The Best NBA Player At Each Position

[franky]

My list for this year looks basically the same as everyone else's. At this point, I really don't think you can properly argue a lineup besides Nash / Kobe / LeBron or Carmelo / Dirk / Howard.

Nash is already the best PG at the moment so that's not changing. Kobe and Wade are debatable but I'm on the same boat as Kobe. Lebron is a keeper in the SF slot. However, the biggest question is PF. I really think Bosh is the best today. As an individual player, Bosh obviously outshines all the PF's statistics wise. Leads the NBA in rebounds I believe, and most double-doubles. Also averaging 26 ppg. KG is getting rusty.

 

[darkie]

Nash is already the best PG at the moment so that's not changing. Kobe and Wade are debatable but I'm on the same boat as Kobe. Lebron is a keeper in the SF slot. However, the biggest question is PF. I really think Bosh is the best today. As an individual player, Bosh obviously outshines all the PF's statistics wise. Leads the NBA in rebounds I believe, and most double-doubles. Also averaging 26 ppg. KG is getting rusty.

....you're saying Dirk is not even in the picture?

Dirk:26.9 ppg / 8.9 rpg / 2.9 apg / 1.6 bpg / 1.1 spg
Bosh: 26.6 ppg / 11.7 rpg / 1.7 apg / 1.1 bpg / 0.4 spg

"obviously outshines" is a bit of a stretch to say the least. Dirk has the Mavs at 10-3, Bosh the Raptors at 6-8. Bosh is merely the best player on his team. Dirk, on the other hand, carries his team with his clutch performances. Bosh doesn't score 29 points in about 9 minutes in the 4th quarter to lead a 27 point fourth quarter turnaround when nothing else by anyone on his team is going in. Dirk is also playing excellent defense this year; he guarded Duncan in overtime and held him scoreless, all the while scoring 11 in that same period. Bosh doesn't have nearly the sheer selection of moves Dirk has, who hasn't even been shooting the ball well (save for his free throw shooting, which is as good as it's always been [he's 100% in 4th quarter/overtime]).

 

[franky]

He's in the picture. Just behind Bosh. KG doesn't even come close at this point of the game.

Bosh: 26/11/50% FG
Dirk: 26/8/44% FG

This is just individual player comparison and statistics anyways. Dirk obviously has the better team and a better impact than Bosh because of his team record.

 

[Scofield]

The only people that I see who are unbelieveably hard up on the "kobe > wade" argument are obvious lakers homers. Everyone else seems to think it's much closer. I do think wade is a better scorer and at least as clutch as kobe. For the first, you ever notice how kobe always settles for jumpers now? Even when he drives he really tries to draw the foul. Wade has much better moves going to the basket, even though he too overly relies on getting the foul call. For the latter argument I always bring up this http://www.82games.com/gamewinningshots.htm which seems to always get ignored by kobe lovers. The guy shoots 25% on game winners with 1 assist and 5 turnovers, pretty shitty. Just because I don't only watch Lakers games doesn't mean I don't watch basketball.

 

[HeroMasaki]

You guys are forgetting one thing - Bosh can't win you a championship because he's too freaking soft. He can destroy all the other soft, slow centers/PFs in the league but when he gets matched up with some real talent, he disappears big time. Think of a more athletic old Pau Gasol but with less size and strength.

Dirk on the other hand is a wayyyyy more complete offensive player than any other PF in the league. He has serious range, he can drive to the hoop, and he can be unguardable in the paint. Do you see the shots that Dirk can make? Dirk probably had more buzzer beaters last season than Bosh has his entire career. Cmon guys stop falling in love with the numbers and actually watch these guys play.

The only people that I see who are unbelieveably hard up on the "kobe > wade" argument are obvious lakers homers. Everyone else seems to think it's much closer. I do think wade is a better scorer and at least as clutch as kobe. For the first, you ever notice how kobe always settles for jumpers now? Even when he drives he really tries to draw the foul. Wade has much better moves going to the basket, even though he too overly relies on getting the foul call. For the latter argument I always bring up this http://www.82games.com/gamewinningshots.htm which seems to always get ignored by kobe lovers. The guy shoots 25% on game winners with 1 assist and 5 turnovers, pretty shitty.

http://www.82games.com/0809/CSORT11.HTM

Who's number 1 on that list?

 

[Mailman]

PG Chris Paul
SG Dwayne Wade
SF LeBron
PF Dirk
C Howard

 

[CELTiiC]

Point Guard: Chris Paul Second: Rajon Rondo
Starting Guard: Kobe Bryant Second: Dwanye Wade
Small Forward: Lebron James Second: Carmelo Anthony
Power Forward: Kevin Garnett Second: Dirk Norwitzki
Center: Dwight Howard Second: Andrew Bynum

 

[HeroMasaki]

Point Guard: Chris Paul Second: Rajon Rondo
Starting Guard: Kobe Bryant Second: Dwanye Wade
Small Forward: Lebron James Second: Carmelo Anthony
Power Forward: Kevin Garnett Second: Dirk Norwitzki
Center: Dwight Howard Second: Andrew Bynum

I don't know my I'm commenting on all these lists but I like this list a lot.

I'd probably put Nash or Williams at second PG and Dirk over Garnett. Actually Garnett shouldn't be on that list since he's just a shell of his former self. Gasol should be second.

Otherwise, I'd have to agree with this list.

 

[Polywrath]

KG doesn't even come close at this point of the game.

Yea I agree, Keven Garnett is past his time. I will admit that he used to be the hand-down best PF, but that was like 4 years ago. He still has decent numbers because his teammate are amazing, if he were on Toronto for example, he would be getting absolutely nothing done at all.


On another note, people do not give Deron Williams enough credit. He is dam good. His stats might not be as good as CP's but their close. but Deron Williams carries his team on his shoulders, both defensively an offensively. And whats with all this that Chris Paul's such a great leader? Since when is Deron Williams not a great leader? How is Chris Paul better Ecstatically?

Other than that I am very pleased with this thread.
You guys are surprisingly insightful.

 

[CELTiiC]

I don't know my I'm commenting on all these lists but I like this list a lot.

I'd probably put Nash or Williams at second PG and Dirk over Garnett. Actually Garnett shouldn't be on that list since he's just a shell of his former self. Gasol should be second.

Otherwise, I'd have to agree with this list.

I'm a Celtics fan so that's probably why I put KG > Dirk and put Rondo on the list (though Rondo is great he just needs to work on Free Throws and Shooting a bit more). I was debating putting Dirk over Garnett especially the way Dirk is playing this year. He has definitely improved his game by a lot since his past years. Thanks for commenting.

 

[The Hitman]

PG: Nash
Guard: DWade/Kobe (Toss Up I take Wade, better team player overall)
SF:LeBron
PF:KG
Center: Howard

Hell of a team right there

 

[Lakers]

The only people that I see who are unbelieveably hard up on the "kobe > wade" argument are obvious lakers homers. Everyone else seems to think it's much closer. I do think wade is a better scorer and at least as clutch as kobe. For the first, you ever notice how kobe always settles for jumpers now? Even when he drives he really tries to draw the foul. Wade has much better moves going to the basket, even though he too overly relies on getting the foul call. For the latter argument I always bring up this http://www.82games.com/gamewinningshots.htm which seems to always get ignored by kobe lovers. The guy shoots 25% on game winners with 1 assist and 5 turnovers, pretty shitty. Just because I don't only watch Lakers games doesn't mean I don't watch basketball.

Definitely not on the same level of clutchness..... Just look at the list you posted. [SIZE=-1].400 to [/SIZE][SIZE=-1].281. .400 is Kobes 3pt pct% in "clutch time", compared to wades horrible .281 %. Lets look at another stat. Kobes free throw % in "clutch time" compared to Wades. Kobe shoots 92%.... WADE SHOOTS 73% -______-... If you cant hit free throws in the clutch you arent clutch. Again, also saying Wade is a better scorer makes no sense. The guy just puts up numbers because he was going through the Smush Parker/Kwame Brown/Chris Mihm era that Kobe went through. Kobe doenst need to score now and they win, and when they need him to score, (again look [/SIZE]at last years playoffs against the Nuggets) he can do it automatically

 

[RaikouLover]

Lakers, its not worth arguing. There are two kinds of people in the world. People who respect Kobe Bryant, and people who hate him and can't get past their own hatred of him to realize how good of a player he is. I reckon' it has something to do with his striking similarities to the "beloved" Michael Jordan, who this country reveres as some sort of god (though he was overrated in my book, and a fucking asshole to say the least).

Kobe is easily the best player of his position in the league.. And in my opinion he is clearly the best player in the league. Saying that Dwayne Wade is better than Kobe basically reveals that you are not an avid watcher of the sport or have an inevitable biased against Kobe Bryant for reasons I've already stated. Wade has no where near the accomplishments of Kobe, and doesn't have statistics comparable to Kobe among any aspect of the game other than PPG, which is not a tell-all statistic anyway, as Kobe will average less on a balanced offensive team like the Lakers now rather then before they had Fisher, Gasol, blossoming Bynum, and Artest. At least in a Kobe vs. LeBron debate you can argue statistics against Kobe in that regard...

 

[Aeroblacktyl]

you guys are weird.............

if we go by total accomplishment, kobe wins hands down. of course he would, he has 3 more championships in like 7~ more years in the league

if we go by current team status, kobe wins again. why are you arguing that kobe isn't scoring as much if he has a balanced team and wade has the smush/kwame team? im pretty sure wade would probably win a championship if you gave him gasol/bynum/fisher/ariza as his starting line up o_O

if we go by stats, it's a wash anyways. they pretty much have the exact same stats give or take a point each way

if we go by of this year skill level, kobe has the offensive skills, but wade has more athletic tools (right now)

also clutchness is very subjective anyways. sure you have fg% and shit but how many ridiculous .7 second heaves did each player take to fuck up their fg for example. or a big man missing plenty of shots before tipping in his last miss. it either goes in or it doesn't. you can still be clutch without actually winning the game, weird as that sounds

 

[franky]

You guys are forgetting one thing - Bosh can't win you a championship because he's too freaking soft. He can destroy all the other soft, slow centers/PFs in the league but when he gets matched up with some real talent, he disappears big time. Think of a more athletic old Pau Gasol but with less size and strength.

Dirk on the other hand is a wayyyyy more complete offensive player than any other PF in the league. He has serious range, he can drive to the hoop, and he can be unguardable in the paint. Do you see the shots that Dirk can make? Dirk probably had more buzzer beaters last season than Bosh has his entire career. Cmon guys stop falling in love with the numbers and actually watch these guys play.

I hear this term 'soft' used too loosely when they think of Bosh. Is it because he takes too much jumpers? Dirk does the same thing. By the way, Bosh has added more muscle this summer and your seeing it take into effect.

• 12 rpg is a huge improvement from 10.
• Bosh also leads the league in double-doubles, which speaks volume of his ability to brush with the other bigs (including Dwight)
• Leads the NBA in FT attempts meaning he doesn't shy away from the basket.

I don't know why people still call him soft. And anyways, Dirk and Bosh have a similar game but its obvious that Bosh is better as an individual player.

 

[Polywrath]

With all this talk about bosh vs Dirk I have to bring it up.

Did anyone see Bosh get nailed in the nads?
He dropped straight to fetal it might have been the funniest basketball moment ever, granted I still felt bad for the guy.

j. franky, I actually disagree that Bosh is more skilled that Dirk, Boshed game expands to about the 20 ft mark as Dirk can get out far outside the 3 point line and still be effective. I think he is a better player because he has more versatility.
Although its kind of a toss up because Bosh is much better when he is under the basket/driving, Dirk just has the really nice touch which makes it hard to put him down.

 

[ultimifier]

im a toronto fan and i would have to agree with all the bosh haters out there.

who gives a fuck if he gets all these rebounds, THEY ARE ALL DEFENSIVE. He just sits under the basket and gets rebounds on defence, whoopie. Watching him play hurts my eyes. He just shoots from the elbow every time. And when he drives he NEVER scores, its only when fouls get called on him that he gets points from inside the paint.

He puts no effort on getting offensive boards and gets pushed around by any player bigger than him, so if anyone wants to trade for him, be my guest please.

Also, who the fuck said Gilbert Arenas earlier in this thread?

 

[cyberzero]

I've got to agree with all the Bosh haters, even though I'm a Toronto fan.

PG: Steve Nash

Chris Paul is good, but he can't do it like Nash can. Nash is a lot smarter and is a veteran, so even though he's 35, he's still the best PG in the league.

SG: Kobe Bryant

As much as I hate to say it, it has to be Kobe because he can plain out score, and that's all you need from your Shooting Guard.

SF: LeBron James

Did anyone NOT see this coming?

PF: Dirk Nowitzki

He's a franchise player on a team filled with talent, and that's saying a lot.

C: Dwight Howard

Once this guy figures out how to put the ball in the basket more often, he's going to be a hell of a player, but he's already a hell of a player.

 

[High Turtle]

PG: Chris Paul
SG: Dwayne Wade
SF: LeBron James (even though i dislike him)
PF: Dirk Nowitzki (im a raptors fan but i have to go with him over Bosh)
C: Dwight Howard

just my opinion so lets not make a big thing about this if there are any disagreements

 

[bro fist]

PG: Chris Paul
SG: Kobe Bryant
SF: Lebron James
PF: Chris Bosh
C: Dwight Howard

 

[Kay [Old]]

Lemme see....

PG: Deron Williams (He's the only Jazz whom this rabid Rockets fan doesn't want to sock on sight, which speaks volumes to how good I think he is)
SG: Kobe. Seriously, comparing Wade to Kobe is an absolute insult to the Mamba.
SF: Lebron, and not even close.
PF: No one's mentioned Gasol yet?
C: Chuck Hayes. No, seriously actually it would be Howard by quite a bit.

 

[Megan_Fox]

pg- CP3
sg- Kobe Bryant
sf-Lebron James
pf-KG
c-Dwight Howard

 

[makiri]

PG: Steve Nash
There is no question that Steve is the best PG in the game right now, you can stick him on any team and he will still rack up double digit assists. He sees the floor so well, generates chances for other people, and he can take over the game himself if he needs to score points.

SG: Dwyane Wade
I personally do not like Dwade, but I see what he is doing with that team and he is the best SG hands down right now. He is on a team of scrubs and the only other person who can compete with him is Kobe, and to be honest what Dwade is doing with the garbage he is with is much more impressive than what Kobe is doing with a team full of All Stars.

SF: Lebron James
This position is stacked with studs like Granger, Joe Johnson, Durant, and Melo and strong arguments can be made for all of them, but Lebron is a freak. Lebron commands so much respect on defense that he opens the floor for everone else on his team and he sees the floor so well. He is #5 in assists right now, which only Joe Johnson can compete with and still lags way behind. Lebron is the total package on offense and defense, there is no denying it.

PF: Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk is playing out of his mind, and again arguments can be made for guys like Bosh, but its hard to argue with a big who can strech the floor as well as Dirk and I have a soft spot for bigs who can shoot anywhere. He is playing great defense and the only thing I can really knock him on is I don't think he posts up enough to take advantage of his nice touch and size.

C: Amare Stoudemire
Amare is such a dynamic offensive player, people will argue for Dwight and I see why, but Amare has an all around game, he can pull up a jump shot, make his free throws, and spreads the floor better than Dwight. Right now Amare's season numbers aren't indicitive of his play due to recovering from injuries, but his December stats have been much better. His knock is his defense, but if you aren't watching the Suns this year he has played some great defense with his spacing, contesting shots, etc.

 

[Hey Oh]

okay everybody who put bynum at starting center is just wrong. wrong. like completely wrong.

Screw starting 5, ill just have 2 of each, here's the top 12
PG: CP3/Deron
SG: Kobe/Wade
SF: Lebron/Melo/Durant
PF: Duncan/Dirk/KG
C: Howard/Amare

No nash cause his lack of defense. KG makes it cause his defense. Durant really is the next great scorer in the league. Amare really is the 2nd best center right now since yao is out.

 

[Lakers]

Amare barely plays center anymore anyway/ Channing Frye took that spot and has been doing very well. Another Knicks draft pick that turned out to be a decent NBA player =/