The 5 Most Indispensable NBA Players
September 7, 2008
Today, Tom Brady went down with a serious knee injury and it looks like he is done for the season. Brady is undoubtedly one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks and has been practically injury-free throughout his career. In fact, he’s so injury free that his name appears on the team injury report every single week as a joke because everybody knows he will be out there. So, if Brady can get hurt, anybody can get hurt. Think about that. Any NBA player could go down in the 1st quarter of the 1st game this season…just like Brady. Brady is obviously one player no team could afford to lose, but who are the NBA’s most indispensable players?
Remember when David Robinson was injured (allegedly) in the ‘96 - ‘97 season to propel the Spurs to the bottom of the standings and top of the draft board? We’re looking for guys that would have that kind of effect on a season. In order, the top 5:
5. Joe Johnson - It’s hard to convince some people that anybody on a 37-win team could possibly be considered indispensable, but after JJ’s playoff performance against the Celtics last season, it’s hard not to be convinced. The Hawks could win 45+ this season, but if JJ goes down you’ll hear more about the Hawks in Letterman’s punch lines than you will in SportsCenter highlights.
4. Steve Nash - Nash was never the best player. He won back-to-back MVP awards for the sole reason that he is indispensable. It’s not hard to figure out why Amare Stoudemire is so well known for his power dunking.
3. Dwight Howard - Just looking at Orlando’s roster you’ve got to wonder how they managed to win 52 games last season. Howard, like Shaq in his prime, is a classic example of a guy who makes his teammates that much better just by drawing so much defensive attention.
2. Lebron James - Lebron does it all and the Cavs would certainly have fallen flat on their face in the past without the King, but things might finally be a little different this season. With Mo Williams in town, a little bit of the burden is lifted off Lebron. Just a little. He’s still indispensable.
1. Chris Paul - Paul showed how indispensable he was last season surprising the basketball world by taking the Hornets to 56 wins and a #2 seed in the West. David West is nice. So is Tyson Chandler. But, this team is lottery material without Paul.
Who do you think has that Tom Brady-esque quality of indispensability?
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4 Responses to “The 5 Most Indispensable NBA Players”
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Where is kobe? Joe johnson? Lmao this list a joke. If i was a suns fan i’d rather see the old steve nash get hurt rather than seeing the young stoudamire get injured. Think about it. Would you rather see somebody who has 2 years left of playing or somebody who has 10 years left of playing take a serious injury? From a league stand point the list is 1. Lebron 2. Kobe 3. Chris Paul 4. Dwight Howard 5. Kevin Garnett
You can expand that top 5 list to top 30, since any team whose best player goes down is “lottery material.” Would the Lakers be the threat they are without Kobe? Would the Spurs consistently be a contender without Duncan?
Shaun,
I didn’t put Kobe on the list because the Lakers would be decent without him! Pau Gasol + Andrew Bynum, they would not be terrible. This list is just about the present so that is why Nash is on the list and not Amare. You’re list is basically a top 5 players list which isn’t what this list is. KG shouldn’t be on there cause the Celtics are still definitely a playoff team without him since they have Allen and Pierce. By “indispensable,” I am talking about players who if they got hurt, the team would collapse. Thanks for your comments though.
KP,
Every team would be worse no doubt, but a lot of teams manage to survive without their best players because they aren’t so dependent on that one guy (ie. Wizards sans Arenas last season).
The top 3 are clearcut. Nash is someone many would agree on but there is room for some debate. I’d replace Joe Johnson with Baron Davis though.