Top 50: Deron Williams, no. 7

The definitive ranking of the NBA’s best players for ’12-13.

I like this Top 50 thing that we do because it feels like such a fresh start; all of the rankings are performance predictions for the upcoming season, so mild hiccups and set backs in previous years should have little effect on where the players who experienced ‘em are placed on this list, as long as we believe said hiccups/set backs are stuck in the past. What’s to come is all that matters.

And Deron Williams is kind of the posterboy for this mindset, no? If there’s anyone we’re supposed to remove from the context of his last couple of basketball-playing years and judge from a completely blank canvas, it’s DWill. Think about all that’s going to be different between ’11-12 and ’12-13 for this guy: New teammates (hello, Joe Johnson, CJ Watson, Mirza Teletovic, Josh Childress, Andray Blatche, Jerry Stackhouse and a full year with Gerald Wallace). Healthy teammates (hello, Bropez). New contract (hello, $$$). New stadium (what up, Brooklyn?).

It’s almost like Kanye and Rhymefest made that one song way back when about Deron Williams’ summer of 2012.

That’s just a convoluted way of saying that this guy is finally getting a new beginning. And with a new beginning will come an enhanced spotlight, and with an enhanced spotlight will come a renewed conversation about what he’s actually capable of on the court, in comparison with his esteemed peers. Which is where we come in.

Williams has had his moments of slightly sustained greatness, taking those late-’00s Utah Jazz squads to the postseason and assisting Team USA during a pair of Gold medal runs. But as of the past couple of years any true greatness—that unbelievable, unforeseeable, OMG wow how is he that fucking good at basketball greatness—has come in very short bursts. A 57-point frenzy here. A 38-point, 8 three-pointer barrage against a helpless Jeremy Lin there. Some insane 4-point plays. Couple of game-winners. A few ridiculous dishes to unsuspecting and occasionally incompetent teammates.

But what we expect from NBA superstars, especially those that get slotted in at points like this (and higher) on lists like this, is firmly sustained greatness. Leading deep Playoff runs; MVP consideration; scoring titles; Defensive Player of the Year awards; Championships. Basically, it’s the ability to say, “Man, _____ is unreal” during bball-focused conversations with friends or strangers, with zero context needed, because it’s that true—and it’s a fact that’s jumping off the television screen every time he’s on it.

It’ll be tough for Williams to jump into that category, if only because the Texas native’s game doesn’t exactly call for that form of fan love. How many people, Nets fans excluded, do you know consider Deron Williams the hands-down best point guard in the game? Certainly a few, but surely not many. He doesn’t have Derrick Rose’s explosiveness, Rajon Rondo’s fiery all-over prowess, Chris Paul’s ability to use every ounce of open space to his advantage or Russell Westbrook’s raw power. Nothing leaps out. But to a degree, he has all of those things, and he has them all at a high enough level that on any given night you might want him on your side over any of the aforementioned names. Lots of nights, actually. He has no tangible weaknesses, at least none that I know of. He’s like the Toyota Camry of amazing point guards, and I promise that was compliment. (The “amazing” part was really important.)

Anyway, look: his placement here, at number seven, makes sense. There probably wouldn’t have been much of an outrage if Williams was slotted a couple spots lower, and there’s probably an argument that could be made that the 6-3 PG is deserving of a position one or two notches higher up.

Seven works, though. He’s sitting above your average All-Star—typing that felt really weird—and beneath the NBA’s uppermost tier. And he’s young enough (at 28) where a great season may push his name up this list next year. No more massive losing streaks, no more pouting. He won’t have a monster statistical jump (seriously, look how consistent these numbers are from year to year; a sudden increase across the board seems unlikely), but it’ll be about what Williams is capable of doing to the franchise’s win column and subsequent postseason run with a whole bunch of new…everything. Here’s guessing a lot.

And here’s to a clean slate.

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SLAMonline Top 50 Players 2012
Rank	Player	Team	Position	Pos. Rank
50	Greg Monroe	Pistons	C	8
49	Tyreke Evans	Kings	PG	14
48	Brandon Jennings	Bucks	PG	13
47	Stephen Curry	Warriors	PG	12
46	Ricky Rubio	TWolves	PG	11
45	Al Jefferson	Jazz	PF	14
44	Anthony Davis	Hornets	PF	13
43	Serge Ibaka	Thunder	PF	12
42	Al Horford	Hawks	C	7
41	Ty Lawson	Nuggets	PG	10
40	Danny Granger	Pacers	SF	6
39	Tim Duncan	Spurs	PF	11
38	John Wall	Wizards	PG	9
37	Monta Ellis	Bucks	SG	8
36	Zach Randolph	Grizzlies	PF	10
35	Roy Hibbert	Pacers	C	6
34	Tyson Chandler	Knicks	C	5
33	Eric Gordon	Hornets	SG	7
32	Kevin Garnett	Celtics	PF	9
31	Manu Ginobili	Spurs	SG	6
30	Amar’e Stoudemire	Knicks	PF	8
29	Marc Gasol	Grizzlies	C	4
28	DeMarcus Cousins	Kings	C	3
27	Paul Pierce	Celtics	SF	5
26	Andre Iguodala	Nuggets	SG	5
25	Rudy Gay	Grizzlies	SF	4
24	Josh Smith	Hawks	PF	7
23	Derrick Rose	Bulls	PG	8
22	Joe Johnson	Nets	SG	4
21	Steve Nash	Lakers	PG	7
20	James Harden	Thunder	SG	3
19	Pau Gasol	Lakers	PF	6
18	Chris Bosh	Heat	PF	5
17	Kyrie Irving	Cavs	PG	6
16	LaMarcus Aldridge	Blazers	PF	4
15	Tony Parker	Spurs	PG	5
14	Dirk Nowitzki	Mavs	PF	3
13	Andrew Bynum	Sixers	C	2
12	Blake Griffin	Clippers	PF	2
11	Kevin Love	TWolves	PF	1
10	Carmelo Anthony	Knicks	SF	3
9	Russell Westbrook	Thunder	PG	4
8	Rajon Rondo	Celtics	PG	3
7	Deron Williams	Nets	PG	2

Notes
• Rankings are based solely on projected ’12-13 performance.
• Contributors to this list include: Jake Appleman, Maurice Bobb, Rodger Bohn, Brendan Bowers, Franklyn Calle, David Cassilo, Bryan Crawford, Adam Figman, Eldon Khorshidi, Eddie Maisonet III, Ryne Nelson, Ben Osborne, Allen Powell II, Sam Rubenstein, Jonathan Santiago, Abe Schwadron, Leo Sepkowitz, Dave Spahn, Ben Taylor, Tzvi Twersky, Peter Walsh, Tracy Weissenberg, Yaron Weitzman, DeMarco Williams and Dave Zirin.
• Want more of the SLAMonline Top 50? Check out the archive.

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Tags: Brooklyn Nets, Deron Williams, Feature Too, Features, SLAMonline Top 50

Read the SLAMonline Discussion Rules before posting.

http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

did i say Wade has been great? I said he’s been clearly better than Kobe. Which he has. — and no, Kobe is not a better one on one defender. That’s rubbish. He WAS a better one on one defender, but he isn’t anymore. And as a help defender, it’s not even kinda close.
http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

ok, first of all, the East was a joke in those years. Let’s make sure we have this established.
.
– The Nets in 2000-01 were the BEST defense in the NBA. They won with defense, and lack of competition. — Just look at the roster, it’s not like Kidd had those guys playing that great, they were meh offensively. And they definitely would have made the playoffs in that Eastern Conference with any other competent PG. But they wouldn’t have made the finals with anyone else (which I could say the same thing about Utah getting to the WCF in 2007….).
– The Nets in 2001-02 were also the BEST defense in the NBA. — They won much the same way, except this team had a quickly maturing Richard Jefferson with the underrated Kenyon Martin. They too would have made the playoffs with any other competent starting PG, but would not have sniffed the finals with anyone other than Kidd.
.
But Kidd is a better player than Williams anyway, so if you want to have that point, take it. I was wrong. But Williams isn’t Jason Kidd, so I don’t expect him to make any team that good. He’s still a top 7 player in the NBA today, and likely (imo) top 5 by the end of the season.
LakeShow

I give you help defense, but that help defense is what takes away from his 1 on 1 D. I assure you Kobe is still the better 1 on 1 defender against guys with similar athleticism. Wade is better at guarding a Westbrook like player, but Kobe is better at guarding a Joe Johnson or someone similar. Depends on the match up, but Kobe is still slightly ahead of Wade 1 on 1 man.
LakeShow

Number 6 is exactly why these numbers mean absolutely nothing.
http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

Dagger, let’s figure out if you even know what offense they ran in Utah? You keep bringing up Jerry Sloan, but do you actually know anything about what that team did in terms of offensively? — And his coach, is infamously hard on Devin Harris. Not Point Guards. — Deron Williams didn’t decline in terms of production last season http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/willide01.html other than in APG and Shooting %………the two things affected most by teammates. Probably stop acting like last season was so horrible, it wasn’t. At all.
LakeShow

Where did I say or act like the case is strong? Neither is widely favored over the other. Kobe and Wade are near equals on the court these days. I prefer Kobe’s skill set and durability.
http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

- http://www.82games.com/1112/11MIA4.HTM

- http://www.82games.com/1112/11LAL6.HTM

Considering opponent PER and Points per 48 minutes and everything else one on one, and that little point you tried to make about “Kobe is a better 1 on 1 defender and that is what is most important defensively especially when you have two 7 footers doing the shot blocking.” well considering everything said here…..Wade is still, statistically a better one on one defender….plus what my eyes are telling me…..uhm?
Rainman

right, that too. he’s definitely been in peoples sights for a long time now
http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

^ all of this is true for the last 4 years. Wade has BEEN better than Kobe.
http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

so what your saying is, in 2005-06 Gilbert Arenas was better than Kobe Bryant? Gotcha. http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&p1=arenagi01&p2=bryanko01
http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

i’m expecting Chris Paul to be pretty ridiculous this season. And the Dwight thing, LAL’s defense is going to be staggering.
Salty

It’s not any of our jobs to do anything on here.
http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

-Here, you can tell it to yourself if you want to try and be a douche about that aspect of what i said.

-”I’m not going to do your homework for you” – Salty
.
That better?
LakeShow

lol. yes, nbk that is exactly what I am trying to say. The year Kobe scored over 35 a game is the year Arenas was better than Kobe..
http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

well according to you head to head match ups are more important. And Arenas put up 60 and 34 in two Wins over Bryant. Head 2 Head Match Ups and All That. Gilbert was better in your own little world. Sorry, but when something is obvious, it’s obvious. You will take whatever argument you think suits your needs and you run with. No matter how obviously moronic it is.
Salt

I’m only messing with you man. Rein yourself in.
http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

it is the internet, it’s not like i can sense a tone to what you are saying lol – if you say one thing to me in a non-joking matter, and i say essentially the same thing back and you react like that, it’s hard to tell what you meant. but my bad.
http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

i canned my hope in 2009
Salty

I know how it is. God damn politics and sports get the blood flowing. But we can both agree: D Will is a beast of a player.
http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

no doubt.
ByAnyMeansNecessary

You’re the one who doesn’t understand basketball. Wade at 100% with LeBron being down in the post and Ray Allen being on either wing ready to catch and shoot? He will have more space to operate. Rebounds and assists are irrelevant? Who in the world believes that besides you? You claim to understand basketball and make statements like that? Really?
Caboose

You do need to explain. This is how intellectual debate works:
I gave you the benefit of the doubt and let “Kobe>Wade” be the null assumption. I made the positive claim (Wade>Kobe), and thus the onus of proof was on me. I gave my proof via simple and advanced stastics. This is a widely accepted method of presenting proof. If you disagree, you must either provide contradictory proof or demonstrate my proof to be incomplete or inaccurate. Either way, since I have given my claim, you actually bear the onus of proof now. My effective proof means that “Wade>Kobe” is now the null hypothesis and if you are to make the positive claim (Kobe>Wade), you must prove it. -Morgan Freeman voice- Good luck.
http://www.facebook.com/qcollingwood Interdico Scriptor

Um. DWill is a good write up, but that means you project KB to be a top 5…. AS IF. WHAT IS BRYANT GOING TO DO IN 2013 THAT GET’S HIM A TOP 5 SPOT…. JACKING TERRIBLE SHOTS – THAT’S WHAT!
LakeShow

Your favorite PG Smush was guarding him the whole first half.

.

Kobe didn’t even guard him till the 2nd half. Maurice Evans, Kobe and Smush all tried to stop Gil, but he was unstoppable that night.
.
Kobe’s box score: 45 Pts, 8 Reb, 10 Ast. 62% FG’s… 10% better than Gil.

Gil shot 27 FT’s. DID YOU CATCH THAT? 27 FREE THROWS. Kobe shot 10 FT’s.

.

You act like Kobe had his ass handed to him in that game. Yes Gil scored 15 more points, but he didn’t even really have a better game than Kobe.

.

Next game you speak of… No Gil didn’t have 34 he had 37.

Kobe had 39…

Lakers win…

Gil’s line, 37 PTS, 4 AST, 5 REB, 1 STL -10

Bryant’s, 39 PTS, 6 AST, 6 REB, 2 STL +14
http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

You are right in the season, but I was referring to the two games in the year from December 05 to December 06. And I don’t genuinely believe Gilbert was better. But you given your dumb argument earlier, Gilbert outplaying Kobe in some one on one matchups (not matter how many factors you completely leave out) gives a more clear picture of whose the better overall player. It’s not my logic you are arguing against, it’s your own.
.
brad09′

way too high, no way he is a better all around player than rondo, no way. I dont think id take him over westbrook either. 7th best player in the league should get a team to the playoffs
LakeShow

I’m not arguing against it. Kobe outplayed Gilbert or at least played up to him. Which is roughly where Wade has been with Kobe.
I truly don’t care what a person thinks in the Wade vs Bryant debate. For all the “advance stats” and stuff it still doesn’t show who the better player is. If you want to trust those numbers, go for it. I don’t.
http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

Gilbert put up 60 in a win. Sorry that’s not even. You can’t even admit when Kobe gets outplayed, I’m done. Ridiculous. .
aicomeback

i may not always agree with your points usually i do but i respect that even if i believe your wrong you have a logical consistency in your arguments lol just felt like saying that
justin05

Kobe averages 4-6 rebounds and assists either way. Guys like Nash and Gasol will carry the load on the assist end (Howard should help also). Pau, Dwight, and the other big men will get plenty of rebounds as well. That was an ignorant statement about not knowing b-ball but a new role gives Kobe a chance to thrive. I agree with what you said about Wade. He is still the #2 option for the Heat but his game opens up with Allen on the team. Idk if Wade can play point or how they will mesh on the court though.. It will be an interesting year. Slam is even having a hard time deciding who is better between Wade and Kobe lol
justin05

Slam will end this debate. Idk how to make myself any more clear that Wade was not better than Kobe when the Lakers beat the Magic and Celtics for Bryant’s 4th and 5th ring. Like I said above, Slam will end this, and they sure are having a tough time deciding lol
justin05

I feel the same way bro, stats are stats. There are so many more aspects to the game. Basketball IQ should be considered when deciding who is “better” player. Wade doesn’t even come close to Kobe in that category, that’s why D-Wade’s career will not last as long as Kobe’s has. He has put more strain on his body from doing the acrobatic type moves. D Rose and Blake Griffin are in the same boat.. Guys like Nash, Garnett, and Bryant will know this game better than we ever can imagine.
Caboose

You’ve still yet to answer me. Honestly Lake, you are BEYOND annoying with anything Kobe because you simply don’t listen to reason. Is it arrogance? Is it ignorance? Is it stupidity? Is it closed-mindedness? Is it indoctrination disguised as fandom? I don’t know. But listen, I gave you very simple instructions. I laid out my argument. The onus of proof was one me. Now it’s on you. I want you, in one comment, make a concise, clear, fact-based, point-by point argument that proves Kobe is better. I will have the opportunity to critique the points you make, but I need you to actually put forth why you think the way you do. Otherwise, you have the ability to change your reasoning to fit your needs. We can’t have that. I’m coming for you this time, because I’m sick of you constantly having a different rationalization or justification for Kobe. Prove to me you’re more than just an overly zealous fanboy. Or don’t. Either way.
Caboose

Do you even want me to critique that argument? Oh, yes, I think I will. What is basketball IQ? Is it how efficiently a player scores the ball? How well he creates wins? How effectively he runs a team’s offense? How well he helps develop young talent? Because there are FACTS for all of this. And Kobe’s don’t look too great.
http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

Slam will put Kobe 5 or 4 and it won’t change anything

.
LeroyShonuff

So what’s Deron’s excuse? He did have a bad team, but most nights they weren’t even competitive. Can you say the same about Paul with the hornets or even Irving with the cavs? No you can not. If a guy is top top, especially as a pg where you can no longer handcheck, his team should be competitive. The nets haven’t been and the blame goes on him. Is Deron great, no. Even nash in a harder conference and less overall talent around him had the suns competitive. Heck, even Jennings bucks with similar talent levels had the bucks competitive, Deron has no excuse what so ever
http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

You are pointless to discus this with. You obviously don’t know what your talking about saying those teams were similar to the Nets. I’m done with that ignorance and you genuinely think your making a point. Just watch basketball this season and holler at me after that. Maybe you’ll pay better attention to what’s going on and whose good and who isn’t.
Caboose

Not quite. Lakers fans are infatuated with scoring. Celtics fans are infatuated with assists, Bulls fans are infatuated with athleticism, Thunder fans are infatuated with clutchness, and Knicks fans are infatuated with…well, idk.
Slick Ric

The east was terrible when Iverson and lebron led a one-man show to the finals as well…..
Slick Ric

For a player of his caliber, there’s no excuse to shoot 40%.
Drig

I’m calling BS on this one. If anything, DWill was complaining about the O being too rigid for him. He wanted the O to be more fluid and loose. Atleast that was the vibe I got.
Drig

Knicks fans are infatuated by MSG……..That was the best thing I could come up with……
Drig

@disqus_rOeXXBD2qs:disqus ……..Kobe takes more shots from the perimeter than Wade ever did because we got two guys who cram up the paint and no shot creation and scoring outside of Kobe for the last 2 odd years while Heat’s gameplan caters to the biggest strengths of its superstars. Metta slumped last season. Fish/Blake were awful. I followed the Lakers as many times as I could and I can confidently say that Kobe’s AST numbers would’ve been much much better if LAL was even a decent top 15 team from the perimeter. I think PER, Offensive Rating, OWS and WSper48 all also take into account the FG%. And that is what I don’t like about stats. They don’t give you the entire offensive mapping fo the players.

Defensively, Wade has been the more consistent and better player no doubt though. I would be a fool to argue that lol.

This season, I think Kobe’s gonna be more efficient because Nash can help space the floor and create good looks for him, has looked to pass more and won’t be as gassed out at the end of games as he was last season. He no longer has the stamina to keep up a hot streak for more than a quarter or a half ( this was evident last season ). Honestly, I wouldn’t mind seeing Kobe being 6th. But with Miami wisely choosing to monitor Wade’s minutes and the potential upside of the role Kobe’s gonna play this season, it isn’t farfetched to think that he can have the better season than Wade.
Drig

-_-. So that’s your reasoning? DWill isn’t top 10 because he doesn’t have the “it” in him and was traded in the middle of the night??? His game has no flaws. And he’s the best at creating space ( CP3 is the best at using that space ) with his sick crossover. He’s a good enough scorer and his vision is only second to Nash and CP3. His passing skills are on par with them.
Drig

Nice to see DWill isn’t being underrated by you guys. Good job SLAM. Expecting a 21-9.4-4 season from him.
LakersTheBlog.com

really like D-Will’s game, but is he really 7th best player in league? Couldn’t even sniff the playoffs in the lowly east (and yes I understand the Nets sucked)
Brandon

Anyone notice last three in top 50 are PGs?
Drig

Did you not read about the Nets having one of the worst defensive teams part?? And Monty had the Hornets playing pretty good D over the entire season in Paul’s final year. Not to mention he had West and Okafor as his 2nd and 3rd options compared to Marshon Brooks and Humpries…….. If Brook had played, maybe what you said might be applicable but this is comparing apples to oranges.
north

but the stuff in Chinese food, not Madison Square.
Max

Lol, this would be something a teacher says to an annoying student.

Top 50: Deron Williams, no. 7

The definitive ranking of the NBA’s best players for ’12-13.

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