Welcome back to "Pat's Top 25 NBA Players Countdown" . The last time we were here,  Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder ,was ranked as the seventh best player in the NBA. With only six selections left on this countdown, Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans will be making an appearance on today's list. 

Before I announce the other player that will be making an appearance with Anthony Davis on today's list. Here's a recap of the list so far.

Players that didn't quite 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 #25-7

• (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 *Toronto Raptors 
  
• (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 
  
• (13.) SG. Klay Thompson *Golden State Warriors 
  
• (12.) PG. Damian Lillard *Portland Trail Blazers 
  
• (11.) C. DeMarcus Cousins *Golden State Warriors 
  
• (10.) PG. Kyrie Irving *Boston Celtics 
  
• (9.) PG. Chris Paul *Houston Rockets 
  
• (8.) PF. Giannis Antetokounmpo *Milwaukee Bucks 
  
• (7.) PG. Russell Westbrook *Oklahoma City Thunder 
  

Players ranked sixth and fifth .

•                                            (6.)  SG. James Harden *Houston Rockets 

James Harden a.k.a. "The Beard" was finally awarded the NBA MVP this past season. He had 86 first place votes compared to LeBron James (15) and he finished with 965 voting points compared to LeBron James 738.  Harden had another great statistical season , he averaged (30.4 Pts, 8.8 Ast, 5.4 Rebs, 1.8 Stls, 45 Fg%, 37 3pt% & 86 Ft%.). He led the NBA in PER (29.4), Offensive Win Shares, (11.6), Win Shares, (15.4) , Box/Plus minus (10.9) and free throws attempts, (727) and free throws made (624)  . He finished third in assist per game (8.8) and led the league in points per game with (30.4) . 

Harden has been exceptional these past four seasons. He has a cumulative stat line of (29.0 Pts, 6.3 Rebs, 8.6 Ast, 1.6 Stls, 44.3 Fg%, 37 3pt% & 86 Ft%). He has been an All-Star every season (2015-2018), Three time All-NBA First team (2015,2017,2018) , Scoring Champion (2018), assist leader (2017) and finished top two in MVP voting three out of the past four seasons (2015,2017,2018).
Furthermore, James Harden by the numbers is easily a top three player in the NBA, but numbers don't always tell the story of just how effective and great a player is. Much like Westbrook and LeBron James the ability to dominate the ball  inflate their statistics, but unlike LeBron, Westbrook and Harden seem to fade away in the postseason. Rather it's the 12 turnovers on 2-for-11 shooting from the field in game five of the Conference Finals against the Warriors in a series they lost 4-1, The 2017 second round series they lost 4-2 against the Spurs, which he scored 10 points on 18% from the field in a closeout game six , or if it's the inconsistency he showed throughout the Rockets playoff run in 2018, Harden is frustrating to watch in the playoffs. He didn't perform well in games six or seven in the Western Conference Finals against the Warriors a series they led 3-2 and the Rockets eventually lost the series in seven games.
Houston managed to have double digits lead midway through the second quarter in two closeout games against the Warriors and they choked the lead away in both.  they led 39-22 in game six, but went on to lose 115-86 , then in game seven they led 54-43 at halftime, but went on to miss 27 straight three pointers and lost 101-92 . One can make the argument had Chris Paul been available they would have won, but even without Paul they were capable of winning those games.
With each passing season the criticism of Harden in the playoffs will grow, the only way to get over his past failures is to win now and to win big in June. The Rockets are talented enough to win a championship, it's time for Harden to get them over the hump. 

• https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hardeja01.html
• https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hardeja01/gamelog/2017/
• https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201805280HOU.html
• https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201505270GSW.html
• https://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/awards_2018.html

• (5.) PF. Anthony Davis *New Orleans Pelicans 

          

Anthony Davis is without a question the best big man in the NBA. "The Brow" is a top tier player on both ends of the floor and it showed this past season, he finished third in MVP voting and second in Defensive Player of the Year voting. 

Davis has been great these past four seasons. He made the All-Star game four times (2015-2018), All-Star game MVP (2017), Three All-NBA First team selections  (2015,2017,2018), All-Defensive First team (2018), All-Defensive second team (2015,2017) and led the league in blocks two times (2015,2018). 

Over the past four season Davis has a cumulative stat line of (26.2 Pts, 10.9 Rebs, 2.1 Ast, 1.4 Stls, 2.4 Blks, 51.3 Fg%, 32 3pt% & 79.8 Ft%). Davis has finished top five in win shares twice (2015,2018) , top five in defensive win shares twice (2015,2018) top ten in rebounds twice (2017,2018)  league leader in blocks twice (2015,2018) and has finished in the top ten for MVP voting three times (2015,2017,2018). 

Anthony Davis is coming off his most successful in his career. He was finally able  to make it back to the playoffs after missing it the previous two years and he showed how dominant he could be in that series against the Portland Trail Blazers. Davis averaged (33.0 Pts, 11.8 Rebs, 1.3 Ast, 2.8 Blks, 1.8 Stls, 58 Fg%, 30 3pt% & 82 Ft%). He and Jrue Holiday were instrumental in the Pelicans sweeping Damian Lillard , C.J. McCollum and the Trail Blazers. 

Davis played well against the Warriors in the second round, averaging (27.8 Pts, 14.8 Rebs, 2.0 Ast, 2.2 Stls , 2.0 Blks, 48 Fg%, 25 3pt% & 85 Ft%). The Pelicans fought hard in the series, but the Warriors had too much firepower in the end and they won the series convincingly in five games. Davis for his career is 5-8 in the postseason with two losses against the Warriors. That's nothing to be ashamed about since the Warriors have won the championship three of the past four seasons. 

Davis is no longer with DeMarcus Cousins who's now a member of the Golden State Warriors and Rajon Rondo , who is now a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, so it's going to be a dog fight for the Pelicans to get back to the post season this year.  Davis will have to elevate his play even more this upcoming season, and personally i'm excited to see if he can carry the Pelicans back to the playoffs. 

It's tough to place AD at number five, because their are a ton of players with more playoff success, however there are few with his talent level, his upside and his ability to be dominant on both ends of the court. 

•  https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/davisan02.html
• https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/2018-nba-western-conference-first-round-pelicans-vs-trail-blazers.html
• https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/2018-nba-western-conference-semifinals-pelicans-vs-warriors.html

There you have it. The 6th and 5th selection of the top 25 NBA players countdown. Let me know what you think!