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Ranking LeBron, Kyrie, Curry, NBA's best players in 2016
The winner
1. LeBron James
Position: SF
Cleveland Cavaliers
2015 rank: No. 2
Résumé: 2016 NBA champion, NBA Finals MVP
This is James' fourth Golden Basketball trophy, to go along with 2014 and two retroactively awarded for 2012 and 2013. And really, it wasn't even close. While Stephen Curry owned the first five months of 2016, James owned the most important month, putting together one of the greatest NBA Finals on record to lead the Cavaliers back from a 3-1 deficit to win the series on the Golden State Warriors' homecourt.
Add in the narrative aspect of James returning home to Northeast Ohio to end Cleveland's title drought, and he managed to beat out Olympic heroes as Sports Illustrated's choice as Sportsperson of the Year as well as The Associated Press' Male Athlete of the Year.
The finalists
2. Stephen Curry
Position: PG
Golden State Warriors
2015 rank: No. 1
Résumé: Unanimous 2015-16 NBA MVP
All Curry did in 2016 was help the Warriors break the all-time record with 73 wins and become the first player in NBA history to win MVP unanimously. However, he wasn't the same after suffering a sprained MCL in the opening round of the playoffs, and while his Game 7 heroics helped Golden State outlast the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals, Curry was a relative non-factor against the Cavaliers. So the 2015 Golden Basketball winner will have to settle for second this time around.
3. Kevin Durant
Position: SF
OKC/GSW
2015 rank: N/A
Résumé: 2016 Olympic gold medalist
Durant edges out former Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook by virtue of his starring role on the Olympic stage. He led the USA with 19.4 points per game in Rio, emerging as the alpha dog on a roster relatively short on star power. And after shifting the NBA's balance of power by signing with Golden State as a free agent over the summer, Durant has been the Warriors' best player so far in 2016-17.
4. Russell Westbrook
Position: PG
Oklahoma City Thunder
2015 rank: No. 4
Résumé: 2015-16 All-NBA First Team; currently averaging a triple-double
With games left to play Thursday and on New Year's Eve, Westbrook already has an unthinkable 30 triple-doubles in 2016. Following Durant's departure, Westbrook has taken on an historic load, finishing a record 42.4 percent of Oklahoma City's play with a shot, trip to the free throw line or a turnover. He has yet to show any fatigue and will almost certainly take a triple-double average into 2017 -- deeper in the season than anyone has averaged a triple-double since Oscar Robertson more than five decades ago.
Chris Paul
Position: PG
LA Clippers
2015 rank: No. 7
Résumé: Second in the NBA in WARP after Jan. 1 last season
We're a year removed from Blake Griffin going down with a quad injury, from which he wouldn't return until late in the season after also breaking a bone in his hand. Without him, Paul stepped up to keep the Clippers afloat, posting 11.3 wins above replacement player (WARP) by my metric during the 2016 portion of the 2015-16 season. Only Curry (14.3) surpassed him.
The only blemish on Paul's case is his own injury -- a broken bone in his right hand that ended his playoffs prematurely and caused the Clippers to be eliminated in the opening round.
6. James Harden
Position: PG
Houston Rockets
2015 rank: No. 3
Résumé: Leading NBA in assists per game (11.9)
The first half of 2016 was a disappointment for Harden, whose lax defense was a key factor in Houston slipping to eighth in the Western Conference a year after reaching the conference finals. He returned in better shape and with more weapons around him after a summer makeover, while new coach Mike D'Antoni put Harden in charge of his ballhandler-friendly offense. The results have been remarkable. In his first year as a nominal point guard, Harden leads the league in assists per game, and the Rockets are back in contention in the West.
7. Kawhi Leonard
Position: SF
San Antonio Spurs
2015 rank: No. 5
Résumé: 2015-16 Defensive Player of the Year; All-NBA First Team
It's a testament to the depth of elite talent in the league right now that Leonard could edge out Durant for All-NBA First Team honors last season and still finish seventh in the Ballon d'Or ranking. In part, that's because Leonard was better before the calendar turned last season, recording 8.5 WARP in the 2015 portion of the schedule compared with 7.9 in the 2016 portion. But Leonard has been great again this year and could easily have ranked higher.
8. Kyrie Irving
Position: PG
Cleveland Cavaliers
2015 rank: N/A
Résumé: 2016 NBA champion; 2016 Olympic gold medalist
Other players were more consistent throughout 2016 than Irving, who has been relatively quiet during the past two regular seasons. But nobody has won more than Irving, the only member of the Cavaliers to double up with a gold medal for the USA. Irving was hardly a bystander in that success. He was crucial to Cleveland's NBA Finals comeback, including hitting the winning shot in Game 7, and he started at point guard in the Olympics.
9. Draymond Green
Position: PF
Golden State Warriors
2015 rank: No. 6
Résumé: All-NBA Second Team; 2016 Olympic gold medalist
Green's ability to defend centers despite being 6-foot-7 allowed Steve Kerr to deploy the smaller "death lineup" that became the Warriors' security blanket in the clutch. The runner-up in Defensive Player of the Year voting, Green also played a reserve role for the USA in Rio.
10. Klay Thompson
Position: SG
Golden State Warriors
2015 rank: N/A
Résumé: All-NBA Third Team; 2016 Olympic gold medalist
Thompson delivered some of the year's signature moments, from his key role in Golden State's comeback win in Game 6 of the conference finals at Oklahoma City to his 60-point outburst in 29 minutes against the Indiana Pacers earlier this month. Add in a gold medal, and Thompson earns the last spot in our top 10 of 2016.
The winner
1. LeBron James
Position: SF
Cleveland Cavaliers
2015 rank: No. 2
Résumé: 2016 NBA champion, NBA Finals MVP
This is James' fourth Golden Basketball trophy, to go along with 2014 and two retroactively awarded for 2012 and 2013. And really, it wasn't even close. While Stephen Curry owned the first five months of 2016, James owned the most important month, putting together one of the greatest NBA Finals on record to lead the Cavaliers back from a 3-1 deficit to win the series on the Golden State Warriors' homecourt.
Add in the narrative aspect of James returning home to Northeast Ohio to end Cleveland's title drought, and he managed to beat out Olympic heroes as Sports Illustrated's choice as Sportsperson of the Year as well as The Associated Press' Male Athlete of the Year.
The finalists
2. Stephen Curry
Position: PG
Golden State Warriors
2015 rank: No. 1
Résumé: Unanimous 2015-16 NBA MVP
All Curry did in 2016 was help the Warriors break the all-time record with 73 wins and become the first player in NBA history to win MVP unanimously. However, he wasn't the same after suffering a sprained MCL in the opening round of the playoffs, and while his Game 7 heroics helped Golden State outlast the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals, Curry was a relative non-factor against the Cavaliers. So the 2015 Golden Basketball winner will have to settle for second this time around.
3. Kevin Durant
Position: SF
OKC/GSW
2015 rank: N/A
Résumé: 2016 Olympic gold medalist
Durant edges out former Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook by virtue of his starring role on the Olympic stage. He led the USA with 19.4 points per game in Rio, emerging as the alpha dog on a roster relatively short on star power. And after shifting the NBA's balance of power by signing with Golden State as a free agent over the summer, Durant has been the Warriors' best player so far in 2016-17.
4. Russell Westbrook
Position: PG
Oklahoma City Thunder
2015 rank: No. 4
Résumé: 2015-16 All-NBA First Team; currently averaging a triple-double
With games left to play Thursday and on New Year's Eve, Westbrook already has an unthinkable 30 triple-doubles in 2016. Following Durant's departure, Westbrook has taken on an historic load, finishing a record 42.4 percent of Oklahoma City's play with a shot, trip to the free throw line or a turnover. He has yet to show any fatigue and will almost certainly take a triple-double average into 2017 -- deeper in the season than anyone has averaged a triple-double since Oscar Robertson more than five decades ago.
Chris Paul
Position: PG
LA Clippers
2015 rank: No. 7
Résumé: Second in the NBA in WARP after Jan. 1 last season
We're a year removed from Blake Griffin going down with a quad injury, from which he wouldn't return until late in the season after also breaking a bone in his hand. Without him, Paul stepped up to keep the Clippers afloat, posting 11.3 wins above replacement player (WARP) by my metric during the 2016 portion of the 2015-16 season. Only Curry (14.3) surpassed him.
The only blemish on Paul's case is his own injury -- a broken bone in his right hand that ended his playoffs prematurely and caused the Clippers to be eliminated in the opening round.
6. James Harden
Position: PG
Houston Rockets
2015 rank: No. 3
Résumé: Leading NBA in assists per game (11.9)
The first half of 2016 was a disappointment for Harden, whose lax defense was a key factor in Houston slipping to eighth in the Western Conference a year after reaching the conference finals. He returned in better shape and with more weapons around him after a summer makeover, while new coach Mike D'Antoni put Harden in charge of his ballhandler-friendly offense. The results have been remarkable. In his first year as a nominal point guard, Harden leads the league in assists per game, and the Rockets are back in contention in the West.
7. Kawhi Leonard
Position: SF
San Antonio Spurs
2015 rank: No. 5
Résumé: 2015-16 Defensive Player of the Year; All-NBA First Team
It's a testament to the depth of elite talent in the league right now that Leonard could edge out Durant for All-NBA First Team honors last season and still finish seventh in the Ballon d'Or ranking. In part, that's because Leonard was better before the calendar turned last season, recording 8.5 WARP in the 2015 portion of the schedule compared with 7.9 in the 2016 portion. But Leonard has been great again this year and could easily have ranked higher.
8. Kyrie Irving
Position: PG
Cleveland Cavaliers
2015 rank: N/A
Résumé: 2016 NBA champion; 2016 Olympic gold medalist
Other players were more consistent throughout 2016 than Irving, who has been relatively quiet during the past two regular seasons. But nobody has won more than Irving, the only member of the Cavaliers to double up with a gold medal for the USA. Irving was hardly a bystander in that success. He was crucial to Cleveland's NBA Finals comeback, including hitting the winning shot in Game 7, and he started at point guard in the Olympics.
9. Draymond Green
Position: PF
Golden State Warriors
2015 rank: No. 6
Résumé: All-NBA Second Team; 2016 Olympic gold medalist
Green's ability to defend centers despite being 6-foot-7 allowed Steve Kerr to deploy the smaller "death lineup" that became the Warriors' security blanket in the clutch. The runner-up in Defensive Player of the Year voting, Green also played a reserve role for the USA in Rio.
10. Klay Thompson
Position: SG
Golden State Warriors
2015 rank: N/A
Résumé: All-NBA Third Team; 2016 Olympic gold medalist
Thompson delivered some of the year's signature moments, from his key role in Golden State's comeback win in Game 6 of the conference finals at Oklahoma City to his 60-point outburst in 29 minutes against the Indiana Pacers earlier this month. Add in a gold medal, and Thompson earns the last spot in our top 10 of 2016.
