9th place – Paul George
Paul George‘s comeback story was even better than expected in 2015-16. As his first full season since recovering from a gruesome leg break in the summer of 2014, it was fair to think that he’d be slower at first.
Being a dominant two-way player with his typical three-point stroke wasn’t the requirement right away as the Indiana Pacers opted to shift him to power forward for far more of his minutes (39 percent for the season, to be precise).
But that didn’t matter for George. He had a few quiet performances early on, yet proceeded to score 36 points in his sixth game of the year, drop 48 a month later, and average 31 points on 46.9 percent shooting from November 6 to December 8.
He started incredibly strong, and it was only a sign of things to come.
George was the still the superstar capable of carrying his Pacers. Boasting a 37.1 percent shot from three, stellar athleticism to finish inside, and improved playmaking ability to match a career-high of 4.1 assists per game, George did all he could. A career-high 23.1 points per game and All-NBA Third Team honors helped cap that off at the end of the season.
To add to his offensive talent, George played as his typical self on defense, being an elite presence on the wing and making the All-Defensive Second Team in the process.
As someone with superior athleticism, defense and the proven track record of carrying an offense by himself as a creator, George gets the nod in my NBA 2K17 top 10 instead of Klay Thompson (yes, Thompson doesn’t need to carry an offense, but the same differences still apply).
In the actual game, George ranks 12th with an 89 rating.