The All-Star starters for the 2019-20 NBA season have been released, and we’re going to put them in order of least to most desirable to build a franchise around. To be clear, we’re saying if you were a GM starting to build a team today with these players, this is the order to pick these players in as centerpiece of your franchise. We’ll be using the good-ol’ eye test criteria to put this list together because, frankly, we don’t feel like combing through endless stats and efficiency percentages and yada yada yada. So as long as we’re all on the same page, let’s dive in.
10. LeBron James
Please don’t yell! Is LeBron one of – if not the – best players to have ever played the game? Yes, he is (cue the Michael Jordan debate). Is he getting younger? No. Is he in possession of a time machine? Not that we’re aware of. That’s what lands him at number 10. According to our deeply scientific, mathematically grounded, and not-at-all made up metrics, we give him another one to one-and-a-half pretty good years of basketball. Not exactly the timeframe you’re looking for when building a franchise. You could get Kyrie and make a deal for a reality show though, and that should count for something. LeBron is a proven winner and can carry a team to NBA glory, but his limited time left playing in the league means he’s not moving any lower on our list.
9. Kemba Walker
Now look, this spot on the rankings is not due to us not liking Kemba Walker. He’s a good player. It’s just we don’t think he’s as good as the others who got the nod to start in the All-Star game. He can score, sure, but he’s not the best defender and he’s not really young. I mean be honest, if someone asked you to name the ten All-Star starters for this year, Kemba’s the one you’d most likely forget and then be like “Ohhhh yeah, that’s right,” when someone finally told you who you were missing. To his credit though, Kemba’s a hard worker and appears to be a pretty good leader; he’s just not the flashiest, the youngest, or the most prolific. That’s why he lands at number 9.
8. Trae Young
Trae Young can shoot the lights out. He’s prolific and exciting to watch overall. That said, he’s a defensive liability and isn’t consistent enough to warrant us placing him lower on the list. I can already hear people disagreeing with this one – and maybe you’re right. He’s kind of like a long-lost Splash Brother; but he isn’t on Steph’s or Klay’s level yet. He’s like the protégé that spends his life training to take over the elder’s position of honor – but it remains to be seen whether he’ll be able to lay a legitimate claim to being the best shooter in the league. If you have to build your franchise around Trae Young, you’re not in bad shape by any means; he scores a lot, plays arguably the most important position in today’s NBA, and he’s young – get it, young, like his name!? He-hem *clears throat.* Ok, enough of that, moving on.
7. Pascal Siakam
Siakam is a sneaky good player (although after being named an All-Star starter I suppose your talent can’t be considered “sneaky” anymore). The Cameroon international is currently leading the surprisingly-good Raptors in their quest to repeat as NBA champions. His scoring prowess needs work, but he’s a serviceable defender and he has the tools to shine in the league for years to come. Given that the Raptors aren’t in crisis mode following Kawhi Leonard’s departure, we can only assume that Siakam is a good leader (or at the very least, not a bad one). He’s young, and he seems to develop good chemistry with all the players he has experience playing with (you’re welcome for that groundbreaking analysis on how chemistry works, by the way). Bottom line – he’s got a huge upside and is showing that he can lead a team successfully. What more do you need to know?
6. James Harden
You know, Harden would have a better ranking on this list if you could surround him with ball machines that would just sit in a stationary spot and feed him the ball. Granted, that’s essentially how Houston game plans now anyway, but still. He’s the most prolific scorer in the current NBA, and his stat lines are insane. It would take the Knicks’ starting lineup two weeks to score 50 points, and Harden seems to have a 50% chance of hitting that mark in any game he’s a part of. He’d be a fun guy for your fans to watch. That said, he seems to have issues finding other really good players to complement his style of play. Could you make a playoff run with him and a bunch of guys from an average club league? Probably. Could you win a championship with him and even one other NBA star-level player? It’s looking like the answer to that is no. Still, he’s exciting to watch and can account for half of the points your team would need to win on any given night, so he’s at number 6.
5. Anthony Davis
Now we’re entering the really controversial waters. AD at number 5? For some people, that’s probably inexcusable. Davis is a phenomenal basketball player – he’s so skilled you forget he’s like seven feet tall. He’s in the prime of his career, so you can expect him to maintain his high-level play for the foreseeable future. There’s a reason the Lakers gave up so much to get him from the Pelicans – he’s definitely capable of being a franchise centerpiece. The Brow can shoot, play the block, and was most likely the sole reason New Orleans got to keep its basketball team after years and years of mediocrity in a smaller NBA market. Honestly, the only reason he’s not ranked lower on this list is because the four remaining players on the board are sooo good.
4. Joel Embiid
This one is sure to cause some debate, but hear us out! Embiid is arguably the best big man in the league (it’s between him and Davis – we’re not on the Jokic hype train yet), and he’s very skilled for his size. Basketball ability aside though, what really sets Embiid apart from the rest is his personality. He’s the man! His energy and passion are infectious, he’s funny, and he’s one of the best trash-talkers in the league – just ask Andre Drummond. It’s just fun watching him, and the combination of ability and entertainment he provides is incredibly hard to come by. Embiid is in at number 4.
3. Luka Doncic
Were it not for injury, Luka could be the front-runner for MVP this year (maybe he still is, it seems like that changes every day). He’s having an incredible season, and he’s doing it at an extremely young age. Whichever GMs passed on him in the draft two years ago probably get reminded of it every time they go to dinner, or walk outside to get the newspaper, or check their emails. We’ll probably see NBA teams taking more chances on European players in the draft because of Luka. Doncic has all the makings of an NBA superstar, and he’s so young that building a team around him would mean a potential Golden State level of dynastic dominance. Sustaining his level of play for another year or two could move him to the number 1 spot on the list, but since he’s relatively unproven, we’ve got him at number 3.
2. Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi took the Raptors from the team you’d convince your clueless friend to play as in 2k to NBA champions in one year. Toronto hadn’t enjoyed that level of relevance in the league since Vince Carter played there. The Raptors might as well have been called the Toronto Kawhi Leonard’s, since Kawhi carried them to the championship, won a ring, and staked his claim to being arguably the best player in the world today. Don’t let his persona of utter indifference fool you, he’s a lead-by-example guy, not someone who just got told that there aren’t any more everything bagels left and that sesame seed is close enough. Kawhi’s proven he can lead a franchise all the way to championship glory, his defense is second-to-none, and his offense is effortlessly frightening. He’s as complete a player as you can have, and the sole reason he’s number 2 on this list is because he’s older than number 1, and so may not have as many years of high-level basketball left to capitalize on.
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo
We’ll be the first to admit that we thought Giannis was seriously overrated two years ago, and mostly overrated last year. Well, that’s not the case. Giannis is an absolute beast. His length is incredible – when he drives for a dunk he’s the closest an NBA player has come to looking like Michael Jordan at the end of Space Jam. That length also makes him a tough guy to score on. Milwaukee has shown the rest of the league that you don’t even need to surround him with great players to be successful, a quality that’s enviable if you’re trying to build your own franchise around one player. Plus he’s pretty young, and he’s shown he has the ability to improve his game year after year. Giannis is a hard-worker who actively wants to get better – if the leader of your team has that attitude and is capable of imparting it on other players in the locker room (which appears to be the case with the Bucks), the possibilities are endless. That’s why Giannis takes the top spot on this list.
So there you have it; our rankings of the 2019-20 NBA All-Star starters in order of who you would want to build a franchise around. Hope you enjoyed and aren’t currently having a heated debate with your phone or computer as to why Anthony Davis is really a top three selection.