{"id":103185,"date":"2024-10-26T02:45:21","date_gmt":"2024-10-26T06:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=103185"},"modified":"2024-10-26T02:45:21","modified_gmt":"2024-10-26T06:45:21","slug":"lakers-lebron-james-headlines-nba-real-big-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/26\/lakers-lebron-james-headlines-nba-real-big-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers\u2019 LeBron James Headlines The NBA\u2019s Real Big 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James<\/a> is considered the GOAT<\/em> by many. Yet, when it\u2019s time to create a list of the best players in the NBA, he doesn\u2019t get put at the top.<\/p>\n

In ESPN\u2019s latest player rankings<\/a>, he was named the seventh-best player. In HoopsHype\u2019s player rankings, he landed at No. 13<\/a>. The Ringer currently has him ranked No. 10<\/a>. It\u2019s worth noting that these rankings are more focused on a player\u2019s recent chapters than their entire body of work. However, James is still playing at an extremely high level. In fact, during the Paris Olympics, it was so clear that James is still the best player in the world they named him the MVP<\/a> of the tournament.<\/p>\n

Lakers\u2019 LeBron James Headlines The NBA\u2019s Real Big 3<\/h2>\n

If assessing who the best of the best is in the NBA, it stands to reason that the cream of the crop would be among the top-30 currently rostered players in minutes, points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals per game. From there, players can be be further filtered by their number of All-Star selections, All-NBA selections, NBA championships, and NBA awards.<\/p>\n

Taking into account their rankings in the aforementioned categories, the top three players in the NBA are: James, Kevin Durant<\/a> (Phoenix Suns), and Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> (Milwaukee Bucks).<\/p>\n

1. LeBron James<\/h3>\n
Career MPG \u2014 37.9 (1st)\r\n\r\nCareer PPG \u2014 27.1 (4th)\r\n\r\nCareer RPG \u2014 7.5 (24th)\r\n\r\nCareer APG \u2014 7.4 (5th)\r\n\r\nCareer BPG \u2014 0.8 (31st)\r\n\r\nCareer SPG \u2014 1.5 (8th)\r\n\r\nChampionships \u2014 4 (t-1st)\r\n\r\nAll-Star Selections \u2014 20 (1st)\r\n\r\nAll-NBA Selections \u2014 20 (1st)\r\n\r\nNotable NBA Awards \u2014 Rookie of the Year, All-Star Game MVP (3x), NBA Cup MVP, NBA MVP (4x), NBA Finals MVP (4x)<\/pre>\n
James obviously missed the top-30 cut in blocks per game, but the chasedown block artist gets a pass here. The NBA\u2019s most decorated player, James\u2019s ranks among the best of the best highlight his all-around dominance.<\/p>\n
Has he lost a step athletically? Yes, undeniably. His first step isn\u2019t as explosive and he doesn\u2019t get as much lift as he did in his 20s. However, he\u2019s still among the most physically gifted players in the NBA. On top of that, he\u2019s truly a skilled player.<\/p>\n
James has always been a preternatural passer, courtesy of his rare combination of intellect, vision, and deft touch. Yet, there was a time when he primarily relied upon his physical tools and scoring instincts<\/em>. Now, his technique takes over. You could even say that the King\u2019s game has aged pretty gracefully.<\/p>\n
Ironically, the best assessment of James might be the one Kanye West gave about his frienemy Drake. By the numbers, he\u2019s the GOAT. Like Drake, James has also taken bits and pieces of multiple legends\u2019 bag and mixed it with his own style. Now he\u2019s the most complete player in NBA history.<\/p>\n
2. Kevin Durant<\/h3>\n
Career MPG \u2014 36.7 (2nd)\r\n\r\nCareer PPG \u2014 27.3 (3rd)\r\n\r\nCareer RPG \u2014 7.0 (30th)\r\n\r\nCareer APG \u2014 4.4 (30th)\r\n\r\nCareer BPG \u2014 1.1 (15th)\r\n\r\nCareer SPG \u2014 1.1 (37th)\r\n\r\nChampionships \u2014 2 (t-6th)\r\n\r\nAll-Star Selections \u2014 14 (2nd)\r\n\r\nAll-NBA Selections \u2014 11 (t-2nd)\r\n\r\nNotable NBA Awards \u2014 Rookie of the Year, All-Star Game MVP (2x), NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP (2x)<\/pre>\n
For the second-most highly decorated player in the NBA, Durant hasn\u2019t been respected in the way he would like. As a result, he pushes back against fans and media, making him even more unpopular. To be fair, despite criticism about his decision to play for the Golden State Warriors, the truth is that they needed him at least as much as he needed them.<\/p>\n
A true perimeter player despite being 6-foot-11, Durant\u2019s guard skills have become the stuff of legend. Specifically, a silky shooting touch that would make Andrew Garfield jealous. However, he\u2019s an underrated defender, especially when focused.<\/p>\n
Though Durant is Team Drake, he\u2019s really the Lamar of the NBA. It\u2019s not just the anti-industry attitude or the way they\u2019re viewed by a particular demographic. Where Lamar is a pure MC, Durant is a pure hooper. He plays the game the way many people believe it should be; calculated with with a streetball flavor.<\/p>\n
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/h3>\n
Career MPG \u2014 32.8 (24th)\r\n\r\nCareer PPG \u2014 23.4 (13th)\r\n\r\nCareer RPG \u2014 9.8 (12th)\r\n\r\nCareer APG \u2014 4.9 (22nd)\r\n\r\nCareer BPG \u2014 1.2 (12th)\r\n\r\nCareer SPG \u2014 1.1 (30th)\r\n\r\nChampionships \u2014 1 (t-12th)\r\n\r\nAll-Star Selections \u2014 8 (t-9th)\r\n\r\nAll-NBA Selections \u2014 8 (t-6th)\r\n\r\nNotable NBA Awards \u2014 Most Improved Player, Defensive Player of the Year, All-Star MVP, NBA MVP (2x), NBA Finals MVP<\/pre>\n
You\u2019re probably wondering why the third slot isn\u2019t occupied by Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry<\/a> or Denver Nuggets international star Nikola Jokic<\/a>. As it turns out, Antetokounmpo is the only player in the NBA, who ranks in the top-30 in minutes, points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals per game among currently rostered players.<\/p>\n
Like Curry (2) and Jokic (3), Antetokounmpo has multiple MVP awards. Like Curry (4) and Jokic (1), Antetokounmpo has also won an NBA championship. Unlike Curry and Jokic, Antetokounmpo has also won a Most Improved Player award and Defensive Player of the Year award.<\/p>\n
Curry being the offensive engine of a dynasty team gives him the leg up over Antetokounmpo in terms of his overall impact and contributions to the game. However, all things considered, Antetokounmpo may only be second to James as a complete player. In fact, in a lot of ways, he resembles a younger James.<\/p>\n
Like J. Cole, Antetokounmpo may never be as respected as he should be despite nearly a decade of being elite. Like Cole, Antetokounmpo has to battle against criticisms that his style is boring. Lastly, like Cole, Antetokounmpo\u2019s biggest issue is that fans are always looking for the next best thing, barely absorbing what\u2019s right in front of their eyes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is considered the GOAT by many. Yet, when it\u2019s time to create a list of the best players in the NBA, he doesn\u2019t get put at the top. In ESPN\u2019s latest player rankings, he was named the seventh-best player. In HoopsHype\u2019s player rankings, he landed at No. 13. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":103204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,1608,15,62,28],"tags":[306,69,38],"class_list":["post-103185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lakers","category-basketball","category-bucks","category-nba","category-suns","tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","tag-kevin-durant","tag-lebron-james"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103185\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}