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 two days. 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 ...
13. DeMarcus Cousins
Kings | C | @boogiecousins
Last year's rank: 12
2016-17 projected RPM: 5.82
Insider profile: On the court, the biggest evolution of Cousins' game was the addition of 3-point range. He'd made only 11 triples in 69 attempts in his first six seasons before firing up 210 last season, which he made at a 33.3 percent clip. While the newfound range helped Cousins coexist with Willie Cauley-Stein in big starting lineups, the Kings would surely prefer him in the paint, where he drew enough fouls to average a career-high 10.6 free throw attempts per 36 minutes. Read more »
#NBArank 11-20