His shooting percentages ticked down after the Pelicans traded Anthony Davis and should benefit in much the same way when flanking Giannis Antetokounmpo. But on the defensive side of the floor, the Wolves struggled last season, finishing as a bottom-third unit, with Towns playing in just 35 games. Redick offers space as soon as he steps on the floor, and his conditioning at age 36 should be commended. (If anything, the Clippers’ early playoff exit showed that Leonard could afford to be even more aggressive. The addition of top free agent Gallinari will surely boost a Hawks team that went 20–47 last season. He can defend all over the floor. While his mobility has waned to a degree, Favors has proven he can take away easy looks at the rim and is hardly ever out of position. There are moments when Kemba Walker ascends to a plane of unstoppability that are absolutely thrilling to watch. But the veteran guard has nevertheless been a solid, starting-caliber player, capable of being not only a prolific passer, but also a solid defender and decent three-point shooter. The magic lies in the consistency and inevitability of those points, particularly when games matter most. The ranks are based on the Defensive Rating, which is the number of points allowed per 100 possessions. How Brogdon will fit alongside Oladipo is among Indiana’s biggest questions heading into this season. Horford has taken a relative tumble in his reputation across the league after an ill-fated stint in Philadelphia, but the five-time All-Star should be a stabilizing force for a young Oklahoma City team in 2020–21. The King has now spent nearly half of his entire life in the NBA. Bertāns has some skill as a roll man and interior defender, but those attributes are quite ancillary to his ability to let it fly from beyond the arc. He’ll get the opportunity to try and mesh with All-Star forward Kevin Love in the Cavs’ frontcourt as the franchise looks to develop lottery picks Collin Sexton, Darius Garland and Isaac Okoro alongside them. Gobert, who returned to good health after his positive coronavirus test led the NBA to halt games in March, has seen his value dip slightly with teams preferring mobile big men rather than traditional rim-protectors. 1. He’s far enough removed from his torn Achilles that expectations are running high. While Holiday is not a point guard by nature, he can moonlight on the ball effectively and grab and go off the defensive glass. The 24-year-old averaged career highs in points, assists, rebounds, minutes, free throws, and three-pointers per game. Valančiūnas isn’t earning All-NBA honors anytime soon, but Memphis’s big man remains a legitimate problem for defenses on the low block. Among those vets is Bledsoe, who joins New Orleans after nearly three full seasons with the Bucks. Yes. Vintage Westbrook was arguably the best athlete in NBA history. He snagged a career-high 11.3 rebounds per game last season, providing a dose of brute strength next to talented youngsters Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke. He’s evolving as a pick-and-roll ballhandler. The most interesting man in the NBA, Jimmy Butler found the perfect home for himself in Miami, where the Heat welcomed his aggressive playing style en route to a shocking Finals berth. He’s a high-volume, high-efficiency three-point shooter, and the stepback, midrange J is still as pretty as it was at Connecticut nearly 10 years ago. Seemingly none of it mattered because Davis’s game largely covered up for any perceived deficiencies elsewhere in the lineup. View this photo on Instagram In the immediate aftermath of Kawhi Leonard’s departure, there were questions about what direction the Raptors would take. Brooklyn Nets team president Sean Marks recently said that small forward Joe Harris “epitomized what it means to be a Net.” The 29-year-old Harris fully resurrected his career in Brooklyn after playing just 56 games in his first two years in Cleveland. Bogdanovic, a swaggy gunner, can count on the largest role of his career after a much-ballyhooed move from Sacramento to Atlanta in free agency. Absolutely. He’s not the warmest personality by most accounts. He’s good at pretty much everything already, and in his third season will inherit a heavy on-ball workload for the first time, with shooters around him. The players above Davis on this list have either been the No. We’d be remiss not to mention his elite shooting in recent seasons. It’s possible Smart’s career-best 2018–19 season—when he appeared to take a step forward as a scorer—was something of a mirage in terms of shooting. Letâs take a look at the best young NBA players for the 2021 season. The departure of Marc Gasol takes away a halfcourt creator. The Warriors as a whole seem to be feeling the effects of their five straight Finals trips. The mind-boggling amount of mileage on his body weighs on your mind, the half-step he’s lost athletically crops up time and again, and James can’t just flip the switch quite the way he used to. When one defender fails, defenses opt for a new strategy entirely. For further reference, explore SI.com’s Top 100 Players of 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014. He can lull you into a false sense of confidence because at first glance his style of play is not overwhelming. There’s reason to bet on the latter. 1 Bucks last season, or 44 on the Pacers. — M.S. Dragić is a feisty competitor with a well-rounded offensive skill set. Perhaps he can make an impact on a contender via a trade before the deadline. It’s become almost impossible to separate the short-term playoff conversation around Paul George from who he really is as a player. He sports a deep array of tricks off the dribble, leaning on shot fakes, spin moves and crossovers to create the necessary separation between himself and a defender. With six seasons of evidence, It's safe to say that LaVine is who he is: a quick-trigger scorer who can't carry an offense or make his teammates substantially better. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers. Placing Wall in the point guard hierarchy as he returns from multiple serious injuries in his left leg, including a torn Achilles, is a precarious exercise. In case that wasn’t obvious, the 2020 Thunder are a shining example. —J.W. Horford is a terrific interior passer and effective pick-and-roll partner. But most of all, while his critics and opponents may find him to be a nuisance, Lowry is one of the most intelligent players in the game. Don’t be surprised if he leads the Sixers toward a top-four finish in the Eastern Conference and a deep postseason run. Hield's high-efficiency, high-volume three-point shooting looks good on paper, but he has yet to develop other aspects of his game that would contribute to winning. Maybe he wants to add more to his post catalogue. As Gobert enters a contract year, Utah will lean on him as long as it’s feasible. And that’s the scary part. Perhaps Simmons’s stylistic deficiencies would be acceptable if he were flanked by a cadre of shooters, but given his big-man costar, the lack of any discernible jumper can be downright untenable. Let’s hope we see Griffin in the postseason again one way or another, after his disappointing exits with the Clippers. 1 seed Virginia in the 2018 men's NCAA tournament. Previously, he was a senior writer at Sports Illustrated covering the NBA. The 2017–18 MVP enters this season with 11 straight postseason appearances and three straight scoring titles, posting one of the most impressive scoring resumes in league history. The Bulls are flush with forwards after drafting Patrick Williams, and there isn’t a deep collection of playmakers on the roster. James still finds ways to swing the outcome of games in unexpected fashion. Curry could score 15 points in a game and still be the reason for an elite offensive performance because of everything he does for his team. Harris, a skilled on-ball defender whose scoring game vanished last season, is due for a bounceback in 2021. And the attention he draws when he sets a proper screen makes life immeasurably easier for his teammates. It takes a truly unusual combination of focus and skill to function comfortably at the intersection of high usage and high efficiency, and it’s a challenge most players never master. Leonard is a master at playing on his schedule. Perhaps the talent around him is to blame. The hard-nosed, undrafted guard took home a well-deserved $85 million payday this offseason after performing well throughout the 2019 title run and 2020 playoffs. From rookies to veterans, here are 21 players under 21 that everyone will need to keep an eye on in 2021: 1. Capela isn’t in the top tier of centers—largely due to his limited offensive skill set—though when healthy, he can truly be a dominant interior force. Would Masai Ujiri start tearing down the team and trade away his veterans? The former Knicks cornerstone is a true unicorn at 7’3”, banging home triples at range. If anything, Redick was slightly underutilized on a young New Orleans team, playing his fewest minutes per game (26.4) since 2011. Hayward also excels snaking in and out of the pick-and-roll, able to keep defenders on his hip before contorting his body around bigs around the rim. —M.S. Kawhi is a steely assassin, an expert at getting to his spots when he needs a bucket. Only two or three players in the world right now are as impactful as Davis when he’s locked in on the defensive end, and frankly that skill alone makes him an incredibly valuable player. Here are the top 10 greatest NBA players in history. As he’s matured, he’s curtailed some of his mid-range proclivities in favor of more threes and rim attempts, which has been a step in the right direction. While he may not be a pure shutdown defender just yet, OG has all the tools to enter the upper echelon of stoppers, and he’s already giving people trouble. George remains an All-NBA caliber defender with an offensive game that’s expertly suited for the modern game. Unless a motivated Love again plays for a team with some level of competitiveness, it can be difficult to discern where he fits into the NBA landscape. Clearly enough, the Nuggets’ magical postseason run—which saw the franchise overcome two 3–1 series deficits—would not have happened without Murray’s stellar play. NBA Player Salaries - 2020-2021 Season: 2020-2021 Player Salaries RK NAME TEAM SALARY 1 Stephen Curry, PG Golden State Warriors $43,006,362 2 Russell Westbrook, PG ⦠That’s how incredible Paul was, all while being a clutch-time assassin for a team that was a Lu Dort three away from upsetting the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. After wasting last season with a 25-game drug suspension, the phenomenally athletic Collins must reestablish his place in Atlanta's core or risk becoming a trade piece. When the 2020-2021 NBA season got underway in December, there were a record seventeen players from Canada on the opening-night rosters. 34. He effectively moonlighted at power forward for a shorthanded team in the bubble, his mid-range skills and craftiness still highly useful. 50 Top NBA players of 2021: Historical performance has Zion Williamson on the rise Each team has at least one, if not two, legitimate stars that their respective franchises can build around. With a shaky jump shot, he turned in a Harden-esque 9.1 free-throw attempts a game, willing himself to the line whenever his team needed a bucket throughout the season. Sports Illustrated‘s Top 100 list returns, aiming to answer that question. — M.S. And speaking of Draymond at his best, placed alongside the right talent, Green is still one of the most well-rounded players in the NBA. Is $120 million too rich for Hayward? Few players—even some above Butler on this list—can confidently make that claim. His passing instincts (always underrated) are as sharp as ever. He shot 39.0% from behind the arc in 2020 and played stellar defense on the other end of the floor. —J.W. Robert Covington, Portland Trail Blazers. The Kings didn't hesitate to sign Fox to a max rookie extension this offseason, locking in the quicksilver point guard as their franchise centerpiece. He’s made the All-Star team in each of the past two years and has shown gradual improvement throughout his career, leading up to career highs in points (20.9), rebounds (6.2) and field goal percentage (49.7) per game last season. He’s proven that it will not be his brain or his skills that lead to his decline. At 34 years old, Williams remains one of the most professional scorers in the league. Brown is not quite qualified to carry an offense, but his advancing offensive game and rock-solid perimeter defense make him an ideal second option to Jayson Tatum. With Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka now gone as well, the Raptors are well removed from their 2019 championship squad. He comes in second here, only because arguably the greatest player in league history has yet to slow down in any meaningful way. Jerami Grant enters the season as one of the most interesting players to watch throughout the league. Bogdanovic can slither around a Gobert pick en route to the rim. Simmons should take at least a small step forward with his shot. Utah often faces clogged lanes due to the presence of Gobert. 1 guy on a championship team or won MVP (or both.) The Washington Post’s Top 100 of 2021 list projects the premier NBA talents for the 2020-21 season. From Michael Jordan to LeBron James, here are the 30 best basketball players to ever play. For the 2020-2021 NBA season, Curry has taken over games against their opponents, the Lakers, and there are yet more games heâs going to prove ⦠So who will lead San Antonio forward? Quantifying a player’s true worth defensively can be challenging, but the near-unanimous respect Jrue Holiday has earned from opponents going on the better part of a decade speaks for itself. He’ll never be the king of efficiency, but he’s fashioned himself into a more reliable jump shooter over the years. 1 position on 'The Top 100 Players of 2026.'. The 28-year-old guard’s future with the franchise also appears to be in doubt, with trade rumors circulating. As part of the NBA.com 2020-2021 GM Survey, Antetokounmpo and DonÄiÄ were voted the No. Like every year, there were Turner provides quality versatility, but his offensive skill set does leave something to be desired at times. But it feels certain that this is not the time to take it from him. Gordon is more athletic and ferocious at the tin than his reputation suggests. The Duke product averaged 27.4 points per game with a 54.6 effective field goal percentage, scoring 1.06 points per isolation possession. Klay Thompson will miss a second straight season after tearing his ACL. —M.S. Porzingis will miss the start of the season as he recovers from knee surgery, but his floor-spacing, scoring instincts and rebounding ability make him an ideal sidekick for Luka Doncic. Of course, Wall is a terrific passer, but his ability to stretch defenses in transition has always played a role in his gaudy assist totals. It took more than a year for Nurkić to make his return from a badly broken leg. Strip away the aesthetic debate and a simple truth emerges regarding James Harden. Griffin isn’t exactly a knock-down shooter, but he posts solid percentages considering his significant leap in three-point volume. If Atlanta relies on a quick tempo in 2020–21, Capela could truly thrive. — R.N. A bounceback season is needed for Griffin, the former high-flying all-star, after injuries limited him to just 18 games last season. Expect a similar trend this season with the team looking to make its first finals appearance since the 1973–74 season. All rookies were excluded. Some people are already calling Miami’s playoff run a fluke. Opponents can ill afford to counter him with smaller bigs, and while he’ll never defend much on an island, he’s harder to play off the floor defensively due to his toughness and commitment. The 24-year-old was missed in last year’s postseason, and Indiana was subsequently swept for the third time in four years. 1 guy. But there’s reason to think Gordon’s dismal year was largely an outlier. He couldn’t stop the stream of missed triples vs. Golden State in 2018, and he was outdueled by Steph Curry down the stretch one year later. Griffin sees the floor like few players his size. When he does return to play, Walker is going to have one, two, three, however many of those nights when the ball can’t help to go in, like when he dropped 40 on the No. Irving is also a dangerous off-ball spacer, likely making him a perfect complement to Durant in 2020–21. He’s not an elite jump shooter or play finisher, nor is he a free-throw-drawing monster, and creating for others has never been a major piece of his identity, either. So, what’s next? Collins can put the ball on the floor in tight spaces, and he’s an elite leaper at the rim. But in a given series, Westbrook’s shortcomings can sink his team. He has little left to prove in terms of individual accolades or statistics. Even with a chunk of the NBA veering toward small-ball, Adams remains a difference-maker and an anchor. Davis checks every box as a big man, but the premium value of ball-handlers and wings in the modern NBA caps his ceiling on this list. His dominant step-back has forced opponents to shade their coverage to a hilarious degree, placing defenders firmly on his left hip to prevent the game’s most unstoppable move. While Redick’s own defense isn’t sterling—the Pels were 3.7 points per 100 possessions better defensively with Redick off the floor—he’s still more than capable of staying on the court in high leverage moments, the key test for any specialist. But Booker nearly willed his way to the postseason, averaging 30.5 points per game on 50.3% shooting in Orlando. An efficient frontcourt scorer who doesn't need to dominate the ball, Gallinari cashed in as a free agent after a successful one-year pit stop with the Thunder. At times, he looked like a potential franchise centerpiece and All-Star-caliber guard alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. Capela is the forgotten man in Atlanta’s rotation after the Hawks’ offseason makeover. He’s quick to advance the ball up the floor in transition, and he’s an expert at skipping the ball from the wing to the opposite corner with either hand. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke are two of the Western Conference’s more exciting young forwards, looking like a potential top three in the years to come. A newfound darling of the advanced stats community after his productive stretch run for the Pistons, the undrafted Wood was a major offseason winner thanks to a $41 million contract from the Rockets. The truth is that he’s always transcended positions, because he’s seven feet tall and is probably going to score on whoever’s defending him.
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