Is Anthony Edwards an undisputed top 5 player alongside Jokic, Giannis, Luka & SGA?

[Baseline81]

Embiid was MVP before the injury, how is he not top 5?

I would include Embiid as a top-5 player, however, there is an argument against him -- he's injury prone. What good are the regular season stats when he's not fit enough in the playoffs? With Embiid, the 76ers have yet to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.

[B_Creamy]

I would classify myself as an Embiid hater lol, and still think he has a better argument than Ant for Top 5.

[Special_Puppy]

Hell no. He needs to show that he can play at this level consistently

[SweaterBae]

I would classify myself as an Embiid hater lol, and still think he has a better argument than Ant for Top 5.

Ditto. Not even close.

[Wolveswin]

Considering he has 3 years before he is the same age as the other youngest in OP title discussion…yes!

[Dutchball97]

This just seems like a poor understanding of the English language. How can something be undisputed if you have to ask?

[Wargreymon]

i would take Brunson and Ant over Giannis in the top 5 moving forward. Best ability is availability and Giannis has been so injury prone lately with his extreme athletic physical style of play. So my top 5 in no particular order would be Doncic, Ant, Brunson, SGA, and Jokic.

[Quentin]

Edwards doesn't sound right as a top 5 player especially with him being backed by so many defensive pieces.

But Ant is a fantastic defender and this is about him as a player, not his team. If he were a traffic cone on D then.....

[mcfly1204]

If you are asking a binary question, include a poll.

[shrink]

I’m a huge Ant fan, but I would say no. Right now, at 22, there is still so many areas for improvement, even some low-hanging fruit, that he will likely become a top 5 player, perhaps even next year. Couple that with his defensive ability, his injury resistance, and marketing appeal, he is probably a top 5 player in trade value. But right now, I think a top 5 ranking as a player could easily be disputed.

[Chokic]

1. Embiid
2. Jokic
3. Luka
4. Giannis
5. Ant

[Rapsin6]

There’s currently only 2 players undisputed. The rest, and some more than others, aren’t. Ant is in the conversation but in my opinion, he’s just outside in that 6-8 range. Hard to put him over Joker, Luka…Tatum, Embiid (mental weakness in playoffs keep him disputed), Giannis (will fall out if there’s another year like this)or even SGA. He and Brunsen are certainly showing something in these playoffs though.

[iggymcfrack]

The fact that you created this thread means by definition that it is not “undisputed”

Jokic, Giannis, and Luka are undisputed top 5 players at the moment. Everyone else there is at least some dispute.

I don’t even know that Giannis is undisputed at this point. He’s hurt in the playoffs more than Embiid. I’d go:

Tier 1: Jokic
Tier 2: SGA, Luka
Tier 3: Giannis, Embiid, Ant, Brunson, LeBron, Tatum

[EmpireFalls]

The fact that you created this thread means by definition that it is not “undisputed”

Jokic, Giannis, and Luka are undisputed top 5 players at the moment. Everyone else there is at least some dispute.

I don’t even know that Giannis is undisputed at this point. He’s hurt in the playoffs more than Embiid. I’d go:

Tier 1: Jokic
Tier 2: SGA, Luka
Tier 3: Giannis, Embiid, Ant, Brunson, LeBron, Tatum

Maybe, but I still know what he’s capable of, and that’s being the singular best player on the planet. 2022 vs the Celtics wasn’t that long ago.

None of the other players listed have ever been the best in the world or won that ring. Well except LeBron but obviously he’s past his prime. And Giannis this regular season was monstrous… 30-11-6 on something like 60% from the field.

Until SGA, Luka, Ant, Brunson, Embiid, Tatum etc get their teams a ring, you can’t realistically put them over Giannis.

[ChartFiction]

For people disputing Giannis, Giannis is a 2 time MVP and Finals MVP very recently.

This season in addition to adjusting to Dame, we saw Giannis start to show another evolution in his game statistically.

It was his highest TS in his career at 64.9% TS. This puts him at the top echelon in efficiency. He did it on volume at 30.4 ppg.

He also averaged the highest assists per game of his career at 6.5 per game. But more noteworthy, it was ramped up overtime showing his intentional growth in that area. From January on, he averaged 7.2 assists per game. With not a single month in that span under 7 assists per game. Averaging that over the course of a season would have put him as top 10 assists per game in the league.

What we might be looking at with Giannis in 2025 season is a hyper athletic, hyper efficient, volume scoring, defensive, playmaking big.

I think he fell in the outskirts of the conversation due to issues integrating Dame and a poor start, but I would not be surprised if Giannis ends up being the MVP next season. I think he is likely to put up an absurd statistical season while being a two-way big.

[tsherkin]

I think the short answer here is "no, not yet."

He's making his moves and certainly looks like it right now, but he still needs to have a regular season where he plays like it first before he can really join that category. If he can ride the wave from this postseason, though, and play even close to this level during the RS, then absolutely, of course.

[Alatan]

Embiid was MVP before the injury, how is he not top 5?

He got injured. Just kidding Embiid is a stud. When he doesnt flop, whine and try to injure others that is.

[MrBigShot]

Nephew take. Coming from an Edwards lover.

Ant has earned this sort of take.

He has arguably been the 2nd best player in the world during these playoffs, and has his team in a position to potentially beat the defending champs tonight. Some guys just take it a notch up in the playoffs and Ant has done this every year he's been in the playoffs.

[firedavidkahn]

Hell no. He needs to show that he can play at this level consistently

3 years in a row now that he has massively upped his game come play off time.

I still remember when Shaq called him Jeremy Lin 2 years ago

[iggymcfrack]

The fact that you created this thread means by definition that it is not “undisputed”

Jokic, Giannis, and Luka are undisputed top 5 players at the moment. Everyone else there is at least some dispute.

I don’t even know that Giannis is undisputed at this point. He’s hurt in the playoffs more than Embiid. I’d go:

Tier 1: Jokic
Tier 2: SGA, Luka
Tier 3: Giannis, Embiid, Ant, Brunson, LeBron, Tatum

Maybe, but I still know what he’s capable of, and that’s being the singular best player on the planet. 2022 vs the Celtics wasn’t that long ago.

None of the other players listed have ever been the best in the world or won that ring. Well except LeBron but obviously he’s past his prime. And Giannis this regular season was monstrous… 30-11-6 on something like 60% from the field.

Until SGA, Luka, Ant, Brunson, Embiid, Tatum etc get their teams a ring, you can’t realistically put them over Giannis.

If you can put them ahead of LeBron, why can't you put them ahead of Giannis? LeBron's last year as best player in the world was 2020. Giannis's was 2021. They're one year apart.

Here are Giannis' playoff numbers you're lauding from 2022:
26.8 PER on .552 TS%, .178 WS/48, 10.4 BPM

And here are LeBron's playoff numbers from 2024:
26.2 PER on .637 TS%, .186 WS/48, 10.6 BPM

Apparently you can't put SGA or Luka ahead of LeBron until he wins a ring? Come on man, that's nonsense. If that's the case, Luka could lose to the Celtics in the Finals and the top 5 would have to be Jokic, Giannis, LeBron, Curry, and Tatum. It just doesn't make sense.