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          #NBArank: The countdown continues with Nos. 81-90

          • ESPN.com
          Oct 8, 2015, 12:00 AM ET

          It's Year 5 for #NBArank!

          ESPN is ranking (almost) every NBA player and counting them down on Twitter (@ESPNNBA), from No. 400 to No. 1.

          Who will be the best player this season?

          To get the final ranking, we asked the panel to vote on pairs of players.

          LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry. James Harden vs. Kevin Durant. Kobe Bryant vs. Pau Gasol.

          We asked, "Which player will be better in 2015-16?" To decide, voters had to consider both the quality and quantity of each player's contributions to his team's ability to win games. More than 100 voters weighed in on nearly 30,000 pairs of players.

          We'll roll out the results during the next five weeks. If you want to get involved in the discussion or just follow along, #NBArank is the Twitter hashtag to use. You also can follow along @ESPNNBA and on Facebook.

          Today, we're unveiling Nos. 81-90 on our list -- one at a time every hour -- starting at 8:30 a.m. ET.

          #NBArank: 81-90

          81. Reggie Jackson

          Insider profile: Pistons honcho Stan Van Gundy called the fully guaranteed, option-free, five-year, $80 million contract he signed Reggie Jackson to this summer a "hell of a deal." He ain't lying. Detroit has gone all-in on the notion that the 25-year-old, former late first-round pick is its franchise point guard. Read more »

          82. Kenneth Faried

          Insider profile: On the heels of his starting role for the USA's winning entry in the FIBA World Cup, Denver signed Faried to a four-year, $50 million extension that kicks in this season. The Manimal promptly responded with the weakest campaign of his career to date. Read more »

          83. Robin Lopez

          Insider profile: Lopez is a good, non-elite defensive center. His rim-protect percentages from SportVu put him in the upper fifth of the league, and his block rate is on a similar tier. Read more »

          84. Taj Gibson

          Insider profile: Gibson seemed on the verge of an offensive breakout when he averaged over 18 points during the 2014 postseason, but last year most of his drop can be traced to that end. His touches were down considerably, and his usage rate fell from 23.2 to 17.6 percent. Read more »

          85. Marcus Smart

          Insider profile: Smart isn't ready to be a distributor yet, handing out just 4.1 assists per 36 minutes, one of the worst rates for any starting point guard. His transition and pick-and-roll numbers were a complete mess. But his defense makes it all worthwhile. Read more »

          86. Monta Ellis

          Insider profile: Ellis' defensive RPM crept into positive territory last season, and for all of the things he does that draw criticism, he is a fiercely competitive ballplayer. Read more »

          87. Tyreke Evans

          Insider profile: In truth, a lot of Evans' apparent improvement as a point guard was actually regression to the mean as a finisher. He has always been better at getting to the basket than making shots at the rim. Read more »

          88. Jrue Holiday

          Insider profile: While he was an All-Star his last season in Philadelphia, 2014-15 was Holiday's most productive on a per-minute basis. He cut down on his turnovers dramatically and increased his 3-point attempts, a good development for a 37.6 percent career shooter. Read more »

          89. Tobias Harris

          Insider profile: He's money from the corners, shooting 45 percent on over 100 attempts, and smartly hunts for gaps in the defense to get easy buckets near the rim. He isn't a great decision-maker, but that comes with the territory of a 23-year-old getting 14 shots per game. Read more »

          90. Jahlil Okafor

          Insider profile: The larger questions about Okafor center around the defensive end. He's a below-average shot blocker for a center who often tends to arrive about a half-step later than he needs to be in help position. Read more »

          #NBArank: Next: 91-100 | Team-by-team