TOP 5 TOP 5

With the NBA season almost 60 days away, its time to break down the top 5 players in the league. I will do my best to keep my fandom out of these rankings, but no promises. Enjoy- CC

1: Lebron James

As much as I hate, and I mean ABSOLUTELY HATE, putting Lebron #1, it seems pretty clear after this last finals, where he dropped 29.7 Ppg, 11.3 Rpg, and 8.9 Apg which is strait up BONKERS. Don't get me wrong, he's no MJ and never will be (4-3 v. 6-0 shows there is no comparison) but when he turns it on he is almost unstoppable. While I think GSW loss was more due to the fact the team lost momentum and Bron bitching about the Draymond nut punch, but that team without Lebron is not coming back 3-1. He is 31 and is turning 32 this year, so while still in his prime he's reaching the back of it. He has been playing since he was 18, and has played in the playoffs for all of those seasons, relatively deep in most of them. He hasn't stopped playing basketball before June since 2010. I hope this pick is wrong at #1, I can't in good conscience put anyone else at #1. 

2: Stephen "Gawd" Curry

Byke to Byke MVP. The best player on a 73-9 team. The greatest shooter of all time. If not for an early injury in the playoffs, would be a back to back NBA champion, and would be number one with a bullet. I wish, but if wishes were fishes the world would be an ocean. I could list off the stats of what made his last season so good (30 ppg, 402 3's shattering the last record by over 100, which he also set himself, and a 50, 45, 90 mark shooting) but we are all aware of his greatness. I am way more interested to see how this will playout with the "Super Death Lineup" with steph/klay/KD/Dray/ Zaza or Javale. While he may not be #1 on this list, he is easily the most fun person to watch play in the NBA. 

3. Kevin Durant 

KD is a Warrior. I repeat, Kevin Durant is a Warrior. Along with having some of the GOAT tweets from 2009-2011, KD is one of the most lethal scorers to hit the NBA  in years. 6-9 but really 6-11 small forward who can drop 30 like its nothing. Unstoppable, unguardable, and finally will have a PG who doesn't play hero ball. The possibilities with a team that actually knows how to share the ball is scary for the rest of the NBA. I'm hyped.

4: Russell Westbrook 

Westbrook doesn't give a fuck about your superteam. He doesn't care about being friends with the other stars in the league. He cares about going out every night, playing with an INSANE motor, and terrorizing opposing point guards on both ends of the court. Without KD on the same team as him to slow down the amount of shots he could take. I wouldn't be shocked if Russ takes 40 shots a game, while still averaging around a triple double. The anger he will play with will be ferocious and without mercy. 

5: Paul George

There is a HUGE drop off from 4 to 5 here, and many guys could have fit in here. I'm going with George because I'm hedging my bets that PG becomes a breakout star in 2017 and the league is shaping up to give him his opportunity to do so. The east has no other formidable small forwards outside of LBJ and maybe Mello, but Mello is far past the wrong side of 30. PG game has only gotten better every year and without a crazy summer injury like his 2014 one, the sky is the limit for him to go from being a star to being truly elite.

Honorable Mentions

Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Karl Anthony-Towns, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving