The NBA’s 5 Best
5. Dwyane Wade – What a way to follow a major letdown of a 2007-2008 season. Wade bounced back as hard as anyone, leading the league in scoring (30.2), to go with 7.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game.
While Wade may turn over the ball more often than most players at his position, Wade really bridges the gap between point guard and shooting guard for the Heat, so this is forgivable. The fact that the Heat went from the joke of the NBA to a decent team in one season speaks volumes about Wade’s presence.
4. Dwight Howard – Every five or so years, there’s a new dominant man on the boards. For a while it was Dennis Rodman, then guys like Kevin Garnett and Ben Wallace. Now it belongs to Dwight Howard, and should remain that way for quite some time. His free throws are weak but everything else is invaluable.
Howard was best in the NBA when it came to both rebounds and blocked shots in 2008-2009, and his 57.8% field goal percentage was one of the best in the NBA. Howard is simply a beast.
3. Chris Paul – Easily the best point guard in the NBA, and will be considered one of the game’s all-time greats by the end of his career. While his team struggled a bit last season, short of David West, there’s probably less talent on that team after these two than there is on any team in the NBA. Paul’s assists, steals, rebounds, and points all speak for themselves. Arguably the best ball handler in the NBA too.
2. Kobe Bryant – The Kobe/LeBron debate lives on this season, as Kobe won the most recent battle with his first NBA title without Shaq. At 30 years old, he can still drop 50 or 60 in a game when his team needs him to.
As for the NBA title, his supporting cast (Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom) was more than LeBron had on his side. Give LeBron Pau and Lamar, and he’ll bring home a ring too.
1. LeBron James – The new and future king of the NBA. Sure, he hasn’t won a championship and some may be critical of his spotty clutch factor, but you can’t argue the numbers and what he did for his team last season. 28.4 ppg, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.3 assists. 1.7 steals, and 1.2 blocks. 49% from the field. A 66-16 record. It all adds up to the league’s most valuable player.
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