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Def Pen Sports’ Top 50 NBA Players for the 2020-21 Season

  • December 22, 2020
  • Def Pen Sports
Top 50 NBA Players
Def Pen Sports presents its top 50 NBA players heading into the 2020-21 season. (Dem J Designs/Def Pen Sports)

For the fourth season in a row, Def Pen Sports presents its collaborative top-50 ranking of NBA players. Here are some quick things to know about our list of the top-50 NBA players.

  • This is a list of who our staff members think the best players are for this season. The definition of “best” is subjective and open-ended; each voter has their own view and opinion on that.
  • No rookies are included because we haven’t seen them in NBA action yet (preseason doesn’t count).
  • Players who are projected to miss the entirety of the season aren’t included because this is a list of the best players for this season, and you can’t be a top-50 player if you don’t play. Klay Thompson and Jonathan Isaac are examples of players who aren’t given consideration because of the expected time missed.

This list was voted on by seven of our staff members: David Morrow, Lance Roberson, Oti Agbeyegbe, Mike Anguilano, Jonathan Howard and Jalen Sherman. Each individual created their own list, and we averaged out the rankings in each list to create our final product.

For each player, you’ll see the overall ranking, where we had them ranked last year and the highest and lowest ranks any of our voters ranked them on their individual lists.

Honorable mentions (players who received at least one vote but didn’t make the list, in order of how close they were to cracking the top 50): Gordon Hayward, Charlotte Hornets; DeMar DeRozan, San Antonio Spurs; Bojan Bogdanovic, Utah Jazz; Fred Van Vleet, Toronto Raptors; John Collins, Atlanta Hawks; John Wall, Houston Rockets; Jusuf Nurkic, Portland Trail Blazers; OG Anunoby, Toronto Raptors; Tobias Harris, Philadelphia 76ers; Andre Drummond, Cleveland Cavaliers; Danilo Gallinari, Atlanta Hawks; DeMarcus Cousins, Houston Rockets

Without further ado, here are Def Pen Sports’ top 50 NBA players for the 2019-20 season.

50. Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics

Highest Ranking: 33

Lowest Ranking: Unranked

Last Year’s Ranking: Honorable mention

49. D’Angelo Russell, Minnesota Timberwolves

Last Year’s Ranking: 41

Highest Ranking: 41

Lowest Ranking: Unranked

48. Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies

Last Year’s Ranking: Honorable mention

Highest Ranking: 36

Lowest Ranking: Unranked

47. Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers

Last Year’s Ranking: 42

Highest Ranking: 36

Lowest Ranking: Unranked

46. Deandre Ayton, Phoenix Suns

Last Year’s Ranking: Unranked

Highest Ranking: 38

Lowest Ranking: Unranked

Top 50 NBA Players
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Alonzo Adams/USA TODAY Sports)

45. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last Year’s Ranking: Unranked

Highest Ranking: 34

Lowest Ranking: Unranked

44. Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers

Last Year’s Ranking: 23

Highest Ranking: 30

Lowest Ranking: Unranked

43. Blake Griffin, Detroit Pistons

Last Year’s Ranking: 17

Highest Ranking: 32

Lowest Ranking: Unranked

42. Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors

Last Year’s Ranking: 21

Highest Ranking: 27

Lowest Ranking: Unranked

41. Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls

Last Year’s Ranking: 47

Highest Ranking: 35

Lowest Ranking: Unranked

Top 50 NBA Players
Domantas Sabonis (Grace Hollars/IndyStar)

40. Domantas Sabonis, Indiana Pacers

Last Year’s Ranking: Unranked

Highest Ranking: 34

Lowest Ranking: Unranked

39. Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic

Last Year’s Ranking: 39

Highest Ranking: 36

Lowest Ranking: 48

38. De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings

Last Year’s Ranking: 38

Highest Ranking: 35

Lowest Ranking: 42

37. CJ McCollum, Portland Trail Blazers

Last Year’s Ranking: 25

Highest Ranking: 30

Lowest Ranking: Unranked

36. Kemba Walker, Boston Celtics

Last Year’s Ranking: 19

Highest Ranking: 30

Lowest Ranking: 43

Top 50 NBA Players
Jrue Holiday (Instagram)

35. Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee Bucks

Last Year’s Ranking: 22

Highest Ranking: 23

Lowest Ranking: 39

34. Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies

Last Year’s Ranking: Ineligible; incoming rookie

Highest Ranking: 29

Lowest Ranking: 38

33. Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics

Last Year’s Ranking: Unranked

Highest Ranking: 22

Lowest Ranking: Unranked

32. Kristaps Porzingis, Dallas Mavericks

Last Year’s Ranking: 36

Highest Ranking: 20

Lowest Ranking: 43

31. Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans

Last Year’s Ranking: Ineligible; incoming rookie

Highest Ranking: 22

Lowest Ranking: 39

Top 50 NBA Players
Kyle Lowry (left) (Ashley Landis/USA TODAY SPORTS)

30. Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors

Last Year’s Ranking: 34

Highest Ranking: 20

Lowest Ranking: 45

29. Brandon Ingram, New Orleans Pelicans

Last Year’s Ranking: Honorable mention

Highest Ranking: 23

Lowest Ranking: 48

28. Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks

Last Year’s Ranking: 45

Highest Ranking: 24

Lowest Ranking: 41

27. Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks

Last Year’s Ranking: 32

Highest Ranking: 22

Lowest Ranking: 33

26. Russell Westbrook, Washington Wizards

Last Year’s Ranking: 11

Highest Ranking: 11

Lowest Ranking: 34

Top 50 NBA Players
Rudy Gobert (Brad Mills/USA TODAY SPORTS)

25. Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz

Last Year’s Ranking: 15

Highest Ranking: 12

Lowest Ranking: 31

24. Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors

Last Year’s Ranking: 30

Highest Ranking: 22

Lowest Ranking: 29

23. Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets

Last Year’s Ranking: 43

Highest Ranking: 16

Lowest Ranking: 29

22. Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat

Last Year’s Ranking: Unranked

Highest Ranking: 16

Lowest Ranking: 28

21. Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns

Last Year’s Ranking: 27

Highest Ranking: 12

Lowest Ranking: 43

Top 50 NBA Players
Donovan Mitchell (David Richard/USA TODAY SPORTS)

20. Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz

Last Year’s Ranking: 28

Highest Ranking: 17

Lowest Ranking: 25

19. Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers

Last Year’s Ranking: 20

Highest Ranking: 16

Lowest Ranking: 30

18. Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets

Last Year’s Ranking: 12

Highest Ranking: 13

Lowest Ranking: 29

17. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns

Last Year’s Ranking: 33

Highest Ranking: 12

Lowest Ranking: 21

16. Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards

Last Year’s Ranking: 16

Highest Ranking: 14

Lowest Ranking: 22

Top 50 NBA Players
Karl-Anthony Towns (Jesse Johnson/USA TODAY SPORTS)

15. Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves

Last Year’s Ranking: 14

Highest Ranking: 12

Lowest Ranking: 20

14. Paul George, Los Angeles Clippers

Last Year’s Ranking: 9

Highest Ranking: 11

Lowest Ranking: 20

13. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last Year’s Ranking: 44

Highest Ranking: 11

Lowest Ranking: 17

12. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

Last Year’s Ranking: 8

Highest Ranking: 10

Lowest Ranking: 20

11. Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat

Last Year’s Ranking: 13

Highest Ranking: 9

Lowest Ranking: 15

Top 50 NBA Players
Damian Lillard (Mike Ehrmann/USA TODAY SPORTS)

10. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers

Last Year’s Ranking: 10

Highest Ranking: 9

Lowest Ranking: 11

9. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Last Year’s Ranking: 7

Highest Ranking: 8

Lowest Ranking: 10

8. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last Year’s Ranking: 26

Highest Ranking: 4

Lowest Ranking: 9

7. James Harden

Last Year’s Ranking: 5

Highest Ranking: 4

Lowest Ranking: 11

6. Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets

Last Year’s Ranking: Ineligible; missed season with an injury

Highest Ranking: 3

Lowest Ranking: 19

Top 50 NBA Players
(Kim Klement/USA TODAY SPORTS)

5. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers

Last Year’s Ranking: 6

Highest Ranking: 3

Lowest Ranking: 8

4. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

Last Year’s Ranking: 4

Highest Ranking: 2

Lowest Ranking: 7

3. Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers

Last Year’s Ranking: 2

Highest Ranking: 2

Lowest Ranking: 5

2. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last Year’s Ranking: 3

Highest Ranking: 2

Lowest Ranking: 7

Top 50 NBA Players
LeBron James (Kim Klement/USA Today Sports)

1. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers

Last Year’s Ranking: 1

Highest Ranking: 1

Lowest Ranking: 1

Related Topics
  • Anthony Davis
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo
  • Golden State Warriors
  • Kawhi Leonard
  • LeBron James
  • Los Angeles Clippers
  • Los Angeles Lakers
  • Milwaukee Bucks
  • Stephen Curry
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