The NBA is in a pretty interesting place right now. As the older generation of NBA greats begins to fade, a new cast of characters is taking up the mantle and slowly edging out the same guys they grew up admiring.
The result has been a rapidly-changing league that has destabilized the rise and fall of many of the game’s top players.
ESPN, for example, recently did a player ranking poll that had guys like Steph Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant below some of the game’s younger stars, and it sparked a flurry of debates and conversations online.
Kendrick Perkins Unveils His List Of The Top 5 Best NBA Players Today
And while some agreed with ESPN’s list, Kendrick Perkins had a lot to say about it in a recent episode of ‘NBA Today,’ where he gave his own top five after agreeing that Giannis Antetokounmpo is the best player in the game today.
“Right at number two, I got Steph Curry. Finals MVP, NBA Champion, broke the three-point record last season. Changed the game forever and he’s still doing it. At number three I’m going with LeBron James. People could say what they want, I know in 7 years he’s going to be eligible for his pension and I get that. But he still averaged 30 last season and he’s still a problem in today’s game. At number four, I’m going with Jokic, okay. 2x MVP, I know a lot of people will say he shouldn’t have won the MVP twice back to back. I’m hating but I’m not hating, he’s in the top five. At number five I’m going with the Big Philly, Joel Embiid. Did we watch him singlehandedly carry the Philadelphia 76ers last season when Ben Simmons quit on him? Didn’t he finish second to the Joker as far as MVP running?”
.@KendrickPerkins list his top-five players in the NBA 👀
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo
2. Stephen Curry
3. LeBron James
4. Nikola Jokic
5. Joel Embiid pic.twitter.com/aUgA36ChaV
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) September 23, 2022
It’s a solid lineup from Perkins, with the only real difference from ESPN’s list being LeBron’s inclusion at the third spot. ESPN put him 6th, right behind Curry and Embiid. And while James isn’t quite the player he used to be, the guy can still ball out at 37 years old.
Cleary, with James at 3 and Curry at 2, Perkins still holds a lot of the old school players in high regard, which makes a lot of sense. Before showering Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic in flowers, let them prove that they can win when it matters the most.
Either way, it will be interesting to see how Perk’s list holds through the test of time and which players will separate themselves from the rest in this upcoming campaign.
