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The league is filled with talented players who can make an impact on the floor on offense as well as defense in a notable fashion. The ability to get buckets at regular intervals and stay vigilant on the defensive end at the same time requires superhuman work ethic. The following list of elite NBA superstars hold immense expertise in being the best at nearly every aspect of the game they touch upon.
Let's take a quick look at the best two-way players in the NBA during the 2018-19 campaign.
Honorable Mention: Russell Westbrook
This past season, Oklahoma City Thunder was a team led by two unparalleled forces in Westbrook and George. Despite PG13 taking up most of the offensive load, Westbrook kept doing his thing by consistently being effective as well efficient on the court. The former MVP averaged nearly 23 points per game along with 11.1 boards and 10.7 assists - both of which were career-highs.
Owing to his speed and quickness in disrupting passing lanes, Westbrook's 1.9 steals per game were the 4th best in the league during the 2018-19 regular season. The 30-year-old is undoubtedly the most polarising superstar across the league and his thunderous intensity on the court screams of the same.
#5 Klay Thompson
From Kyrie to Dame to Russ, Thompson has repeatedly taken the challenge of guarding the best perimeter player of the opposing team for Golden State. He takes the toughest defensive assignments and does the dirty work all night long.
Klay shot 46% from the field this season to average 21.5 points per game. All of this while hustling on defense throughout every matchup. When coupled with Draymond Green's active presence on the defensive end, it takes a ton worth of load off players like Curry and Durant, thereby resulting in offensive efficiency for the team as a whole.
Despite shooting a career-low percentage from the three-point line this year, he still packs the ability score in bulk on any given night with no noticeable lapse in his defensive awareness.
#4 Kawhi Leonard
Needless to point out, Leonard was the anchor of the championship-winning Raptors squad all year long and especially in the playoffs. Despite a noticeable decline in his speed and agility post-injury, Kawhi still continues to be a considerable force on defense and offense alike.
During his stint with the Raptors, the Klaw pulled through for a blazing average of 1.8 steals per game - 7th best in the league during the regular season - along with career-high numbers like 26.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest. His postseason scoring average of 30.5 ppg - playoff career-high - was capped off by a Finals MVP award. Across the 24 playoff games, he shot 49% from the field, recorded 9.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.
When healthy and preserved via 'load management', the 28-year-old is still one of the most captivating players, as he reiterated through his comeback run in Toronto.
#3 Anthony Davis
In the backdrop of a controversial final season with the Pelicans, Davis left no stone unturned when it came to sole basketball matters. The 26-year-old averaged 26 points and 12.9 rebounds(career-high) across the 56 games he played, along with 2.4 blocks and 1.6 steals per matchup.
No wonder the Lakers franchise was hell bent on shelling out the whole roster for this elite basketball talent. His quickness, length, and timing on the offensive end matched with an impeccable IQ for pick-and-roll defense is impressive beyond words, and all of the aforementioned contributions on just a couple of turnovers per game.
Davis shot 51.7% from the field, attempting over 18 shots per game in Cousins' absence. Had he not gone with an injury down the stretch, the 6-time All-Star was well on his way to be nominated for both the MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year award.
#2 Paul George
Despite a bugging shoulder injury throughout the course of his 2018-19 campaign, George recorded a career-best scoring average of 28 points per game - over 4 points per game better than his previous career-high. He led the league in steals with 2.2 per matchup and in the process, took his two-way dominance to a whole new height. He turned it up a notch in the postseason, stepping up to put together 28.6 points(in over 40 minutes of playtime per game) across the 5 clashes that OKC survived.
Flying through a career-year and posting career-highs in points, rebounds, assists and steals, PG13 was top 3 in the league in deflections and loose balls recovered this past season.
Expectedly so, he was nominated for both the Defensive Player of the Year and the MVP award but missed out on both eventually. Nevertheless, this was a statement season for George and the A-list skillset he possesses on both ends of the floor.
#1 Giannis Antetokounmpo
Before Giannis was bestowed with MVP honors, he had led Milwaukee to the league's best record during the 2018-19 regular season, and if that wasn't enough, he'd recorded a career-year while doing so.
The Greek Freak lost the DPOY award to Jazz's Rudy Gobert but there's little doubt that anyone might question his defensive prowess in any way fathomable. His active weak-side defense and highlight blocks made his team's job easier on any given night. The 24-year-old averaged 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds and an impressive 5.9 assists per game across the 72 games he started for the Bucks during the regular season.
His FG% skyrocketed to a blazing 58% this past season as he emerged as Milwaukee's go-to man on offense whenever they needed a bucket.
The Bucks lasted for 15 games in the postseason and before they bowed out to the Raptors, the 3-time All-Star had averaged a solid double of 25.5 points and 12.3 rebounds per contest.
