The Phoenix Suns’ season ended unceremoniously at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves over a month ago – and the NBA world hasn’t slowed down on the pessimism surrounding the future outlook of the franchise.
Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report shares much of the same sentiment, as he believes that neither member of the Suns’ superstar duo featuring Kevin Durant and Devin Booker are currently top 10 players.
This follows the aforementioned sweep at the hands of the T-Wolves, where Booker was underwhelming in the first three games of the series, and Durant was good, not great.
Bailey’s list, in order, is as follows:
10. Jalen Brunson
9. Anthony Edwards
8. Steph Curry
7. LeBron James
6. Joel Embiid
5. Jayson Tatum
4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo
2. Luka Doncic
1. Nikola Jokic
Bailey didn’t mention any players that were left just outside of the top 10, but these lines could be crucial to understanding why Booker and Durant were omitted.
The NBA regular season is 82 games. A team can play a maximum of 28 more in the playoffs.
But it’s that second season, the postseason, that largely drives our conversations about who the league’s best player is.
Never mind the lack of variety (you play the same team four to seven times in a row, then move on to the next series), at least relative to the regular season. Never mind the fact that winning 16 games and a championship is a team accomplishment.
Media, fandom and the basketball world at large view these pressure-packed, high-stakes performances as the ultimate test of an individual player’s worthiness.
– Andy Bailey
The criteria of playoffs being the main factor behind the rankings would give credence to the overall list, but too much stock was being placed on the run as a whole.
Edwards was phenomenal the first several games of his postseason run, but was wildly inconsistent after that. Brunson doesn’t necessarily have enough time at this level of play to be considered over either Booker or Durant.
LeBron is still an elite player at age 39, but isn’t as good of a scorer or defender as Durant.
It ultimately feels as if this exercise was too much of an overreaction. Durant is still in his prime going into his age-36 season, and Booker is still arguably one of the 10 best offensive players in the game.
Putting stock into playoff success is valid, but there are many other factors behind playoff flameouts – ranging from poor coaching decisions, to incompatible roster makeup, to injuries.
The pair of Suns’ stars are individually in the conversation to be among the 10 best in the world – and Durant should arguably remain a lock despite the early playoff exit.
