It's Year 5 for #NBArank!
Who will be the best ballers in the NBA this season? Here are players 26-30:
#NBArank: 26-30
26. Paul George
Indiana Pacers | SF
@Yg_Trece | Score: 61.9
Last year's rank: Not ranked due to injury
2015-16 RPM: 4.57
Insider profile: George reached upper-tier status the season before his injury by becoming a dead-eye shooter from the corners and midrange, enough to fully augment his ability to attack opponents off the dribble. His usage rate was in the 96th percentile and his per-touch efficiency in the 84th. Read more »
27. Carmelo Anthony
New York Knicks | SF
@carmeloanthony | Score: 61.3
Last year's rank: 11
2015-16 RPM: 3.35
Insider profile: During the 40 games he played, Anthony's offensive efficiency was down. Yet his touches were up thanks to the triangle's consistent ball movement, which he himself contributed to by making four more passes per 100 touches than the season before, per SportVu. Those passes resulted in scoring plays about 8 percent more often. Read more »
28. Serge Ibaka
@sergeibaka9 | Score: 60.0
Last year's rank: 25
2015-16 RPM: 3.65
Insider profile: After flirting with the 3-pointer in 2012-13 and 2013-14, when he attempted 0.7 3s per game, Ibaka went all-in last season. He attempted 3.2 3-pointers per game, more than a quarter of his shot attempts, while shooting 37.6 percent beyond the arc. The additional 3s were part of the reason Ibaka saw his shooting percentage drop from 53.6 percent to a career-low 47.6 percent. Read more »
29. Paul Millsap
Atlanta Hawks | PF
@Paulmillsap4 | Score: 59.6
Last year's rank: 32
2015-16 RPM: 3.91
Insider profile: Millsap has great high-low chemistry with Al Horford, who is similarly skilled as a big man. Millsap proved that his 3-point stroke in 2013-14 wasn't an aberration by knocking down 35.6 percent of his 216 trifecta attempts. Read more »
30. Andre Drummond
Detroit Pistons | C
@AndreDrummondd | Score: 59.6
Last year's rank: 30
2015-16 RPM: 1.70
Insider profile: Drummond's role on offense expanded last season. Stan Van Gundy increased Drummond's volume of post-ups, from 11 percent of his plays the season before to 28, according to Synergy. The results were mixed, but perhaps they were necessary growing pains to facilitate Drummond's growth from a run-to-the-rim dunker to a true franchise offensive center. Read more »
Next: 31-35 | Team-by-team
About #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.