Who is the best NBA Player in the world right now?

[Jabroni Lames]

It’s still LeBron to me.

Giannis has to prove he can get it done when it matters for me. Kawhi is close to LeBron, but when you get to rest significantly more than the competition, you’ve got a significant advantage.

But what has LeBron done since 2016? How many years of benefit of doubt are we going to give him?

Didn't Lebron make the Finals in 2017 & again in 2018 without Kyrie? How many Finals has Giannis made?

[UcanUwill]

Who the hell votes for KD?

[GiannisAnte34]

It’s still LeBron to me.

Giannis has to prove he can get it done when it matters for me. Kawhi is close to LeBron, but when you get to rest significantly more than the competition, you’ve got a significant advantage.

But what has LeBron done since 2016? How many years of benefit of doubt are we going to give him?

Didn't Lebron make the Finals in 2017 & again in 2018 without Kyrie? How many Finals has Giannis made?

How many Finals has Brian Scalabrine been in? Clearly he's better

[Jabroni Lames]

But what has LeBron done since 2016? How many years of benefit of doubt are we going to give him?

Didn't Lebron make the Finals in 2017 & again in 2018 without Kyrie? How many Finals has Giannis made?

How many Finals has Brian Scalabrine been in? Clearly he's better

Lol. Is that the best rebuttal that GiannisAnte34 can come up with? Don't dis-respect White Mamba.

[NPZ]

Koko Archibong or Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje. One of those two.

[GiannisAnte34]

Didn't Lebron make the Finals in 2017 & again in 2018 without Kyrie? How many Finals has Giannis made?

How many Finals has Brian Scalabrine been in? Clearly he's better

Lol. Is that the best rebuttal that GiannisAnte34 can come up with? Don't dis-respect White Mamba.

Your original point was intellectually lazy so why on Earth would you expect a high degree rebuttal? Don't disrespect the back to back MVP with your nonsense

[PistolPeteJR]

It’s still LeBron to me.

Giannis has to prove he can get it done when it matters for me. Kawhi is close to LeBron, but when you get to rest significantly more than the competition, you’ve got a significant advantage.

But what has LeBron done since 2016? How many years of benefit of doubt are we going to give him?

Not much. Just went to the Finals the next two years, and got injured last year when they were 4th our West and saw a bunch of his teammates get hurt. No big deal.

[Packbuckman]

And he was out in the first round. Re-read the OP. The OP is asking about the best player in the world, not simply great players based on stats, or else Harden should be in the convo. Giannis is a great player, but Bud’s system plus the addition of Brook Lopez took him from great to MVP status. That’s undeniable. Try reading for a change.

Harden is absolutely in the conversation for best player in the world. The problem for him is Giannis is well...Giannis.

Remember you can be the best player in the world and lose in the first round. The two aren't mutually exclusive.

Ringz, Erneh.

What the hell you people talking about when Giannis as a 22-23 years old and still growing into his body wow. Giannis has got better every year no matter what system or coach. And you can’t count Giannis and LeBron at the same age when they were younger since LeBron has been playing basketball way longer. Giannis is still getting better where these other players are not. Giannis prime years are just starting that’s why he is putting up these numbers and they are only going to be better as he matures. Any top coach would love to have Giannis to unlock all his potential that’s not system player that’s his dam talent ceiling which is through the roof!!

[JordansBulls]

Kawhi! Can't be the best when you don't make the playoffs the season before and/or get swept in a series.

[skones]

So if the Bucks are still running Jason Kidd’s system (whatever that was) and they don’t surround him with shooters, then Giannis is still the MVP? You know the answer to that... it’s not an unreasonable take whatsoever.

He averaged 27 10 and 5 on 53% from the field in a garbage system at 23 years old. That's literally the opposite of what a "system" player is. It's not an unreasonable take, it's a trash one.

And he was out in the first round. Re-read the OP. The OP is asking about the best player in the world, not simply great players based on stats, or else Harden should be in the convo. Giannis is a great player, but Bud’s system plus the addition of Brook Lopez took him from great to MVP status. That’s undeniable. Try reading for a change.

Re-Read your own post. "Could be a product of Bud's system," no. Great players aren't a product of "the system" as you insinuated. Great players make the system, they are not a product of them. That's undeniable, try using your brain for a change.

[Je K]

To everyone saying it’s ridiculous that Giannis isn’t an option... it actually makes sense he’s not on this list. What do the 3 guys listed in the poll have in common? Multiple championships and Finals MVPs. No disrespect to Giannis and the incredible work he’s put in the last couple years, but generally most fans evaluate greatness based on playoff success. So to say Giannis can’t be considered the best in the league until he wins a chip is actually a pretty fair evaluation. I suspect it won’t be long before Giannis wins that chip, but that remains to be seen.

You're right. If we're evaluating careers, Giannis doesn't belong on this list. But we're not looking at their careers, we're looking at who the best NBA player is right now. And it's ridiculous to not include the current (and soon to be back to back) MVP in a discussion about the best NBA player right now. That's just trolling.

[Jabroni Lames]

He averaged 27 10 and 5 on 53% from the field in a garbage system at 23 years old. That's literally the opposite of what a "system" player is. It's not an unreasonable take, it's a trash one.

And he was out in the first round. Re-read the OP. The OP is asking about the best player in the world, not simply great players based on stats, or else Harden should be in the convo. Giannis is a great player, but Bud’s system plus the addition of Brook Lopez took him from great to MVP status. That’s undeniable. Try reading for a change.

Re-Read your own post. "Could be a product of Bud's system," no. Great players aren't a product of "the system" as you insinuated. Great players make the system, they are not a product of them. That's undeniable, try using your brain for a change.

Yeah, like D'Antoni was forced to go extreme small-ball to maximize Westbrook's potential and minimize his weakness... shooting. Sound familiar? Another MVP-calibre player who is a flawed shooter who needs the floor opened up for him. Sound familiar? We just saw the effect of "the system" on elevating a "great" player to MVP calibre, real-time, within an NBA season.

So, how come Westbrook isn't in this conversation? Because we're talking about "Best NBA Player in the World" not "Great" players. Again, use your brain and eyes, and read for a change.

[Packbuckman]

And he was out in the first round. Re-read the OP. The OP is asking about the best player in the world, not simply great players based on stats, or else Harden should be in the convo. Giannis is a great player, but Bud’s system plus the addition of Brook Lopez took him from great to MVP status. That’s undeniable. Try reading for a change.

Re-Read your own post. "Could be a product of Bud's system," no. Great players aren't a product of "the system" as you insinuated. Great players make the system, they are not a product of them. That's undeniable, try using your brain for a change.

Yeah, like D'Antoni was forced to go extreme small-ball to maximize Westbrook's potential and minimize his weakness... shooting. Sound familiar? Another MVP-calibre player who is a flawed shooter who needs the floor opened up for him. Sound familiar? We just saw the effect of "the system" on elevating a "great" player to MVP calibre, real-time, within an NBA season.

So, how come Westbrook isn't in this conversation? Because we're talking about "Best NBA Player in the World" not "Great" players. Again, use your brain and eyes, and read for a change.

The reason Westbrook is not in the conversation is eye test and knowing and seeing talent. Giannis is way more talented way younger and just getting better every year. Like I said any coach would love to have Giannis and would take them over those players. LeBron way older Kawhi not as talented lower ceiling and Durant older and coming off a major injury. Giannis is the best two way player in the NBA period.

[AwkwardBoogaloo]

To everyone saying it’s ridiculous that Giannis isn’t an option... it actually makes sense he’s not on this list. What do the 3 guys listed in the poll have in common? Multiple championships and Finals MVPs. No disrespect to Giannis and the incredible work he’s put in the last couple years, but generally most fans evaluate greatness based on playoff success. So to say Giannis can’t be considered the best in the league until he wins a chip is actually a pretty fair evaluation. I suspect it won’t be long before Giannis wins that chip, but that remains to be seen.

And what else do those three have in common they are way older. And no just because you won a title doesn’t mean your the best player now you could have the best team not the same thing. You put Giannis on that raptors team last year no one is beating them. That team was great without Kawhi and still is good. Giannis is still improving which is scary to the league he is nowhere close to the player he will be at in his prime.

Kawhi is not way older than Giannis. He has been playing basketball a lot longer than Giannis though so I’ll give him that. You’re also quick to point out that Kawhi had a great squad last year. Did Giannis not have a great squad as well, or are Middleton, Lopez, Brogdon and Bledsoe scrubs all of a sudden? If Giannis was truly the best, the Bucks win that matchup against the Raptors. The truth is Giannis got exposed, and he was outperformed by Kawhi in that series. I’m not saying Giannis isn’t in the conversation for being best in the world... anyone who says he isn’t in the convo is just trolling. I’m just saying I’m not gonna call Giannis the clear cut best player in the world because the last time we saw him compete at the highest stage, he was outplayed by other team’s best player.

[cupcakesnake]

feels like a hater move to leave Giannis off this list.
I wouldn't have voted for him (though he'd have my MVP vote easily). But feels like a big hater move, mister!

[AwkwardBoogaloo]

To everyone saying it’s ridiculous that Giannis isn’t an option... it actually makes sense he’s not on this list. What do the 3 guys listed in the poll have in common? Multiple championships and Finals MVPs. No disrespect to Giannis and the incredible work he’s put in the last couple years, but generally most fans evaluate greatness based on playoff success. So to say Giannis can’t be considered the best in the league until he wins a chip is actually a pretty fair evaluation. I suspect it won’t be long before Giannis wins that chip, but that remains to be seen.

You're right. If we're evaluating careers, Giannis doesn't belong on this list. But we're not looking at their careers, we're looking at who the best NBA player is right now. And it's ridiculous to not include the current (and soon to be back to back) MVP in a discussion about the best NBA player right now. That's just trolling.

Yeah, the OP was probably trolling by not including Giannis in the poll. His resume speaks for itself... league MVP, went to the ECF, and likely to win another MVP. That being said, I don’t put too much stock in the regular season MVP award. If that award is a true indicator of who is actually the best in the world, Lebron should have a lot more MVP titles under his belt. Lebron and Kawhi also tend to coast during the regular season, whereas Giannis gives 100% every game. What would Lebron and Kawhi’s numbers look like during the regular season if they put in 100% effort for all 82 games the way Giannis does? How much better would their team records be? Would Giannis be back to back MVP if Lebron and Kawhi went all out in the regular season? These are questions I ask myself when looking at who is the best player in world, and I think it’s fair to ask those questions.

[GiannisAnte34]

To everyone saying it’s ridiculous that Giannis isn’t an option... it actually makes sense he’s not on this list. What do the 3 guys listed in the poll have in common? Multiple championships and Finals MVPs. No disrespect to Giannis and the incredible work he’s put in the last couple years, but generally most fans evaluate greatness based on playoff success. So to say Giannis can’t be considered the best in the league until he wins a chip is actually a pretty fair evaluation. I suspect it won’t be long before Giannis wins that chip, but that remains to be seen.

You're right. If we're evaluating careers, Giannis doesn't belong on this list. But we're not looking at their careers, we're looking at who the best NBA player is right now. And it's ridiculous to not include the current (and soon to be back to back) MVP in a discussion about the best NBA player right now. That's just trolling.

Yeah, the OP was probably trolling by not including Giannis in the poll. His resume speaks for itself... league MVP, went to the ECF, and likely to win another MVP. That being said, I don’t put too much stock in the regular season MVP award. If that award is a true indicator of who is actually the best in the world, Lebron should have a lot more MVP titles under his belt. Lebron and Kawhi also tend to coast during the regular season, whereas Giannis gives 100% every game. What would Lebron and Kawhi’s numbers look like during the regular season if they put in 100% effort for all 82 games the way Giannis does? How much better would their team records be? Would Giannis be back to back MVP if Lebron and Kawhi went all out in the regular season? These are questions I ask myself when looking at who is the best player in world, and I think it’s fair to ask those questions.

so now we're to award laziness and slacking with imaginary "what if" accomplishments? good point

Kawhi doesn't play as many games because he isn't as durable as Giannis. that's a strike against his resume, not a plus for it.

[Beethoven]

LeBron

[The_Hater]

LOL at Giannis not even being an option yet a soon to be 32 year old who will be coming off arguably the worst possible type of injury in sports is there when the question specifically asks who is the best player RIGHT NOW.

Sorry but that makes this entire thread worth ignoring.

[skones]

And he was out in the first round. Re-read the OP. The OP is asking about the best player in the world, not simply great players based on stats, or else Harden should be in the convo. Giannis is a great player, but Bud’s system plus the addition of Brook Lopez took him from great to MVP status. That’s undeniable. Try reading for a change.

Re-Read your own post. "Could be a product of Bud's system," no. Great players aren't a product of "the system" as you insinuated. Great players make the system, they are not a product of them. That's undeniable, try using your brain for a change.

Yeah, like D'Antoni was forced to go extreme small-ball to maximize Westbrook's potential and minimize his weakness... shooting. Sound familiar? Another MVP-calibre player who is a flawed shooter who needs the floor opened up for him. Sound familiar? We just saw the effect of "the system" on elevating a "great" player to MVP calibre, real-time, within an NBA season.

So, how come Westbrook isn't in this conversation? Because we're talking about "Best NBA Player in the World" not "Great" players. Again, use your brain and eyes, and read for a change.

You used a lot of words to say, "I don't understand what a system player is."