For the sixth season in a row, ESPN.com is ranking the top players in the NBA. Who will be the best player this season?
To get the final ranking, we asked our expert panel to vote on pairs of players.
LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry. Russell Westbrook vs. Kevin Durant. Damian Lillard vs. Chris Paul.
We asked, "Which player will be better in 2016-17?" To decide, voters had to consider both the quality and the quantity of each player's contributions to his team's ability to win games.
We'll roll out the rest of our top 200 players over the next week. If you want to get involved in the discussion or just follow along, #NBArank is the Twitter hashtag to use. You also can follow along @ESPNNBA and on Facebook.
On to the list ...
30. DeMar DeRozan
Raptors | SG | @DeMar_DeRozan
Last year's rank: 52
2016-17 projected RPM: -0.09
Insider profile: DeRozan timed a career year well, representing the Raptors as they hosted the All-Star Game and cashing in on the new salary cap during his first foray into free agency. Toronto didn't quite max out DeRozan but came close with a five-year, $137.5 million deal that starts at the max but does not increase after the 2017-18 season. Read more »
#NBArank 21-30
