Top 10 NBA Players of the 2024-25 Season: Rankings, Stats, and What to Expect

Continuing with the previous article:Top 100 NBA Players for 2024-25 Season – No. 51-100

Continuing with the previous article:Top 100 NBA Players for the 2024-25 Season – Nos. 11-50

10. Anthony Edwards｜Guard｜Minnesota Timberwolves

2023-24 Stats: 79 games played, 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.3 steals, 46.1% overall shooting rate, 35.7% three-point shooting rate

2023 Rating (EPSN):13

Other Media Ratings: Hoopsphere: 7 | WP: 11

📈 Why it’s ranked here:Edwards is a supernova who suddenly appeared in 2024. Not only was he strongly selected for the annual team, but he also defeated the defending Golden Nuggets in the playoffs. Then he played a major role in the Paris Olympics, helping the United States once again win the gold medal without any risk. He has the potential to be the American face of the NBA for the next generation.

❓ Questions about the new season:After the departure of former Wolf King Karl-Anthony Towns, this team will officially be using Edwards as a mobile core.

📊 Key data:The scoring firepower in the fourth quarter will be an issue that Edwards can improve on in the new season. Although the Timberwolves won 56 regular season games last season and were even stronger on the defensive end, the offense in the latter stages of the game was not as smooth as expected and the execution was lacking ideal: at the critical moment of last season, the Timberwolves His net rating is only -13, ranking 27th in the NBA. Even the Wolf King admitted that his next task was to take over the game at the end of the game.

9. Kevin Durant｜Forward｜Phoenix Suns

2023-24 performance data: 75 games played, 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.2 blocks, overall shooting rate of 52.3%, three-point shooting rate of 41.3%

2023 Rating (EPSN):7

Other media ratings: Hoopsphere: 11 | WP: 12

📉 Why it’s rated here:Durant’s rating instead of rising reflects less of a decline in his leadership and more of the rise of others. He played in 75 games last season, the most since tearing his Achilles tendon in 2019. His performance was still dead-on: his shooting averages were 52/41/86 Even in in the playoffs, he was incredible: an average of 26.8 points per game and 55/42/82 shooting – even if the Suns were eliminated early. This summer, as one of the top three players on the American Dream Team, his performance remains reliable and consistent.

❓ Questions about the new season:Can the Suns win with this lineup? Durant is already considered a semi-Hall of Famer, but if he wants to make his status more indelible, he needs to win another championship after leaving the Warriors; but in the past few years, he has been short of a hero, even twice in the last three years swept by the opponent…

📊 Key data:2,495 points. This is the distance between Durant passing former beast Wilt Chamberlain and jumping from 8th to 7th on the all-time scoring list. By leaving the competition, being able to move up one place on the all-time scoring list will also be famous in history: but it is not easy to get so many points in one season. Only once in his career has he scored more than that number in one season – but that was in the 2013-14 season with the Thunder, when he scored 2,593 points in one season.

8. Joel Embiid｜Center｜Philadelphia 76ers

2023-24 performance data: 39 games played, 34.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.7 blocks, overall shooting rate of 52.9%, three-point shooting rate of 38.8%

2023 Rating (EPSN):3

Other Media Ratings: Hoopsphere: 5 | WP: 9

📉 Why it’s rated here:Injuries have pushed Embiid down in the rankings. When he stays healthy, he is a generational scoring machine.

As a result, another knee injury ruined his season, making it impossible for the reigning MVP of the year to pursue his second consecutive MVP record. Although he returned as expected in the playoffs, it is clear that his condition was not 100%.

❓ Questions about the new season: Old saying:Can Embiid return to the court healthy and return to the dominant performance he showed at the beginning of last season? He has said many times in his career that he only hopes to play the entire playoffs as long as he is healthy. As long as he can do it for the first time this year, it shouldn’t be difficult for him to return to the top five in the league.

📊 The main data: Besides the number of games played, what else is more important? After missing the first two seasons of his career with a foot injury,Embiid played 60+ games in one season four times in the next eight seasons, averaging 54 games per season. If the Sixers want to find real progress in the playoffs, they really need to play the Emperor and give up the league’s top penalty spot.