NBA Player Power Rankings - November: Anthony Davis and everyone else

Welcome to a new monthly feature as part of theScore's NBA coverage, where, at the end of each month, we'll compile a list of the top-10 players in the Association during the season.

The list will not account for past years or the future. It will simply rank the top players in the NBA based solely on their performance in 2014-15.

The beauty of coming up with player rankings for the season's opening month is that we don't have to attempt to predict how small sample sizes will hold up over the next four-and-a-half months. Instead, we get to rely on those smaller samples to come up with a more interesting and unique ranking than we could if we did this in January, or if we ranked the best players in the league overall, taking into account their entire careers.

For example, we all know LeBron James has been the best basketball player on earth for the last seven years or so. But has he been the absolute best over the first month of the 2014-15 season? No. And that's what makes November's rankings so fun.

Without further ado, here are the top-10 players of 2014-15, as of Dec. 2.

The Top 10

10. Tyson Chandler
11.3 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 1.5 BPG, 1.3 APG
PER: 23.85
Win Shares: 2.9

We open the rankings with the biggest surprise on the list.

It's unlikely many people think of Chandler when talking about the 10 best players in the league, but the 32-year-old has been an absolute two-way beast for the 13-5 Mavericks in his Dallas return.

He's already regained his former Defensive Player of the Year form and should be a contender for the award again, anchoring a defense that somehow ranks in the top half of the league (13th) despite poor defending teammates all over the roster. For what it's worth, the Mavs ranked 22nd in defensive efficiency last season.

On offense, his attack is built on lobs, put-backs and rolls to the basket, and he does have to rely on ball handlers, but Dallas' No. 1-ranked offense also has to rely on him.

Chandler's effective screens, thunderous rolls to the bucket on pick-and-rolls, and devastating finishing (he's shooting over 69 percent) are essential for the team's more ball-dominant scorers and shooters, and are a key component of an offense producing 115.8 points per 100 possessions.

It'll be tough for a defensive-minded, low-usage center to hold onto a top-10 spot all season, but for the first month, at least, Chandler is worthy of this list.

9. Jimmy Butler
21.9 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.5 SPG
PER: 22.45
Win Shares: 2.8

When Butler and the Bulls failed to come to an extension agreement before the Oct. 31 deadline, the 2015 restricted free agent said he was betting on himself.

If the first month of the 2014-15 season is any indication, Jimmy Buckets is going to cash in on that bet.

With Derrick Rose and other Bulls stars (including himself) banged up at various points of the month, Butler emerged as the team's best and most consistent player. In addition to remaining one of the game's best perimeter defenders, capable of shutting down the league's biggest stars, Butler has now found an offensive game that few saw coming.

He's complementing all-world defense with 21.9 points per game on nearly 50 percent shooting, while getting to the free-throw line more than eight times a night thanks to an improved off-the-dribble game.

Butler has been the complete package so far this season for a Bulls team that looks like the East's best when healthy.

8. Kyle Lowry
19.2 PPG, 6.6 APG, 5.2 RPG, 1.2 SPG
PER: 22.83
Win Shares: 2.7

The sequence above is Kyle Lowry at his finest - a combustible ball of heart, toughness and two-way basketball ability that has him among the game's best point guards in a golden age for the position.

What the video above doesn't show, however, is that immediately after redeeming himself for a turnover with a block, steal and an assist in a 13-second span, Lowry also took a charge.

Perhaps the biggest knock on an East-leading Raptors team with few weaknesses is that they don't have the quintessential All-NBA superstar necessary to truly contend. But what if Lowry is that star? The top-tier player capable of taking over games when it matters most?

After finishing last season in the top 10 in Basketball Reference's Win Shares and ESPN's Wins Above Replacement, Lowry has begun this season  in the top 20 in PER and top 10 in Win Shares. He's also one of only six players averaging at least 19 points, six assists, five rebounds and a steal, and he has a clutch-time effective field goal percentage of 54.5.

All that and a 13-4 Raptors record makes it impossible to keep Lowry off this list.

7. LeBron James
24.9 PPG, 7.2 APG, 5.8 RPG, 1.3 SPG
PER: 24.89
Win Shares: 2.2

LeBron James has spoiled us with his basketball greatness. How else can you explain October/November looking like a down month for the king despite averages of roughly 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds, a Player Efficiency Rating of nearly 25 and Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors two out of five weeks.

LeBron hasn't been as consistently dominant through one month as everyone would like him to be, his defense has left much to be desired, and his star-studded Cavaliers still have a lot to figure out. But he's posted lines of at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists four times already this season, the Cavs have won three in a row to climb above .500 again, and they have the luxury of time in the weak East.

Being a top-seven player on an 8-7 team was a disappointing month for James. What happens when he and the Cavs round into form?

6. DeMarcus Cousins
23.5 PPG, 12.6 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.5 BPG, 1.1 SPG
PER: 28.03
Win Shares: 2.2

At 9-8, the Kings have been one of the NBA's early season surprises, and the evolution of Cousins has been the key reason.

No one ever doubted Boogie's talent or ability to physically dominate, but between on-court maturity issues and and an apparent disregard for defense, the Kentucky big man had yet to see his immense skill set translate into superstardom.

That began to change last season, when Cousins averaged 22.7 points and 11.7 rebounds while becoming a more complete player. He didn't get the credit he deserved in 2013-14, however, thanks to another losing season in Sacramento and an overreaction to his 16 technical fouls (which Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin matched, by the way).

The results this season have been sensational. Cousins is now an attentive and committed defender who makes numerous game-changing defensive plays each night, but that hasn't come at the expense of the rest of his game.

He's still one of the best interior scorers alive, attempting a career-high 45.1 percent of his shots within three feet of the rim (according to Basketball Reference), posting career-high Effective Field Goal Percentages and True Shooting Percentages despite a Usage Rate above 33 because of it, and he's leading the league in rebounding.

Throw in a winning record, and it's easy to see why Cousins has garnered some early MVP talk.

5. Marc Gasol
20.1 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.5 BPG, 1.2 SPG
PER: 23.64
Win Shares: 2.8

Marc Gasol entered the season as a former Defensive Player of the Year, a one-time All-Star, one-time All-NBA 2nd Team member, and easily one of the best centers in the league.

Through one month of the 2014-15 campaign, he's cemented his status as one of the NBA's best players, period.

Dating back to last year, when the Grizzlies went 40-19 with Gasol in the lineup but only 10-13 without him, Memphis is now 55-21 with their starting center healthy over the last two seasons. To start this year, Gasol has led the way on both ends of the court for the team with the NBA's best record (15-2).

No one needed a reminder about Gasol's top notch defense, but his offensive contributions so far have been somewhat of a revelation to those who never paid much attention to the Grizzlies. After setting a career-high Usage Rate of 21.7 last season, Gasol has used 25.6 percent of Memphis' possessions when he's on the court this season, and his efficiency hasn't suffered.

Gasol is scoring 20 points per game on a True Shooting Percentage of 59.1 and is producing 1.14 points per possession, according to Basketball Reference. He's also recorded three 30-plus-point games in 17 tries after recording one such game over his first six seasons combined.

4. James Harden
25.2 PPG, 6.8 APG, 6.2 RPG, 1.9 SPG, 1.1 BPG
PER: 25.13
Win Shares: 3.4

We're less than a quarter of the way through the season, but for the sake of fun with small sample sizes, here's a list of players who have averaged at least 25 points, six rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block in a season: LeBron James in 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10, Larry Bird in 1984-85, and James Harden this season.

A lot of observers thought the Rockets would take a step back after losing Chandler Parsons, Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin, but Harden's exceptional play has helped Houston to a 13-4 start, even with Dwight Howard already missing seven games.

There's more to the Rockets than just Harden, of course. Howard has looked as good as he has in years when he's in the lineup, Trevor Ariza has been a defensive upgrade over Parsons, and the Rockets' role players are playing well, but Harden has been relentless in leading this seemingly undermanned team to the top of the Southwest Division standings.

And for all of the talk and vines of Harden's infamously ghastly defense, the best shooting guard in basketball has actually been a vastly improved defender to start the season.

If he hadn't already, The Beard has now officially arrived.

3. Chris Paul
17.9 PPG, 9.5 APG, 4.0 RPG, 2.1 SPG
PER: 27.34
Win Shares: 3.7

While the rest of his Clippers teammates have taken some time to round into form with the team as a whole off to a sluggish start, Paul has continued to masterfully orchestrate one of the West's best teams.

Paul creates over 21 points per game with his assists alone, he's assisting on 45 percent of his teammates' field goals when he's on the floor, he's turning the ball over on less than 10 percent of his possessions, he boasts a ridiculous assist-to-turnover ratio of 6.19, his 18 points per game have come on a True Shooting Percentage of 62.6, and he remains one of the best defensive point guards.

He didn't earn the Point God moniker for nothing.

2. Stephen Curry
23.8 PPG, 7.8 APG, 5.3 RPG, 1.9 SPG
PER: 28.71
Win Shares: 3.5

Imagine how well a modern point guard would have to play to outperform Chris Paul over an entire month.

That's how awesome Stephen Curry has been to start the 2014-15 season.

Curry has flirted with a 50-40-90 season early on (49.6-41.8-92.3) while spearheading a top-seven offense with his scoring and passing, but it's his surprising play on the defensive end that has helped open some eyes through October and November.

Curry may never be an All-Defensive Team member, but his impressive D at the point of attack has been a major component of Golden State's No. 1-ranked defense under Steve Kerr, and his superb two-way play for arguably the league's best two-way team has the Warriors sitting pretty at 14-2 in a wide open Western Conference.

Paul has been the best point guard for years now, and his play hasn't fallen off to start this season. But even CP3 might not be able to keep the title from Curry.

1. Anthony Davis
24.9 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 3.0 BPG, 2.1 SPG, 1.7 APG
PER: 33.39
Win Shares: 3.4

Was there even a question about the ungroomed unibrow who would top the early season rankings?

Davis ranks in the top-10 in minutes per game and field goal percentage, top six in rebounding and steals, top three in scoring and first in blocks, while posting a PER of 33.39 that would shatter the record of 31.8 set by Wilt Chamberlain 52 years ago.

The most unbelievable part: Davis is only 21 years old.

The Pelicans, who entered the season thin on depth and have already been bitten by the injury bug, may not be able to hang around the West playoff race all year. That will affect Davis' chances of becoming the youngest MVP in league history, but how the Pelicans fare - they're currently 7-8 after a three-game losing streak - shouldn't distract from the historic season Davis is enjoying early on.

It certainly won't keep us from noticing who the NBA's best player has been through one month.

The Next 10

(PER courtesy of ESPN, Win Shares courtesy of Basketball Reference)