For the sixth season in a row, ESPN.com is ranking the top players in the NBA. Who will be the best player this season?
To get the final ranking, we asked our expert panel to vote on pairs of players.
LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry. Russell Westbrook vs. Kevin Durant. Damian Lillard vs. Chris Paul.
We asked, "Which player will be better in 2016-17?" To decide, voters had to consider both the quality and the quantity of each player's contributions to his team's ability to win games.
We'll roll out the rest of our top 200 players over the next week. 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.
On to the list ...
25. Paul Millsap
Hawks | PF | @Paulmillsap4
Last year's rank: 29
2016-17 projected RPM: 4.77
Insider profile: Millsap's 10th NBA season was his best yet, though it was not surprising for a player who has improved steadily since entering the league as the 47th pick of the 2006 draft. The Hawks ran more of their offense through Millsap, as his touches per 36 minutes were up six per game, per NBA.com/stats, helping his assist rate reach a career-best level. Read more »
#NBArank 21-30