Welcome back to "Pat's Top 25 NBA Players Countdown", today I present two elite stars that have established themselves as perennial All-Stars. Also, their respective skills and production have allowed them to get recognition from sportswriters and broadcasters as All-NBA performers multiple seasons. These two players have a particularly unique skill set that place them top ten at what they do best. One player is a defensive maestro with fierce competitor spirit, while the other is a top ten scorer that has a knack at drawing contact and getting to the free throw line.  
Before I announce these two players here's a quick recap of the players selected in Part 1-4 of this series.

First six out...
  • 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
Top #25 Rankings 25-20
  • (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

Now the 19th and 18th selection
  • (19.) PF. Draymond Green *Golden State Warriors
The heart ,the soul and the mouthpiece of the Warriors , Draymond Green is one of five Warriors that will make an appearance on my top 25 list. Draymond Green seems to get a lot of flak for being an overrated loud mouth who's only successful, because his teammates are two former MVP'S .... (Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant ), an All-Star/ top three shooter, (Klay Thompson) and just being another piece in a great system orchestrated by head coach (Steve Kerr). Also, with the addition of Superstar big man DeMarcus Cousins this summer, Draymond will move down to the fifth scoring option in their starting five, so one can assure more people will try to diminish him as just being a mere piece on a stack team. I'm here to tell you that yes Draymond Green does play in a great system, with great teammates and a great organization, but that shouldn't diminish his value.
Draymond Green has been a very good player these past four season , he has a cumulative stat line of (11.7 Pts, 8.3 Rebs, 6.4 Ast, 1.6 Stl, 1.4 Blk, 45 Fg%, 34 3pt% and 71 ft%.)  Along with those stats he has made three all star games (2016-2018), All-NBA second team (2016), All-NBA third team (2017) Defensive Player of the Year (2017), three time All- Defensive first team (2015-2017) , All- Defensive second team (2018), steals leader (2017) and a three time NBA  champion (2015, 2017, 2018). Green has finished in the top two three out of the past four seasons in the Defensive Player of the year voting and came in sixth last season. As I said before Draymond Green is a defensive maestro and with all his defensive accolades the past four seasons, it's no wonder Golden State has ranked in the top ten each of the past four seasons leading the league in that category in 2015 and 2017. 
Furthermore, Draymond Green is a pretty good offensive player as well. Sure he only averages just under 12 points per game the past four seasons, but his 7.2 Assist per game the past three seasons rank him in the top ten. Draymond Green is a very good passer and screener for the warriors. He may not be the most efficient player on his team or in the league, but he's fully capable of having a big game, in matter of fact , Game 7 of the NBA Finals against Cleveland he led the Warriors in scoring with 32 points on 11 of 15 shooting , and chipped in tremendously in other categories with 15 rebounds and nine assist . He was the only Warrior to play like a "STAR" that game.
Draymond Green being selected as the 19th best player in the NBA, while being the fifth scoring option just shows how much appreciation I have for his defense, leadership and playmaking skills . He truly plays with the passion of an undersized prize fighter, doing any and everything to get an edge on the competition. He's truly a key component for the Warriors represented the Western Conference in the last four NBA championships and winning three of them.


(18.) SG. DeMar Derozan *San Antonio Spurs

DeMar Derozan has been one of the best shooting guards in the NBA the past four seasons and the lead dog for the Toronto Raptors. He has made second team All-NBA (2018) and third team All-NBA (2017) as well as being a three time All-Star during that span (2016-2018).
Derozan has a cumulative stat line of (23.5 Pts, 4.6 Rebs, 4.2 Ast, 1.1 Stl, 45 Fg%, 30.1 3pt% 84 ft%) . During this span he has finished top eight in total points the past three seasons, top 10 in ppg two out of the past four seasons and has been apart of the best team in the East according to regular season winning percentage as a member of the Toronto Raptors. Also, Derozan has finished in the top-ten for free throw attempts three out of the past four seasons, his ability to get to the charity stripe is what his scoring ability elite.  
Derozan is coming off a season where his team finished second in the NBA with 59 wins, yet they were swept as a number one seed by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round for the second straight year. Derozan didn't particularly play well in this series. He averaged 16.8 points, compared to his 23.0 points for the regular season, and had a terrible game three and four. Toronto lost their first two home games in the series had to win a crucial game three as no team in NBA history has been able to come back from a 3-0 deficit and he absolutely didn't show up. He shot 3 of 12 and had eight points. His play was so horrific that head coach ex- Raptors head coach Dwane Casey benched him late in the third quarter while they were down by 16 points and the Raptors almost won without him, losing 105-103 after a game winning bank shot floater by LeBron James. The Raptors then proceeded to get blown out in game four after another ineffective performance from Derozan only scoring 13 points.
The Raptors having another letdown in the postseason ultimately led to coach of the year Dwane Casey getting fired. Then on July 18, 2018 news broke on ESPN that the Raptors agreed with the Spurs for a trade involving DeMar Derozan, Jakob Poeltl and a protected 2019 first round pick to the Spurs for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green.
DeMar Derozan wasn't too happy about the trade , he said, "I felt like I wasn't treated with what I sacrificed for nine years, with the respect that I thought I deserved. By just giving me the say so of letting me know something's going on or it's a chance . That's all I wanted." I understand Derozan's frustration, but he got traded for a superior player in Kawhi Leonard and his inconsistent play in the postseason along with former back court mate Kyle Lowry made the decision that much easier to make.
Furthermore, Derozan should use this as fuel for this upcoming season. He will definitely need it, because the Western Conference is packed with Superstar and All-Star shooting guards, with the likes of MVP James Harden, Two-way Star Jimmy Butler, elite shooter and a champion in Klay Thompson, with up and coming Rising-Stars such as Devin Booker and Donovan Mitchell, Derozan days as an All-Star may be numbered. Hopefully, he can thrive with the best head coach in the NBA in Gregg Popovich and become a better defender ,that can increase his value to a team and may propel him to become tougher mentally,He will need it. His greatest roadblock, LeBron James is now in the West as well, proving that life truly don't allow you to run away from your problems!
So there you have it, that concludes part five. I gave you all stats,facts and insight on what these two players bring to the table. I'll return on Saturday, August 4, 2018 with the 17th and 16th selection. Feel free to leave comments and let me know if you are for or against these selections.  

  



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