2016-17 NBA preseason player rankings: 10-6
As part of our 2016-17 season preview, theScore's seven NBA editors each ranked their top-30 players heading into the new year. Here are the results of that collaboration.
10. DeMarcus Cousins
It says something about both Cousins' undeniable talent and the perpetually sad state of the Sacramento Kings that a guy who hasn't sniffed the playoffs in his six NBA seasons still gets top-10 billing.
Cousins is deserving, though, even if we haven't seen whether he can carry a winning team, and even if his occasionally aloof, ornery attitude has contributed to the dysfunction in Sacramento these many years. For all the justifiable knocks on his inconsistent effort, there isn't a more imposing post presence in basketball than the agile, nimble-footed, boulder-built 26-year-old center.
Over the past three seasons, Cousins ranks seventh in the NBA in points per game (24.5), third in rebounds (11.9), 14th in steals (1.5), 12th in blocks (1.5), second in free-throw attempts (9.2), eighth in PER (25), and second in usage rate (34.1). When he finally arrives, Playoff Boogie is going to be a sight to behold.
9. Paul George
After losing nearly an entire season to a gruesome leg injury, George returned to mount an inspiring 2015-16 campaign.
He averaged a career-high 23.1 points to go with seven rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.9 steals, all while shouldering a huge load at both ends, playing world-class defense, appearing in 88 of 89 games, and dragging a decidedly mediocre Pacers supporting cast to the cusp of the Eastern Conference semis.
Long, strong, swift, athletic, and blessed with a knack for making difficult shots, George is a two-way terror with legitimate MVP aspirations.
8. Anthony Davis
Davis finished second in these rankings a year ago, but an injury-marred season in which his Pelicans floundered to a 30-52 record took some of the shine off what once seemed a surefire ascent to individual NBA supremacy.
Davis, though, is still just 23, and could well still be on that track. There are reasons to doubt it - his health is an ongoing concern (he's yet to play more than 68 games in a season) and he's yet to really impose himself at the defensive end the way one would've hoped - but more reasons to believe it.
No player has the same blend of size, explosiveness, fluidity, and touch. Few players have as many ways to burn you. Davis' reach is all-consuming, his first step blinding, and he's got shooting range that extends out to the 3-point line. He's the NBA's preeminent unicorn.
7. James Harden
Harden's value comes entirely on one end of the floor, so this ranking should give you some sense of just how valuable he is at that end.
He's a masterful ball-handler, a creative passer, a devastating off-the-bounce shooter, and, above all, a relentless attacker and bamboozling drawer of contact (he's led the NBA in free-throw attempts in three of the past four seasons). Harden's game is engineered to generate shots - for both himself and his teammates - from the most efficient spots on the floor.
By declaring him the Rockets' point guard, head coach Mike D'Antoni effectively stated what's been obvious the past few years. Everything the Rockets do on offense flows through Harden. In D'Antoni's whirring, spread pick-and-roll system, armed with an explosive dive man and a cavalry of knock-down shooters, Harden should make Houston one of the league's most unguardable teams this season.
6. Chris Paul
The Point God, now and forever.
At 31, after 11 years in the league, Paul doesn't appear to have lost a step. He's coming off a season in which he posted the highest scoring rate, second-highest assist rate, and second-highest usage rate of his career, while carrying the Clippers to 53 wins largely without Blake Griffin.
Paul is perhaps the game's headiest player; a sly, yo-yoing dribbler with a deep bag of tricks that continually keep defenders off-balance, and an unmatched ability to crack open space and knock down mid-range pull-ups. Then there's all the canny work he does at the defensive end, where he consistently manages to pick pockets and disrupt passes without gambling himself out of position. Paul is the Clippers' beating heart, and he's as reliable as they come.