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 two days. 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 ...
6. Anthony Davis
Pelicans | PF | @AntDavis23
Last year's rank: 2
2016-17 projected RPM: 4.14
Insider profile: Last season was supposed to be the year of the Brow. Davis was a preseason favorite for MVP, at least among ESPN writers, but he was actually less effective than he was in 2014-15, before surgery ended his season in March. Davis' downturn can be attributed in large part to the injuries that struck the team. In the long term, that's not a big problem for anything but Davis' pocketbook -- he failed to qualify for the "Derrick Rose rule" by making an All-NBA team, costing him $25 million over the life of a five-year extension that kicks in for 2016-17. But the patella wear and tear that led to a March debridement could make it difficult for Davis to achieve his massive potential. Read more »
#NBArank 6-10
