5.  Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers: Griffin is in the midst of the best season of his young NBA career after developing a very solid mid-range game in the offseason.  With his newly polished face up game, Griffin has also been able to drastically improve his free-throw shooting from a season ago.  Griffin made his fourth straight Western Conference All-Star team while averaging a career-high 24.1 points a contest on 52.8 percent shooting from the floor and 71.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.  To go along with his scoring prowess, Griffin also put up 9.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals a game.

4.  Stephen Curry, Golden State: after a breakout season in 2012-13 elevated Curry to the status of one of the game’s best, he managed to climb up the ladder even farther of the league’s elite players this time around.  As the most dominant player on the Warriors, Curry made his first All-Star game and finished the season averaging career highs in scoring (24) and assists (8.5) while also adding 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals a contest.

3.  Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers: Paul made his seventh consecutive All-Star game and his third since joining the Clippers while leading the league in steals and assists per game.  Paul is the best pure point guard in the league today and a key reason why the Clippers have one of their best teams in franchise history.  For the season, Paul averaged 19.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 10.7 assists and 2.5 steals a game.

2.  Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder: without the services of Russell Westbrook for a good chunk of the season Durant carried even more of the load for the Thunder and turned in an MVP worthy campaign in the process.  Durant made his fifth consecutive All-Star game in a year where he led the league in minutes played, shots made, free-throws made and scoring.  For the season, Durant averaged 32 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.3 steals a game for the 59-23 Thunder.

1.  LeBron James, Miami Heat: even though his rebounding and assist numbers are down from a year ago James is still the best player in the world.  On offense, he is nearly unstoppable going to the rim as well as great passer when the double team comes his way.  James made his 10th straight All-Star game in a season where he averaged 27.1 points a game on 56.7 percent shooting from the field.  He also added 6.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists a night.  What sets James apart from the pack is his ability on the defensive end where he can shut down even the best opposing players when needed.