Who is the best player in the NBA?

[dhsilv2]

Was there a clear best player in the NBA from 1998 to 2007?

Shaq from 98 to 03 maybe? Garnett after that? Was Duncan, Kobe or Dirk ever the best? Or Nash?

Sometimes there isn't a clear best.

03 Duncan
04 KG
then a lot of noise.

[MindState]

LeBron keeps the best player in the league title despite losing in the finals. Giannis now gets that title without even getting there?

The KD hate is strong around here lol.

[HBK_Kliq_33]

Was there a clear best player in the NBA from 1998 to 2007?

Shaq from 98 to 03 maybe? Garnett after that? Was Duncan, Kobe or Dirk ever the best? Or Nash?

Sometimes there isn't a clear best.

03 Duncan
04 KG
then a lot of noise.

Shaq in 2000 is noise? Shaq in 2000 was easily better than 2004 KG.

1998 Jordan
1999 Duncan
2000 Shaq
2001 Shaq
2002 Duncan
2003 Duncan
2004 Garnett
2005 Shaq
2006 Wade
2007 Duncan

Shaq and Duncan ruled the league than.

[BallerTalk]

If this poll was created yesterday, Durant would have something like 5 votes.

Same with that most overrated player poll, Simmons and Lowry won just because of their bad games. Create same poll now, you'll get different results.

Yeah, polls like this almost always resort to being little more than glorified popularity contests. That's makes them inherently vulnerable to undue influence by things like recency bias and popular narratives.

Then, of course, you have the team biases.
Obviously there are fans who will vote for a guy simply because he's on their favorite team but there are also those who won't to vote for someone they view are an enemy or rival even if they inwardly feel otherwise (e.g. Thunder fans who won't vote for Durant or Harden, Lebron fans who won't vote for Curry or KD, etc)
Oddly, that seems to benefit a guy like Giannis whose teams haven't really been competitive enough to develop those types of rivalries or put him under the same level of scrutiny as other stars.

To that point, I wonder how many of those who obviously place a premium on post-season play and say Lebron is disqualified because his team didn't make it, were comfortable voting for a guy who has yet to make it out of the first round?

[Pachinko_]

Silent majority votes Giannis.
Which makes sense, these days you need to try hard and type a small essay to explain why it's not him.

[MetalFingaz]

Silent majority votes Giannis.
Which makes sense, these days you need to try hard and type a small essay to explain why it's not him.

My guy, you gotta take a day off work to type a coherent anti-Giannis post at this point.

[StepBackCrack]

If this poll was created yesterday, Durant would have something like 5 votes.

Same with that most overrated player poll, Simmons and Lowry won just because of their bad games. Create same poll now, you'll get different results.

Yeah, polls like this almost always resort to being little more than glorified popularity contests. That's makes them inherently vulnerable to undue influence by things like recency bias and popular narratives.

Then, of course, you have the team biases.
Obviously there are fans who will vote for a guy simply because he's on their favorite team but there are also those who won't to vote for someone they view are an enemy or rival even if they inwardly feel otherwise (e.g. Thunder fans who won't vote for Durant or Harden, Lebron fans who won't vote for Curry or KD, etc)
Oddly, that seems to benefit a guy like Giannis whose teams haven't really been competitive enough to develop those types of rivalries or put him under the same level of scrutiny as other stars.

To that point, I wonder how many of those who obviously place a premium on post-season play and say Lebron is disqualified because his team didn't make it, were comfortable voting for a guy who has yet to make it out of the first round?

Perfect post. Really hard to take this poll seriously when you take all this into account. What I find weird is that people for a long time considered LeBron the best due to his playoff performances mainly yet now that he isn't the playoffs, people don't want to hand "best in the world" title to the next 3 in-line (Durant, Curry and Harden) so they crown Giannis based on RS success only. He is simply the most likable out of the superstar bunch so that's a big factor. The other 3 have way more reasons to be disliked (be it rational or irrational reasons). The previous criteria that was applied to LeBron is gone all of a sudden.

If we stay consistent, either Curry or Durant (or even Harden) should have that title FOR NOW simply because they are still in their prime and already had playoff success several times already. If Giannis out-performs everyone by far in the playoffs, then yeah he deserves to be called the best.

[laika]

It's Curry by a decent margin.
Over the last 5 years he might have had the GOAT level of impact. There is a decent chance that no one has ever contributed more to winning. Not Lebron, not Kareem, not even Jordan.

[azizx]

Lebron. One season with 15+ games lost to injury and people start doubting. Giannis going off on the Pistons in the playoffs doesn't put him over Lebron. Wait until he faces this Celtics team. If he can overcome the Celtics (with Kyrie and Hayward) then I will give him kudos. It's all about overcoming adversity and adapting. I need to see more from Giannis. Harden needs to show up in the playoffs too. His impact to me is huge because of the way he deforms NBA defenses and essentially becomes unstoppable at some points.

Curry and KD have been consistently elite for a very long time. I still don't think KD is the better overall player compared to Lebron, he exerts his impact on the game very differently, and if he were a lone star like Lebron on the Lakers, I don't think he looks better than Lebron did this season, more or less about the same. Curry on the other hand has massive impact, but people like to rag on his "unclutchness" yet he seems very clutch to me.

I just think Lebron still manipulates the game flow on a higher level than all these players. Harden and Curry come closest.

[RCM88x]

Until proven otherwise it's LeBron still.

Giannis has a chance to take it in June though.

[WarriorGM]

The disrespect towards Curry truly is remarkable. He continues to be underrated.

Curry is the player with the best winning record among the candidates having made the finals 4 times in the last 4 years and winning in 3 of them. Curry is the player who has beaten the other candidates the most in playoffs series head-to-head. Curry has been setting records left and right both individually and with his team during the past few years and not just cherry-picked records but clear records every player is supposed to be gunning for.

You guys are living in some ridiculous echo chamber because there really should be only one obvious answer.

How is he being disrespected? He's in a thread that's considers him a top player in the NBA and possibly the best player overall.

As for his winning record he also has the best team out of any of the players mentioned in this thread (and even plays with another top candidate...Kevin Durant).

Because you could go back in history and arguably not find another 4-year period for a player seeing as much success and achievement as Curry. Curry really is being treated differently just like how he doesn't get calls that he should. No matter it will only add to his legend and greatness when all is said and done.

[Dan Z]

The disrespect towards Curry truly is remarkable. He continues to be underrated.

Curry is the player with the best winning record among the candidates having made the finals 4 times in the last 4 years and winning in 3 of them. Curry is the player who has beaten the other candidates the most in playoffs series head-to-head. Curry has been setting records left and right both individually and with his team during the past few years and not just cherry-picked records but clear records every player is supposed to be gunning for.

You guys are living in some ridiculous echo chamber because there really should be only one obvious answer.

How is he being disrespected? He's in a thread that's considers him a top player in the NBA and possibly the best player overall.

As for his winning record he also has the best team out of any of the players mentioned in this thread (and even plays with another top candidate...Kevin Durant).

Because you could go back in history and arguably not find another 4-year period for a player seeing as much success and achievement as Curry. Curry really is being treated differently just like how he doesn't get calls that he should. No matter it will only add to his legend and greatness when all is said and done.

Like I said earlier, people are considering him for best player in the league. That's not disrespect.

I also don't think the question is about 4 years. It's who is the best player in the NBA right now.

[Peregrine01]

I’m of the party that thinks Durant gets heavily overrated in these conversations. If the definition of best player is who raises the level of his team’s play the most or who contributes most to his team winning then he doesn’t really belong in there with Curry, Harden or Giannis

[michaelm]

Lebron. One season with 15+ games lost to injury and people start doubting. Giannis going off on the Pistons in the playoffs doesn't put him over Lebron. Wait until he faces this Celtics team. If he can overcome the Celtics (with Kyrie and Hayward) then I will give him kudos. It's all about overcoming adversity and adapting. I need to see more from Giannis. Harden needs to show up in the playoffs too. His impact to me is huge because of the way he deforms NBA defenses and essentially becomes unstoppable at some points.

Curry and KD have been consistently elite for a very long time. I still don't think KD is the better overall player compared to Lebron, he exerts his impact on the game very differently, and if he were a lone star like Lebron on the Lakers, I don't think he looks better than Lebron did this season, more or less about the same. Curry on the other hand has massive impact, but people like to rag on his "unclutchness" yet he seems very clutch to me.

I just think Lebron still manipulates the game flow on a higher level than all these players. Harden and Curry come closest.

None of the players in the poll other than LeBron have been associated with a team which has been a train wreck this season. Sure him missing the games was part of that, but only part of it imo, and him having the injury he had is probably a sign that he is finally aging and past his prime at least athletically. If they sign some elite FAs in the off season, he returns to being physically robust and the Lakers are a competitive team next year he is back in the reckoning, but I don’t see how he can be rated the best player just now.

[WarriorGM]

How is he being disrespected? He's in a thread that's considers him a top player in the NBA and possibly the best player overall.

As for his winning record he also has the best team out of any of the players mentioned in this thread (and even plays with another top candidate...Kevin Durant).

Because you could go back in history and arguably not find another 4-year period for a player seeing as much success and achievement as Curry. Curry really is being treated differently just like how he doesn't get calls that he should. No matter it will only add to his legend and greatness when all is said and done.

Like I said earlier, people are considering him for best player in the league. That's not disrespect.

I also don't think the question is about 4 years. It's who is the best player in the NBA right now.

Imagine if Giannis were to knock off the Warriors this year and 2 out of the next 3 years—and after that people are still saying Giannis isn't the best player would that not be disrespectful?

Usually when a reigning champion is defeated the one who defeats him is acknowledged champion in his place. That people have been ignoring that custom and manufacturing all sorts of excuses instead for the past 4 years shows disrespect.

[Optms]

It's Curry by a decent margin.
Over the last 5 years he might have had the GOAT level of impact. There is a decent chance that no one has ever contributed more to winning. Not Lebron, not Kareem, not even Jordan.

I agree except for that last part. Major hyperbole.

[dhsilv2]

Was there a clear best player in the NBA from 1998 to 2007?

Shaq from 98 to 03 maybe? Garnett after that? Was Duncan, Kobe or Dirk ever the best? Or Nash?

Sometimes there isn't a clear best.

03 Duncan
04 KG
then a lot of noise.

Shaq in 2000 is noise? Shaq in 2000 was easily better than 2004 KG.

1998 Jordan
1999 Duncan
2000 Shaq
2001 Shaq
2002 Duncan
2003 Duncan
2004 Garnett
2005 Shaq
2006 Wade
2007 Duncan

Shaq and Duncan ruled the league than.

Then as in after 2004. Before 2003 was already addressed in zimpy's originally quoted statement. I'm not going to argue with MJ in 98, or Duncan in 99 and 02, but I'm ok with giving that range to shaq.

[Optms]

I’m of the party that thinks Durant gets heavily overrated in these conversations. If the definition of best player is who raises the level of his team’s play the most or who contributes most to his team winning then he doesn’t really belong in there with Curry, Harden or Giannis

Offensively, he's just as lethal as Harden and blows him away defensively so that isn't even an argument. Is Harden even better than Kawhi? That is certainly debatable.

Giannis vs KD is interesting but KD is simply more of an offensive threat. Can get his shot off from 3 unlike Giannis. Inside, mid range and 3. He isn't just a one trick pony like Harden is who either hoists up 3's or gets in the paint. KD might be the most polished offensive player since Kobe. I value his versatility on offense a tad more than Giannis' versatility on defense.

[WarriorGM]

It's Curry by a decent margin.
Over the last 5 years he might have had the GOAT level of impact. There is a decent chance that no one has ever contributed more to winning. Not Lebron, not Kareem, not even Jordan.

I agree except for that last part. Major hyperbole.

Explain 3 straight 67-win seasons.

Explain his cumulative +/- in the last 6 years:

18-19: 1st
17-18: 6th. Missed 31 games. About 20% short of 1st while missing 40% of the games.
16-17: 1st by about 20% (2-4 were his teammates and weren't close), one of 3 seasons over +1000.
15-16: 2nd, over +1000, Draymond set the record at +1080 that year. No one else has broke +1000 since they started tracking the stat (97-98 season).
14-15: 1st
13-14: 1st



People still do not appreciate just how transformative and how much of an impact Curry has.

[Dan Z]

Because you could go back in history and arguably not find another 4-year period for a player seeing as much success and achievement as Curry. Curry really is being treated differently just like how he doesn't get calls that he should. No matter it will only add to his legend and greatness when all is said and done.

Like I said earlier, people are considering him for best player in the league. That's not disrespect.

I also don't think the question is about 4 years. It's who is the best player in the NBA right now.

Imagine if Giannis were to knock off the Warriors this year and 2 out of the next 3 years—and after that people are still saying Giannis isn't the best player would that not be disrespectful?

Usually when a reigning champion is defeated the one who defeats him is acknowledged champion in his place. That people have been ignoring that custom and manufacturing all sorts of excuses instead for the past 4 years shows disrespect.

You know why that is...the Warriors are a stacked team. Who is the best player on that team? Is it Curry or Durant? And do they win if Durant never signs with them?

Curry's a great player, but so is Durant. And I think there's an argument for other players in the league too. My two cents is that there's no clear cut best player right now.

As for Giannis there is no Durant on his team. Nobody on Milwaukee comes close. I'd even add that Klay Thompson is better than the 2nd best player on the Bucks.