Top-5 Under 25: Southwest Division

This is Part 3 of a six-part series to rank the top-5 players in every division under the age of 25. We take into account a player's performance as well as their potential. These rankings are intended to be fun and to initiate discussion on the league's best players. Stick up for your players, but be respectful about it!


Honorable Mentions: DeMar DeRozan, Julius Randle, Terrence Ross

Vucevic is proving to be one of the more solid big men in the league at a young age. He’s a double-double guy night in and night out and isn’t a slouch on defense either. He may not have much potential left to grow into but if he can keep this level of play up for the duration of his prime career years, he will be a very good starting center in the league.

The versatile small forward looks to lead the Spurs into the next era once Tim Duncan is gone. Kawhi Leonard brings a little bit of everything to the table: post up ability, three-point range, rebounding prowess and elite defensive ability. San Antonio can’t afford to lose this guy to transition into the future.

Only in his sophomore season, Smart looks like he’s going to be an absolute animal. Moving over to the point guard position has been seamless thus far and that is scary for the rest of the league. Not only is he scoring at will (averaging 26 ppg so far this year) but he is doing so with frightening efficiency (55% FG). Add in five boards and five assists with elite defense and you’ve got a player that could be looking at a Hall of Fame career.

The third year Davis is still only 21-years old. Let that sink in… He’s still filling out his potential and continues to grow as a player. His rebounds are down this year but look for those to tick up over time. A monster scoring on the inside, he shows a propensity to step up and either knock down a mid-range jumper or drive past the slower defenders. There isn’t much he can’t do on offense as a big man. Defensively, he’s one of the best the league has to offer and has a chance to be an all-time great.

The best shooting guard in the league just happens to be only 24-years old. Fresh off of carrying the Houston Rockets to a CSL Finals appearance, Harden is showing that there isn’t much anyone can do to stop him from getting there again. An absolute bull when getting to the rim, 16.7 of his 21 shot attempts per game this season have come from inside the paint. He has converted on 74% of those shots. Will he be able to keep his scoring average at the 43.3 points he is at currently? Probably not but he’s a legitimate threat to finish the season at 35+ and that’s no joke. LeBron James and Kevin Durant have been the toast of the league through the first two seasons but James Harden is showing that he needs to be mentioned as a top-three player in the league. Harden will duel Durant for scoring titles year in and year out.

Damn, thought Tristan Thompson had a real chance to be in the Top 5, great read especially about Harden as I was definitely anticipating this one.

Pelicans with 2 guys as expected is really scary indeed and Kawhi is playing terrific basketball as well.

Can't argue with Harden as the top young guy here, but Davis will own this ranking for the next three years following.

emplep7 (DET) wrote:Can't argue with Harden as the top young guy here, but Davis will own this ranking for the next three years following.

I think Smart is closer to Davis than people think. I was real close to putting Smart at #2 over Davis.

James Harden is going to own this division until he moves out of the Southwest. He's been unstoppable this year and in the playoffs last year. Quite frankly, I think the Davis hype train has gone a little too far. I don't doubt that he'll be one of the best centers soon enough, but as of now, he's putting up 17 pts, 7 rebounds this year, and 15 points, 7 rebounds last year. There are so many good centers in the league, many of them doing far better than Davis. Brook Lopez, DeMarcus Cousins, Marc Gasol, Nikola Pekovic, Andre Drummond, Tyson Chandler, Javale McGee, Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum, Derrick Favors, Serge Ibaka... the list goes on.

As I said, don't want to doubt the potential of this guy, but I can't be the only one confused about why everyone treats him like some untouchable superstar when in reality there are many who are just as productive as him... or maybe I am. Who knows.

Nice seeing Vuc make the list with DeMar on the honorable mention. Loving these top 5 under 25 articles man. Keep them coming for sure.

From the looks of it. Pelicans will dominate this division soon.

Can't argue with this one - great list and spot on. Agree with some of the feedback from Jake - we need to see Davis dominating and I think he did just that in the latest sim. More of these games please

Was surprised to see Kawhi on here. He's a great player no doubt but more as a system fit, not in a vacuum. Julius Randle will be up in the top of this list really quick, probably is the second best young player in this division behind AD. Maybe behind Marcus Smart too. Not including Harden in this new list though, I'm talking like the brand new players.