Sports are an essential part of everyday life for millions of people. Some actively play, some are spectators and others coach . One sport in particular that has grown each year is the NBA. Many people have gravitated towards this sport, because of athletes from the past. American NBA players such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and others members from  the "Original Dream Team" inspired young athletes to love this sport nationally and internationally. Also, foreign players such as Drazen Petrovic, Arvydas Sabonis, Hakeem Olajuwon and some others aspired many young athletes by giving them hope that they can be good enough to make it to the NBA and thrive. The league has further elevated with players such as Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Manu Ginoboli, Allen Iverson, Vince Carter, Ray Allen and many other all stars and potential hall of famers along the way.

Professional Basketball is a place where we as fans get to see the top athletes around the world  showcase their skillset and athletic prowess. There are so many good players in in the NBA today from various parts of the world, due to their predecessors laying the ground work and having awe inspiring talent. This phenomenon has sparked many debates from casual and die hard NBA fans with arguments such as whose the greatest players of all time, which era of basketball was the greatest, whose overrated, whose underappreciated, etc. Even today there are debates via social media, sport talk shows, sporting magazines and many other platforms you can think of trying to decipher a player's ranking amongst his peers and his value to his current team and franchise. With each fan of a team or a player defending their hero sort of speak through any and all criticism it gets kind of tough to determine who is  really the best, but there may be a solution to determine this.

With Proper analyzing of each player throughout the league and narrowing it down to around 50 Players that were viewed as "IMPACTFUL" I decided to trim the list to the 25 best "CURRENT" NBA players. The words Current and Impactful were capitalized and emphasized , because the criteria for this list centers around whose been the best the last four years, with accolades, All star appearances, All- NBA teams, All- Defensive teams, MVP awards, Final MVP's and Championships. Building of a respectable resume and having rising star potential in the league are bonuses as well.  The list gets kind of tricky, because I had to leave out sure fire hall of famers such as Dwayne Wade (MIA), Carmelo Anthony (ATL), Dirk Nowitzki (DAL),  Pau Gasol (SAS) players who still contribute to their teams and have made the all star game two out of the past four seasons, but are trending downwards and have not been top players the past two years.

Also, I didn't include any rookies from the list such as Kyle Kuzma (LAL), Ben Simmons R.O.Y. (PHILA), Donovan Mitchell (UTAH), and Jayson Tatum (BOS),  throughout history we have seen very good rookie campaigns that didn't materialize to stardom. Also, playing only one year as well as not being selected to an all star game or an All- NBA  team made the decision easy to leave them off the list. Before anyone says "well they're rookies so of course they wouldn't make it.",  look up Tim Duncan's resume then get back to me. Furthermore I can't make the case of any of those players being top 5 players at their respective positions yet and therefore aren't truly top 25 players at least not this past season.

Now that the criteria of this top 25 list is given I will first like to show 6 players that didn't quite make the list, but have great potential to be in the top 25.

• Nikola Jokic (Den) - The third year Center from Serbia has definitely made an impact in the Nba over the last three years. He has posted a cumulative stat line of ( 15.0 Pts, 9.1 Rebs, 4.4 Ast, 1.o Stl, 53 Fg% , 37% 3pt% and 83Ft%). "The Joker" as he is sometimes called is coming off his best season as a pro , posting a stat line of  (18.5 Pts, 10.7 Rebs, 6.1 Ast, 1.2 Stls, 50 Fg%, 40 3pt% and 85 Ft%) . The Nugget big man couldn't quite crack the list, because of his inability to lead this talented team to the playoffs  and his lack of a defensive presence. These are areas that he can definitely improve on and I believe he will. The Denver Nuggets believe so as well, just signing him to the largest contract in their history with a 5 year, 148 Million dollar deal.
• Andre Drummond (DET) - The six year Center from UConn has been the anchor of a mediocre  Detroit Pistons squad, but you can't solely place the blame on Drummond. The Big man has a cumulative stat line of the past four seasons of (14.7 Pts, 14.5 Rebs, 1.5 Blk, 1.4 Stl and a 52.3 Fg%. ). The Big man also has been an all star two out of the past four seasons (2016,2018), made an All- NBA third team in 2016 and is the 2x NBA rebounding leader (2016,2018). Drummond's best season came in 2015-2016, where he posted a stat line of (16. 2 Pts, 14.8 Rebs, 1.4 Blk, 1,4 Stl, and 52 Fg%) as well as being an all star and making his only All- NBA  team in 2016.  His stat line and accolades may seem to be undervalued by this list, but the Pistons have failed to make the playoffs the last three seasons and the one time they made it in 2015 they were swept by the Cavaliers. Also, shooting 44 percent from the line over the past four seasons isn't going to help your team in the clutch.
• Devin Booker (PHX)- The third year guard from the Phoenix Suns has definitely been one of the most exciting young players in the NBA. He is one of only six players in NBA history to score 70 points in a NBA game. This is a feat he accomplished on March 24, 2017 against the number one seeded Boston Celtics. Even though they lost his respect around the league has grown since that game. His cumulative stat line for his first three years ( 19.8 Pts, 3.5 Ast, 3.3 Rebs, 43 Fg%, 37 3pt% , and 85 Ft%) is definitely respectable and comparable to a lot of the top 25 players. Honestly, he couldn't quite make the list, because his team is terrible and rather that should be held against him is your call, but I could definitely see him being a top 10 player one day at his peak ceiling. By the way he's only 21 years of age , the same age as Rookie of the year Ben Simmons.
• Kevin Love  ( CLE) - The 10 year Power Forward from Ucla has definitely put together  a hall of fame career, rather that says more about his play or how lenient NBA hall of fame voting is a compelling argument that can be made for either side. Still Kevin love won a NBA championship in 2016, and has been named to the past two all star games. His stat line the past four seasons, (17.3 Pts, 10 Rebs, 2.1 Ast, 44 Fg%, 38 3pt%, and 84.3 Ft%) is quite good, but do you truly consider him a top 25 player in Today's NBA? If your answer was yes, this list may tempt you to change your stance.
• C.J. McCollum (POR)- The five year combo guard from Lehigh have been one of the most underrated players in the league. He often gets overshadowed by backcourt mate Damian Lilliard who has been one of the premier players in the NBA , but C.J. is definitely a very good complimentary piece. His cumulative averages from the past four seasons (18 Pts, 3.1 Rebs, 3.1 Ast,  1 Stl, 45.3 Fg%, 41 3pt% and 82 Ft% ) is  admirable and he was  named most improved player in 2016. He just isn't  impactful as other premier guards in the NBA.
• Kemba Walker  (CHA) -  The seven year man from UConn has been a very good player for the Hornets. the only problem is that he hasn't had a good supporting cast nor many winning seasons. Walker  has been an all star player the past two seasons and his stat line of (20.9 Pts, 5.4 Ast, 3.7 Rebs, 1.3 Stl, 42.3 Fg% 37 3ot% and 84.8 Ft%) makes him a very good undersized guard in the league. His impact to propel a team to win or even make the playoffs consistently is what is holding him back.

There you have it . A glimpse of some very good players in the NBA , that didn't make the top 25.  From 25-20, I'll post two players each day and from 19-1 one player will be posted daily ,  Let me know what you think. all comments are respected and accepted. Thank you!