2015-16 NBA Player Power Rankings, Version 1

Continuing a monthly feature that began last year, the Player Power Rankings are an attempt to rank the top-10 players in the NBA in a given season.

As a reminder, only this season's performance is taken into account, so we're operating under a system where nothing that happened before 2015-16, and nothing projected to happen after Dec. 1, impacts these rankings.

Related: Pre-season Player Rankings

Honorable mentions: Anthony Davis, Paul Millsap, Jimmy Butler, DeMarcus Cousins

It seems insane to have "The Brow" outside the top 10, and it's probably an unfair result of how disappointing the beat up Pelicans have been, but he should find his place in these rankings sooner rather than later. As for "Boogie," the only thing holding him back from a top-10 spot is his health, as he's logged less floor time than 170 other players this season.

The Bulls should be happy with Butler's top-15 caliber play, while Millsap, Atlanta's best player early in 2015-16, remains the league's most underrated player.

Without further ado, the top-10 players of 2015-16 thus far ...

10. Andre Drummond
18.4 PPG, 16.9 RPG, 1.8 SPG, 1.6 BPG
PER: 25.22
Win Shares: 2.5

The Pistons have cooled down since their surprising start to the season, but don't fault Drummond, who's putting together the best rebounding season ever by anyone not named Rodman.

9. Kyle Lowry
20.7 PPG, 6.2 APG, 4.8 RPG, 2.6 SPG
PER: 24.14
Win Shares: 3.1

If you're doubting Lowry's place on this list, consider the Raptors point guard's advanced metrics. He ranks top three in ESPN's Real Plus-Minus, No. 1 among point guards in defensive RPM, top five in Basketball Reference's Win Shares, top 15 in PER, and Toronto performs 17 points better per 100 possessions when he's on the court.

After a similar start last year, the question now is whether Lowry can sustain anything near this level of play for an entire season.

8. Draymond Green
13.2 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 7.1 APG, 1.4 BPG, 1.1 SPG
PER: 18.95
Win Shares: 2.8

Green's combination of defensive versatility, shooting, and passing makes him one of the most unique and valuable players in the modern NBA, and his statistical ambidexterity proves it.

The only other player to average at least 13, eight, and seven, with a block and a steal mixed in? Larry Bird, 25 years ago.

7. Kevin Durant
28.4 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.8 BPG
PER: 31.48
Win Shares: 2.8

If Durant can stay healthy, he may be on his way to another 50-40-90 season (he's currently at 52-47-91) and one of the most efficient, prolific offensive campaigns in NBA history. If it weren't for some missed time already this year, he'd probably be the only player capable of giving Stephen Curry a run for his money in the race for No. 1.

6. Blake Griffin
25.0 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 4.8 APG
PER: 28.29
Win Shares: 3.1

A month into the new season, a 26-year-old Griffin has surpassed Chris Paul as the Clippers' best player, and is now squarely in the discussion of best big man alive.

On a separate note, what does it say about the plethora of modern superstar talent when a guy averaging virtually 25, nine, and five isn't a top-five player?

5. LeBron James
25.6 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 6.6 APG, 1.3 SPG
PER: 27.04
Win Shares: 3.1

He'll be 31 by the end of the month and has nearly 44,000 NBA minutes under his belt, but James has still been good enough to be in the conversation for No. 2 so far this season. That's not a knock on the best player of his generation. In fact it's rather remarkable.

4. Paul George
27.2 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.6 SPG
PER: 26.19
Win Shares: 3.0

Is there a better comeback story in all of sports than "PG-13" right now? Seventeen months removed from a horrific leg injury, the 25-year-old is looking every bit like the All-NBA forward he was before that fateful night in Vegas, and then some.

George is the singular reason a mediocre Pacers team is sitting pretty at 11-5.

3. Kawhi Leonard
22.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.9 SPG, 1.3 BPG
PER: 27.08
Win Shares: 3.5

Between the trio of Leonard, George, and James, you can essentially arrange any of them in any order between 2-5 in these rankings, but I'll give Leonard, the best player on the second-best team in the league, a minuscule edge.

Remember when people questioned whether the reigning Defensive Player of the Year could carry an offense? Here's your answer: Despite using more than 25 percent of Spurs possessions when he's on the court, Leonard is posting a 52-47-86 shooting split and an effective field-goal percentage of 57.6, while producing 118 points per 100 possessions.

2. Russell Westbrook
27.6 PPG, 9.8 APG, 7.4 RPG, 2.4 SPG
PER: 31.84 (Top 3 all-time)
Win Shares: 3.6

It's tough to truly distinguish who's been No. 2 this season, but Westbrook has somehow been better - and more efficient - than he was during a season for the ages last year.

1. Stephen Curry
31.6 PPG, 6.0 APG, 5.2 RPG, 2.5 SPG
PER: 34.45
Win Shares: 5.1

At what point does the basketball world just accept that "Chef Curry" is the best basketball player on planet earth? He's been No. 1 for the better part of a year now, is the reigning MVP, is carrying the defending champions to a record-setting, undefeated start, and is on pace to shatter the record for highest PER ever recorded.

That he's emerged as such a unanimous top dog in an unprecedented era of superstar talent is all the more impressive.