Tuesday, October 11th, 2011 at 3:49 pm  |  72 responses

Top 50: Zach Randolph, no. 19

The definitive ranking of the NBA’s best players.

by Vincent Thomas / @vincecathomas

Outside of basketball junkies and the media, Zach was a fairly unknown commodity, unless you lived in Oregon. Unfortunately, for most of Zach’s career, he was a basketball pariah to the hoops junkies and scribes—a lazy, trouble-making cancer. Then the 2011 Playoffs happened, where he averaged 22 and 9 in a first round upset of the Spurs and then 23 and 12 in a seven-game semifinals against the Thunder, often abusing the imposing Perkins/Ibaka tandem that OKC hoped would tame the beast. This capped off his most complete and substantially productive season as a pro. Belated accolades followed.

Now, he’s routinely mentioned among the elite of the NBA’s elite and celebrated as a legitimate franchise player. Commentators and fans actually glowed about the dude this past spring. And, if that weren’t enough, he went from being cast as a criminal in Portland and a money-drinking disappointment during his brief stint in New York, to, as Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley described him, “a city hero.”

But, he’s still underappreciated.

There aren’t 18 players better than Zach Randolph. The one who really makes absolutely no sense is backseat-riding Kevin Love. KLove puts up meaningless stats for a meaningless team in a meaningless way. Zach changes games and game plans. Zach scares teams. Zach tells Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka that they can get the bozack as he wheels and deals on ‘em so nasty that their teammate, Kevin Durant, is left with the clear idea that Zach’s the best power forward in the League (KD’s words, not mine…well, my words, too).

Zach is one of maybe 10 NBA players who can go into Unstoppable Mode. He’s got more moves down low than any player in the game and the featheriest touch at the cup, to boot. Plus he can J you from 18 to 22 feet. Yeah, that’s unfair. He renders squads helpless. AND he’s getting those huge mitts on a slew balls that clang off the rim.

KLove? Please. KLove couldn’t wash Zach’s jock strap. In fact, while we’re at it, Chris Bosh and LaMarcus Aldridge can hop in the backseat, too. Zach’s more unstoppable and he’s not soft. Blake Griffin? That’s a joke, right? One day, sure. Right now, the young fella’s game is Similac and you know Zach’s is straight Remy. Check his head-to-heads with Love, Aldridge, Griffin and Bosh. They don’t want it with Zach. They know that. He knows that. Do you know that?

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

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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  • MUBWAR

    guys the dude is a rook who put up staggering stats like 22.5p 12.1r 3.8a and a steal all while shooting 50% from the field and started all 82 games. What more do you want?

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Some defense would be nice? I’m not comparing BGriff to TD but TD was a great defender from day one, so there’s no excuse for BGriff with all his size/quickness/explosiveness to be such a terrible defender.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    MUBWAR – the kid is NICE.
    But what more do I want? Defense.
    It’s what’s gonna separate the good players from the GREAT ones.

  • MUBWAR

    too much expectations for a rook. He can develop his D(not with the coach his has now but it’ll come)

  • http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/a-quick-guide-to-the-issues-of-the-nba-lockout/2011/10/11/gIQAon1ZbL_story.html unf*ckwitable

    Its too much expectations for the number 2 PF in the game to play D? come on now.

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Well…not when everyone proclaimed his rook season to be the best ever.
    A wise man once said; “to whom much is given, much is expected”.

  • Rainman

    granted, KD called Zach the Best in the L BEFORE plying against and being defeated by Dirk Nowitzki.

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    yeah in your top pf lists wayyyyyy too many people have bosh after amare. I could see him(bosh) being after zbo pau, and LA tho.
    Dirk
    zbo
    Pau
    Bosh
    La
    B.griff
    Amare
    Love

  • http://sajkflf.com Jukai

    I’m sure it is because of Z-Bo’s past which I should get over, but I think he’s fairly placed and I’d take every PF over him. He found a great, GREAT spot in Memphis…
    Is he better than K. Love? Probably. Is it ridiculous close? Absolutely. K Love is the superior rebounder. ZBo is a superior offensive force. K Love is a slightly better passer. And uh, I really don’t know who is worse on defense. That’s the way it breaks down. So, why is ZBo so much better?

  • Spadeboy

    Pau saved kobe’s legacy. Idk about you but 2 titles in 3.3 seasons is some amazing consistency. Pau may be “soft” but he’s more of a killer in the playoffs than any of these dudes. Dirk is a fantastic player but he’s going in the gutter with this old team/no preseason/ possibly one whole year lost. 30-somethings don’t have time to spare. If the season is cancelled entirely, LA will take over the best PF mantle

  • Shifty

    All I know is that the dude has been putting up pretty much 20 and 10 for past 6 seasons, and im sure he’ll put up same numbers this coming season which makes me believe he deseves this spot, not great on defense as his highest block average is .5 which was ages ago and his steals have only averaged over 1 twice. He fits in memphis nicely though and its good to see him find a home he can get the true recognition he deserves.

  • BuzzerBeater

    Great write up. Zbo is a great fit in Memphis line-up, with Gasol’s great passing ability, Zbo is going to get a constant share of good looks under the basket. The difference between him and other top PF’s is that he’s probably got the best front court support in the League.

  • http://www.slamonline.com AllBall

    Zach Randolph was absolutely a willing passer last year, nbk you must have picked up on that. In the OKC series he kind of got caught up going at the OKC bigs a lot, but through out the regular season he was a good passer.

  • http://www.optimabbc.be Max

    1 Dirk
    2 LA
    3 Z-Bo
    4 Pau
    5 BG
    6 BO$H
    7 KLove
    8 Amaré

  • http://hoopistani.blogspot.com hoopistani

    Shocking. Can’t believe K-Love and Blake Griffin are ranked above Z-Bo

  • http://www.slamonline.com UNFROZEN CAVEMAN LAWYER

    Kevin Love in the back with the child locks………………………………………………… ZBO IS THAT DUDE. IVE ALWAYS LIKED HIM. FUNNY HOW HIS 25 10 YEARS AGO WASNT GOOD ENOUGH FOR ALL STAR BECAUSE HE WAS ON A LOSING TEAM, BUT A SELFISH GUY LIKE KEVIN LOVE MAKES IT. BS! ZACH HAS AN INCREDIBLY SOFT TOUCH, MONEY J, AND DIZZYING POST MOVES. ALL WITH A 2.2 INCH VERTICAL. AWESOME PLAYER, HAPPY HES IS FINALLY ON A WINNING TEAM AND RECEIVING PROPS

  • http://slamonline.com Ugh

    I’m sure somewhere in the back issues of Slam someone dissed Zach by saying “Z-Bo puts up meaningless stats for a meaningless team in a meaningless way.”
    He still puts up the same stats in the same way he used, just the team has changed.

  • Ivo.L

    top 5 power forwards and i will say why

    1- Dirk- midrange, 3pt and FT, rebound and pass well he have low stats but oh well, he have an unstoppable fadeaway shot… this guy is a complete face up PF

    2- Amar’e- athletic,dunk, midrange shoot, post moves, quickness

    3- Blake- well he is my fav PF- athletic can dunk everyone the way he wants with a beastly strenght, can pass the ball and a great rebounder, he is a weak shooter with a low FT %

    4- ZBO- honestly, he is a double double player with great post moves and midrange shooting

    5- Lamarcus Aldridge- for me in my opinion he is the best PF posting, nice post moves he is an athletic PF, with a cool midrange shoot

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Randolph was fine in New York. The season he was traded to LA he was having another 20-10 year and would have taken the Knicks (along with Jamal Crawford) to the playoffs.
    Instead he was traded for Tim.
    Tim Thomas, that is.
    WTF?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????????????

  • jer

    I agree that Z-BO and prolly the best
    i dont think Dirk n ZBo be really be compared
    they are so different
    but personally i wud pick Z-Bo over Dirk
    seriously dirk is redirkulous OFFENSIVELY we all know that
    but offensively ONLY
    if it wasnt for brandan haywood tyson chandler and shawn marion
    hes prolly another allen iverson
    talents unstoppable but no ring

    as for blake n klove
    they are really talented but for now
    Z-Bo is bettter than them in many ways
    blake is explosive so what
    its only a matter of time where he breaks his leg or injures himself like T-Mac grant hill etc.
    n klove we already know he neeeds improvement defensively as well
    he has had trouble guarding quicker n stronger PF
    n he doesnt seem to defend finesse type of pf like chris bosh

  • Mike

    His PER is 13th, so he’s good.
    Loves’s PER is way higher at 4th, and unless they play in different leagues Love is much better night in and night out.

  • http://slamonline 3kings

    he did great last season but he wasnt the only grizz player to improve. as a team they got alot better

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