Top 10 players in the world

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Who's the best in the world?

Not since Mike was in his prime has there been a clear-cut answer to the question. In today's NBA, there are several players who could make the claim, and it isn't hard to put together a legitimate argument for each. But there can be only one. As the 2003 draft class is quickly making the case for why they're the greatest influx of talent in NBA history, one player has emerged from the pack to claim his superiority. And with this list of the 10 best players in the world today, we are giving him his just due.
In putting together our list of the best in the world, we made the criteria for our rankings as simple as possible. We're not ranking these players on potential or what they've done in the past. It comes down to one question: If you had to pick one player for one game right now, who would it be?

The list we put together is a result of a lot of back and forth in the Dime office. Debates went down, plenty of e-mails were sent back and forth and there were definitely some heated exchanges. And there was one player whose exclusion from the top 10 was one of the hardest decisions we've had to make at Dime. Here now is the product of those debates: our list of the best players in the world.


1. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat

Dwyane Wade has an all-around game and is at his best in the clutch. (Andrew D. Bernstein / Getty Images)

We were early. It was August 2004 when Dime put Dwyane Wade on our cover — Dwyane's first magazine cover — and proclaimed him "America's Most Wanted." At the time, though, as far as mainstream media was concerned, it probably would have been more accurate to give that title to LeBron or 'Melo, since they were the two Class of '03 rookies everyone was talking about. Still, one year later we gave Wade more cover love and this teaser: "No one knew Dwyane Wade would be this good this fast. No one but us." Obviously, we knew big things were in store for D-Wade. But really, this big this soon?

Two years after that first Dime cover, Wade single-handedly (or as single-handedly as possible when Shaq's on your squad) brought the Miami Heat from a 2-0 deficit in the NBA Finals and won the franchise its first championship. And now Wade is on everyone's must-have list, from magazines to TV shows to radio stations; we even read that D-Wade is sifting through movie scripts now, about to get his Jamie Foxx on. Even without as much early hype as some of his peers, Wade has become an international superstar.

By winning a title, Flash has distanced himself from his Class of 2003 mates on the court, as well as the rest of the NBA. With all due respect to Darko, Wade was the first out of his class to win a ring where he was a key (make that the key) contributor. And for that reason alone, LeBron, 'Melo, Bosh, Hinrich and the rest are playing catch-up until further notice.

Simply put, Dwyane Wade is the best player in the world today.

Stick the complaints about the refs in your pocket for a sec and look at what D-Wade did in the Finals. He put up 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.6 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He showed a never-failing ability to come through in the clutch, be it hitting fadeaway jumpers, draining pull-up bankers, swatting away potential buckets, getting himself to the line or coolly knocking down crucial free throws. And this was following an Eastern Conference finals series where Wade torched the notorious Pistons defense by shooting 61 percent from the field over six games.

Even with his natural ability and talent, who plays harder than Wade? Who sacrifices their body more? Who gives more to their team? Others are certainly on the same level in that regard (A.I., KG, etc.), but no one tops Flash.

The measure of a ballplayer is whether or not you would want that guy on your team when you need to win a game. At this point, who can argue that D-Wade wouldn't be their No. 1 pick? Choose the medium: playground, NBA, international, pop-a-shot. Whatever it is, Wade has to be the pick. Like we said in 2004, America's Most Wanted.


2. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

Still just 21, LeBron James may be the best player to build a team around for the future. (Mitchell Layton / Getty Images)

Ask us to define the term "matchup problem," and we'll show you LeBron James. Going 6-8, 240 pounds, LeBron isn't just one of the fastest and most athletic players in the NBA, he's also one of the strongest. How many times did you see defenders literally hugging LeBron on his way to the lane to prevent getting posterized, only to see King James still muscle in a layup and make it a three-point play? How many times did you see him glide past entire defenses coast-to-coast, making it look like the opposition was balling in firefighter's suits?

Going into last season, the only knock on LeBron was that he hadn't shown the Jordan/Bird-like ability to deliver in the clutch. 'Bron killed that noise by season's end, dropping game-winners in a few regular season games down the stretch and coming up with more clutch plays in the postseason. In fact, before Dwyane Wade copped that NBA title, he and LeBron were probably 1 and 1A on this list.

It's easy to forget that LeBron is only going into his fourth season, is just 21 years old and he has said that he doesn't even think he'll even really reach his potential until he's 27 or 28. Seeing as he put up 31 points, seven boards and six dimes per in the regular season — then recorded similar numbers in the playoffs — the thought of what he can do in his "prime" is frightening. And if we were to put together a franchise starting from scratch, and we had to pick one guy to build around for the long haul, no doubt, LeBron would be our guy.


3. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

Kobe Bryant is the game's greatest scorer but must prove he can win without Shaq. (Andrew D. Bernstein / Getty Images)

81, 62, 35.4. Numbers not just of a great player, but of one of the world's best. Skill-wise, there probably isn't a player in the world who can touch Kobe Bryant on a basketball court.

If you were to build your ideal perimeter player, no doubt he would look an awful lot like Kobe — size (6-6, 220 pounds), speed, agility and almost unmatched athleticism. He can shoot, handle, board, defend and has an ethereal killer instinct that is rarely seen in any profession. We at Dime were all fired up when Kobe didn't win the MVP award this past season. It wasn't even that we were mad that Steve Nash won the award, it was more like we were upset that Kobe didn't win it. Bryant led the league in scoring and took what was a mediocre team (at best) to the playoffs. Critics kill Kobe all the time for being selfish, for taking too many shots, but let's be honest — substitute almost any other elite guard in Kobe's spot, and that Lakers team might have finished last in the Western Conference. He willed the Lakers to wins last year.

So why not the top spot for Kobe? He still has yet to show that he can win without Shaq. A tired storyline, and probably not fair at all, but still true.

And we can't help but still feel a little empty after what went down in Game 7 of Los Angeles' first-round loss to the Suns in the playoffs. Everyone in the basketball world was waiting for Kobe to take over and win the game by himself, but it never happened. Of course, Kobe has to know what has been said about him because of that Game 7 showing. Which makes us think 81, 62 and 35.4 could be in danger in '06-07.


4. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
There may only be a handful of players on the planet that can match up with a seven-footer with range out to 25 feet; and the term "handful" is generous.

Whether he uses his size to shoot over you or his deceptive quickness to take you to the rack, Dirk is too much to deal with. Just ask the Grizzlies, Spurs and Suns; all teams Nowitzki torched in the 2006 playoffs. In the Western Conference finals, Dirk lit up the Suns from outside the arc, midrange, and wore Shawn Marion out (and Tim Thomas, and Raja Bell, and whoever else Phoenix threw at him) by going at him in the paint. Dirk also shot 90 percent from the line in the series and was good for 13 rebounds a game. When Dirk dropped 50 on the Suns in Game 5, you couldn't help but think you were watching an all-time great come into his own, right before your eyes. He fell a little short in the championship series, but there's no denying Dirk made the leap this year to elite status. And when he dons the German national team uni, Dirk somehow becomes even nastier.


5. Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns

All Steve Nash has done is win the past two MVP awards. (Barry Gossage / Getty Images)

When the news broke that Steve Nash was going to win his second straight NBA MVP award, Dime took a strong stance, calling BS on the voters. We believed then — and still believe now — that Kobe should have taken the hardware for his 2005-06 accomplishments. From that, a lot of our readers thought Dime was bashing Nash or didn't like his game. Far from it.

In fact, if we were picking a team today to win one game with everything on the line, we'd absolutely take Nash as our point guard.

Look at what he's done over the last two years in Phoenix. There's the 17 points and 10.9 assists per game, the 116 regular-season wins, and the back-to-back trips to the Western Conference Finals. On top of that is the fact that — with Nash running the show — guys like Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Tim Thomas, Boris Diaw, Leandro Barbosa, Raja Bell, Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson have looked better than they ever looked in their careers. That's more than a coincidence.


6. Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
Take another look at the 10 men on these pages. It is a collection of NBA All-Stars and Olympians. Of scoring champions and MVPs. Of All-Defensive Team members and future Hall of Famers. Look at this collection again, and realize that no single man on the list is as professionally accomplished as Tim Duncan. Realize that no one else has three championship rings, three Finals MVPs, two regular season MVPs, and is closing in on double-digits when it comes to annual All-NBA and All-Defensive Team honors.

But this isn't about the past; this is about today. And the last time we saw Tim Duncan play basketball, he put up 41 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and three blocks in a postseason Game 7. We saw the impeccable footwork, the automatic midrange Js off the glass, the way Duncan makes it all look so simple but still can't be stopped. Losing a step? Hardly.


7. Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers
Show us a team that wouldn't love to have a guaranteed 33 points and seven dimes in their lineup every single night. What's been lost in the debacle of Philadelphia's disastrous 2005-06 season is that Allen Iverson put together what was arguably his best season as a pro, with career bests in points per game (33) and FG % (.447), and he just missed bests in minutes played and assists.

Haters will have their say about Allen's practice habits and lifestyle away from the court, but you'd be hard pressed to come up with a guy who brings it like A.I. does every single night. He doesn't have the size of a Dirk or the physical gifts of a LeBron, but he attacks like none other. And he has shown that he can will bad teams to big victories on a regular basis.


8. Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves

Kevin Garnett may be slipping a little, but his numbers are still sick. (David Sherman / Getty Images)

It wasn't long ago that KG would make a strong challenge for the top five of this list, if not the top spot overall. But in the categories that really matter, the last few years have been down years for KG. Minnesota's 2004 visit to the Western Conference finals seems like a lifetime ago, and since then, KG's squad has yet to return to the postseason. For the hyper-competitive Garnett, that's simply unacceptable.

But what else can he do? KG put up 21.8 points, 12.7 boards, 4.1 dimes, 1.3 steals and 1.4 blocks per game in 2005-06, one of the most statistically impressive resumes in the NBA, as usual. But due to a collection of injuries, lack of chemistry and just not being good enough on some nights, the Wolves are no closer to winning a chip than they were when they drafted the Chicago-via-South Carolina kid 11 years ago.

Maybe things will change this year. Maybe Randy Foye and Mike James are the missing pieces KG has needed. Maybe that championship is still a reality. For as much of a load as he's had to carry all these years, Garnett would certainly deserve it.


9. Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards
The 2006 NBA postseason was supposed to be Gilbert Arenas' time to shine. But after a regular season in which he cracked the NBA's top five in points, steals, 3-pointers, free throws and minutes (No. 1 in the League), Arenas' platform was taken over by LeBron James. But even with the lights pointed in another direction, Gilbert thrived in the shadows. With everyone focused on LeBron's playoff debut, all Arenas did in that first-round series was drop 34 points, 5.5 boards and 5.3 assists per game, doing things like hitting 30-foot buzzer-beaters that brought his Wizards perilously close to ruining the big plans everyone had for a postseason LeBron-a-Palooza celebration.

In an era where we often doubt the motivation and effort of athletes making millions upon millions of dollars, Arenas is one of the most driven, motivated players in any sport. For the critics who said he wouldn't play a single minute at Arizona to the 30 teams that passed him up in the 2001 draft, Arenas keeps a chip on his shoulder, and continuously invents reasons to stick it to whoever is lined up against him. If you're picking teams, you want Gilbert on your side. As much as anyone in the League, he's helped destroy the myth of the "'tweener" guard, routinely giving teams 30 and 40 points despite being smallish for a two guard and not exactly a true point guard. Few players can create their own shot like Arenas, and when he's hot, it's pretty much over.


10. Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets
When Dime hooked up with Carmelo Anthony this summer for a cover shoot and feature, one thing became crystal clear: as good as 'Melo was last season — the numerous clutch shots (11 game-winning shots according to 82games.com), the career-high 26.5 points per game, the fact that he carried an injury-racked Denver team to a division crown — next year he will be even better.

After coming into last season in prime physical condition, 'Melo was planning to attack the summer of '06 on a whole other level, including adding a boxing workout to his regimen. For someone with a diverse offensive repertoire like 'Melo's, being in better shape just means he can fill up the scoreboard for longer stretches during games. At press time, the early reports out of Team USA's pre-World Championships camp confirmed what we saw back when we shot 'Melo in Manhattan. Coach K was quoted as saying 'Melo was "on a mission" and played arguably better than anyone else on the roster. Then in Team USA's first few exhibition games, 'Melo was clearly one of the standouts. We weren't surprised. If you thought Carmelo Anthony was a problem before, just wait.


The next five

Tracy McGrady, Houston Rockets
This might have been one of the most intense debates we've ever had in the Dime office. T-Mac is obviously one of the most talented players in the world. He can give 40 to anyone, anytime, and make it look easy. Who can forget the off-the-glass All-Star Game dunks that everyone tries to copy now? Or the Kentucky Derby cram on Shawn Bradley? Or the time in 2004 where Tracy one-upped Reggie Miller by dropping 13 points in 35 seconds to beat the Spurs? There's a reason why, when we talk to high school and college stars around the country, a noticeably large percentage of the big guards/small forwards name T-Mac as the guy they pattern their game after.

At full strength, T-Mac is a freak of nature and is definitely in our Top 10. The only problem is, he hasn't been healthy. McGrady played only 47 games last year, and 67 games two years ago with Orlando.

All reports out of Houston this summer have said T-Mac is feeling good and his back is pain-free. We hope so, but back problems usually don't just go away. If they somehow have for McGrady, he'll easily be a Top 10 guy come this time next year.


Chris Paul, New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Paul is a scoring, thieving, dime-dropping advertisement for NBA League Pass. Last season, fans who didn't have the world's greatest cable TV package weren't able to see CP3 until he'd already put the Rookie of the Year on lock, averaging 16.1 points, 5.1 boards, 7.8 assists and 2.2 steals per game.

Even as a rookie, the baby-faced assassin showed the uncanny ability to control the game at both ends of the court. He led the League in steals and can harass opposing point guards for 94 feet. On offense, he dictates the tempo and always makes the right play. Remember those game-winners that David West dropped during the season? Who do you think got him the ball in the perfect place at the perfect time?

This summer, Paul's rep was certified when he won Team USA's starting point guard job from Day 1 of camp. Essentially, that means CP3 has been anointed the best American-born PG in basketball, and we see him QB'ing the national squad for years to come.

It's a little soon to put him among the 10 best players in the world, but Paul's day is definitely coming sooner rather than later.


Shawn Marion, Phoenix Suns
Another Dime cover meeting has concluded, and once again, Shawn Marion's name is left on the cutting room floor. It's not his fault, really. And in fact, it's amazing how Marion's name has continually come up in these meetings for so long now. However, there's always someone bigger at the moment. Someone hotter. Someone who will sell more magazines off the newsstand no matter what Shawn Marion does on a basketball court.

Marion scores inside and outside. He cleans the glass on both ends of the floor. He plays D on everyone from point guards to power forwards. He blocks shots, gets steals, passes the ball and sets screens. Not to mention he plays more minutes than almost anyone else in the League, and in a system that runs its players almost as much as a soccer team. And if Marion can't perform all of those duties, then the Suns are not one of the NBA's elite teams. It's as simple as that.

If there's one drawback to his game, one thing that keeps him out of our Top 10, it's that when the game is on the line and the Suns need a bucket, he's not particularly adept at creating his own shot.

Another thing with Marion is, he has become so consistently great that his standout feats barely stand out anymore. In a four-game stretch following the 2006 All-Star Game, Marion averaged an absurd 33.5 points and 18.7 boards a game. Coming from anyone else, 33 and 18 at least gets you top billing on "SportsCenter." For Marion? Just another Matrix night.

Towards the end of this past season, Matrix made some rumblings in the national media about not getting as much attention as teammates Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash despite all he does on the court. Well, we're watching, Shawn, and we see you.


Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics
Some people say a man is defined by the company he keeps. For Paul Pierce, definition can be found in the company he kills. Check P-Double's resume from last season alone: 43 points against Ray Allen in December. A February run of 40 against Marion, 31 against D-Wade, 50 against LeBron, 30 against Kirilenko and 39 against Kobe. In March, it was 38 against Wade, 31 against Arenas, 36 against 'Melo and another 34 against Wade.

Yes, we all know basketball is a team sport, but take a moment to focus on Pierce the individual. If basketball writers thought along the same lines as baseball writers, The Truth could have even been the MVP — the A-Rod of the NBA. Because even though the Celtics have not been title contenders for a minute, Pierce is perhaps the single most indispensable player in the League considering all he does for his squad. With Pierce, Boston barely missed the playoffs in 2006. Without him? They might rack up Ls at a Washington Generals-type clip.


Elton Brand, L.A. Clippers
Pity that the rest of the world — "casual fans" as we like to call them — didn't start paying attention to Elton Brand until last season. Because before Brand took the Clippers back to the playoffs and led them in bumping the Lakers as L.A.'s trendiest squad, he had been a beast for years.

From his early days with the depressing post-Jordan Chicago teams until now, Brand has been pretty much a lock for 20 points, 10 boards and a couple blocked shots every night, never averaging less than 18.2, 9.5 and 1.59 in a season. Last year he finally saw a breakthrough, getting serious MVP consideration and taking his rightful place among the game's elite. Then in the playoffs, Brand took it a step farther. While the Clips lost to the Suns in seven, Brand destroyed Phoenix in his own right, putting up 30 points, 10 boards, three blocks and one steal per game.

Elton is a model for consistency and for coming to play every night even when your team isn't a winner. A couple more years of team success will finally kill that "big numbers on a bad team" label that keeps Brand out of the Top 10 for now.

 

It should be, 'The best 10 players in the world, TODAY.', cuz I would still bet on MJ given that he's still in his 90-92 playing form.

Or, the most talented players in the world TODAY. , cuz I don't think these ten cannot win a world championship together as a team.

 

He led his team to an NBA ring last year, that's why. Fair enough but the rest... ammm... ah... er...