4th place – Paul George
Following his gruesome leg break in the summer of 2014, last season was Paul George’s full year back since returning. Playing in 81 games, it was brilliant to see the young star shine again, displaying a level of prowess at both ends of the floor that immediately made his Indiana Pacers a far more competitive team.
Spending 39 percent of his minutes at power forward in a more up-tempo offense (a move that he was reluctant to), George had the best year of his career. He had a new highs in points (23.1) and matched previous career-highs in assists (4.1) and steals (1.9). Not bad for a comeback year after such a terrible injury.
Then the playoffs came.
In an ugly first round series against the Toronto Raptors that dragged out to seven games, plagued by the Pacers’ desperate offensive reliance on George and the painful shooting slump of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, it was George who stepped up.
He couldn’t have done much more. Maybe if he had more help and a more supportive bench, he wouldn’t have needed to carry the team so heavily.
But that he did. While he couldn’t do enough to surpass the superior Raptors and had a couple of cold nights in games 2 and 3 (34.3 percent shooting combined), George’s stat line of 27.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, two steals and 0.7 blocks per game with 45.5 percent shooting and a 41 percent three-point shot for the series was a sign of just how imposing he can be.
He’s a dangerous shooter, explosive athlete, hounding defender (All-Defensive Second Team for last season), capable shot creator (who will benefit from not having to do quite as much next year), and improved passer.
He also had a sound ranking in the 71st percentile as a pick-and-roll ball handler, running such plays at a fair frequency, too (125 field goals made when operating as the ball handler, per NBA.com).
With more help onboard in the form of Jeff Teague, Thaddeus Young, super backup big Al Jefferson, and the growing star Myles Turner, George will be just as good, if not better, in 2016-17.
Next: 3rd place - The NBA's best perimeter defender