Better player right now: Butler / AD / Dame / Shai / Ja / Devon / Fox / Jaylen

[mdonnelly1989]

Lets say the season starts today and you need to pick one of these players to lead you to the Finals with a clean roster.


Who are you taking?

[kendogg]

I think I take Shai over Jimmy, because Jimmy only got so much gas in the tank and he basically needs a superteam so he can coast for the first round or so. Shai was first team all-NBA this season for a reason. He's the best slasher in the game right now and he's become a very good defender as well.

Dame is another person you have to mention and I'm not sure I have the same gas tank concerns as for Jimmy, but Dame's never made a Finals either. Dame might be a the best pure scorer of the group, but I like Shai and JImmy's increased ability to make teammates better over the scoring difference.

Devon Booker is the only other person I think in this group with any MVP aspirations(maybe if Ja gets his act together). Booker is a better shooter than Shai, but I like Shai's game better in pretty much every other aspect. But they are very close in talent and in age.

Because of age concerns for Jimmy, my top 3 would be Shai, Devon, Dame.

[Pelly24]

Dame is better, maybe, it's close. Other than that, AD isn't as good. Folks gotta let SGA do something in the playoffs first. Jaylen Brown isn't close. Jimmy is a more impactful all-around player than everyone here. People will talk about running out of gas, etc. but his ankle was injured. Fact is, the heavy lifting was done against the Bucks, the games he played against the Knicks and then the first three games against the Celtics. Afterwards you can see how passive he became, and that's cool, because he'd done enough to make the finals.

[Asianiac_24]

In order:

Shai
AD
Dame
Butler
Booker
Morant
Fox
Brunson

AD getting vastly underrated here. When healthy he is a DPOY level defender who can give you an efficient 30.

[kendogg]

AD is ranked appropriately for someone who hasn't hardly been healthy in the last 5 years. He's past his physical prime. 50 games per year the last 5 years and 1 healthy playoffs. It's only downhill from here. I'd take Shai or Devon over AD any day they can run the offense and play good defense. Dame a close 3rd because of marks lost for defense

[mikejames23]

Jimmay and AD are typically at my top.

I think Ja has the heart to be at their level.

After that, I have Booker, Fox, Brown, Dame, Shai at the same level, depending on the day.

[Dutchball97]

Butler
Dame
AD
SGA
Booker
Ja
Fox
Brunson

[rate_]

Jimmy has led the Heat to 2 Finals and 3 ECFs in 4 seasons. How is anyone on this list above him? If Jimmy didn't get the ankle injury in the Knicks series, there's almost no doubt his performances would've been way better against Boston & Denver. Jimmy in 2022 playoffs was probably the best player in the playoffs. Comparing Jaylen Brown to Jimmy is wild to me.

[Lou Fan]

Healthy AD number one by a mile. Butler/Booker/Dame in any order for 2-4.

[scrabbarista]

Butler
Booker
Shai
Dame
Davis
‐---------------
---------------
Brunson
Fox
Ja

Off the top of my head. To be clear: this is NOT for next season (or last season!). It's just answering the OP literally. When the first and second weeks of October roll around, it's very likely I'll have different rankngs. That's maybe my favorite time of year to think about the league, and I'll certainly have put more thought into where these players are on the NBA landscape.

[iggymcfrack]

Probably Jimmy over Shai for one more season just for the playoff experience. Just barely though. Year after it would be Shai by a mile.

[iggymcfrack]

Healthy AD number one by a mile. Butler/Booker/Dame in any order for 2-4.

I feel like he’s very close to those other guys in value when healthy, but he’s also the least likely to be healthy of the 4.