Western Conference talent reign supreme. Welcome back to "Pat's Top 25 NBA players countdown" . There are 13 players remaining and 10 of them will be representing a team from the Western Conference. The Warriors have four players ranked inside the top 15.
Klay Thompson will be the second member of the Warriors to make an appearance on the top 25 list  . Klay Thompson is one of the deadliest shooters in NBA history and easily the most undervalued player in the NBA . Much like Draymond Green, Thompson's  value to the Warriors is underappreciated, because of the greatness of Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry.  
Before I announce the other Star player on this list, Let's look at a recap of the list so far.

*Players that didn't make the cut
  • C. Nikola Jokic *Denver Nuggets
  • C. Andre Drummond *Detroit Pistons
  • SG. Devin Booker *Phoenix Suns
  • PF. Kevin Love *Cleveland Cavaliers
  • PG. Kemba Walker *Charlotte Hornets
  • SG. C.J. McCollum *Portland Trail Blazers
*Players ranked #25-14
  • (25.) SG. Bradley Beal *Washington Wizards

  • (24.) C. Karl-Anthony Towns *Minnesota Timberwolves
  • (23.) PG. Kyle Lowry *Toronto Raptors
  • (22.) SG. Victor Oladipo *Indiana Pacers
(21.) C. Rudy Gobert *Utah Jazz

  • (20.) PF. LaMarcus Aldridge *San Antonio Spurs
  • (19.) PF. Draymond Green *Golden State Warriors
  • (18.) SG. Demar Derozan *San Antonio Spurs
  • (17.) C. Joel Embiid *Philadelphia 76ers
  • (16.) PG. John Wall *Washington Wizards
  • (15.) SF. Paul George *Oklahoma City Thunder
  • (14.) SG. Jimmy Butler *Minnesota Timberwolves

Now the 13th and 12th selection of the Top#25
  • (13.) SG. Klay Thompson







Klay Thompson has been one of the best shooters in the NBA , since coming to the league in 2012. He's considered around the league to be the second best shooter behind his teammate and fellow "Splash Brother" Stephen Curry. Many people even consider Klay Thompson to be a better catch and shoot player than Stephen Curry.
Klay Thompson has been brilliant in his six year NBA career, most notably the past four seasons. He has made every All-Star game (2015-2018), ALL-NBA third team twice (2015,2016) , NBA All-Star Three-point Shootout winner  (2016) and a three time NBA Champion (2015,2017,2018). Klay Thompson has put up some incredible numbers as the second and third option for the Warriors the past four seasons. He has averages of (21.5 Pts, 3.6 Rebs, 2.4 Ast, 0.9 Stl, 47.3 Fg%, 43 3pt% & 86 Ft%.).
Klay Thompson is often tasked with guarding the other team best perimeter player, particularly Steph Curry matchup. Klay has to guard Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving  and many other top guards and he does a good job. Sure you can't see it in his numbers, he averages less than one steal a game ,but Klay's defense is more about cutting off passing lanes, denying the ball and being in the right position to make it tough for these elite guards to score. Klay held Damian Lillard to 36% shooting for the series in the 2016 playoffs and held Russell Westbrook to 40% shooting from the field.

Also, Klay Thompson has some memorable moments . On December 5th, 2016 against the Indiana Pacers at Oracle Arena he put on a show in front of the home crowd, scoring 60 points in 29 minutes. What made this even more impressive was that he only need eleven dribbles for his 21 made field goal attempts according to NBA analyst Tom Haberstroh. Also, Klay Thompson was huge in a pivotal game 6 in the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he scored 41 points for the game and went lunatic in the fourth quarter. He  scored 19 points and hit five threes, which gave the Warriors a huge boost. Klay outscored the Thunder (19-18 )in the fourth quarter  and the other Warriors chipped in with 14 points. The Warriors won game six and seven and broke up the underachieving Westbrook/Durant duo.
Furthermore, Klay Thompson is a three-time NBA champion and a better offensive threat for his team than Paul George and Jimmy Butler, that's why he reigns above them on this top 25 list . It wasn't an easy decision to make, Butler and George have slightly better numbers than Thompson across the board. They have more Defensive accolades and they unlike Klay have experience being the number one option. All of that is great, but George nor Butler have been able to make their teams a legit threat these past three seasons. Neither one of them have won a playoff series during that span and each of them have underperformed when it counts the most. Sure Klay Thompson numbers aren't better than theirs, but it's only because he's a third option. Even as a third option Klay has averaged (22.3 Pts) & (20.0 Pts)  the last two seasons and (15.4 Pts) and (19.8 Pts ) in the postseason. Given a bigger role , I'm certain that Klay Thompson can be a 25 Ppg scorer , while still guarding the other team best guard. Klay is a more efficient scorer than George and Jimmy and their defense is pretty much the same. Klay just gets overlooked, because he plays with other great defenders on his team such as Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and Kevin Durant. Klay Thompson may not even make another All-NBA team, because of how the Warriors are perceived as the greatest team ever with most of the shine going to Stephen Curry and KD.  You will have to watch the Warriors game to realize Klay Thompson true impact on the offensive and defensive end of the court.




  • (12.) PG. Damian Lillard *Portland Trail Blazers

Damian Lillard has been brilliant the past four season. He has a cumulative average of (25 Pts, 4.5 Rebs, 6.4 Ast, 1.0 Stl, 43 Fg%, 36 3pt% and 90 Ft%.). He has made two All-Star games (2015,2018) , and two All-NBA teams , first team All-NBA (2018) and second team All-NBA (2016).

Damian Lillard a.k.a. "Dame Dolla" is coming off his best season in the NBA. Lillard made the All-NBA first team for the first time in his career. He received (71) first place votes compared to Russell Westbrook's (24) and Stephen curry (2). Damian Lillard averaged (26.9 Pts, 6.6 Ast, 4.5 Rebs, 1.1 Stl, 44 Fg%, 36 3pt% and 92 Ft%. ) He finished top five in scoring and top 10 in assist per game. He has finished in the top six in scoring three out of the past four seasons. He finished fifth in win shares last year with (12.6) and was seventh in PER with a rating of (25.2). Also, Damian Lillard finished fourth in MVP award shares with 207 total points and led the Trail Blazers to the third seed in the West with a record of 49-33, which was an eight win improvement from the season prior.
Damian Lillard in the Blazers seemed to be a dark horse team to make it out the Western conference ,but Anthony Davis and his running mates put an end to their hopes quick. The Blazers were swept 4-0 in their first round series against the New Orleans Pelicans and Damian Lillard was shut down and thoroughly outplayed by Jrue Holiday throughout the series. Lillard was held way below his season average in Ppg and shooting percentages. He shot 35% from the field , 30% from behind the arc and averaged only (18.5 Ppg) with (4.8 Apg) compared to his (26.9 Ppg, 6.6 Ast ,44 Fg% and 36 3pt%) in the regular season. Jrue Holiday on the other hand averaged (23.7 Pts, 6.3 Ast, 5.7 Rebs, 1.1 Stl ) and shot 52% from the field. The series was a huge let down and they became the first third seed to get swept in a best of seven,first- round series.
Damian Lillard has won two playoff series in his career and one the past four seasons, a 4-2 win against the Los Angeles Clippers in 2016 first round . He has shot below 37% in two of his past three playoff trips. He is often asked tasked along with C.J.McCollum to carry a huge scoring load, and be an elite playmaker to get others involved, but that still isn't an excuse to shoot poorly in the playoffs.   It's going to be interesting to see how the Blazers fare this upcoming season. I'm curious to see if they have a down season, would the team pull the plug on Damian Lillard or C.J. McCollum and break up the duo to improve the team for the future. They need an elite wing who can score as well as play defense. The best players in the league are at the Small Forward position and if the Trail Blazers can't adapt ,I don't see them ever being a legit playoff threat.
Damian Lillard is considered throughout the league to be a bad defender, but his offensive prowess, much like a Stephen Curry and James Harden are so valuable that you almost seemingly give them a pass for their defensive deficiencies.





There you have it. The 13th and 12th selection of my list. What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Don't be afraid to comment. On Wednesday, August 15th, we will finally be introduced to the beginning of the top ten. 








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