Top 10 individual statistical seasons of 2000-2009

[Andrew]

Link

1. LeBron James - 2008/2009
2. Shaquille O'Neal - 1999/2000
3. Kevin Garnett - 2003/2004
4. Tim Duncan - 2001/2002
5. Dwyane Wade - 2008/2009
6. Tracy McGrady - 2002/2003
7. Chris Paul - 2008/2009
8. Dirk Nowitzki - 2005/2006
9. Kobe Bryant - 2005/2006
10. Dwight Howard - 2008/2009

Seems like a good list to me, though someone like benji who's more of a wizard with stats can probably pick it apart easier than I can and come up with some noteworthy alternatives that should've made the list instead. Dwyer seems to have covered the bases on this one though, putting aside any subjective criteria such as MVP awards or championships (with only one entry also winning the championship in the year listed and that wasn't the reasoning) and taking into account PER and win shares.

[benji]

We could always quibble on the order, but it's mostly sound considering the "one [team/person] one time" limit Dwyer imposes on all the lists. Shaq for example was incredible early on in the decade and would get more hits in the list. Both Garnett and LeBron would show up more as well.

The one I'm iffy about (ignoring maybe quibbling over a specific year or something) is the last one with Dwight. Amare, Elton Brand, etc. come to mind. Even Karl Malone in 2000. Among others you can argue. Dwight's 2008-09 isn't top 35 in either PER or Win Shares. I don't deny he was probably DPOY, but that was a great defensive system that got sieves like Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu putting up great defensive numbers. So I'm not sure if that's enough to push him over.

McGrady and Paul are a bit low, but thinking about it, Shaq and Duncan taking over defensively may push them ahead. McGrady put up the most Jordanesque season since Jordan. (Let's consider the Wizards' Jordan as a different player altogether.) LeBron didn't look like Jordan, McGrady's season was a carbon copy of prime Jordan.

Great that some of these guys are getting respect for what they've actually accomplished. Paul gets thrown in with Deron Williams even though there's no debate. Dirk is called a choker despite epic play over a decade and only one bad playoff appearance. McGrady is thought of for what he's doing lately instead of the epic first half of a career. Shaq even struggled to get the respect he deserved 1998-2002 as the best player in the league because he was "big" or "couldn't hit free throws" or whatever. You could probably throw in a lot of guys, even ones like Vince Carter who recovered their careers in recent years.

I mean, people don't even know about Adrian "GOD DAMN" Dantley. For shame.

For shame.

[J@3]

I love Adrian Dantley. He's the one who kept the dream of being a 6'4-5 forward in the NBA alive for me for so many years. That son of a bitch.

[Modifly]

I would place Tracy McGrady at no.1 because I love Tracy McGrady. Part of Benji's post says it all.

Oh.. how bias can I get?

[hova-]

This is quite interesting. There was an article on a german basketball magazine lately in which they described the Top 50 statistical seasons of this decade and there is almost no difference.
They ranked it like this:

1. Shaq 99/00
2. LeBron 08/09
3. Duncan 01/02
4. KG 03/04
5. T-Mac 02/03
6. CP3 08/09
7. Wade 08/09
8. Dirk 05/06
9. Kobe 05/06
10. AI 00/01

For the top 50 there are some guys you did not know how good they actually were, some examples are:

11. Elton Brand 2005/2006: How good has this guy been with the Clippers in 05/06? Definitely a MVP-type season. (24.7ppg/10.0rpg/2.5bpg/.527 FG in 39.2mpg)

12. Karl Malone 1999/00: We all knew he was very good, but it was kind of surprising that he was that good that late of his career. The whole LA thing kind of ruined his reputation. (25.5ppg/9.5rpg/3.7apg/.509 FG)

27. Pau Gasol 2005/2006: On such a bad Grizzlies team Pau Gasol really made the difference and led them to Playoffs. (20.4ppg/8.9rpg/4.6apg/1.9bpg/.504 FG)

[Andrew]

Howard's inclusion at ten surprised me a little as well. I too would slot Malone or Brand's season above Dwight.

[The X]

I concur. Brand at 10 sounds about right.

[Martti.]

I would switch Lebron's 08/09 with his 07/08.

07/08 - 30.0 PPG | 7.9 RPG | 7.2 APG | 1.8 SPG | 1.1 BPG |
08/09 - 28.4 PPG | 7.6 RPG | 7.2 APG | 1.7 SPG | 1.1 BPG |

They won more games this year, but as it says 'individual', last year was a bit better. All-in-all, the list looks good.

[Andrew]

His PER and Win Share were better in 2008/2009 though.

[kevC]

I don't deny he was probably DPOY, but that was a great defensive system that got sieves like Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu putting up great defensive numbers. So I'm not sure if that's enough to push him over.

Can't you turn that around and say because Dwight was such a good defensive anchor it made sieves like Lewis and Turkoglu look good?

[benji]

No.

I would switch Lebron's 08/09 with his 07/08.

07/08 - 30.0 PPG | 7.9 RPG | 7.2 APG | 1.8 SPG | 1.1 BPG |
08/09 - 28.4 PPG | 7.6 RPG | 7.2 APG | 1.7 SPG | 1.1 BPG |

They won more games this year, but as it says 'individual', last year was a bit better.

07/08 - 40.4 MPG
08/09 - 37.7 MPG

Across the board he was better this season than last.

[dopeboy]

And his defensive progress also counts. So that is safe to say that this was his best season so far, imo.

As much as I like Howard, #10 spot should be given to Brand. It's weird that people tend to forget individually successful seasons in a couple of years (T-Mac, Brand, many others)..

[Andrew]

Sometimes they're simply overshadowed by other players who have managed to grab most people's attention. Their team's record and overall performance tends to alter people's perception as well, or in Brand's case simply his team...even if the Clippers did go to the second round that year.

[benji]

I've discussed the Brand stuff in that #1 pick thread, he's been overlooked because he's been dominating on teams nobody in the media cares about. But really, he was one of the best players in the league for a long time. To even be considered alongside Duncan and Garnett should show that.