The 50 Best NBA Players of the First Half of the Season
It feels like the season just started yet we're already past halfway through the 2019-20 NBA season. There have been players underperforming and over-performing. There have been stacked teams, who are missing the playoffs and there have been some surprising teams who have sneaked into the 8th seed. This article will look at the biggest contributors to this exciting NBA season. In this list you will find players you love, players you hate and players that make you watch every single game. Today I will be ranking the 50 best players about halfway through the season. The top 10 will get a thorough description on why I put them where I did.
Notes before the article:
Team record and impact are also going into my rankings. But players with empty stats won't be absolutely disrespected. This is supposed to be a list of the 50 players with the best basketball skills and that's exactly what it will be.
If I round to a full number I will round down to the worse stat from .1 to .6 and round up from .7 to .9, meaning if someone averages 19.6 PPG, I will say 19 PPG but if someone averages 19.7 I’ll say 20 PPG.
There will be no players on this list who haven’t played at least 25 games, so no Kyrie Irving, De’Andre Ayton or John Collins.
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo - Milwaukee Bucks
The Greek Freak was undoubtedly the best player of the first half of the 2019-20 season. He lead his team to the best record in the league and the Bucks are projected to go 71-11. If they succeed they would only be the 3rd team in NBA history to ever get 70 wins in a season. He’s averaging 30 PPG, 13 RPG and 5 APG but is only playing 30 minutes a game. He would be the first player to finish with 35+ PPG and 15+ RPG per 36 minutes since Wilt Chamberlain. He’s also got the highest PER of all time, even higher of a PER rating than Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and Lebron James ever had.
There’s nothing to hate about the “Greek Freak”. You can’t find a single MVP list where he isn’t right at the top. Adding to that he’s also a candidate for the DPOTY award. We will definitely remember this historic season from Giannis and the Bucks.
2. LeBron James - Los Angeles Lakers
I’ve seen many different MVP lists and most have Doncic or Harden over LeBron, but I just can’t agree to that. LeBron has never averaged more assists than he has this season and for the first time in NBA history a front court player is leading the NBA in assists. He is also leading the Lakers to their first playoff appearance in 7 years, but he’s got Anthony Davis. That’s the main argument against LeBron: “He couldn’t do it without Davis”. But the Lakers have a Net Rating of +3 and +14 in their 2 main line-ups that include AD and have a Net Rating of +21 and +35 in the 2 main line-ups without AD.
He’s having a career year for playmaking at 35, is putting up monster numbers and is clearly the Main Man in LA, who are currently the 1st seed in the West. So what is there to complain about?
3. Luka Doncic - Dallas Mavericks
Yeah. Luka at 3. A 20-year old NBA sophomore is 3rd. And for good reasons, too. He’s pretty much averaging a 30 point Triple-Double per 36 minutes and he’s leading a team who were predicted to barely be a .500 team to a 5th seed, just behind the 2nd to 4th seeds.
There’s nothing not to love about this guy, except maybe for his lackluster defense.
It’s insane how a 20-year old is already a top 3 player in the world. He’s currently 4th on the Kia’s MVP ladder and joint 4th on basketball-reference’s MVP Award tracker. Unbelievable stuff from this kid.
4. James Harden - Houston Rockets
It pains me to put Harden 4th. I’m not a Harden hater and I don’t hate his play-style. But I just can’t put him in my top 3. I had him at 2 on every single of my lists all season until the last couple of weeks. His team hasn’t been very convincing since the new year started and he’s “only” been averaging 28 PPG, 7 RPG, 7 APG and 4.4 TOV in January., He’s also been very inefficient, shooting 77-216 (35.6%) on all shots and 29-116 (25%) from 3-Point range in his last 10 games. The Rockets are 3-5 over the last 8 games and Harden just had some rough shooting games, shooting 12% from 3 over the last 3 games, which included a 1-17 shooting night from 3-Point range. Those stat-lines don’t build a very good case for him.
His season started off historically but now he’s shooting the same amount of points than last season, on worse efficiency and playing more minutes per game. So why would he be more of an MVP candidate than last season?
5. Kawhi Leonard - Los Angeles Clippers
Many would have Davis or Butler at this spot, but Kawhi has flown a little under the radar this season, except maybe the load management situation, which is being discussed a lot. He's putting up more points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks playing less minutes than last season. He's averaging 30-8-6 per 36 minutes and although he's missed more than 10 games through load management, he's been truly phenomenal this season.
The Clippers are slightly underperforming, being 4.5 games behind the 1st-seeded Lakers. I wouldn't have him this high on an MVP list, but he's undeniably been exactly what we wanted him to be this season
6. Anthony Davis - Los Angeles Clippers
To have two Top 6 players on your team and still not be the best team in the league is a bit surprising for the Lakers, but that’s only because the Lakers bench is absolutely dreadful. Davis is doing well, averaging 26 and 9 with 2.5 blocks and 1.5 steals and is the number 1 candidate for DPOTY. He’s not having the best season of his career but is an All-Star starter and will hope to win the NBA Championship with James this year.
As said before, the stats say that the LeBron-lead Lakers would be just as good and maybe even better without Anthony Davis, but when you watch Lakers games you can really see how critical AD is to their success.
7. Jimmy Butler - Miami Heat
20.3 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 6.5 APG. Looking at those averages, you wouldn't think they are the averages of "Jimmy Buckets", the guy that has been praised by pretty much everybody this season and just sneaked into the 4th spot on last weeks NBA official MVP tracker. But those stats are not why everybody is so high on him.
Before the season critics predicted the Heat to just miss the playoffs. They are currently standing at 2 in the Eastern Conference and are projected to go 56-26. They are the new dark horse contender for the NBA championship and Butler is the reason for that. Bam Adebayo has also been incredible and will be found on this list, but without Jimmy the Heat would be fighting with the Nets for a Playoff spot.
8. Pascal Siakam - Toronto Raptors
The NBA Champions from last season are without their star this season, Kawhi Leonard. But a new star has arisen and after being rated 24th and 22nd on two different top 100 lists before the season, he has proven that he is a top 10 player in the league and a starter in the All-Star game. He’s averaging 23 and 7 on 46-37-81 splits. He’s also been doing great defensively averaging a steal and a block and he has been fouling much less than in previous seasons.
The Raptors are currently 31-14 and stand at 3rd in the Eastern conference, ahead of contenders like the Sixers or Celtics. Siakam is also one of many potential MIPOTY. Seeing as he won it last season as well, he would be the first player in NBA history to win the award twice in a row.
9. Karl-Anthony Towns - Minnesota Timberwolves
We can argue on who’s been better this season. The Center on an under .500 team putting up great, yet empty, stats. Or is it the slightly underperforming Center putting up good stats on a contending team. I choose KAT over Embiid, but only because Embiid is underperforming this season. Towns is averaging 26, 11 and 4 and he’s part of the 50-40-80 club this season. The same couldn’t be said about Embiid.
The Wolves are 15-30 and are the current 14th seed. It seems they will miss the Play-Offs and KAT has already been rumored to go to the Warriors or Knicks to escape the dreadful Timberwolves. But we’ll see how that pans out.
10. Joel Embiid - Philadelphia 76ers
Unfortunately Joel Embiid hasn’t been playing like Joel Embiid this season. He’s had great games, such as the 26 PTS, 21 REB game against the Wizards, in which he also had an unbelievable amount of 8 TOV. But do you remember that game, where Gasol held him to 0 points? Yeah, that actually happened.
Looking at the Eastern Conference teams before the season, you never would have thought that the Sixers were gonna be behind the Celtics, Raptors, Heat and the Pacers. There’s already been debate about if the Simmons/Embiid duo should be broken up. I made a poll on Twitter, which got 52 votes and 56% voted that Simmons should be the one leaving Philly. Only time will tell how this Philadelphia mess will solve itself.
Now: Top 11-50
11. Kemba Walker
22 Points, 4 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 2.2 Turnovers on 44-39-87 shooting.
Boston Celtics: 30-14 (4th in EC)
12. Damian Lillard
28 Points (5th), 4 Rebounds, 7 Assists (7th), 1 Steal on 45-37-89 shooting
Portland Trailblazers: 19-27 (11th in WC)
13. Trae Young
29 Points (3rd), 4 Rebounds, 9 Assists (4th), 4.7 Turnovers (1st) on 44-37-84 shooting
Atlanta Hawks: 11-35 (15th in EC)
14. Russell Westbrook
26 Points (12th), 8 Rebounds, 7 Assists (11th), 4.3 Turnovers (4th) on 45-23-78 shooting
Houston Rockets: 28-16 (6th in WC)
15. Brandon Ingram
25 Points (11th), 6 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 3 Turnovers (20th) on 47-39-85 shooting
New Orleans Pelicans: 17-29 (12th in WC)
16. Nikola Jokic
19 Points, 10 Rebounds (14th), 6 Assists (19th), 1 Steal on 51-32-79 shooting
Denver Nuggets: 31-14 (4th in WC)
17. Devin Booker
27 Points (8th), 4 Rebounds, 6 Assists (20th), 3.9 Turnovers (5th) on 51-36-92 (2nd) shooting
Phoenix Suns: 19-26 (10th in WC)
18. Bradley Beal
28 Points (6th), 4 Rebounds, 6 Assists (18th), 1 Steal on 45-31-84 shooting
Washington Wizards: 15-29 (11th in EC)
19. Donovan Mitchell
25 Points (15th), 4 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1.1 Steals on 46-36-85 shooting
Utah Jazz: 31-13 (2nd in WC)
20. Ben Simmons
16 Points, 8 Rebounds, 8 Assists (5th), 2.2 Steals (1st) on 58-40-59 shooting
Philadelphia 76ers: 29-17 (6th in EC)
21. Rudy Gobert
15 Points, 14 Rebounds (2nd), 2 Assists, 2 Blocks (7th) on 68-00-62 shooting
Utah Jazz: 31-13 (2nd in WC)
22. Paul George
23 Points (17th), 6 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1.5 Steals (18th) on 43-39-91 shooting
Los Angeles Clippers: 32-14 (3rd in WC)
23. Zach LaVine
25 Points (14th), 5 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 3.2 Turnovers (14th) on 44-39-82 shooting
Chicago Bulls: 17-30 (10th in EC)
24. DeMar DeRozan
22 Points (20th), 5 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 1.1 Steals on 53-28-84 shooting
San Antonio Spurs: 20-24 (9th in WC)
25. Khris Middleton
19 Points, 6 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Steal on 50-42-89 shooting
Milwaukee Bucks: 40-6 (1st in EC)
26. Jayson Tatum
21 Points, 7 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1.4 Steals on 43-36-84 shooting
Boston Celtics: 30-14 (4th in EC)
27. Kyle Lowry
20 Points, 4 Rebounds, 7 Assists (8th), 1.2 Steals on 41-35-85 shooting
Toronto Raptors: 31-14 (3rd in EC)
28. Fred VanVleet
18 Points, 4 Rebounds, 7 Assists (14th), 1.9 Steals (5th) on 41-40-83 shooting
Toronto Raptors: 31-14 (3rd in EC)
29. Jaylen Brown
20 Points, 7 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1.2 Steals on 49-39-75 shooting
Boston Celtics: 30-14 (4th in EC)
30. Chris Paul
17 Points, 5 Rebounds, 6 Assists (20th), 1.6 Steals (12th) on 48-37-89 shooting
Oklahoma City Thunder: 27-19 (7th in WC)
31. D’Angelo Russell
24 Points (19th), 3 Rebounds, 6 Assists (16th), 3.1 Turnovers (16th) on 43-37-79 shooting
Golden State Warriors: 10-37 (15th in WC)
32. Jrue Holiday
19 Points, 5 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 1.7 Steals (8th) on 44-35-72 shooting
New Orleans Pelicans: 17-29 (12th in WC)
33. Louis Williams
20 Points, 3 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 3 Turnovers on 42-37-87
Los Angeles Clippers: 32-14 (3rd in WC)
34. Domantas Sabonis
18 Points, 13 Rebounds (6th), 4 Assists, 2.8 Turnovers on 53-25-73 shooting
Indiana Pacers: 30-16 (5th in EC)
35. Clint Capela
14 Points, 14 Rebounds (3rd), 1 Assists, 1.9 Blocks (9th) on 63–00-54 shooting
Houston Rockets: 28-16 (6th in WC)
36. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
20 Points, 6 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 2 Turnovers on 47-33-82 shooting
Oklahoma City Thunder: 27-19 (7th in WC)
37. Andre Drummond
17 Points, 16 Rebounds (1st), 3 Assists, 2.1 Steals (2nd), 1.8 Blocks (10th) on 53-05-60 shooting
Detroit Pistons: 17-29 (9th in EC)
38. Bam Adebayo
16 Points, 10 Rebounds (10th), 5 Assists, 1.2 Steals, 1.2 Blocks on 58-10-69 shooting
Miami Heat: 31-14 (2nd in EC)
39. Ja Morant
17 Points, 3 Rebounds, 7 Assists (13th), 1 Steal on 49-39-81 shooting
Memphis Grizzlies: 21-24 (8th in WC)
40. Nikola Vucevic
19 Points, 11 Rebounds (8th), 3 Assists, 1.4 Turnovers on 45-36-80 shooting
Orlado Magic: 21-25 (7th in WC)
41. De’Aaron Fox
19 Points, 4 Rebounds, 7 Assists (12th), 1.6 Steals (18th) on 47-30-70 shooting
Sacramento Kings: 16-29 (13th in WC)
42. Bojan Bogdanovic
21 Points, 4 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 2.7 Turnovers on 45-42-90 shooting
Utah Jazz: 31-13 (2nd in WC)
43. LaMarcus Aldridge
19 Points, 7 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1.8 Blocks (8th) on 51-43-84 shooting
San Antonio Spurs: 20-24 (9th in WC)
44. Jonathan Isaac
12 Points, 7 Rebounds, 1 Assists, 1.6 Steals (11th), 2.4 Blocks (4th) on 46-33-77 shooting
Orlando Magic: 21-25 (7th in EC)
45. Andrew Wiggins
22 Points, 5 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 2.5 Turnovers on 44-32-73 shooting
Minnesota Timberwolves: 15-30 (14th in EC)
46. Hassan Whiteside
15 Points, 14 Rebounds (4th), 1 Assists, 3 Blocks (1st) on 59-50-74 shooting
Portland Trailblazers: 19-27 (11th in WC)
47. Tobias Harris
19 Points, 7 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1.5 Turnovers on 48-36-80 shooting
Philadelphia 76ers: 29-17 (6th in EC)
48. Spencer Dinwiddie
21 Points, 3 Rebounds, 6 Assists (16th), 2.9 Turnovers on 42-30-77 shooting
Brooklyn Nets: 18-25 (8th in EC)
49. Jamal Murray
17 Points, 4 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1.4 Steals on 43-32-91 shooting
Denver Nuggets: 31-14 (4th in WC)
50. CJ McCollum
21 Points, 4 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1.7 Turnovers on 45-38-79 shooting
Portland Trailblazers: 19-27 (11th in WC)
Honorable mentions (no specific order): Devonte Graham, Kristaps Porzingis, Julius Randle, Steven Adams, Derrick Rose, Kevin Love, Montrezl Harrell, Dennis Schroder, Malcolm Brogdon, Buddy Hield
