Credit to Dubta for the 30-1 ranking.

Honorable Mentions: Jayson Tatum, Jalen Williams, Cooper Flagg, CJ McCollum, Kon Kneuppel.

30: LaMelo Ball(change from preseason, + >0)

I do think he was good enough this year, personally I don’t believe he’s improved upon anything major, but I feel confident calling him a top-30 player now.

29: Joel Embiid(change from preseason, -8)

I was hoping he could stay healthy, but his extreme injury problems have caused him to drop off.

28: James Harden(change from preseason, -10)

Playoff collapse after a great regular season, he would be around the 15-20 range just counting the regular season, can’t deny the playoff failures though.

27: Zion Williamson(change from preseason, -7)

I thought he had a pretty respectable season, but still a disappointing one. I can no longer say in good confidence that he’s the best player on the Pelicans; though it appears he’s healthier now.

26: Austin Reaves(change from preseason, +3)

Just a great season. He really showed what he could do when Luka and/or LeBron was out. He was very good in the playoffs.

25: MPJ(change from preseason, + >5)

I didn’t expect him to breakout this much this season, he was insanely efficient and had career highs in other categories.

24: Trey Murphy III(change from preseason, + >6)

He outweighed my expectations; as I thought he’d be second-fiddle to Zion, I was wrong and I think he’ll improve more next year.

23: Pascal Siakam(change from preseason, +4)

Had good stats on a tanking team, proved he didn’t need Hali to be effective.

22: Keyonte George(change from preseason, + >8)

Outweighed all of our expectations. Had the same efficiency as last season but way better averages, a bright spot for the Jazz.

21: Jamal Murray(change from preseason, +1)

I don’t think his leap was that crazy, he was just hitting more 3 point shots. He still has all the same weaknesses, however.

20: Devin Booker(change from preseason, -3)

Still good but had early season struggles and was the Suns’ 3rd best player in the postseason.

19: Deni Avdija(change from preseason, +11)

Really good and well-rounded. I expected a breakout but not a 24-point near triple-double.

18: Kevin Durant(change from preseason, -6)

Solid but regression was definitely there. Killed the Rockets’ locker room and imo ended their season early.

17: LeBron James(change from preseason, +2)

I still think LeBron was very good, the playoffs helped with that. His regular season would’ve had him in the low 20s for me, but he once again was exceptional in the playoffs; a top-5 playoff player this run for me.

16: Lauri Markkanen(change from preseason, -1)

He was great in the regular season, though durability could be a concern, I just think he was benched for tanking purposes. He still looks as good as he’s been with the Jazz so far.

15: Jalen Johnson(change from preseason, +8)

Nearly averaged a triple-double on good efficiency. Although I think CJ McCollum helped with their pursuit of the 6th seed, he was still a key part of that, and dragged the team without a true second star to around .500 before CJ showed up.

14: Karl-Anthony Towns(change from preseason, -3)

I expected him to have a similar, if not better year than last year. He was still very good but his splits were worse imo, his defense is still and issue as well. The playoffs helped his case as he improved on several things and got multiple triple-doubles or near triple-doubles; preventing a steep drop-off to the high-teens or low-20s.

13: Tyrese Maxey(change from preseason, -3)

He didn’t play worse than I expected; other guys just outperformed him. He was really good and helped the 6ers stay competitive when Embiid was hurt.

12: Jaylen Brown(change from preseason, +4)

Defied my expectations. Most of us thought the Celtics would be a play-in team at best, probably worse due to tanking. Jaylen Brown had an elite year as the Celtics’ number one option.

11: Cade Cunningham(change from preseason, +2)

I think he was very good but I still think he needs a few more improvements before I can confidently put him higher.

10: Kawhi Leonard(change from preseason, +4)

Very good. I thought he’d have another extremely injury-riddled season with decent stats and a 1st round exit. Instead, he was playing as if it were 2019 and was offensively elite. The play-in loss hurts but he brought the Clippers from one of the worst teams to around .500, mostly without Harden.

9: Steph Curry(change from preseason, -1)

I think he barely regressed from last season. Injuries were the main issue but when he played the Warriors were far better than when he was out.

8: Donovan Mitchell(change from preseason, -2)

I had high expectations for him that he lived up to, simply couldn’t outperform the guys ahead of him.

7: Giannis Antetokounmo(change from preseason, -4)

As good as ever; just injuries stifled his season. I do think Milwaukee purposely sat him longer than was necessary. If he played ~60 games he’d still be top-5 for me, but injuries are definitely a concern.

6: Anthony Edwards(change from preseason, -1)

Was exceptional, his playoff durability and iron-man mentality really garnered respect from me. He was very productive and still an elite player, he’s now cemented himself as the best 2-guard in the NBA right now.

5: Nikola Jokic(change from preseason, -4)

I had him at 1 before the season, 1 at the all-star break, and 2 for the remainder of the regular season. His playoff series against the Timberwolves cannot be ignored however; he was horrible(for his standards), his second-half performances seemed bad in every game, as if he were gassed.

4: SGA(change from preseason, -2)

This is probably a very controversial placement for the back-to-back MVP, no? He slots in at 4 for a couple of reasons, 1: He’s part of the deepest team in the NBA, 2: He’s an overrated interior scorer, 3: He’s not a very good 3 point shooter imo, or at least not consistent. He hasn’t necessarily been worse than I expected, just other guys performed better.

3: Victor Wembanyama(change from preseason, +4)

So close yet so far, Wemby was a couple halves away from being up 3-2 right now. He was severely overrated in the regular season personally, but he shut me up real quick when the playoffs came around. He dominated in every single series, including against OKC. He kind of dropped off against the Knicks, but that doesn’t discredit the rest of his elite playoff run.

2: Jalen Brunson(change from preseason, +7)

Had a miraculous playoff run that led him here. His clutch time offense was just elite in every single game; he was just a different beast in the 4th. He led his team to win the NBA championship.

1: Luka Doncic(change from preseason, +3)

Led the league in scoring, was an elite passer, overhated on defense imo. Had the best month the league has seen since prime James Harden(a better one imo). He didn’t play in the playoffs at all and we saw how it affected the Lakers, when their role players weren’t showing up they had virtually no offense outside of LeBron and AR; Luka could’ve grabbed them a couple games against OKC imo.