{"id":2312,"date":"2016-04-15T15:00:56","date_gmt":"2016-04-15T20:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/?p=2312"},"modified":"2017-07-08T13:17:15","modified_gmt":"2017-07-08T18:17:15","slug":"all-nba-team-fredsportsextras-2015-2016-regular-season-top-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/?p=2312","title":{"rendered":"All-NBA Team-Fredsportsextra&#8217;s 2015-2016 Regular Season Top Players"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/?attachment_id=2324\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2324\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2324 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/leonard-popovich-spurs.jpg\" alt=\"SAN ANTONIO, TX - MARCH 12: Kawhi Leonard #2 speaks with head coach, Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 12, 2016 at AT&amp;T in San Antonio, Texas. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Chris Covatta\/NBAE via Getty Images)\" width=\"630\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/leonard-popovich-spurs.jpg 630w, https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/leonard-popovich-spurs-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/leonard-popovich-spurs-473x315.jpg 473w, https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/leonard-popovich-spurs-90x60.jpg 90w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>The<\/strong> <strong>2015-2016 NBA regular season gave\u00a0the fans\u00a0some of the greatest all-time statistical performances in the past forty years of the league.\u00a0 When you start comparing today&#8217;s players with those of the past, include Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson as examples, statistical milestones must be put into perspective, as the game today is different than the one, say in 1985, 1975, and even farther back, to the 1960&#8217;s and 1950&#8217;s. The stats of Wilt and Oscar in their time were astronomical, and many records they\u00a0own will never be broken unless the game changes dramatically.\u00a0 And that is not happening.\u00a0 With that, my NBA team this year will focus on two things. First, statistically, how do the numbers match up with those in the recent past?\u00a0 Second, how significant was the player to his team&#8217;s success?\u00a0 To be fair, a player on a second tier team would have to have had a season that was cause for their wins and success.\u00a0 In picking the fifteen players on my three teams, I will not be traditional, with a center, two guards, and two forwards. I have chosen by the criteria above, regardless of position.\u00a0 Players are listed in a ranking order, with #1 the best player of the year, and #5 on the third team the 15th ranked player of the year.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>First Team<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Stephan Curry-Golden State<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Kevin Durant-Oklahoma City<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Russell Westbrook-Oklahoma City<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Kwai Leonard-San Antonio<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Lebron James- Cleveland<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Second Team<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Dramond Green-Golden State<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Damian Lillard-Portland<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Chris Paul-Los Angeles Clippers<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>DeMarcus Cousins-Sacramento<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>DeMar DeRosan-Toronto<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Third Team<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>James Harden-Houston<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Andre Drummond-Detroit<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Anthony Davis-New Orleans<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Klay Thompson-Golden State<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Paul George-Indiana<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>The season that\u00a0Stephan Curry and Russell Westbrook\u00a0have had are\u00a0remarkable. Curry led the best team in the regular<\/strong> <strong>season and is a three point machine. He has become the most deadly\u00a0scorer in the league with the game on the line.\u00a0 Westbrook is\u00a0the Association&#8217;s stat king as\u00a0his 18 triple doubles is historic since Michael Jordan. Add the comeback of Kevin Durant off injury and you have the three best players in the NBA this year.\u00a0 Kwai Leonard, the best defensive stopper in the league and quite possibility the best player in the league that doesn&#8217;t hog the\u00a0stat line is the cog that makes San Antonio the second best team in the league.\u00a0 And Lebron James continues to run the Eastern Conference with his superior play. James might not be the best player in the league in 2015-2016 but he is a consistent all-world player.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Most Valuable Player:\u00a0 Stephan Curry, Golden State<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Offensive Player of the Year: Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Defensive Player of he Year:\u00a0 Kwai Leonard, San Antonio<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Rookie of the Year:\u00a0 Karl-Anthony-Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Sixth Man of the Year:\u00a0 Enes Kanter, Oklahoma City<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Come Back Player of the Year:\u00a0 Paul George, Indiana<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Coach of the Year:\u00a0 Terry Stotts, Portland<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Twenty-five years in the future, the ranking of the players\u00a0listed will be remembered as:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Russell Westbrook-one of the greatest twenty players ever-the most athletic guard to play in the NBA<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Stephan Curry-one of greatest twenty-five players ever-the greatest three point shooter in the history of the NBA<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin Durant- the all-time leading scoring in NBA history and a top fifteen player in the history of the NBA<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Lebron James-one of the top ten players in NBA history (career cut short by\u00a0wear and tear on the body)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Kwai Leonard-one of the top fifty players in NBA history and remembered for his all-around game.\u00a0 A top twenty defender of all-time in the Association. A three time World Champion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Chris Paul-a top twenty-five player and considered in the group of all-time point guards in NBA history.\u00a0 Could be the greatest if he can lead a team to an NBA championship.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Credit for 2nd Photo:\u00a0SAN ANTONIO, TX &#8211; MARCH 12: Kawhi Leonard #2 speaks with head coach, Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 12, 2016 at AT&amp;T in San Antonio, Texas. Kawhi Leonard and Gregg Popovich (Photo Credit: Chris Covatta\/NBAE via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2323\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2323\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/?attachment_id=2323\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2323\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2323\" src=\"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/usatsi_9125400.jpg\" alt=\"Feb 19, 2016; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) passes the ball on Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the first quarter of the game at the Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports\" width=\"1000\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/usatsi_9125400.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/usatsi_9125400-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/usatsi_9125400-768x461.jpg 768w, https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/usatsi_9125400-525x315.jpg 525w, https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/usatsi_9125400-100x60.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2323\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Feb 19, 2016; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) passes the ball on Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the first quarter of the game at the Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. 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