Grading the NBA Part II: Top Ten Players

Yesterday we covered name recognition factor in grading each of the 30 NBA teams. Today we take a different look at the power behind each of these teams in determining how many of their players are among the top ten at their position in the league.

The best teams in the league are going to have three top ten players on their roster. You hear phrases like "The Big Three" all the time, so it's safe to say that to be considered a great team, you should probably have three top ten caliber players on your roster. Part of the trick here, however, is determining who qualifies as a top ten player. For the most part, I used John Hollinger's PER to create top ten lists, though there were times that I moved away from that a bit to include established stars. You'll probably find areas where you disagree with my lists, and that's alright. As a rule of thumb, I decided to move a player up if I could find another player on the list that I would agree to a straight-up trade for. (Example: I included Rudy Gay on the SF list over Richard Jefferson and Ron Artest, because I'd be more than happy to send Ron Artest to your team if it meant I got Rudy Gay back. No contest.) There might be some controversy with a few players, but I think for the most part, these lists will stand. Here's what I came up with, in no particular order:

PG

Chris Paul, NOH
Tony Parker, SAS
Devin Harris, NJN
Deron Williams, UTH
Jameer Nelson, ORL
Steve Nash, PHX
Derrick Rose, CHI
Rajon Rondo, BOS
Chauncey Billups, DEN
Jason Kidd, DAL

SG

Kobe Bryant, LAL
Dwyane Wade, MIA
Brandon Roy, POR
Manu Ginobili, SAS
Vince Carter, NJN
Andre Iguodala, PHI
Joe Johnson, ATL
Michael Redd, MIL
Ray Allen, BOS
Ben Gordon, CHI

SF

LeBron James, CLE
Carmelo Anthony, DEN
Paul Pierce, BOS
Danny Granger, IND
Kevin Durant, OKC
Caron Butler, WAS
Gerald Wallace, CHA
Josh Howard, DAL
Rudy Gay, MEM
Trevor Ariza, LAL

PF

Dirk Nowitzki, DAL
Pau Gasol, LAL
Chris Bosh, TOR
Kevin Garnett, BOS
Antawn Jamison, WAS
Amare Stoudemire, PHX
David Lee, NYK
LaMarcus Aldridge, POR
David West, NOH
Carlos Boozer, UTH

C

Dwight Howard, ORL
Yao Ming, HOU
Tim Duncan, SAS
Al Jefferson, MIN
Shaquille O'Neal, PHX
Andrew Bynum, LAL
Andris Biedrins, GSW
Nene, DEN
Marcus Camby, LAC
Emeka Okafor, CHA

Which gives us the following totals:

BOS 4
LAL 4
SAS 3
PHX 3
DEN 3
DAL 3
NOH 2
NJN 2
UTH 2
ORL 2
CHI 2
POR 2
WAS 2
CHA 2
MIA 1
PHI 1
ATL 1
MIL 1
CLE 1
IND 1
OKC 1
MEM 1
TOR 1
NYK 1
HOU 1
MIN 1
GSW 1
LAC 1

Suddenly, you see a list of contenders at the top. Boston and LA should be no surprises. Nor should San Antonio. Phoenix might be a surprise, if only because one of their top ten players was out for half the season and the other two are marginal candidates at best (c'mon, they're both well over 30). You could make a case for Cleveland appearing higher on this list if you argued that Mo Williams and Zydrunas Ilgauskas are top ten at their position, but I think you might be hard pressed there. The only point guard I'd even consider giving up for Mo Williams is Jason Kidd, and that's only because his best days are clearly behind him. I don't think I like Z more than any of the centers on the list. Cleveland stays where it is.

Now that we have name recognition and top ten players taken care of, a hierarchy is starting to appear. On Monday, we move into more number-based territory as we consider Quality Win Factor.