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Once again, I am carrying the torch for Filthadelphia's annual Top 25 Player poll this offseason.

Your favorite offseason debate is back by popular demand!
Thanks to everyone who voted last go around I'm excited to see where the 5th annual edition ends up.

Here are the Rules:
-Vote ONE player per poll. You'll be able to change your vote just like in previous years so you can self-implement rank choice voting.
-The criteria of ranking the players is YOUR OWN. The whole point of bringing this to the GB is to attract the widest amount of votes/perspectives on the game as possible to form a true consensus. Some people value shooting over defense, team success over individual prowess etc. Filthadelphia wanted to bake all that into this poll set no matter how chaotic.
-Each poll a player will win and then be taken out of the field. There will be 25 polls in all.
-There are only 10 possible poll options so I will start with last year's Top 10.
-As each poll commences I ask you to COMMENT IN THE THREAD your vote for who should be added in the next poll. There will be a large list of players yet to be added to the field below that you can look over to make your vote. I will tally up the votes in the comments at the end of each poll and add the winner accordingly. For example, if you want Xavier Tillman added in the next poll just comment "Nominate: Xavier Tillman"
-If a poll is overwhelmingly skewed towards one guy I will try, time willing, to edit it early and move on to the next one.
-If there is a tie in the poll. There will be a run-off poll created with just the tying parties to determine a winner. The losers of the runoff will then be added back into the field of 10 for the next poll.
-Feel free to ask any questions via pm or comment
-Feel Free to comment on your reasoning for a pick and why
There may be days when I am not able to quickly add the next poll. Just be patient!

THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYONE FOR PARTICIPATING!!!!

Winner of Previous Poll: Paul George (LAC)
Added to Poll: Donovan Mitchell (CLE)

RealGM Top 25 Players 2022-23:
1) Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) - 57%
2) Nikola Jokic (DEN) - 57%
3) Luka Doncic (DAL) - 43%
4) Steph Curry (GSW) - 49%
5) Joel Embiid (PHI) - 37%
6) Kevin Durant (BKN) - 40%
7) LeBron James (LAL) - 44%
8) Kawhi Leonard (LAC) - 46%
9) Jayson Tatum (BOS) - 51%
10) Jimmy Butler (MIA) - 53%
11) Ja Morant (MEM) - 23%
12) Anthony Davis (LAL) - 28%
13) Rudy Gobert (MIN) - 24%
14) Paul George (LAC) - 19% (Tiebreaker: 62%)

Yet To Be Added: (If someone is not here that you want here comment THAT and I will add them)
John Collins (ATL)
Dejounte Murray (ATL)
Kyrie Irving (BKN)
Ben Simmons (BRK)
Gordon Hayward (CHA)
LaMelo Ball (CHA)
Zach Lavine (CHI)
Demar DeRozan (CHI)
Jarrett Allen (CLE)
Darius Garland (CLE)
Evan Mobley (CLE)
Jamal Murray(DEN)
Cade Cunningham (DET)
Jaden Ivey (DET)
Saddiq Bey (DET)
Draymond Green (GSW)
Klay Thompson (GSW)
Andrew Wiggins (GSW)
Jalen Green (HOU)
Jabari Smith (HOU)
Myles Turner (IND)
Tyrese Haliburton (IND)
John Wall (LAC)
Russell Westbrook (LAL)
Jaren Jackson Jr. (MEM)
Desmond Bane (MEM)
Dillon Brooks (MEM)
Bam Adebayo (MIA)
Khris Middleton (MIL)
Jrue Holiday (MIL)
Anthony Edwards (MIN)
Brandon Ingram (NOP)
CJ McCollum (NOP)
R.J. Barrett (NYK)
Jalen Brunson (NYK)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)
Paolo Banchero (ORL)
Franz Wagner (ORL)
Wendell Carter (ORL)
Tobias Harris (PHI)
Tyrese Maxey (PHI)
DeAndre Ayton (PHX)
Mikal Bridges (PHX)
Jusuf Nurkic (POR)
Jerami Grant (POR)
De'Aaron Fox (SAC)
Domantas Sabonis (SAC)
Keegan Murray (SAC)
Fred VanVleet (TOR)
Scottie Barnes (TOR)
Collin Sexton (UTA)
Bradley Beal (WAS)
Kristaps Porzingis (WAS)

Previous Results:

Vote: Booker
Nominate: Kyrie

Harden/Garland

Vote: James Harden. New rules and aging have slowed Harden down a little. Still, his demise has been greatly overstated. He's still an offensive wizard and decent on defense when he focuses on it. He's still averaging 21/10.5/7.1. He's still getting to the line a lot (only 10% drop from his prime). He's still having a huge effect on the game.

Nominate: Draymond Green. There are still people who try to judge him by his 7/7/7 stat line. His defensive impact coupled with all the dirty work on offense is one of the main reasons Golden State can still win championships.

this is tough.
- I like Trae, Zion, and KAT as the monster offensive pieces left on the board, despite them all being poor defenders.
- I probably like Trae more than the other offensive guards (Booker and Mitchell), even if they're better defenders.
- Lillard and Harden are going to have bounce back seasons I think, but to what extent is a mystery.
- Siakam is the best all-around player on the board, but lacks the one elite skill that most of these guys have.
- I think we've nominated most of the guys deserving to be in the top 20. Garland and Shai are the ones that feel they need to be in here soon. Kyrie, Draymond, Bam, Ant, Middleton are all on my list as well.

Vote: KAT
I think he'll be the least defensively damaging this year out of him, Trae, and Zion.

Nominate: Bam
I want Shai, but he's starting the season injured and I don't trust OKC to let him play a real season. Garland is the other guy I'm hungry to nominate.

Vote Lillard

Nominate Garland

Vote: KAT

Nominate: Anthony Edwards

So how is Gobert better than Bam, especially to the point he’s already off the board and Bam is just now being nominated? Simply put, Bam is a far better offensive player and he’s a better and more versatile defender.

We’ve seen Gobert played off the court year after year for his defense which is supposedly his strong point.

Nominate Kyrie.

Vote: Lillard
Nominate: Anthony Edwards

Vote: Lillard

Nominate: Kyrie Irving

V: Lillard
N: Edwards

Vote: Booker - 1st team All-NBA last year. Still young enough to get a bit better. A couple playoff games don't completely counter that.

Nominate: DeRozan - 2nd team All-NBA last season. Not so old he should fall out of the top-20.

Booker

Nominate Irving

If you lose the tiebreaker, shouldn't you be next automatically?

DutchManDanFan wrote:If you lose the tiebreaker, shouldn't you be next automatically?

Nope. That would leave those who voted for Paul George without a voice in the following selection. The dispersal of the Paul George votes matters for the following selection. Only a win assures you a particular spot.

I do understand the logic of automatically putting Booker at 15, but a) I'm a caretaker of the poll and doing it the way the creator of this series did it, and b) I do believe in each spot being independently chosen.

Feels like Dame is getting less popular as we go.

Vote Lillard. Nominate Garland.

I guess I'm not as high on Booker as most. He didn't score well in the playoffs and has a lot to improve as a playmaker. Defensively he's among the worst of the players left, so I can't put him above some of these other guys.

I liked Pascal, Jaylen and Kat. Maybe the homer in me but I think a full healthy off season for Pascal will lead to his best season in a while. Just some improvement in his 3 point shooting (and we've seen him shoot well before) could make up for some of the gap in scoring from the other candidates. His all around defense and playmaking out him above the others for me

Nominate Brandon Ingram.