Pre-2019-20 Rank: #3, Pre-2020-21 Rank #4, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #3, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #4, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #4.

*Peak Period: 2007-08 to 2013-14.

There is no doubt that Chris Paul will enter the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on his first try, and he should.  With a resume of 12 All-Stars, 11 All-NBA Selections, five Assists Titles and six Steals titles, and the statistical landmark as the first player to compile 20,000 Points and 11,000 Assists, Springfield will roll out the red carpet for the legendary Guard.

Saying all of that, what would he have given up for a Title?  It is not that he has not been close, as he was on an excellent Clippers team and a Suns team that made the 2021 Finals, but he is now in a journeyman phase where he adds a veteran presence.  This year, he joined the San Antonio Spurs, his seventh team, and is still looking for that elusive NBA Championship.

Paul might challenge Charles Barkley and Karl Malone for the unofficial title of the best player never to win a ring.

Pre-2020-21 Rank: #2, Pre-2020-21 Rank: #2, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #2, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #2, Pre-2023-24 Season Rank: #2

When we started this project in 2020, Kevin Durant was ranked #2 behind only LeBron James.

It felt right (and it still might be where KD should be). Establishing himself as a superstar with Oklahoma City, where he took them to the Finals in 2012, Durant grew frustrated as the small market team looked to miss their window to win it all.  He joined Steph Curry and Golden State, where he won two championships.

Following a devastating injury, Durant was expected to lead a new big three (with James Harden & Kyrie Irving) in Brooklyn, but that resulted in a documentary-level implosion, with all three forcing trades out.  KD’s landing spot was Phoenix, but Durant’s team crumbled around him like in Brooklyn. 

Durant, who made history Internationally as the highest scorer ever in Olympic history, is already a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and nothing will change that.  However, his legacy has taken a beating and is more complex by the year, and as such, he drops to #3 behind his former teammate, Steph Curry.

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #1, Pre-2020-21 Rank: #1, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #1, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #1, 2023-24 Pre-Season Rank: #1.

*Positional Notes: James has started in all five positions and usually has more of a PF role now, but he logged more minutes as a Small Forward.

*Peak Period: 2007-08 to 2013-14.

When you enter the NBA Draft as the most hyped sure thing of all time, the level of expectations could topple any man, but it can’t top a King.

LeBron James met every expectation, and the four-time NBA Champion is still an All-Star caliber player.  Now the all-time leader in Points, James orchestrated one more feather in his cap for 2024-25, playing with his son Bronny.

James, who also holds the record for All-Star Games (20), should add a 21^st this year. Despite his age (40), he is holding off Father Time better than any athlete not named Tom Brady. The megastar was already a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee ten years ago, and at this stage, he is cementing his place on the Mount Rushmore of basketball.