Everyone has their favorites and might disagree with my selections, that is fine. I stand by my picks. To me these are the top athletes in the NBA today. I listed them in exact order what you see is what you get.

This looks to be an exciting year for NBA basketball, it's nice to see that it is only 4 days away. Since Scorum does not seem interested in Esports I will focus solely on basketball, my favorite sport. I also like Football but it's not as much of a passion so why bother posting about it when others can do that.

LeBron James

LeBron James dominantly forces those around him to match his style an pace. LeBron takes his talents to California bringing the Lakers fans some hope this season. It has been a while since they had much to be optimistic about. Having James will be enough to shift the Lakers into a playoff team. LeBron is probably most people's number 1 pick, deservedly so. King James has won championships for every team he has played for and now he is on the Lakers. Maybe he won't do it this season but I believe this Lakers franchise is on the right path. LeBron is able to make those around him better and the Lakers team is full of young talent. He will bring the best out them.

Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant may have spent more time in the top slot on lists like this if not for signing with the Warriors in 2016, but his personal stats have taken a hit while playing with so many other talented players in Golden State. I'm betting that the two rings he has won is more than enough to ease that pain. Even with the sacrifice of playing for a better team, Durant has posted dominating numbers, keeping himself in the mix for league MVP. If Not for LeBron, Durant would be number 1. Still, many people rank him ahead of LeBron. That is understandable but I disagree. LeBron is the King. If we are in a shooting contest I will choose Durant all day, overall LeBron is the most complete athlete/player to ever play the game of basketball and not many would disagree.

James Harden

James Harden is a fearless and forceful rim-attacker who causes defenses to adjust to him even as the Rockets line up shooters around the 3 point line. He is a unique offensive force and with his defensive-effort helping to key a run to the top of the Western conference for the Houston, his MVP award was well deserved. I would like to see Harden when a championship before his career ends. He might be the greatest NBA player to never win a championship. I have a feeling this will change soon enough, perhaps this season if everything goes smoothly.

Stephen Curry

Step averaged over 26 points last season while shooting 49 percent from the field, 42 percent from the 3 point line and 92 from the free throw line which was the best free throw shooting percentage in the league. He had 6.1 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game too, yet he is easy to overlook with the kind of seasons that LeBron James, Kevin Durant and James Harden had. Curry wound up 10th in most valuable player voting, mostly because he is teammates with Kevin Durant and Durant received more credit for the success of the Golden State Warriors. Curry is the 3 point god and at one point in time he was said to be the best player, although that was a bit of a stretch. He is not even the best player on his own team. Kevin Durant will always be the Warriors number 1 as long as he remains healthy and active.

Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis has always been a star in the NBA but over the final 27 games to end last season he showed a different level of drive and hunger, leading the Pelicans to the playoffs and advancing to the conference semi finals. That stretch may have changed him and shown him that his game has another level. Davis has played for some bad teams it would be nice to see him play with some greater talent. He might be the most underrated player in the league. Davis brings so many great qualities to the Pelicans, they offer him little in return.

Russell Westbrook

The Thunders "dream team" did not quite work out but Westbrook again averaged a triple double with 25.4 points, 10.1 rebounds and 10.3 assists, leading the league in assists. The only part of his game where he struggles is with 3 point shooting. Westbrook relies on catching fire, generally when it matters most, to knock down some 3's. If he was able to excel in this area he would be a top 3 player in the league no question. Russell needs to leave Oklahoma City, there is nothing there for him. He won't be winning a championship there. Durant left, now I feel Westbrook should do the same. Sometimes it's not so simple though.

Giannis Antetokoumpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo was only 18 entering the NBA draft. There was no way to see that he would work to develop a mid range shot, that he would work to become a very good ball handler for his size, that he would study film so that he could become a better passer and play maker. He has done all of that and the results have been astounding. He’s even begun to show some promise with his last major improvement, 3 point shooting. He made 30.7 percent of his attempts last season and would have been better than 32 percent except for a late-season 1 for 9 shooting slump. Giannis is one of the younger talents in the league. Giannis is a unique talent, similar to Kevin Durant but not as complete. His game is inside of arc, although he can hit the 3 pointer as well.

Joel Embiid

All that we need to see from Embiid to determine just how good he can be is a streak of good health. Last season he was finally healthy playing 63 games and putting up averages of 22.9 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists, all while he established himself as one of the best defensive centers in the league. He blocked 1.8 shots per game and protected the rim with his size and strength. It was because of Embiid that Philadelphia allowed 41.6 points in the paint per game, fewest in the league. If this man could remain healthy he would make it into the hall of fame one day. Amazing talent, one of the greatest centers in NBA history, unstoppable around the rim.

Kawhi Leonard

I am ranking Leonard as a top 10 player taking into account what happened last year, when a hamstring injury led to him missing 73 games. Leonard has been healthy so far and he is on a new team now playing in Toronto. There is no telling what level of effort and intensity Raptors' fans will be seeing. If he is fully engaged, Leonard is a top ten player no question. A dual threat who can be the key player of the offense on almost any team while also being the core component of the defense. He could possibly transform a Toronto team that has done well in the regular season but was lacking an experienced star to push them in the playoffs. Leonard can be that piece of the puzzle. A talented veteran who is an asset to any team he plays for, even when not at his best. Kahwi averaged 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in the preseason, only playing 22 minutes per game. To me he looked to be back on track to playing at the level he is capable of.

Damian Lillard

Damian Lillard is a major scoring threat and the best pick and roll point guard in the NBA. Portland ran the pick and roll 11.9 times per game last year, most in the NBA. He produced 12.4 of his 26.9 points per game on the pick and roll. Lillards shooting of 43.9 percent from the field, 36 percent from the 3 point line, 91 percent from the free throw line remained as consistent as its ever been throughout his playing career. Lillard can shine like a star on any given night, he is a true superstar. Lillard, like Russell Westbrook, needs to move to a better team. He will not win in Portland and many teams are in need of a player like him.

2018/2019 NBA SEASON BEGINS OCT, 16

My predictions for each game:

76ers vs Celtics

This game tips off the season as Joel Embiid of Philadelphia looks to build off of what was a quality season last year. I see him causing problems inside the paint for Boston, if the Celtics are unable to knock down the outside shot this could quickly become a one sided game.

My pick is the Philadelphia 76ers

Thunder vs Warriors

Russell Westbrook vs his former teammate and back to back reigning champion, Kevin Durant. Oklahoma City seems to be incapable of working together as a team. When they are on they can compete with anyone. What Oklahoma City team are we going to see? Judging by last season my hopes are not very high.

Who will be able to stop the Warriors this season? Maybe an injury or two? Time will tell.

My pick is the Golden State Warriors

It's nice to see a full NBA schedule on the radar. Feels like it's been forever.

We are nearing 70 years of NBA basketball. I have been watching the past 12. It's amazing to see how far the game has come, although the fans seem to be unappreciative these days.

The league is pact with talent, even the worst team can shine on any given day. Of course there are some super teams and it's a tad annoying, everything will even out soon enough. Players are getting stronger and developing greater skill sets at a young age. At this rate will see a 4 point line within the next decade. That would be interesting, although unnecessary.

Hopefully you all find my content somewhat entertaining. It's not enjoyable when you feel like you are talking to no one. I'm not sure if I am a fan of this type of sports media platform. Maybe it's my fault I can be more active commenting I suppose. Still trying to figure out how everything works.

Scorum is an interesting project. Looking forward to seeing what is to come and how far this can go. Maybe Scorum is the next ESPN in the making, it's possible. There are some bugs I am noticing, my post keeps getting flagged with all sorts of related posts, many of which do not even match my post. For example, Scorum told me that a wikipedia page was similar to my post even though it was some basketball player who I have never heard of before. I know I am not the only one experiencing this annoyance. No one seems to be speaking about it yet maybe I should be the first.

It's amazing how many flags this post has triggered when it's all in my own words. My rewards are being taken away without reason apparently I used too many imaged from google. No idea why all of these articles are being called similar when some of them are not similar in any way, shape, or form. And I just seen another member talk about not wanting to write anything because his post gets triggered so instead he posted a video, maybe that is the way to go since Scorum seems to be broken.

Overall it is an amazing platform so far, only a few minor bugs.

I like the ways advertisements fit into Scorum without being intrusive as I scroll through posts. Scorum actually introduced me to a really cool sports betting website through an advertisement so I am thankful for that.

Can only imagine what Scorums own betting app is going to look like. If its quality I will be using it daily. Should drive up the price of SCR tokens, that's great too. I know fantasy sports is popular, mostly because it is legal in America while sports betting is not, which makes no sense since both are forms of gambling. Speculating on player performance is not a skill and if it is then sports betting itself is a skill.

This is ridiculous at this point so I am going to keep writing until my post is accepted. If this continues then I will refrain from using Scorum to blog. Seems a bit scammy if users are losing their rewards without reason. I do not understand how the content rating system can be so bad it's illogical.

You need to do better than this, Scorum, otherwise competitors will come in and replace you. Competency is the key word.

I have not mentioned either of those players so I should not be flagged for either of those, just a few examples to prove Scorum is flawed. Hope it is fixed soon this is wasting my time.