1) LeBron James
It would be safe to say that LeBron James is the best basketball player in the world. Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant may be the better shooter and scorer, Kawahi Leonard may be the better defender, Anthony Davis may have more raw potential, but when we talk of basketball as it is played across the entire court, the King is the only one sitting on the throne right now.
When LeBron signed with the Miami Heat and helped form a superteam with Wade and Bosh, it created a precedent. We've seen Wilt Chamberlain move from the Sixers to the Lakers and join Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. Kevin McHale moved to the Boston Celtics and helped cement that dynasty.
Charles Barkley is fond of calling out James and Durant for jumping ship and joining other stars, while conveniently forgetting that he himself moved from the Suns to the Rockets to play with Hakeem Olajuwon.
But in the twenty-first century, LeBron James was the first player who exercised his free market rights and convinced two other superstars to take a pay cut as well and band together. Some called them the Heatles, so fraught with potential was that team.
LeBron won two titles with the Miami Heat, and after leaving them for the Cavaliers he’s won a title with them as well.
If one or more of the Warriors all-star players sustain an injury this season, their contender status may be in doubt. When LeBron lost Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving in the playoffs in 2015, he still almost single-handedly made a series out of the Cavs - Warriors match up.
