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Lakers: Ranking LeBron James and the 10 best players in the NBA

By Jason Reed

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 08: LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks at Crypto.com Arena on February 08, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 08: LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks at Crypto.com Arena on February 08, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

While the conversation around the MVP award has been centered around Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo has quietly been putting up an MVP-caliber season and will likely finish third in the award voting.

If Giannis had never won an MVP before and was still coming off of the NBA Finals win then he probably would have won the award this season as that narrative would have captured the votes. However, as a multi-time MVP, Giannis has gotten overlooked despite putting up better numbers.

Giannis has the second-best BPM in the league, only behind Jokic, and averaged 29.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. And let’s also not forget that at his best he is the best defensive player in the league to stop.

Giannis has deserved the top spot on this list after putting up incredible season after incredible season and having a truly historic run in last year’s playoffs. The Greek Freak reached an unprecedented level in the NBA Finals last season that still has not set in for the casual fan. He averaged 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in last year’s Finals while shooting 61.8% from the field.

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In terms of BPM, Giannis had the fourth-best NBA Finals performance in NBA history, only being bested by Michael Jordan in 1991, Kevin Durant in 2017 and LeBron James in 2016. That is quite the list.