ESPN's NBA Rank top 5

Every offseason ESPN ranks the top 400 players in the NBA using their panel of over 100 voters. Today the top 5 players are going to be revealed.

5. James Harden

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Opponents had plenty of reason to fear "The Beard" last season, as Harden finished second in the NBA in scoring and ninth in assists per game. Most player value metrics ranked him nearly even with Stephen Curry, and they finished a close 1-2 in MVP voting, with Harden edging out Curry for the inaugural NBA players association's players' choice MVP award.

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4. Stephen Curry

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Curry ascended to MVP status last season, as a revamped Warriors offensive playbook simultaneously reduced his workload while increasing scoring opportunities for him.

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3. Kevin Durant

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The best news about Durant's injury is that when he was on the court, he was basically the same player he has always been. In fact, Durant's 2-point percentage (56.5 percent) actually was the best of his career, and he shot 40.3 percent from beyond the arc.

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2. Anthony Davis

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If Davis' NBA career were a movie, we'd still be in the montage of him working to develop his game. Though Davis led the league in blocks for a second consecutive season, finished in the top 10 in scoring (fourth), rebounding (eighth) and field-goal percentage (seventh) and was named to the All-NBA First Team, the best is yet to come.

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1. LeBron James

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James turns 31 on Dec. 30 of this season, so we can't take this level of performance for granted. But if the one flaw in his game last season was his shooting stroke, you can expect a torrid showing in 2015-16.

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Other Pelicans players:

87. Tyreke Evans
88. Jrue Holiday
95. Ryan Anderson
99. Eric Gordon
127. Omer Asik
214. Quincy Pondexter
249. Norris Cole
316. Alexis Ajinca
347. Luke Babbitt
350. Dante Cunningham
389. Alonzo Gee

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