NBA Player Power Rankings: The Final 8

For as great as the team basketball was, the 2014-15 campaign will be remembered for its plethora of legendary individual performances.

It resulted in a once in a generation MVP race that went six-deep and was a near impossible task for anyone with an All-NBA ballot.

It also made constructing any kind of player rankings a nightmare.

Nevertheless, here's the fifth and final version of theScore's 2014-15 NBA Player Power Rankings, featuring eight players who stood head and shoulders above the rest. Spots nine through 20 are virtually interchangeable, but these eight players' place in the final rankings was never up for debate.

8. Kawhi Leonard
16.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 2.5 APG, 2.3 SPG
PER: 22.09
Win Shares: 8.6

Leonard played the 2,000 minutes required to earn consideration for this list and, had he not missed 18 games due to torn ligaments in his hand, may have even played himself into an already crowded MVP race.

The 23-year-old, reigning Finals MVP maintained solid offensive efficiency (1.13 points per individual possession) despite a spike in his usage and shot volume, while continuing to assert his dominance on the defensive end.

It's no wonder the Spurs went 46-18 with Leonard in the lineup, as opposed to 9-9 with the Defensive Player of the Year candidate on the sidelines.

7. Marc Gasol
17.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.6 BPG
PER: 21.73
Win Shares: 10.2

Gasol entered the 2014-15 season as a former Defensive Player of the Year whose full offensive repertoire had yet to be unleashed.

At Dave Joerger's and the Memphis Grizzlies' urging, the All-Star center finally began to look for his own shot more often to complement his all-world passing from the five spot. The results should see the 30-year-old earn his first All-NBA First Team selection this spring.

For what it's worth, here are the big men who have produced at least 1.1 points per individual possession and an assist percentage above 19 while using more than 24 percent of their teams' possessions (minimum 2,000 minutes): David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan and Pau Gasol.

Marc will join his older brother on that list thanks to his 2014-15 campaign.

6. LeBron James
25.3 PPG, 7.4 APG, 6.0 RPG, 1.6 SPG
PER: 26.01
Win Shares: 10.4

Only The King could average 25, seven and six for a team that won at a 65-win pace over the final three months of the season and have it feel like he regressed, but alas, such is the case when you're the best player of your generation.

If these rankings are to take the entire season into account, then LeBron and the Cavs' first couple months have to factor in and the defensive indifference they showed through December caps his otherwise spectacular season at No. 6.

5. Russell Westbrook
28.1 PPG, 8.6 APG, 7.3 RPG, 2.1 SPG
PER: 29.12
Win Shares: 10.7

The complete list of players who have averaged at least 28 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals in a season:

Michael Jordan, 1988-89
Russell Westbrook, 2014-15

Mic drop.

4. Chris Paul
19.1 PPG, 10.2 APG, 4.6 RPG, 1.9 SPG
PER: 26.04
Win Shares: 16.1

Paul's numbers aren't nearly as prodigious as Westbrook's and his game is played at half the speed, but his two-way dominance at the league's most loaded position was as impressive as any season in the Point God's career.

That CP3 suited up for all 82 games and logged more than 2,850 minutes for a 56-win team that was nearly 21 points per 100 possessions better with him on the court counts for something, too.

3. Anthony Davis
24.4 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 2.9 BPG, 2.2 APG, 1.5 SPG
PER: 30.8
Win Shares: 14.0

What's left to say about The Brow's age-21 season?

In addition to breathtaking base statistics (24-10-3-2-1), the third-year big man posted the 11th-best player efficiency rating in NBA history, joined Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James as the only players to ever post 30.8-plus PER seasons and carried an awkwardly put together New Orleans Pelicans team to a playoff spot in one of the most competitive conferences the league has seen.

2. James Harden
27.4 PPG, 7.0 APG, 5.7 RPG, 1.9 SPG
PER: 26.76
Win Shares: 16.4

The Houston Rockets lost 399 games to injury - including chunks of the season from Dwight Howard and other starters - and of the top nine teams when it comes to ManGamesLost.com's time missed impact metric, are the only ones who made the playoffs.

Harden's 27 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals per game on a true shooting percentage of 60.5 - in 81 contests - are the leading reasons why the Rockets not only made the playoffs, but won 56 games to capture their first division title in 21 years and the unforgiving West's No. 2 seed.

Simply epic.

1. Stephen Curry
23.8 PPG, 7.7 APG, 4.3 RPG, 2.0 SPG
PER: 28.06
Win Shares: 15.7

Shooting lines of 48-44-91 are supposed to be reserved for players who pick their spots carefully, not ball-dominant point guards who use nearly 29 percent of their team's possessions and post averages of 24 points, eight assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Curry, of course, is an offensive force unlike anything the Association has seen since Steve Nash, and with his vastly improved perimeter D at the point of attack for the league's best defensive team, he's likely only weeks away from his first MVP award.

As noted in the case for Curry's MVP candidacy, one of the most dominant teams the league has ever seen - a 67-win juggernaut that outscored opponents by an average of 10.1 points per game - was outscored with Curry on the bench.

Case closed.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top-20, in no particular order: Al Horford, Tim Duncan, Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMarcus Cousins, Paul Millsap, Jimmy Butler, Kyrie Irving, John Wall, Damian Lillard, DeAndre Jordan, Pau Gasol

Just missed the cut: Klay Thompson

(PER courtesy of ESPN, Win Shares courtesy of Basketball Reference)