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#9 Kyrie Irving
The cover athlete for NBA 2k18, the Celtics point guard was rated at 90 at the start of the 2017-18 regular season. He called for his rating to be increased to 95 at the time of the release of the game, and backed it up as his strong displays with a new franchise as the first option led to his rating getting bumped up to 93 by December last year.
Although he's done well to justify the rating, it seems facetious to rate him above Chris Paul even at this juncture of their careers.
As unstoppable a player on offense as anyone in the league, Irving's mastery of isolation basketball helps him be one of the most clutch players today, as well as historically. His shot over Steph Curry to break the deadlock with less than 1 minute remaining in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals is one of the most iconic shots ever.
Irving figures as an MVP candidate if he continues to play at his established level and the Celtics finish with over 60 wins and the first seed in the Eastern Conference.
