posted: Oct.30 at 2:38 pm
    i no rite

  • wall Ball Posted: Dec.10 at 5:57 pm
    Kobe B is still the best in the league…L B J is all fluff…okay he fills the stats sheet up. What does the best player constitute? How many wins/ rings or how many players get better by playing with certain guys? Lebron may be the most athletic or the most excitng but he’s definitely not the best…with that said, if I were starting a francise today, i’d probably take k d over lebron…then again I might take Rose because of his will to win inspite of all of you who have hated on him for various reasons

  • Yo Yo Posted: Dec.10 at 11:43 pm
    Jru Holiday?

  • Jose Posted: Jan.21 at 12:11 pm
    LOL at Eric Gordon’s photo

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