The 2022-23 NBA season is about to start soon, and fans are extremely excited to once again see their favorite players return to play basketball. As usual, the offseason has been very eventful, with plenty of trade rumors to keep the fans’ attention spiked.
With the offseason almost ending, most NBA teams are getting finalized, and they have already started to prepare for the start of the new season. There are a few outright favorites to win next season’s title. On the other hand, there are some dark horses who could surprise everyone.
But today, our focus is not on the best teams ahead of the 2022-23 NBA season. Instead, we will be focusing on the top 5 best players in the league as of now. The list was shared by NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith during a recent podcast appearance.
LeBron James Is Still The Best Player In The League Per Stephen A. Smith
Smith is one of the most popular analysts and is known for his blunt and accurate takes about the league. On the podcast, he was asked a lot of things, including his list of the top 5 greatest NBA players of all time. Following that, Smith also gave his list of the top 5 players currently in the league.
(Starts at 1:00:58):
“I’m gonna still say LeBron is there. I’m gonna tell you KD is there, I’m gonna tell you Giannis is there. LeBron, KD, Giannis, Steph Curry definitely. I gotta tell you even though everybody loves Jokic because his numbers is great and I gotta give him consideration. If it’s numbers, we’re going with Jokic, if it’s talent I’m going with Embiid.”
His list looks pretty good, to be honest. While Smith didn’t waste much time in naming the first four players on his list, he looked a little confused when he was forced to pick between Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid.
In the end, he played it safe and decided to sort of include them both. He picked Jokic for his ability to stuff the box score, and he picked Embiid because of his raw talent and ability to play basketball.
