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#10 Jusuf Nurkic - Portland Trail Blazers
It may not seem like it on the stat sheet, but Jusuf Nurkic is perhaps the most important player on the Blazers roster. True, he's only putting up 14.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game - figures which may seem less stellar than some of the honorable mentions on our list.
But he's an elite rim protector every night irrespective of what kind of scoring punch he's flashing that day. Opponents shoot 7.5% worse from within 6 feet, and 4.4% worse from within 10 feet with him packing the paint with his 7', 280-pound figure.
On his best nights, Portland are able to give the likes of the Rockets and Warriors a run for their money. On the strength of their backcourt's scoring and their 8th-ranked defense, the Trail Blazers have a 2-game lead at the third seed.
Nurkic is the anchor of that defense and should get paid by the Trail Blazers this offseason based on the excellence that he has displayed. Considering that he is just 23 and has all of his prime years of him, the Trail Blazers would have to pay him in excess of $10 million per season.
