Ranking the NBA's Best Offensive Players Going Into 2018

#1 James Harden

James Harden

Where do we begin our James Harden fanboy parade? The southpaw has been the MVP frontrunner from tip-off at the Rockets' first game of the season in Oakland, dropping 27 points at the Oracle Arena while leading Houston to an upset of the reigning NBA champions.

His hot shooting form for the season has continued unabated through December, as he remains the only player in the league to score 20 or more points in every single game in 2017-18. His 3-point shooting volume has exploded, as he averages 4.3 makes on 10.8 attempts per game.

Count his league-leading free throw shooting volume (8.8 makes on 10.2 attempts) and his ability to Eurostep his way into the paint, and Harden is as unguardable as any player gets in the league today in isolation offense.

His influence does not end there, though. Having to share the ball with Chris Paul has not diminished his playmaking influence in the least bit, as his pick-and-roll plays with Clint Capela show us on a nightly basis. Harden is putting up assist numbers north of 9 per game for the second season running - all despite not starting at the point position.

His knockdown jump shooting, the repertoire of ball-handling tricks, ability to change his pace and direction at will and scoring-playmaking excellence put him right at the top of our pile going into 2018.