7. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
Last Rank: No. 10
Position: Point Guard
Age: 30
Slash Line: .466/.379/.896
Season Averages: 33.3 MPG, 19.9 PPG, 9.6 APG, 4.0 RPG, 2.1 SPG, 1.7 3PM
The Los Angeles Clippers lost Blake Griffin on Christmas Day, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell that by their record without him. Los Angeles opened the season at 17-13, and is 23-7 in the 30 games it’s played without the perennial All-Star.
One simply cannot address that success without giving Chris Paul his due as one of the best players in the NBA.
During that 30-game stretch, Paul has posted averages of 21.8 points, 10.3 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. He’s paced the offense, been a vocal leader on defense, and helped stabilize the second unit by playing extended minutes with players he’d otherwise not share the court with.
The fact that Los Angeles is consistently winning games against teams of all calibers is quite the feather in CP3’s hat.
This past week, Paul elevated his play to a high enough level to give Los Angeles three big wins. He recorded 40 point and 13 assists during a win over the New Orleans Pelicans, had 23 points and 12 assists in a victory over the Brooklyn Nets, and closed out the week with 21 points and 13 assists in a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Paul’s postseason shortcomings are what they are, but it’d be foolish to pretend he hasn’t led the Clippers out of the gutter and into the championship picture in 2015-16.
Next: No. 6