Five Rockets players placed in Sports Illustrated's top 100 NBA player rankings.
The rankings, compiled by SI writers Rob Mahoney and Ben Golliver, are based on both advanced statistics and subjective assessment. It is branded as "an earnest attempt to evaluate each player in a vacuum."
James Harden placed fifth overall, edging out Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and Blake Griffin. Last year, Harden ranked 13th on the list. According to Rob Mahoney, the only thing stopping Harden from the top 5 is his lack of "defensive aptitude."
All that keeps Harden from climbing higher on this list is defense.