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NBA Position Rankings: Final Results and Analysis

By Shane Young

January 4, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul (3) controls the ball against the defense of Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
January 4, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul (3) controls the ball against the defense of Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Five positions, 150 players, and 30 teams.

That’s correct, here at HoopsHabit, we’ve completed our NBA rankings of all 30 starting positions, from point guard all the way up to centers.  If you haven’t already witnessed the lists and descriptions, or need a refresher, you can always go back and take a gander.  Just click on the links below to discover the landscape of each position.

Point guard rankings

Shooting guard rankings

Small forward rankings

Power forward rankings

Center rankings

Throughout the offseason, it’s always a delightful experience to sort through lineups, just to see all of the discrepancies and allow your mind to do a bit of evaluating.

With each position covered, how would our top “All-NBA” squads appear by the top rankings?

Keep in mind, this is not to argue the winners of the All-NBA recognition from last season.  Obviously, some guys may have been injured (Bryant), and some may have just had a breakout year and won voters’ hearts with their intensity.  For our rankings, I placed each guy on the list using the factors of complete health this upcoming season, and based off how impressive they were last season (if they played).

Above all else, it’s encouraged that you read the descriptions of each individual player, or the ones of your choice.  Flaming someone with fiery comments and disagreements over just the player’s rank, without reading why they were placed there, is among the the most repulsive habits someone could have.

Who would be the five All-NBA teams in 2014-15, if the rankings hold to be true?  Who topped each of the five lists at No. 1?

All-NBA First Team

This is where you get hit with a dilemma.

Bryant is entering the year at 36 years of age, and while many still believe (for good reason) that he’s more skilled and aggressive than James Harden as a two-way guard, I’m not taking it to the level of some.  Yes, Bryant can score in a larger variety of ways and actually sticks with his man on defense 50 percent of the time, unlike Harden.

But, I’m not convinced that Bryant will receive any First Team honors by voters next season, and it’s because of the success he’ll provide for the Lakers as a team.  There isn’t any, as they’ll likely miss out on the playoffs for the second straight year.  With Paul, James, Aldridge, and Howard, there’s four members of the 2015 postseason, barring anything unforeseeable occurring in the West, yes?

Harden’s adroit mechanics of drawing fouls and creating easier points than any other shooting guard in the world will give him the path to his second All-NBA First Team honor.  Bryant is just on ours, because he’s ranked ahead of Harden in veteran leadership, and virtuosity as he ages to an old man.

All-NBA Second Team

Parker’s experience in a flawless Spurs system is the case most people make for him not being a top five point guard.  It couldn’t be more untrue.  Placing Parker anywhere else in the league — such as the Thunder — and you’ll still get proficient results, I’d guarantee it.  His ascendancy in the playoffs, and will to get to the rim are admirable more and more by the year, and we seen how dangerous he could be in the 2013 Playoffs.  Understand, he had a nagging ankle sprain in the later stages of the West Finals and the beginnings of the NBA Finals.

There’s your only dispute for the Second Team, since it would be riveting to create a Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant duo on the same team.  If these team tiers were squads that I was taking to a tournament and they actually had to play together, I’ll pull Westbrook from his placement and put him with his Oklahoma City Batman, the MVP.  It would also mean Scott Brooks‘ former trio (Durant, Westbrook, Harden) would reunite together, so the point guard slot is truly the only questionable selection there.

It just makes Thunder General Manager, Sam Presti, bang his head against a brick wall repeatedly.  Harden shouldn’t have been traded.

All-NBA Third Team

Without hesitation, this would be another lineup that you would want to switch around, in order to maximize results with team chemistry.  There’s also one other glaring factor that we should entertain.  Once again, this is only in the hypothetical scenario that these groups of five actually step on the court together.

Replacing Westbrook and Wade with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, this would be your best outside shooting lineup of all the All-NBA teams.  From your first three positions (PG-SF), you would have 651 3-pointers made based on last season, on 1,565 attempts.  Your first time reading that, it would just automatically strike you as too many attempts and not enough connections.

However, that’s 41.6 percent total, and there was only 12 players last season to shoot at least 41.6 percent from long-range.  Thus, you’re getting swarmed in points if they get to torching.

But, sticking with Westbrook and Wade here wouldn’t be a tragedy by any means, as long as Wade could run without feeling tendentious.  He’s the biggest question mark of any top three ranks on any of the five positions.  You just have no clue how he’ll even want to play without LeBron there to orchestrate the flow.

It’s also placing — what will be — Kentucky’s two greatest frontcourt players together, as Cousins and Davis ranked third in their respective positions for this coming year.  Right there, it’s automatic competition within the team, as Cousins wants to somewhat prove he’s the No. 1 talent from John Calipari’s Kentucky era.  Since Cousins (24) and Davis (21) are both absurdly young and already made their marks with Team USA, can you envision the reputation of Kentucky big men when these two begin fighting for MVP awards?

All-NBA Fourth Team

This situation brings us a top defensive unit in regards to the All-NBA teams, unless it just becomes time for LeBron and Howard to lock down the middle for the First Team, which would be a nightmare for anyone.

Altogether, you would have defensive honchos that played in top four systems when it came to getting stops.  Chicago ranked second in Defensive Rating last season, with the Spurs being directly behind in third, and Golden State finishing fourth.

That’s not to say it would be a given that these individual pieces would combine to be hellacious together, but we’ve already seen how well the Splash Brothers can communicate when they’re beside each other, and Noah doesn’t take any … you know what.

Team Rankings — Average player placement

1.  Golden State Warriors — 8.4

Stephen Curry (4), Klay Thompson (4), Andre Iguodala (10), David Lee (10), Andrew Bogut (14)

2.  Portland Trail Blazers  — 9.2

Damian Lillard (7), Wesley Matthews (9), Nicolas Batum (11), LaMarcus Aldridge (1), Robin Lopez (18)

3.  Los Angeles Clippers — 10.0

Chris Paul (1), J.J. Redick (11), Matt Barnes (25), Blake Griffin (4), DeAndre Jordan (9)

4.  San Antonio Spurs — 10.4

Tony Parker (2), Danny Green (16), Kawhi Leonard (4), Tim Duncan (5), Tiago Splitter (25)

5.  Cleveland Cavaliers — 10.4

Kyrie Irving (10), Dion Waiters (20), LeBron James (1), Kevin Love (2), Anderson Varejao (19)

6.  Washington Wizards — 10.8

John Wall (5), Bradley Beal (6), Paul Pierce (15), Nene Hilario (15), Marcin Gortat (13)

7.  Chicago Bulls — 10.8

Derrick Rose (6), Jimmy Butler (14), Mike Dunleavy Jr. (21), Pau Gasol (9), Joakim Noah (4)

8.  Oklahoma City Thunder — 11.8

Russell Westbrook (3), Reggie Jackson (18), Kevin Durant (2), Serge Ibaka (8), Kendrick Perkins (28)

9.  Dallas Mavericks — 12.8

Devin Harris/Jameer Nelson (24), Monta Ellis (10), Chandler Parsons (9), Dirk Nowitzki (6), Tyson Chandler (15)

10.  Houston Rockets — 12.8

Patrick Beverley (28), James Harden (2), Trevor Ariza (8), Terrence Jones (25), Dwight Howard (1)

11.  Atlanta Hawks — 14.0

Jeff Teague (15), Kyle Korver (15), DeMarre Carroll (22), Paul Millsap (12), Al Horford (6)

12.  Denver Nuggets — 14.0

Ty Lawson (13), Arron Afflalo (13), Danilo Gallinari (16), Kenneth Faried (11), JaVale McGee (17)

13.  Memphis Grizzlies — 14.2

Mike Conley (12), Tony Allen/Courtney Lee (23), Tayshaun Prince (24), Zach Randolph (7), Marc Gasol (5)

14.  Miami Heat — 15.0

Mario Chalmers (29), Dwyane Wade (3), Luol Deng (7), Josh McRoberts (28), Chris Bosh (8)

15.  Charlotte Hornets — 15.2

Kemba Walker (16), Lance Stephenson (7), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (27), Marvin Williams (24), Al Jefferson (2)

16.  New Orleans Pelicans — 15.2

Jrue Holiday (17), Eric Gordon (19), Tyreke Evans (13), Anthony Davis (3), Omer Asik (24)

17.  Brooklyn Nets — 15.6

Deron Williams (14), Joe Johnson (8), Andrei Kirilenko (28), Kevin Garnett (21), Brook Lopez (7)

18.  Toronto Raptors — 15.8

Kyle Lowry (11), Terrence Ross (21), DeMar DeRozan (5), Amir Johnson (22), Jonas Valanciunas (20)

19.  Minnesota Timberwolves — 16.0

Ricky Rubio (19), Kevin Martin (12), Corey Brewer/Andrew Wiggins (19), Thaddeus Young (18), Nikola Pekovic (12)

20.  Los Angeles Lakers — 16.6

Jeremy Lin/Steve Nash (25), Kobe Bryant (1), Nick Young (17), Carlos Boozer (17), Jordan Hill (23)

**Although, Wesley Johnson will be the probable starter in place of Young**

21.  Detroit Pistons — 16.8

Brandon Jennings (21), Jodie Meeks (24), Josh Smith (14), Greg Monroe (14), Andre Drummond (11)

22.  Phoenix Suns –– 17.8

Goran Dragic (9), Eric Bledsoe (5), P.J. Tucker (23), Markieff Morris (23), Miles Plumlee (29)

23.  New York Knicks — 18.8

Jose Calderon (23), Shumpert (22), Carmelo Anthony (3), Amar’e Stoudemire (19), Samuel Dalembert (27)

24.  Sacramento Kings — 18.8

Darren Collison (26), Ben McLemore (30), Rudy Gay (6), Jason Thompson (29), DeMarcus Cousins (3)

25.  Utah Jazz –– 19.4

Trey Burke (22), Alec Burks (26), Gordon Hayward (12), Derrick Favors (16), Enes Kanter (21)

26.  Indiana Pacers — 21.2

George Hill (27), C.J. Miles (27), Solomon Hill (27), David West (13), Roy Hibbert (10)

**With Paul George (who would be a No. 4), they’re ranked 20th, at 16.2**

27.  Boston Celtics — 21.6

Rajon Rondo (8), Avery Bradley (25), Jeff Green (18), Brandon Bass (27), Tyler Zeller (30)

28.  Orlando Magic — 21.8

Elfrid Payton (30), Victor Oladipo (17), Moe Harkless (26), Channing Frye (20), Nikola Vucevic (16)

29.  Milwaukee Bucks — 24.0

Brandon Knight (20), Giannis Antetokounmpo (28), Jabari Parker (20), Ersan Ilyasova (26), Larry Sanders (26)

30.  Philadelphia 76ers — 25.8

Michael Carter-Williams (18), Tony Wroten (29), Hollis Thompson (30), Luc Mbah a Moute (30), Nerlens Noel (22)

This is the point in time where you credit Toronto for being to gather such a tough bench in the league, and competing for a three seed in the Eastern Conference, despite placing 18th overall, which is in the bottom half of the league.  It won’t be that way up North for long, though, since many expect Valanciunas to climb into an aggressive center, and battle for Most Improved Player of the Year.

It’s also when you step back and realize that, out of the top 16 squads in terms of average, 10 teams are from the West, and just six are in the East.  The dissimilarity is real and factual, and Eastern Conference apologists will have just one more season of trying to debunk that argument.  It won’t work, however.

The wait for opening night is burning through us all, just admit it.