Where the Houston Rockets’ stars fit in the top 10 players in the NBA

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Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks is defended by James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

Forward. Giannis Antetokounmpo. 4. 89. .

Giannis Antetokounmpo, or The Greek Freak as many like to call him, is indeed a freak of nature. Even alongside some of the best athletes in the world, Giannis does things that we’ve never quite seen before.

Giannis averaged career-highs in points (27.7), rebounds (12.5) and assists (5.9) last season, despite averaging 3.9 minutes less per game than the season prior. Giannis’ length along with his athleticism and strength make him nearly impossible to defend and he succeeded in leading the Bucks to the league’s best record and taking home the MVP.

However, Antetokounmpo isn’t a perfect player, as his outside shot could definitely use some work. Kawhi Leonard exposed that part of his game in the Eastern Conference Finals, but I expect a player with Giannis’ work ethic to come back with an improved jump shot next season.

3. 169. . . Guard. James Harden

James Harden is an absolute scoring machine. The Beard dropped at least 30 points on every team in the NBA last season and led the league in scoring with 36.1 points per game, the highest scoring average since Michael Jordan‘s 1986-87 season.

But Harden isn’t just a one-trick pony. He also averaged 6.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game last season. Not to mention, he was more than solid defensively and has actually become one of the best post defenders in the league. We might be a bit biased, but James Harden should’ve taken home a second (actually, probably a third) MVP Award last season.

Can Harden somehow take his game to another level next season? Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until October to find out.

Next: Nos. 1-2