Swish Tribune Analyst, Dylan Grodner, Gives An In Depth Analysis On The Top 50 NBA Players

Giannis Antetokounmpo is the close second to Jokic. He continues to ball out every year and may even be the #1 guy at the end of the year by having Damian Lillard to spread the ball to. 

Stephen Curry continues to put up ridiculous numbers year in and year out. It will be interesting to see how Curry plays alongside Chris Paul, but I think the Warriors will make it work and we will continue to see Curry playing at the same level he’s always played at.

After coming off his first MVP, Embiid is a certified top 5 player. The biggest question left for Embiid in order to surpass Curry is how far can he take the 76ers in the playoffs? Every year they seem to get stopped, but can this be Embiid’s year?

Even with LeBron James' old age, he continues to put up unreal numbers and is still a top 5 player in my eyes. Unfortunately, due to his age, many have him outside of the top 5, however he is still too good to put him behind some other guys. 

Kevin Durant is one of the best players in the NBA and is now a part of a deadly trio, alongside Devin Booker and Bradely Beal. The big question is, can the Suns get it done? 

Doncic is undoubtedly one of the best players in the NBA, however the Mavericks not making the playoffs last year certainly hurts his ranking. If the Mavs can bounce back this year, with Luka leading the way, he may make his way into the top 5.

After coming off a career year in scoring, Dame Dolla is joining the Milwaukee Bucks to form one of the deadliest duo’s in NBA history to play alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo. I expect huge things for this team and I have them as my top team in the league. If they live up to my expectations, we may see Damian Lillard move up on this list come next year. 

After leading the Miami Heat to the NBA Finals, Jimmy Butler has made his way into the top 10. He has proven year after year that he can be the best player on a championship-caliber team. The question is, can he be the best player on a championship-winning team?

Jayson Tatum continues to get better year after year. After a career year in scoring, Tatum has turned himself into a top 10 NBA Player and is continuing to get better and better. 

We all know what Ja Morant can do on the court. He is arguably a top 10 player, however his off the court issues have undoubtedly hurt his standings. 

After leading the league in scoring, SGA looks like one of the most promising young players in the league. On a team that is full of young stars, SGA has taken over as the leader and has shown the great potential of what OKC can be.

Devin Booker is arguably the best shooting guard in the league and is playing on one of the best teams in the NBA. If the Suns go far come playoff time, his ranking may be even higher, however, if the Suns fail to live up to their expectations, he may be moved down on this list at the end of the season.

Donovan Mitchell, in my opinion is right there with Devin Booker. You really can go either way as they are both great players on very good teams.  

Kyrie Irving is still considered the most skilled player in the NBA. Similar to Luka, the Mavs missing out on the playoffs last year, hurts his rankings, however we all know what Kyrie can do, and therefore I still have him as a top 15 player. 

We all know how good Kawhi is when healthy, however that hasn’t seemed to be the case in years. Honestly, I’m not sure if we’ll ever see a healthy Kawhi Leanard again. With that being said, I have him right outside of the top 15, but if he can get back to his normal self, he can move back to a top 15, maybe even top 10 NBA Player.

Similar to Kawhi, Anthony Davis always seems to be injured in some type of way. However, in the moment that Davis is healthy, he looks almost unguardable, making him a top 20 NBA Player. 

After getting the largest contract extension in NBA history, I had to put Brown as a top 20 player. Besides this contract, Brown deserves this spot as he continues to get better and better every single year. 

After leading the league in assists, Harden is still a top 20 player. His off the court issues have hurt his standing, however he still gets it done when he plays and deserves to this #19 rank. 

Paul George has kept the Clippers afloat without their star player, however, he has not been able to take them to the next level, and until then, he will stay at the #20 rank.

Fox took his game to another level this year, elevating the Kings to a playoff team. If he continues to light the beam day in and day out, he may even crack the top 20 next season.

Similar to players like Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard, we know how good Zion is when healthy, but it’s so rare at this point that he becomes a very difficult person to rank. If he can stay healthy this season, Zion may be ranked as one of the top players in the league, but until then he is just outside of the top 20, sitting at #22.

Ant seems to be getting better each year and it feels like this is the year where he breaks out into a superstar player. I am very excited to see his progression throughout the season and I think he’ll be much higher on this list by next year. 

“Bubble Murray” was no fluke. Murray showed that he is at least a top 25 player in the NBA after his amazing performance in the playoffs. He is an amazing second option to Jokic and has shown that year after year in the playoffs. 

After Trae Young’s down year, and the Atlanta Hawks not making any noise, it feels like Young’s name has been out of the spotlight. That said, Young is a lethal offensive weapon and with just another star piece to play alongside him, we can see this team certainly make noise in the playoffs, improving Young’s rank. 

Unfortunately, Ball was out for part of last year, however, in the 36 games he played in, he looked like the future superstar he is. If he stays healthy, he can certainly crack the top 20 by the end of the year. 

Brunson had a breakout year with the Knicks, and displayed it all during the playoffs. He proved that he can be the superstar player the Knicks need and that he can step up in big games. 

After averaging over 10 APG last season, Tyrese Halburton is looking like Chris Paul 2.0. He is a great leader and floor general, and is just what the Pacers need if they want to be a playoff team. 

After getting traded to the Phoenix Suns, Beal joins Kevin Durant and Devin Booker to form one of the strongest teams in the league. That being said however, Beal’s role will definitely be interesting as he is now going from the first option to the third option. I am not sure how exactly this will play out in Beal’s favor, and by the end of this year, he may not even be a top 50 player. 

After making the NBA Finals, Bam has shown that he is capable of stepping up when it matters most. He has proven himself to be a top 3 center in the NBA, in addition to being a top 30 player as well.  

Sabonis and Fox are looking like a very deadly duo. They’ve made the Kings one of the top teams in the West and depending on what they can do this year, he may even move up in the rankings to become a top 30 player. 

I feel like Jrue Holiday fits perfectly at this spot. He is the best defending guard in the league and is also very reliable on the offensive side of the ball. He is a great addition to the Boston Celtics and I think he’ll be their X-factor at the end of the year. 

In my opinion, until Siakam gets traded, his ranking won’t be moved. He has shown that he can be a great second option on a team, but I don’t believe that Siakam can be the first option on a championship-winning team. 

Randle has shown up in the regular season, however he seems to lose every bit of skill he has when it matters most. That being said, Randle is still an All NBA player and deserves to be ranked at #34. 

After winning the MIP award, Markkanen is looking like a star in the making. We will see if he can keep his high level of play up this season, but if he can, he may be moved up in next season’s rankings. 

The mid 30’s seems like a perfect place to put Garland. He is a very good player on one of the best teams in the East. He complements Mitchell very well, however the Cavs have a difficult season ahead of them and we will see where Garland stands at the end of the year. 

Although Klay is getting up there in age, he had a great bounce back season and even led the league in three pointers made, with over 300 3’s made. 

The Bulls and DeRozan seem to keep getting worse and worse each year. If the Bulls can’t turn it around this year, it may be time to rebuild. If this is the case, a new opportunity can either be good or bad for DeRozan and it’ll be interesting to see where he lands on this list at this time next season. 

KAT’s fall off seems to only be getting worse with the addition of Rudy Gobert. The Timberwolves just can’t seem to make it happen and it may be KAT’s last year with the team if they can’t make noise in the playoffs this year. 

After joining the Nets, we saw Bridges have a breakout year. I expect to see the same from him this year and I think he may even crack the top 30 next season. 

After coming off the best year of his career, and a DOY award, JJJ has made his way into the top 50 and is only getting better. 

After being injured for most of the year, Middleton had one of the worst years of his career. He is now the third option, playing behind Giannis and Dame, however this may be a good thing for him, as there will be a lot more open opportunities to get buckets. Depending on his role with the team, he will either stay at the spot or decline in the rankings. 

Similar to DeRozan, the Bulls just can’t seem to make it work. Both Lavine and DeRozan had very down years compared to the one from before, and only seem to be getting worse. That being said, if Lavine is moved, a new opportunity could increase his value, leading to him having a higher ranking by the end of the season. 

As Chris Paul is getting older, it seems like his glory days in the NBA are coming to an end. Now, being on a team, where he’ll be playing alongside Steph Curry seems to only hurt his value. I expect this to be one of the worst years of Paul’s career and I don’t expect him to be on this list by the end of the season. 

Ingram is one of those guys that will put up 25 PPG and not be talked about. That’s because although he puts up points, it doesn't lead to wins. Over his career, he has shown that he cannot be the #1 guy on a team and that he’ll need Zions help to go far in the playoffs. If Ingram was able to lead the Pelicans to wins, he would be a top 25 player, but he hasn’t been able to do that and I don’t expect him to get there. 

After winning the ROY and putting up 20 PPG, Banchero has made his way into the top 50. I expect him to take another jump this season and it’s likely that he’ll have a higher ranking by the end of the season. 

Porzingis is coming off the best season of his career and is now on a championship caliber team. It’ll be interesting to see what his role is on this team, however there is a lot of upside for Porzinigs and the Boston Celtics.  

For someone who is only 22 years old, Maxey has a lot of upside and is someone to watch for a potential breakout year. 

Bane had a very good season, averaging over 21 PPG. I expect him to have a MONSTER start to the season with Morant being out, however I think he will go back to his normal role once Morant comes back.