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 ...
36. Steven Adams
Thunder | C | @RealStevenAdams
Last year's rank: 116
2016-17 projected RPM: 1.01
Insider profile: One of the breakout stars of the 2016 postseason, Adams emerged as the most important interior player on the Thunder, helping make Serge Ibaka expendable. Adams is entering his fourth season at age 23 -- he's younger than four players who were drafted in 2016. He has shown the potential to become an elite role player and is sure to command a maximum salary in an extension this fall or as a restricted free agent next summer. Read more »
#NBArank 31-40