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

[Packbuckman]

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.

No their not scrubs but they did under perform. Middleton this year has gone up a level **** maybe two I wish he played like this last year. Last years loss to the raptors was because of different things the biggest our coach not adjusting. This year he’s modified the offense to our players strengths. Giannis also is just a better player this year and I expect that to continue as he is entering his prime. Truth is the role players of the raptors won that series van fleet was unconscious from 3 as we had leads in all those games but could not hit those shots down the stretch.

[Homer38]

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?

What he has done since 2016?

Average 32 PPG in the playoffs in 2017 and 34 PPG in 2018 and they make the finals in his 2 years.Yes LeBron lose 2 finals but it was against a much better team that the cavs had and in 2020,the lakers were first in the west by 5-6 games.But yeah continue to focus only on 2019.

[Jabroni Lames]

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."

When you’ve been thoroughly defeated by logic and reason, personal attacks will do. Good luck with that.

You obviously don’t understand the concept of a specific system and personnel elevating an elite player, so it’s like talking to a brick wall. Or maybe you do understand it, but just won’t acknowledge it.

[AussieBuck]

Rockets play small to make it harder to cheat off Westbrook to double Harden. Bucks go big and use Giannis to hide Lopez's defensive limitations. Basically opposite situations.

[AwkwardBoogaloo]

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.

Imagine calling Lebron James and Kawhi Leonard lazy. I’m not even going to bother with you, I’ve seen several of your posts on realGM. Nobody can criticize Giannis with you getting personally offended so no point in debating with you. Stay salty my friend.

[skones]

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."

When you’ve been thoroughly defeated by logic and reason, personal attacks will do. Good luck with that.

You obviously don’t understand the concept of a specific system and personnel elevating an elite player, so it’s like talking to a brick wall. Or maybe you do understand it, but just won’t acknowledge it.

Or you know, that doesn't make a player the "product of the system." You're just sitting there arguing that every player ever known to man is a "product of the system." Good gameplanning puts players in positions to succeed? You don't say! You're just setting yourself up for all sorts of slippery slopes. Lebron didn't make the playoffs last year. New coach, new system? Lebron's a product of the system right?

But hey, it's also not if a 23 year old has also gotten significantly better over the past two seasons as he'd proven he was capable of doing in all 5 of the seasons prior.

[Beethoven]

LeBron is the best when not aged and most primed.
I mean, you included Durant if not injured ...so..
Why not include Kyle Lowry if not fat,
Wilt Chamberlain if not dead ,
And Adam Morrison if had a different career trajectory ?

[GiannisAnte34]

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.

Imagine calling Lebron James and Kawhi Leonard lazy. I’m not even going to bother with you, I’ve seen several of your posts on realGM. Nobody can criticize Giannis with you getting personally offended so no point in debating with you. Stay salty my friend.

Kawhi grants himself special privilege that other stars don't benefit from, this isn't that hard to acknowledge unless you are the one who has the bias.

[AwkwardBoogaloo]

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.

Imagine calling Lebron James and Kawhi Leonard lazy. I’m not even going to bother with you, I’ve seen several of your posts on realGM. Nobody can criticize Giannis with you getting personally offended so no point in debating with you. Stay salty my friend.

Kawhi grants himself special privilege that other stars don't benefit from, this isn't that hard to acknowledge unless you are the one who has the bias.

The most biased member on this forum is calling someone else biased Giannis is my fav player in the league right now, but unlike you I’m capable of objectively critiquing him. Keep the hot takes coming, “GiannisAnte34”

[Jabroni Lames]

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

When you’ve been thoroughly defeated by logic and reason, personal attacks will do. Good luck with that.

You obviously don’t understand the concept of a specific system and personnel elevating an elite player, so it’s like talking to a brick wall. Or maybe you do understand it, but just won’t acknowledge it.

Or you know, that doesn't make a player the "product of the system." You're just sitting there arguing that every player ever known to man is a "product of the system." Good gameplanning puts players in positions to succeed? You don't say! You're just setting yourself up for all sorts of slippery slopes. Lebron didn't make the playoffs last year. New coach, new system? Lebron's a product of the system right?

But hey, it's also not if a 23 year old has also gotten significantly better over the past two seasons as he'd proven he was capable of doing in all 5 of the seasons prior.

Such a weak rebuttal. Lebron's already climbed the mountain of undisputed "best player in the NBA".... regular season AND playoffs. And he's returned to that conversation this year, so it was obviously personnel and coaching last year. Giannis still has to prove worthy of that title. That's what this thread was all about, right?

[skones]

When you’ve been thoroughly defeated by logic and reason, personal attacks will do. Good luck with that.

You obviously don’t understand the concept of a specific system and personnel elevating an elite player, so it’s like talking to a brick wall. Or maybe you do understand it, but just won’t acknowledge it.

Or you know, that doesn't make a player the "product of the system." You're just sitting there arguing that every player ever known to man is a "product of the system." Good gameplanning puts players in positions to succeed? You don't say! You're just setting yourself up for all sorts of slippery slopes. Lebron didn't make the playoffs last year. New coach, new system? Lebron's a product of the system right?

But hey, it's also not if a 23 year old has also gotten significantly better over the past two seasons as he'd proven he was capable of doing in all 5 of the seasons prior.

Such a weak rebuttal. Lebron's already climbed the mountain of undisputed "best player in the NBA".... regular season AND playoffs. And he's returned to that conversation this year, so it was obviously personnel and coaching last year. Giannis still has to prove worthy of that title. That's what this thread was all about, right?

Not a weak rebuttal at all, because Lebron needed Spo's system and the personnel with Wade and Bosh to enter that conversation.

See how that works? It's not on me if you can't see the way your own angles work against you.

[AwkwardBoogaloo]

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.

No their not scrubs but they did under perform. Middleton this year has gone up a level **** maybe two I wish he played like this last year. Last years loss to the raptors was because of different things the biggest our coach not adjusting. This year he’s modified the offense to our players strengths. Giannis also is just a better player this year and I expect that to continue as he is entering his prime. Truth is the role players of the raptors won that series van fleet was unconscious from 3 as we had leads in all those games but could not hit those shots down the stretch.

I agree with literally everything you just said, especially about Giannis being much improved this season. Chances are those improvements will allow him to take the Bucks to the Finals and possibly win it all, but that remains to be seen. Unfortunately, the timing for this thread couldn’t be any worse. It’s been nearly a full year since last season’s playoffs and coronavirus is preventing us from knowing when we’ll see Giannis in the playoffs this year (if the rest of the season doesn’t get canceled ) this conversation should probably be tabled until after the playoffs, so we can properly evaluate if Giannis’ improved game translates to success at the highest level

[SmashMouthRod]

Kevin Durant has probably the most complete game with no real weakness. Every other star has their strengths and weaknesses.

[GiannisAnte34]

Imagine calling Lebron James and Kawhi Leonard lazy. I’m not even going to bother with you, I’ve seen several of your posts on realGM. Nobody can criticize Giannis with you getting personally offended so no point in debating with you. Stay salty my friend.

Kawhi grants himself special privilege that other stars don't benefit from, this isn't that hard to acknowledge unless you are the one who has the bias.

The most biased member on this forum is calling someone else biased Giannis is my fav player in the league right now, but unlike you I’m capable of objectively critiquing him. Keep the hot takes coming, “GiannisAnte34”

is it objective to extrapolate full season stats based on someone who only plays 75% of the season? I don't think it is, I think that's called cherry picking. imagine if Giannis got to sit for 20+ games and be the freshest player on the floor when "winning matters and you have to be clutch"

[ImmortalD24]

I have KD, Kawhi, Giannis and LeBron/AD in that order from best to least best.

[bearadonisdna]

Differentiating between 4-5 mvp caliber players is really subjective.

No disrespect to any of the players but:
-Kawhi has no mvps with none on the horizon.
-KD is good but rode Steph Currys success to get in the conversation.

[AwkwardBoogaloo]

Kawhi grants himself special privilege that other stars don't benefit from, this isn't that hard to acknowledge unless you are the one who has the bias.

The most biased member on this forum is calling someone else biased Giannis is my fav player in the league right now, but unlike you I’m capable of objectively critiquing him. Keep the hot takes coming, “GiannisAnte34”

is it objective to extrapolate full season stats based on someone who only plays 75% of the season? I don't think it is, I think that's called cherry picking. imagine if Giannis got to sit for 20+ games and be the freshest player on the floor when "winning matters and you have to be clutch"

LOL no my salty friend, I’m not cherry picking. In this thread I’ve provided several examples from both the regular season and the playoffs to prove my point. You, on the other hand, decided to cherry pick one small part of my argument... and then used that part of my argument to say Lebron and Kawhi are “lazy slackers” (horrible take). Then you tried to argue that I’m biased against Giannis even though Giannis is my fav player (another horrible take). Now you’re trying to say that I’m cherry picking regular season stats while ignoring all of the other points I’ve made (horrible take #3). I know I said I wasn’t gonna bother with you, but this quarantine got me bored and your ridiculous tunnel vision when it comes to Giannis is damn entertaining. Keep the hot takes coming, “GiannisAnte34”

[Jabroni Lames]

Or you know, that doesn't make a player the "product of the system." You're just sitting there arguing that every player ever known to man is a "product of the system." Good gameplanning puts players in positions to succeed? You don't say! You're just setting yourself up for all sorts of slippery slopes. Lebron didn't make the playoffs last year. New coach, new system? Lebron's a product of the system right?

But hey, it's also not if a 23 year old has also gotten significantly better over the past two seasons as he'd proven he was capable of doing in all 5 of the seasons prior.

Such a weak rebuttal. Lebron's already climbed the mountain of undisputed "best player in the NBA".... regular season AND playoffs. And he's returned to that conversation this year, so it was obviously personnel and coaching last year. Giannis still has to prove worthy of that title. That's what this thread was all about, right?

Not a weak rebuttal at all, because Lebron needed Spo's system and the personnel with Wade and Bosh to enter that conversation.

See how that works? It's not on me if you can't see the way your own angles work against you.

.....Aaaand Lebron made it the Finals with Mo Williams, Matthew Dellavedova, Mozgov, Mike Brown and some Euro coach. You couldn't have picked a worse player to try and prove your point. lol. Wiley Coyote, anyone?

Lebron has been the top player in the world... even with scrub personnel and meh coaches & systems. Giannis hasn't.... yet.

[GiannisAnte34]

The most biased member on this forum is calling someone else biased Giannis is my fav player in the league right now, but unlike you I’m capable of objectively critiquing him. Keep the hot takes coming, “GiannisAnte34”

is it objective to extrapolate full season stats based on someone who only plays 75% of the season? I don't think it is, I think that's called cherry picking. imagine if Giannis got to sit for 20+ games and be the freshest player on the floor when "winning matters and you have to be clutch"

LOL no my salty friend, I’m not cherry picking. In this thread I’ve provided several examples from both the regular season and the playoffs to prove my point. You, on the other hand, decided to cherry pick one small part of my argument... and then used that part of my argument to say Lebron and Kawhi are “lazy slackers” (horrible take). Then you tried to argue that I’m biased against Giannis even though Giannis is my fav player (another horrible take). Now you’re trying to say that I’m cherry picking regular season stats while ignoring all of the other points I’ve made (horrible take #3). I know I said I wasn’t gonna bother with you, but this quarantine got me bored and your ridiculous tunnel vision when it comes to Giannis is damn entertaining. Keep the hot takes coming, “GiannisAnte34”

you tried to say that Middleton, Bledsoe, Lopez was as good as Lowry, Siakam, Gasol. simply untrue, way more playoff experienced on the Raptors side (that's without even including the Kawhi/Giannis experience gap)

[skones]

.....Aaaand Lebron made it the Finals with Mo Williams, Matthew Dellavedova, Mozgov, Mike Brown and some Euro coach. You couldn't have picked a worse player to try and prove your point. lol. Wiley Coyote, anyone?

Lebron has been the top player in the world... even with scrub personnel and meh coaches & systems. Giannis hasn't.... yet.

Absolutely shocked that you not only missed the point, but your argument only works one way and not the other. Very objective of you.