next 10 years.

Caveat: This is obviously my opinion and my opinion alone. The fun thing about lists is to look at them, give your opinions, criticize...etc.

The Superstars:
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo-Reining League MVP leads the team with the best record in the NBA and averages 30, 12.9 and 5.6 per game. #1 in PER, #2 in Real Plus Minus and he has room in his game to get better. I would choose Giannis over anyone if I were getting a guy for my team for the next 10 years.

2. Luka Doncic-Luka is 20 years old and averaging 28.9, 9.7 and 9 per game. He is doing it on a team that is 12 games above .500 in the West without another star. (no, Porzingis does not fit in that group in my opinion). Seriously the best players on that team are Doncic, Porzingis, Finney-Smith, Kleber, Powell, Hardaway Jr, SETH Curry...etc. Remarkable young player.

3. Nikola Jokic-Nikola at age 24 has already earned 1st Team All-NBA honors. What may have been more impressive is that he led the 2019 NBA playoffs with a PER of 29.6 averaging 25, 13 and 8.4 per game at the most important part of the season and was a +6 per game (the Nuggets fell to the Trailblazers because of the 8 minutes per game that Jokic was not on the floor) in the playoffs. While Jokic can come off aloof at times, his game gets loud when it matters most (he has been perhaps the most clutch player in the NBA this season taking the last shot).

Great Players, but it just seems like something is missing:

4. Joel Embiid - Embiid a great two way player. He averaged 27 ppg last year and 1.9 blocks. Perhaps Embiid's biggest deficiency is availability. In 6 seasons in the NBA he completely missed 2, played 31 games the following year and 63 and 64 the last two. For all of the talent they had on Philadelphia last year (Embiid, Simmons, Butler, Harris...etc) it was a huge disappointment. After a great first round series Embiid played poorly in the 2nd round. It just seems like he should be able to take it to that next level, but hasn't been able to do so.

5. Karl Anthony Towns- Towns seems to be missing that killer instinct. How many agile 7 footers do you see that shoot 40% from their career from 3 point land and average nearly 12 rebounds per game? I honestly think the best thing for Towns would be to get out of Minnesota, the problem is he is locked up for 4 more years after this one. So short of pulling an Anthony Davis we may see his talents go to waste in Minnesota.

6. Ben Simmons - Can you imagine having a long-armed 6'10" pg who leads the league in steals? Well you have it in Ben Simmons who averages 16, 8.5 and 7.8 per game. The problem? The guy can't shoot. How can you make it to the NBA and not be able to shoot (career 58.3% FT shooter for a guard isn't going to cut it as is only shooting 22 3-pointers in 3 years. Him and Embiid do not seem to be a good fit together. It makes me wonder if I have him too high, then I look at his strengths and maybe he is too low? Ben would have been better in the league 25 years ago when shooting wasn't at such a premium.

Future Superstars that are hard to Judge:

7. Ja Morant - Ja is averaging 18 and 7 in the first half of his rookie year. He is shooting 40% from 3 and flashing athleticism off the charts while leading the Grizzlies to respectability. Honestly the best comparison I can make is a young Russell Westbrook with a better jump shot and a better feel for the game (not the rebounder Westbrook was though). That is a scary proposition and I think Ja is going to be a Superstar in this league for a long time to come.

8. Zion Williamson - How can you have Zion over established stars like Mitchell and Tatum? Well I saw him in the Pre-Season and it was incredible. I didn't think Zion would make a huge impact right away, and due to injuries he hasn't yet. But based on what I saw in the pre-season I am ok saying I am wrong. Two reasons why I have Ja above Zion. One, injury history. Zion has suffered injuries every year the last 3 and his body just doesn't seem like it should be able to stay together. The second is that Ja has done it when it counts. Zion could move up this pretty quickly if he comes in this week and starts playing like he did in pre-season.

Will be somewhere from good to great for years to come depending on work ethic, health etc:

9. Donovan Mitchell - Donovan finally has some offensive help on the Jazz this year in the name of Bogdanovic. That being said he is still asked to handle the ball an awful lot and create most of the offense (Conley was brought in for this purpose, but hasn't really accomplished it yet). He has done it at a more efficient level which is impressive. It is sad that he plays in the West as he would be a surefire All-Star in the East (why can't we get the best 24 players?)

10. Jayson Tatum - Tatum was incredible as a rookie. Then many thought he underachieved in his 2nd year. Now in his 3rd year he is flourishing again averaging 21.5 ppg and nearly 7 boards per contest while playing excellent defense. Tatum is a different player than Mitchell as Mitchell is much better at creating his shot. Still, Tatum is an efficient scorer and defender. At age 21 I expect him to continue to improve.

Honorable Mention:
Trae Young: Very good scorer and distributor who is wretched on defense and struggles to positively impact the game in terms of winning (or outscoring his opponents). Hopefully that will come. 29.2 ppg, 8.7 apg and 4.7 rpg are all impressive. -4.9 per game is not good and he really needs to focus on the defensive side of the ball. He could also use some better teammates.

Michael Porter Jr: Based on production he doesn't belong anywhere on the list. Still, his trade value is so high based on his potential as a 6'10" fluid athlete with a special jump shot. In 34 games this year he has an impressive 63.0% true shooting percentage and an offensive rating of 117 with a defensive rating of 105. He has shown to be a plus rebounder as well gobbling up 10.3 rebounds per 36 minutes from the SF position.

Domantis Sabonis: Sabonis just continues to get better and better and more efficient. At age 23 he is averaging 17, 13 and 4 per game while playing very good defense. The last piece of the puzzle for Sabonis is to add an efficient 3 point shot. Still, an excellent player and on the cusp of top 10.

Jamal Murray: Jamal is 22 years old and has already started over 200 games in his career. Over the past season and a half he has averaged 18, 4.7 apg and 4.2 rebounds per game. His +5 plus/minus score this year is the best of his career and he is the 2nd best player on one of the top teams in the West again.

Devin Booker: Booker is averaging 27 ppg, 6 assists and 4 rebounds per game. Those are incredible numbers, especially when you consider he is doing it at an amazing 63.2% true shooting percentage clip! It was tough to leave Booker off of my top 10, but his lack of defense (he is better this year, just still poor) put him below everyone of those players on my list. Still #11 isn't bad.