It's Back! RealGM Top 25 Player Poll-#1 2019-20

[MarcusBrody]

I chose Giannis. He had the strongest regular season last year and he's the player with the highest upward trajectory.

Kawhi obviously is the most affected by recent success, but if I'm honest, i don't think I'm choosing him if that shot against the 76ers doesn't bounce in, which tells me I'm a bit of a prisoner of the moment with him. I actually thought Curry looked at least as good in the Finals though everyone thought he played badly. I think that the Raps win the chip with any of Giannis, Kawhi, Curry or Lebron, so I'd have them as my top 4.

So I'll go:
Giannis
Curry
Kawhi
Lebron
Harden

[scrabbarista]

Harden is top 4

I have him fourth. I think anywhere in the top five is reasonable.

So would you be put him 5th on my list? Or is he better than in that top 4?

I think the whole top five is neck-and-neck. I'd put him fourth, over LeBron. Anyone outside of that top five is disrespectful to a guy with Harden's track record.

[Bhut Jolokia]

1. Kawhi
2. Lebron
3. Giannis
4. Harden
(Durant)
5. Curry
6. Davis
7. George
8. Embiid
9. Jokic
10. Lillard

[ZemGOAT]

Steph cuz I'm salty

[HeatIn5]

I'm shocked that Kawhi is so far ahead. I picked lebron


Add Klay

[clyde21]

Kawhi has a solid lead let's move on to #2

[zimpy27]

I'm a LeBron fan but I'm surprised people voting for him this high, he wasn't even top 5 last season, expecting a better season without injury but I think having him this high so far is a little optimistic.

[Catchall]

I went with Giannis. It took three defenders on the Raptors to stop him in the POs.

[iggymcfrack]

Kawhi has a solid lead let's move on to #2

Seconded. We must have had 8 different polls since the season ended about who the best player is and they’ve all been Kawhi. Let’s move on to a new discussion.

[scrabbarista]

To answer the OP's question, "How did we do?" honestly, not very well! Lots of guys on last season's list are pretty far away from where they ended up by season's end - in my opinion. I wonder if next season will hold as many surprises.

[TheNG]

1. Kawhi Leonard aka The Dynasty Slayer
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo aka King of the Three Continents
3. Stephen Curry aka The Game Changer
4. Kevin Durant aka The Restless Wanderer/The Shot Maker
5. Nikola Jokic aka The Genius
6. James Harden aka One Man Offense/The Flopper
7. Anthony Davis aka The Beta
8. Lebron James aka The Ego Worshiper/The Stat Padder/The Superteam Builder/The Coach Killer/The Teammates Blamer
9. Paul George aka The Pippen
10. Joel Embiid aka The Half Player

[Heat4lyf]

Are we voting based on this past year or what's expected next season

[TheProfessor]

It's close between Lebron/Kawhi right now. The stan in me says Lebron, my mind says Kawhi. I just don't think Lakers are going to be good enough to unlock full lebron, but on the other hand this is the most rest Lebron has had going into a season since well ever. Yeah give me a full rested Lebron. Ohh and Doncic, That kids going to be top 10-15 this year.

[aznsk91]

I'm a LeBron fan but I'm surprised people voting for him this high, he wasn't even top 5 last season, expecting a better season without injury but I think having him this high so far is a little optimistic.

it kinda depends on how people are ranking the player and how they define the 'best' player. for example, is this just the regular season? just the playoffs? the one player I would want in a game 7 nba finals?

if we are talking about regular season impact, I could see where you are coming from. For the regular season I would have him in top 5ish for impact. In terms of the playoffs, I would still have lebron comfortably at number 1. in other words, in a situation like a game 7 of an NBA finals, with all the pressure, the only player I would fully trust/expect to perform at an all time great level is lebron

[Syd-TK3]

It hurt but I picked Kawhi

[Clyde Frazier]

Lillard next

[nymets1]

Unfortunately its sad that not everyone would 100% agree. But Kawhi Leonard is clearly the best player in the NBA going into this upcoming season.

[jason bourne]

I voted for Steph, but just want to add I think the top players will have their load reduced to around 70 games. Silver has discussed reducing the season to 70 games. The reason is having your top players fresh for the playoffs and be able to go the distance.

This past season, we heard load management was a big deal to Kawhi Leonard who played only 60. Harden 78, PG13 77, Giannis 72, KD 78 (oops), Damian Lillard 80, etc. should have their load reduced.

[Effigy]

1. Kawhi Leonard aka The Dynasty Slayer
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo aka King of the Three Continents
3. Stephen Curry aka The Game Changer
4. Kevin Durant aka The Restless Wanderer/The Shot Maker
5. Nikola Jokic aka The Genius
6. James Harden aka One Man Offense/The Flopper
7. Anthony Davis aka The Beta
8. Lebron James aka The Ego Worshiper/The Stat Padder/The Superteam Builder/The Coach Killer/The Teammates Blamer
9. Paul George aka The Pippen
10. Joel Embiid aka The Half Player

I like the nicknames. Swap Lebron and Jokic and the list looks good

(Though id drop George for Dame, personally)

[Triples333]

I agree with El Gee's breakdown, it's Curry.

He just impacts other players stats positively to a degree that nobody else does, while putting up dominant production himself. Losing KD will highlight his personal dominance similar to the playoffs in this coming season.