It is the easiest thing to argue and one of the most fun that lingers throughout the NBA season. Where players rank amongst the rest of the league is always fun to discuss and with this quick turnaround it makes it even more fun.
Plenty is up for debate entering this season with a shortened offseason for some and almost 12 months off for others. Many of these rankings will likely look foolish based on some injuries that could occur just from the mixture of rest and rust for everyone involved. This list will look to project where players will be, not just where they were at the end of the season, despite how close in proximity that is for some.
So where does everyone stand as we look for an early Christmas present? Many players stepped up in the bubble and have inflated their resume to the point that they may be coming into the season with a little more hype than what people had expected. Others are riding the waves of a breakout season to be looking for expectations to be met this season.
The beauty of the league is the overwhelming depth of talent. Montrezl Harrell, Dennis Schroeder, Danillo Gallinari and Gordon Hayward are great but will be adjusting to drastically new roles. Players like Lou Williams and Myles Turner are of the utmost importance to playoff teams. Terry Rozier, Spencer Dinwiddie and Buddy Hield are ever improving. Christian Wood is on the rise. Kevin Love, Victor Oladipo, Blake Griffin and DeMar DeRozan are lurking, waiting for health and opportunity to get them back in the spotlight.
The league is so deep that the top 50 is an elite place to be. Without further ado, we start from the bottom up. We will be releasing them in sets of 10 from here until the week the season returns. Let the debate begin.
<span class="call_to_action">Related Story:</span> Early 2021 NBA Mock Draft: Will Cade Cunningham go No. 1? </a> </div>
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<p>So where does everyone stand as we look for an early Christmas present? Many players stepped up in the bubble and have inflated their resume to the point that they may be coming into the season with a little more hype than what people had expected. Others are riding the waves of a breakout season to be looking for expectations to be met this season.</p>
<p>The beauty of the league is the overwhelming depth of talent. Montrezl Harrell, Dennis Schroeder, Danillo Gallinari and Gordon Hayward are great but will be <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/24/ranking-top-50-nba-players-50-41/"https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/20/2020-nba-free-agency-tracker/">adjusting to drastically new roles</a>. Players like Lou Williams and Myles Turner are of the utmost importance to playoff teams. Terry Rozier, Spencer Dinwiddie and Buddy Hield are ever improving. Christian Wood is on the rise. Kevin Love, Victor Oladipo, Blake Griffin and DeMar DeRozan are lurking, waiting for health and opportunity to get them back in the spotlight.</p>
<p>The league is so deep that the top 50 is an elite place to be. Without further ado, we start from the bottom up. We will be releasing them in sets of 10 from here until the week the season returns. Let the debate begin.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/24/ranking-top-50-nba-players-50-41/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 50 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-409913" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/24/ranking-top-50-nba-players-50-41/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1210253388.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1210253388.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1210253388-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">NBA (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>50. Tobias Harris</h2>
<p>Much has been made about<a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/24/ranking-top-50-nba-players-50-41/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/harrito02.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 ref="nofollow"> Tobias Harris</a> not living up to the contract that he was given by the Philadelphia 76ers but looking just at talent paints a much prettier picture. He is the ideal third option for this team when they have shooting around their perimeter players.</p>
<p>Despite the negativity surrounding his season, Harris numbers were in line with his career averages or better across the board. He posted averages of 19.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists (career high) on shooting splits of .471/.367/.806. He is an efficient floor spacer but was underqualified to be their top shooter.</p>
<p>He will benefit from the infusion of talent they are bringing in with Seth Curry, Danny Green, Terrance Ferguson and Tyrese Maxey. No longer will Harris need to be the primary floor spacer and he can focus on what he excels at.</p>
<p>Harris thrives in his role as a guy who can occasionally have a huge scoring night. Camping in the left corner on offense when he is not driving the lane is a good spot for him considering he averaged 50.0 percent from there on 36 attempts. He is reunited with his coach with the LA Clippers, Doc Rivers, who saw him thrive. If you can ignore his cap hit Harris will be plenty of fun to watch this season.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/24/ranking-top-50-nba-players-50-41/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 49 </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-401199" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/24/ranking-top-50-nba-players-50-41/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1143,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1206307909.jpeg" alt="" width="1600" height="1143" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1206307909.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1206307909-768x549.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">NBA (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>49. John Collins</h2>
<p><a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/24/ranking-top-50-nba-players-50-41/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/collijo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 ref="nofollow">John Collins</a> does not get nearly enough attention. Some of this is being on the Atlanta Hawks, a team that has not won much of anything during his time there. He is overshadowed by his All-Star teammate Trae Young. He was also suspended for a decent chunk of last season which has further limited his exposure.</p>
<p>Just look at the number for the third-year big man. He posted averages of 21.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.5 assists per game while shooting an impressive 40.1 percent from long distance. He got better as the season went along and is one of the few decent defenders on the Hawks.</p>
<p>He is not yet a finished product, still only 23 years old but the progress from year to year is clear. If he can stay on the court it is not hard to imagine him being an All-Star as soon as this year. He is the archetypal small-ball big man that can stretch the floor but is also deadly efficient down low.</p>
<p>If the rest of the roster starts caring about defense (adding Onyeka Okongwu with the sixth pick is a good first step) that will only help Collins to succeed. He is underqualified to be the only defender on the team (who is qualified for that?) but he is a solid back bone for this unit.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/24/ranking-top-50-nba-players-50-41/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 48 </a>
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