#19 Chris Paul – PG – Phoenix Suns
2020-21 Stats: 16.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 8.9 APG, 1.4 STL, 49.9 FG%, 39.5 3P%, 93.4 FT%
Nikola Jokic won the MVP award last season, and deservingly so, but Chris Paul joined a 34-win Phoenix Suns team that had missed the playoffs for 10 straight seasons and took them to the NBA Finals in his first season there. This was not a coincidence, as everywhere CP3 has been in his career, he has elevated the team’s overall play.
He did so with the New Orleans Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder and now he is doing it again with the Phoenix Suns. Paul is truly one of the best point guards of All-Time and he was extremely impressive last season.
Efficiency and stability are what the veteran guard brought to Phoenix and with other high-level, young talents around him in Booker, Ayton, Bridges, and others, this Suns team is not going anywhere anytime soon. They are the team to beat in the Western Conference right now after coming off a run to the NBA Finals and while he is 36-years-old, Chris Paul is playing some of the best basketball of his career right now.
#18 Jimmy Butler – SF/SG – Miami Heat
2020-21 Stats: 21.5 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 7.1 APG, 2.1 STL, 49.7 FG%, 24.5 3P%, 86.3 FT%
For years now, one of the most under-appreciated players in the entire league has been Jimmy Butler and some NBA media members just do not seem to want to give him the respect he deserves. The media is always creating false narratives about him not fitting in with his team and that he tends to put himself first, but this is as far from the truth as it can possibly be.
Butler’s teammates in Miami love him and they cannot rave enough about the fact that he is such a team-first guy. His stats just show how diverse of a player he is on both ends of the court and Butler’s advanced stats further prove that he is one of the most valuable players in the entire league in terms of his contributions to his team.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: NBA Top 75 Player Rankings For 2021-22 Season: From 50 to 26
With the additions of Kyle Lowry and P.J. Tucker in the offseason, Miami now has a championship-worthy team led by Jimmy Butler. The 5x All-Star is constantly elevating his game and coming off one of his best, well-rounded seasons yet, a year in which he led the league in steals per game, we should expect Butler to do everything he can to have the Heat right next to the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks a top of the Eastern Conference standings.
#17 Bradley Beal – SG/SF – Washington Wizards
2020-21 Stats: 31.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.2 STL, 48.5 FG%, 34.9 3P%, 88.9 FT%
There was a lot of chatter this offseason about the possibility of Bradley Beal requesting a trade out of Washington, but Beal seems to be comfortable in his current situation and has bought into the Wizards rebuilding around him. Maybe this is because the All-Star shooting guard is eligible for a $235M max extension next offseason, but nonetheless, it does not appear as he is going anywhere this season.
After two straight seasons averaging 30-plus points per game, Bradley Beal really has nothing left to prove other than now turning the Wizards into a contending team. He will obviously need help to do so, but there is no reason why Beal cannot win the scoring title this upcoming year.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: NBA Top 75 Player Rankings For 2021-22 Season: From 50 to 26
The Wizards’ All-Star fell just short of beating Stephen Curry for the scoring title this past season and being the only superstar on the Wizards, he will likely get more shot attempts and looks than he did last year with Russell Westbrook by his side. The Eastern Conference is stronger than it was last season and for Washington to have a chance to earn a playoff spot, Beal is going to have to elevate his play and be great offensively once again.
#16 Devin Booker – SG – Phoenix Suns
2020-21 Stats: 25.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 4.3 APG, 0.8 STL, 48.4 FG%, 34.0 3P%, 86.7 FT%
Chris Paul coming to Phoenix obviously made a big difference in the Suns making it all the way to the NBA Finals, but Devin Booker continues to evolve into a “Kobe-like” offensive talent in this league. Kobe Bryant had a huge impact on many players in the NBA today, but he really had an impact on Devin Booker as a player and as a human, even though they never played on the same NBA team together.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: NBA Top 75 Player Rankings For 2021-22 Season: From 50 to 26
Booker can literally score from anywhere on the court and we saw this last season multiple times, as he had nights scoring 40-plus points all throughout the season, including in back-to-back games in the NBA Finals. Having one of the best guards in NBA history by his side in Chris Paul, Booker at 24-years-old is only going to continue getting better and could very well be a league leader in scoring one day.
