LeESPN's top 100 players of the 2022-23 NBA season.

[bison]

I think this is meant to be a forecast of the top 100 for the 2022-23 season. Rookies Banchero and Keegan Murray make the list. Zion and Kyrie saw big drops from last season 10-6 will drop tomorrow and 5-1 drop on Friday.

100: Bogdan Bogdanovic
99: Grant Williams
98: Mitchell Robinson
97: Kevin Love
96: Seth Curry
95: Keegan Murray
94: Brandon Clarke
93: D'Angelo Russell
92: Christian Wood
91: Anfernee Simons
90: Buddy Hield
89: Mike Conley
88: Jusuf Nurkic
87: Malcolm Brogdon
86: Kristaps Porzingis
85: Jordan Clarkson
84: Jonas Valanciunas
83: Aaron Gordon
82: Paolo Banchero
81: Josh Giddey
80: Caris LeVert
79: Clint Capela
78: Lonzo Ball
77: Dillon Brooks
76: Ben Simmons
75: OG Anunoby
74: Harrison Barnes
73: John Collins
72: Michael Porter Jr.
71: Julius Randle
70: Al Horford
69: Spencer Dinwiddie
68: Desmond Bane
67: Jalen Brunson
66: Myles Turner
65: Russell Westbrook
64: Jerami Grant
63: RJ Barrett
62: Jalen Green
61: Tyler Herro
60: Kyle Lowry
59: Tyrese Haliburton
58: Robert Williams III
57: Nikola Vucevic
56: Tobias Harris
55: Jordan Poole
54: De'Aaron Fox
53: Jaren Jackson Jr.
52: Jarrett Allen
51: Deandre Ayton
50: Jamal Murray
49: Mikal Bridges
48: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
47: Domantas Sabonis
46: Darius Garland
45: CJ McCollum
44: Tyrese Maxey
43: Draymond Green
42: Dejounte Murray
41: LaMelo Ball
40: Zion Williamson
39: Scottie Barnes
38: Fred VanVleet
37: Klay Thompson
36: Evan Mobley
35: Cade Cunningham
34: Marcus Smart
33: Kyrie Irving
32: Andrew Wiggins
31: Khris Middleton
30: Pascal Siakam
29: Brandon Ingram
28: DeMar DeRozan
27: Zach LaVine
26: Jrue Holiday
25: Anthony Edwards
24: Donovan Mitchell
23: Bam Adebayo
22: Jaylen Brown
21: Chris Paul
20: Anthony Davis
19: Bradley Beal
18: Rudy Gobert
17: Jimmy Butler
16: Trae Young
15: Paul George
14: Damian Lillard
13: Karl Anthony-Towns
12: Kawhi Leonard
11: James Harden

There are the 10 players that are left over. How would you forecast their rank for the 2022-23 season?

Devin Booker
Jayson Tatum
Joel Embiid
Nikola Jokic
Ja Morant
Stephen Curry
Lebron James
Giannis Antentokuompo
Kevin Durant
Luka Doncic

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/34626241/nbarank-2022-ranking-best-players-2022-23-25-11

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/34552302/nbarank-2022-ranking-best-players-2022-23-100-26

[MrFonzworth]

James Harden is overrated wtf

[bison]

James Harden is overrated wtf

Yeah there are like 15 players from #30-11 that I would take over Harden at this point. But he looks trim this summer and might surprise us.

[Kblaze8855]

I was Reading over that earlier considering making a topic about Anthony Davis. They’re clearly not doing a “If healthy” thing but then Leonard is up there and he misses more time than anyone so who knows.

[RRR3]

Horrendous list as usual.

[RRR3]

Horrendous list as usual.
To be fair Davis has declined since 2020. I can’t imagine anyone actually taking Beal over him when he’s healthy though.

[Im so nba'd out]

Horrendous list as usual.

this...

LeBron at 7.....
Wiggins considered a top 32 player :oldlol:......bch where???????????
Anthony Edwards better than jrue holiday hahahahahahaa
Dejounte Murray 42 after last year and Zion @ 40 with all these ppl infront of them (scottie barnes, klay Thompson, smart,wiggins,cade, ect)
Lamelo outside of the top 40
Garland at 46
Deaaron fox being 54 when hes never justified that in the NBA
Jalen Green above brunson and Horford...yeah fking right
Ben Simmons @ 76.....im guessing this was troll? 76...... hes not that bad like be forreal espn

[bison]

ESPN is probably run by diversity hires now...this list was made by women and transexuals!!!!! in other words LeGBT bronies who know nothing about basketball. (u can tell list was made by bronies by how low they ranked AD, westbrook and kyrie)

[kumquat]

Love the Ben Simmons dig....ranked 76

https://teamwork-online-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/thumb_b707624a-30f7-4221-bab4-6559386ebdb2.png

https://external-preview.redd.it/GVPNowWMHO9e_gwSdN6eDDiOLSZbQg92F2DjpaUvUaw.jpg?au to=webp&59626787

[ShawkFactory]

Butler at 17 is way too low. He's better than everyone outside of the top 10 ranked ahead of him except Kawhi if his play is similar to pre-injury levels. I'd also take him over Booker and Ja right now too.

Smart at 34 is waaaaayy too high.

[Full Court]

Butler at 17 is way too low. He's better than everyone outside of the top 10 ranked ahead of him except Kawhi if his play is similar to pre-injury levels. I'd also take him over Booker and Ja right now too.

Smart at 34 is waaaaayy too high.

I was going to say just this. Butler should have a spot in the top ten. I don't know why he continuously gets underrated.

[FultzNationRISE]

Butler at 17 is way too low. He's better than everyone outside of the top 10 ranked ahead of him except Kawhi if his play is similar to pre-injury levels. I'd also take him over Booker and Ja right now too.

Smart at 34 is waaaaayy too high.


Agreed.

Saying 34 is high for Smart is fair, altho I personally wouldnt go as far as waaaaay too high. Theres a lot of guys whose raw volume stats Id value less than Smart’s intangibles.

[SATAN]

Why do people care so much about the opinions of ESPN? It's always baffled me.

[bison]

Why do people care so much about the opinions of ESPN? It's always baffled me.

I don't care. Just wanted to make a thread that wasn't about MJ/lebron for once

[Spurs m8]

As per MVP voting last year, LeBarry is not top 10

[1987_Lakers]

As per MVP voting last year, LeBarry is not top 10

As per ISH voting a few days ago, you are the dumbest poster.

[bison]

10-6:

10: Devin Booker
9: Ja Morant
8: Kevin Durant
7: Jayson Tatum
6: LeBron James

:lebronamazed:

ESPN finally realizing Dingo >>>> Kingo

[Johnny32]

As per ISH voting a few days ago, you are the dumbest poster.

LeREKT

[Lebron23]

10-6:

10: Devin Booker
9: Ja Morant
8: Kevin Durant
7: Jayson Tatum
6: LeBron James

:lebronamazed:

ESPN finally realizing Dingo >>>> Kingo

Kobe is not even a top 60 players in the NBA when he was the same age as Lebron.

[ShawkFactory]

Agreed.

Saying 34 is high for Smart is fair, altho I personally wouldnt go as far as waaaaay too high. Theres a lot of guys whose raw volume stats Id value less than Smart’s intangibles.

I suppose. To me he's more in line with the guys in the upper 50s/60s

[ShawkFactory]

Weird that Curry is ranked 5th. I don't think you can put him behind Embiid on Luka right now.

[HoopsNY]

Weird that Curry is ranked 5th. I don't think you can put him behind Embiid on Luka right now.

Agreed. If anything, Steph deserves to be #1. He's the best player in the league and has proven it.

[ShawkFactory]

Agreed. If anything, Steph deserves to be #1. He's the best player in the league and has proven it.

This is a great example of recency bias. Just a year ago Giannis scored 50 in a finals-clenching game, and was a couple votes away from a 3rd MVP this season. If Middleton doesn’t get hurt then we may not even be having this discussion at all.

When considering both ends, he’s the best and most dominant player in the league. No issues with him at #1.

[Stephonit]

This is a great example of recency bias. Just a year ago Giannis scored 50 in a finals-clenching game, and was a couple votes away from a 3rd MVP this season. If Middleton doesn’t get hurt then we may not even be having this discussion at all.

When considering both ends, he’s the best and most dominant player in the league. No issues with him at #1.

This is a great example of trying to justify a stand no matter the evidence returned. Recency bias? That more properly describes Giannis's argument. Curry has been all-time great for the past 7 years and been to more finals in the past 4 years than anyone else in the conversation.

When considering the whole game, Curry's the best and most dominant player in the league. There is an issue with anyone else being thought of as #1.

[Johnny32]

This is a great example of recency bias. Just a year ago Giannis scored 50 in a finals-clenching game, and was a couple votes away from a 3rd MVP this season. If Middleton doesn’t get hurt then we may not even be having this discussion at all.

When considering both ends, he’s the best and most dominant player in the league. No issues with him at #1.

indeed. and just a few months before this we last saw a healthy legoat in the playoffs. still easily being the best player in the game and winning fmvp. he also sonned giannia and kawhi b2b that season, btw. also last yr, 30 ppg on record 2pt%. holds opps to lower fg% than supposed all nba defenders on the other end, yet he's 7th or whatever?

[bison]

Top 5

5: Stephen Curry
4: Joel Embiid
3: Luka Doncic
2: Nikola Jokic
1: Giannis Antetokounmpo

This list is mostly r3tarded, as ESPN usually is, but I think at least they got the top 5 correct. Not in the correct order (I have currdingo above embiid and doncic), but any order you put them in, these are the top 5 players in the league right now tho you could make a case for KD being top 5.

[bison]

Kobe is not even a top 60 players in the NBA when he was the same age as Lebron.

and yet kobe is ranked above lebron all time.

[1987_Lakers]

Kobe is not even a top 60 players in the NBA when he was the same age as Lebron.

Top 60 is being way too generous. Kobe at 37 was probably the worst player in the NBA.

[ShawkFactory]

This is a great example of trying to justify a stand no matter the evidence returned. Recency bias? That more properly describes Giannis's argument. Curry has been all-time great for the past 7 years and been to more finals in the past 4 years than anyone else in the conversation.

When considering the whole game, Curry's the best and most dominant player in the league. There is an issue with anyone else being thought of as #1.
Do you actually expect me to take a discussion about Steph with you even remotely seriously?

[1987_Lakers]

I mean, Curry is obviously top 5 at the moment and had a great playoff run, but he did have the better team by a good margin vs every playoff opponent they played.

People have short memories, there was a huge stretch in the regular season last year where Curry was just playing horrific ball, it was actually his worst regular season since the Warriors started to compete for titles.

To me, I would say Giannis is better at the moment.

[Stephonit]

Do you actually expect me to take a discussion about Steph with you even remotely seriously?

Of course not because you know you don't have anything to contribute to a serious discussion.

[Kblaze8855]

Do you actually expect me to take a discussion about Steph with you even remotely seriously?


Yea some people just should be totally ignored on some subjects. There should be like an auto ignore for anything that guy had to say about Steph much like Rudeboy or whatever it was and Giannis, or the kawhi guy about him. Some people just don’t need to be heard from.


Giannis is obviously a reasonable number 1. Amid a group of people who can all be expected to drop 28-30 a game with the usual side numbers of rebounds or assists expected from the position the one of them who is DPOY level yearly has a clear case for best total player. Giannis might be the only player who would still be all star level if you totally removed whatever side of the ball you consider his best.

I don’t see how the best total player in the league isn’t Giannis though I leave room for Jokic and Embiid to get the pick. I think if you asked the actual players KD might come in first or second though. He’s just so hard to like he doesn’t have his freakish combo of size and skill properly credited. But Giannis is hard to dispute. He’s a 30ppg DPOY. When the potential DPOY can drop 50 to win a title he’s probably the best in the league.

Like…if instead of being something of a liability Rudy Gobert could score 30 and assist on a gang of threes….you know? Make him a downright bad player on either end and leave the other as it is? He’s still going to the hall of fame. A lot of these other guys wouldn’t be in the nba minus either their offense or defense. He would be a likely hall of fame player no matter which end you made him bad on.

I don’t know if some people are properly considering how crazy that is.

[ShawkFactory]

Of course not because you know you don't have anything to contribute to a serious discussion.

Classic childish deflection aside, there’s nothing wrong with being a raving fanboy. There really isn’t.

Just don’t expect people to take your opinions on your fanboy subject seriously.

[ShawkFactory]

Yea some people just should be totally ignored on some subjects. There should be like an auto ignore for anything that guy had to say about Steph much like Rudeboy or whatever it was and Giannis, or the kawhi guy about him. Some people just don’t need to be heard from.


Giannis is obviously a reasonable number 1. Amid a group of people who can all be expected to drop 28-30 a game with the usual side numbers of rebounds or assists expected from the position the one of them who is DPOY level yearly has a clear case for best total player. Giannis might be the only player who would still be all star level if you totally removed whatever side of the ball you consider his best.

I don’t see how the best total player in the league isn’t Giannis though I leave room for Jokic and Embiid to get the pick. I think if you asked the actual players KD might come in first or second though. He’s just so hard to like he doesn’t have his freakish combo of size and skill properly credited. But Giannis is hard to dispute. He’s a 30ppg DPOY. When the potential DPOY can drop 50 to win a title he’s probably the best in the league.

Like…if instead of being something of a liability Rudy Gobert could score 30 and assist on a gang of threes….you know?

I don’t know if some people are properly considering how crazy that is.

Yea and it’s not even about the numbers with him. Just watching..he’s so dominant on both ends. His relentlessness just wears teams the fvck out and when you add the aforementioned new found great vision and the fact that he’d lead the league in rebounding easily if he wanted too.

There’s no one with his total package right now.

[Kblaze8855]

Of course not because you know you don't have anything to contribute to a serious discussion.


You don’t have a serious discussion with anyones biggest fans. It’s never going anywhere. I don’t care what sport or even subject. I wouldn’t bother talking to the biggest Dodge fan I know about if I should get a Ram or a Ford truck. What’s the point? What am I gonna get objective analysis wise out of that?

[HoopsNY]

I mean, Curry is obviously top 5 at the moment and had a great playoff run, but he did have the better team by a good margin vs every playoff opponent they played.

People have short memories, there was a huge stretch in the regular season last year where Curry was just playing horrific ball, it was actually his worst regular season since the Warriors started to compete for titles.

To me, I would say Giannis is better at the moment.

GS was 8-10 without Steph last year. Klay shot 35% in the finals and Draymond played extremely poorly in the first 5 games. Despite all of that, they still beat Boston in 6.

Steph is a special player whose impact is immense beyond what traditional stats and analytics show. Despite having an 'off' year, he still led his team to the chip and won FMVP against an all time great defense and the DPOY.

That being said, I can't argue that Giannis probably is better, especially considering they lost Middleton and still took the Celtics to 7 games, but I do find it odd putting KD and LeBron ahead of him.

[HoopsNY]

This is a great example of recency bias. Just a year ago Giannis scored 50 in a finals-clenching game, and was a couple votes away from a 3rd MVP this season. If Middleton doesn’t get hurt then we may not even be having this discussion at all.

When considering both ends, he’s the best and most dominant player in the league. No issues with him at #1.

Good point. You and 1987 are both correct.

[Stephonit]

You don’t have a serious discussion with anyones biggest fans. It’s never going anywhere. I don’t care what sport or even subject. I wouldn’t bother talking to the biggest Dodge fan I know about if I should get a Ram or a Ford truck. What’s the point? What am I gonna get objective analysis wise out of that?

Your loss. Because of my interest I'm probably more knowledgeable about the greatest player in the game. If you wish to talk about lesser players that's up to you. Just know in the future your knowledge of what is currently going on is far less than what it could have been.

[Kblaze8855]

After about 250 national televised games during this run absolutely nobody gets to make a “I know his game” claim about him to other big-time basketball fans. There was a Kobe fan who used to try that bullshit talking about how many Laker games he watched as if Kobe didn’t have Literally more than 500 games on national TV.

You have nothing to tell anybody who is an actual fan of the NBA about Steph Curry. You just have a much more biased slant in presenting what you see and should therefore have your opinion held in less regard. As I said there is a little to be gained in seriously discussing a matter with anybody’s biggest fans. Maybe if we’re talking a role player who somebody has followed the whole way up but not one of the worlds most visible superstars. Might as well be on a soccer forum as Ronaldo’s biggest fan trying to speak with some authority as if every even half assed soccer fan hasn’t seen everything he’s done for 15 years.

I Don’t care that LaVar Ball may have seen every jumper all three of his kids ever shot. He’s obviously biased which overshadows his expertise. You have the bias without even the additional expertise because we’ve all seen him play hundreds of times too.

I’m not saying I don’t value your opinion on anything. If you have something to say about Paul Pierce I might be interested to hear it. I put no value in anything you have to say about anybody on the Warriors. Like I said why would you ask the worlds biggest Dodge fan if you should get a Dodge or a Chevy? It’s safe to say you know what he’s going to say without asking so why waste your breath?

[red1]

10-6:

10: Devin Booker
9: Ja Morant
8: Kevin Durant
7: Jayson Tatum
6: LeBron James

:lebronamazed:

ESPN finally realizing Dingo >>>> Kingo
they ranked them right beside each other at 5 and 6 :roll:

[ShawkFactory]

Your loss. Because of my interest I'm probably more knowledgeable about the greatest player in the game. If you wish to talk about lesser players that's up to you. Just know in the future your knowledge of what is currently going on is far less than what it could have been.

Maybe about his stat line from 2013 or what restaurant he ate at last Friday. But you are so solely focused on him, how could you possibly have an objective view of where he stands amongst others?

[Stephonit]

After about 250 national televised games during this run absolutely nobody gets to make a “I know his game” claim about him to other big-time basketball fans. There was a Kobe fan who used to try that bullshit talking about how many Laker games he watched as if Kobe didn’t have Literally more than 500 games on national TV.

You have nothing to tell anybody who is an actual fan of the NBA about Steph Curry. You just have a much more biased slant in presenting what you see and should therefore have your opinion held in less regard. As I said there is a little to be gained in seriously discussing a matter with anybody’s biggest fans. Maybe if we’re talking a role player who somebody has followed the whole way up but not one of the worlds most visible superstars. Might as well be on a soccer forum as Ronaldo’s biggest fan trying to speak with some authority as if every even half assed soccer fan hasn’t seen everything he’s done for 15 years.

I Don’t care that LaVar Ball may have seen every jumper all three of his kids ever shot. He’s obviously biased which overshadows his expertise. You have the bias without even the additional expertise because we’ve all seen him play hundreds of times too.

I’m not saying I don’t value your opinion on anything. If you have something to say about Paul Pierce I might be interested to hear it. I put no value in anything you have to say about anybody on the Warriors. Like I said why would you ask the worlds biggest Dodge fan if you should get a Dodge or a Chevy? It’s safe to say you know what he’s going to say without asking so why waste your breath?


Because the guy recommending the Dodge probably has his reasons for his great fandom of it. You know Scotty Kilmer that car guy on Youtube? If you wanted to buy a Celica would you ignore his reasons for loving it?

You all go on accusing me of bias, but in my view I'm less biased than all of you. I am a fan of Curry because he is that great and to me it is plain as day. Records here. Records there. Continuously keeps defying his detractors' expectations and embarrassing them. Curry is the most consequential basketball player since Jordan. You guys are free to believe otherwise but if it becomes even more painfully clear that I am indeed correct just remember you squandered the opportunity to pick my brain more because you weren't bright enough to recognize what was happening.

[Kblaze8855]

If I Wanted to buy a Celica sure I might go to a Celica nut to have my decision reaffirmed. If I wanted an honest and reasonable evaluation of a Celica versus something else I don’t want that guy involved. As I said Lavar ball absolutely knows all three of his kids games better than anybody else. But I’m not gonna ask him if his kid is better than Trae young. His evaluation isn’t useful. It isn’t tough concept to grasp.

Far as you thinking you’re the least biased on the subject that’s either trolling or being delusional and neither of those things leave room for rational response so I will leave it alone.

[bison]

Everyone is biased. What a stupid reason to discount someone's opinion. You get an informed opinion by exposing yourself to a variety of perspectives, and a perspective from a superfan is still a perspective. But let me guess, if this was a Curry superhater, you would be all ears.

[ShawkFactory]

Everyone is biased. What a stupid reason to discount someone's opinion. You get an informed opinion by exposing yourself to a variety of perspectives, and a perspective from a superfan is still a perspective. But let me guess, if this was a Curry superhater, you would be all ears.

The idea is that the superfan lacks perspective on others as it pertains to their guy.

[Kblaze8855]

Everyone is biased. What a stupid reason to discount someone's opinion. You get an informed opinion by exposing yourself to a variety of perspectives, and a perspective from a superfan is still a perspective. But let me guess, if this was a Curry superhater, you would be all ears.


Read some topics to find out. For example:


http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?406402-Stephen-Curry-is-popular-because-of-humans-subconscious-desire-to-relate/page2



http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?477034-in-70-s-Curry-long-2-lt-close-post-2-so-curry-klay-role-player-in-70-s




I’ve written essays in support of Steph when some of his haters make wild claims but generally? Given time I ignore the biggest haters and biggest fans. There is nothing 3 ball has to say about Lebron or Jordan I need to hear. Why subject myself to it? I know what it is and I know why he’s saying it. Why bother?


Once you’re established too far in either direction you should be tuned out. I do my best to do that but I have a bad habit of responding to annoying things and on ish the super fans are prone to say them.

Id say the best version of me wouldn’t even acknowledge this guy…3ball…the various alts of the guy always arguing with 3ball…the Giannis Superman. The Leonard one who thinks he’s the goat. Our Gobert nut is best ignored.

All of them really. I never got anything useful from anyones biggest fan. Not that I can recall at least. Even speaking to them is a bad habit I have.

[RRR3]

The idea is that the superfan lacks perspective on others as it pertains to their guy.
Bison is very dim, better explain it to him like he’s 5.

[Real Men Wear Green]

Love the Ben Simmons dig....ranked 76

https://teamwork-online-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/thumb_b707624a-30f7-4221-bab4-6559386ebdb2.png

https://external-preview.redd.it/GVPNowWMHO9e_gwSdN6eDDiOLSZbQg92F2DjpaUvUaw.jpg?au to=webp&59626787

I didn't realize that they did that. Quietly awesome.

Question: who actually had a player in mind when they are asked who the 53rd best player in the league is? I never put a second thought into Tatum's overall ranking until it started looking like he could be argued for the top 10.

[Stephonit]

The idea is that the superfan lacks perspective on others as it pertains to their guy.

More specious drivel. Maybe you'd have a point if the guy I'm a fan of didn't lead his team to regular season and playoffs wins records and dominated a season so thoroughly a unanimous MVP landed on his doorstep—but that's the guy I am a fan of and unfortunately for your theory a guy who can do that can ruin your argument. Reminds me of Gene Hackman's character in Unforgiven playing the odds. It's smart until you meet the guy who has shown he can beat the odds. Then you realize what the clearer perspective really is.

[ShawkFactory]

More specious drivel. Maybe you'd have a point if the guy I'm a fan of didn't lead his team to regular season and playoffs wins records and dominated a season so thoroughly a unanimous MVP landed on his doorstep—but that's the guy I am a fan of and unfortunately for your theory a guy who can do that can ruin your argument. Reminds me of Gene Hackman's character in Unforgiven playing the odds. It's smart until you meet the guy who has shown he can beat the odds. Then you realize what the clearer perspective really is.

This post is exactly what I'm talking about..so thank you.

You are so wound up by anything that has to do with Steph that you don't seem to realize that no one is questioning what a great player he is and has been.

[Stephonit]

This post is exactly what I'm talking about..so thank you.

You are so wound up by anything that has to do with Steph that you don't seem to realize that no one is questioning what a great player he is and has been.

And thank you for showing you still don't get it. That's why BSPN has been able to completely hoodwink you for all these years.

[1987_Lakers]

GS was 8-10 without Steph last year. Klay shot 35% in the finals and Draymond played extremely poorly in the first 5 games. Despite all of that, they still beat Boston in 6.


The Celtics strategy was basically shut down all the Warriors players and force Curry to beat them, and to his credit he did, but are we gonna ignore Jayson Tatum had an all-time bad series as well and his sidekick Jaylen Brown didn't do much better?

[ShawkFactory]

And thank you for showing you still don't get it. That's why BSPN has been able to completely hoodwink you for all these years.

Whatever dude :lol

[HoopsNY]

The Celtics strategy was basically shut down all the Warriors players and force Curry to beat them, and to his credit he did, but are we gonna ignore Jayson Tatum had an all-time bad series as well and his sidekick Jaylen Brown didn't do much better?

Yea, but that's just it, it wasn't just anyone guarding Steph; it was Marcus Smart. And Brown didn't have a terrible series. He put up 24/7/4/1 on 54% TS%.

As a team, this Celtics team was one of the greatest ever defensively. 6 of their players received All-Defensive votes. I don't think that has ever happened in league history. Maybe it did, but their overall defensive play is one to be recognized regardless. And when you dominate the DPOY, then that deserves recognition as well.

I agree with your assessment that Giannis deserves the #1 slot, but I wouldn't fault anyone for choosing Steph given his performance in the finals against Boston.