Durant Tells LeBron to Move Over

I was asked who the best player in the NBA is right now on Quora by Jonathan Brill (who you should be following on Quora if you’re not!) While I do have ulterior motives for Melo to maintain public perception as the best player, when I looked over the numbers at the NBA Geek, a different name emerged. Here’s my full answer:
Read Quote of Andres Alvarez’s answer to 2012–13 NBA Season : Who is the best basketball player in NBA right now (Year 2012 4Q)? on Quora

11 Responses to "Durant Tells LeBron to Move Over"

Derryl Cole says:

December 15, 2012 at 6:27 pm

I’m sorry, but there is no way Durant is better then LeBron.

LeBron is a much better defender then Durant. His synergy stats blow Durant’s away, and he also plays a much larger role on defense then Durant. He averages more rebounds despite being 2-3 inches shorter, and more then doubles Durant’s offensive rebound output (the ones that matter). LeBron averages more assists and less turnovers, and has a much better passer rating then Durant.

Durant is the more effective scorer, and even that comes with an asterisk. He has 60% of his shots assisted compared to LeBron’s 42%. This indicates he’s benefiting from his teammates ability to drive and dish (Westbrook), and isn’t creating many scoring opportunities, either for himself or teammates. Take away that system, and Durant’s efficiency falls. LeBron is amazing in ANY system.
benjamin says:

December 15, 2012 at 8:43 pm

According to nbageek lbj has 4.9 wins as Sf with heat logging 3 fewer games than thunder. Lebron has a small .007 edge in wp48.,I’d buy those numbers seeing as how defensively he rarely guards the opposition pf. That’s usually left to battier ud or Lewis. And on offense lebron is basically a pg unless u wanna say magic played PF, as they both did everything from perimeter to post Ups. The lbj as PF is more myth built on size bias that he’s larger than battier. Hate to be watch the games guy but yahoo doesn’t tell that story, and lebron is still the best player in basketball.
Seamus Young says:

December 16, 2012 at 1:04 am

One little caveat: if you rate James as a SF instead of a PF, he’s on that top 5 list with 4.9 wins in just 759 minutes and a .327 WP48 (better than KD). Since it looks like the Heat are going to try letting LeBron get more minutes as a nominal SF (he’s really without position anyway), I think KD’s reign may be short-lived. Of course, KD’s showing that he might actually occupy LeBron’s stratosphere, and he’s got more growth potential, so it might not matter how we tally LeBron’s numbers.
Brandon Owen says:

December 16, 2012 at 7:03 am

Subjectively speaking, LeBron has been playing a bit at the SF role anyway this season. I could be incorrect, but watching some Heat games leads me to believe that Battier has actually more often defended the opposing PF’s than James has. I’ve only seen a handful of Heat games in their entirety, though, so I might be incorrect with this. While usually positions seem to align fairly easily, I would argue that with a team like the Heat, the positional adjustment could cause issues like this.
Chris Yeh says:

December 16, 2012 at 9:57 am

Typo: CP3 and Chandler. And yes, that was a heck of a team.
J says:

December 17, 2012 at 10:23 am

You really have to still put Lebron at the top as last year was phenomenal and he hasn’t exactly been a slouch this year. I’m sure his 3 year WP is among the best and we know what a matchup nightmare he is even outside of the numbers both defensively and offensively.
Adam T says:

December 17, 2012 at 11:48 am

You said, “New Orleans has to know that had health not de-railed the CP3 and Howard train, they could have had something special.” I assume you meant CP3 and CHANDLER.
Tom Philpott says:

December 17, 2012 at 12:32 pm

What’s this mean?
“The sad thing about this list is that even with Anthony Davis playing amazing, New Orleans has to know that had health not de-railed the CP3 and Howard train, they could have had something special.”
Are you saying there was some path by which CP3 and Dwight would have ended up together in Nola, one that was blocked only by bad health? I never heard any Dwight-to-Nola rumors. And by the time Dwight’s back got hurt, CP3 was a Clipper.
Andres Alvarez says:

December 17, 2012 at 12:48 pm

To all on the Howard + CP3 comment. Yes I did mean CP3 + Chandler (remember 08′). I did update the Quora answer, but it appears it did not propagate fully. I’ve tried updating it again, sorry for the confusion and thanks for the quick responses!
Tom Philpott says:

December 19, 2012 at 5:10 pm

Yeah, CP3 + Chandler was amazing.
isaac says:

December 23, 2012 at 8:04 am

This article is exactly why a single minded focus on one stat over all others is as absurd as a single minded focus on what you can see with your eyes.
Lebron is a better player than Durant.

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