Is Carmelo Anthony a top 5 player in the league?

[Human Error]

People think Lebron James is overrated because he is playing with yet another top 5 player in Wade. And usually they are the same people who think Carmelo Anthony is better than Wade and it makes Carmelo an automatic top 5 player in the league.

It led me to come up with this question; Is he really a top 5 player in the league? In other words, would you rather have Carmelo Anthony over these players?

Russell Westbrook
Dwight Howard
Tony Parker
Blake Griffin
James Harden
Kyrie Irving
Stephen Curry
Marc Gasol
Joakim Noah
Chris Bosh
Pau Gasol

[Teanett]

derrick rose
dirk
kevin love

[SilkkTheShocker]

Absolutely not.

[elementally morale]

Let's see who he is clearly worse than:

LeBron
Durant
Kobe
Wade

After these 4 players it's arguable. Westbrook, Harden, a healthy Dirk, a healthy Howard... some other players... Melo is in this group. I'd say Melo is comfortably top 10 and borderline top 5. Putting him at #5 is debatable. Any higher is just wrong.

[Graviton]

He was in the beginning of the season, but not since All-Star break. I would say since All-Star break Top 5 have been...

Lebron
Kobe
Wade
Durant
Westbrook

No one else really stepped up that much.

[Legends66NBA7]

Carmelo Anthony is easily Top 10 for me and arguably Top 5.

I'll take Anthony over either Gasol, Bosh, Howard, Noah, Curry, Parker, Griffin, and Irving.

Westbrook and Harden are the only ones debatable to me. I can see the case if someone wants to put Parker and Griffin over him too, but I would rather have Anthony.

[Real Men Wear Green]

The following are having better seasons:

1. LeBron James. Current MVP favorite, best player on team with the best record.

2. Kevin Durant. Best scorer in the league (which is Melo's specialty) and the best player on one of the top 3 teams.

3. Chris Paul. Best point guard in the league, he makes us consider the possibility of the Clippers in the Finals. Anyone with an understanding of NBA history should be able to appreciate how amazing that is.

Those are the only 3 I'm sure of. About on par with Kobe Bryant. If LA was on pace for 60 wins I'd put him over Melo but as good as his numbers are somehow with Howard, Nash and Gasol they're on pace for the 8th seed? This is probably the fault of the coach and Bryant could/should be moving up my oh-so important rankings as LA moves up the standings but this is about the season so far, not what could happen.

3 guys definitely over, one on par. So I'll say Melo is Top 5.

[Joey3000]

After Lebron and Durant Carmelo is as good as anyone.

[NumberSix]

[STATUTORY]

Those are the only 3 I'm sure of. About on par with Kobe Bryant. If LA was on pace for 60 wins I'd put him over Melo but as good as his numbers are somehow with Howard, Nash and Gasol they're on pace for the 8th seed? This is probably the fault of the coach and Bryant could/should be moving up my oh-so important rankings as LA moves up the standings but this is about the season so far, not what could happen.

are you f@cking serious?

lakers have played how many games with a lineup of Howard Nash and Gasol? two coaching changes and injury problems, how can you dismiss kobe's numbers?

on topic, no melo isn't close to top 5 in term of impact on wins and losses. he's not even a max player if you care about constructing a team that can contend for a championship. ball stopping chucker like him aren't worth what their stans think they are

[Real Men Wear Green]

are you f@cking serious?

lakers have played how many games with a lineup of Howard Nash and Gasol? two coaching changes and injury problems, how can you dismiss kobe's numbers?

on topic, no melo isn't close to top 5 in term of impact on wins and losses. he's not even a max player if you care about constructing a team that can contend for a championship. ball stopping chucker like him aren't worth what their stans think they are

I called Bryant the 4th or 5th best player in the league despite playing on the current 8th seed and you get offended. This is why you Kobe "stans" are seen as a bunch of idiots. Melo isn't a max player? He's making the max. All-Star starter. Going to be All-NBA. Stop arguing with reality.

[STATUTORY]

I called Bryant the 4th or 5th best player in the league despite playing on the current 8th seed and you get offended. This is why you Kobe "stans" are seen as a bunch of idiots. Melo isn't a max player? He's making the max. All-Star starter. Going to be All-NBA. Stop arguing with reality.

you are conflating team success with individual play. the clippers was steamrolling opponents with Chris Paul sitting out. Their bench is a starting 5 caliber team onto themselves. Yet you have him in the top 3. No one gets credit for being on a stacked team like Chris Paul. Guy couldn't even make the playoffs every year in NO.

as for Melo, I wasn't arguing the reality that he's a max player but the legitimacy of that contract. Melo is a player that you have to carefully build around his game can only thrive in very contrived niche circumstances. Guy like him aren't worth the max imo because you have to compromise other parts of your roster just to let him shine.

[JohnnySic]

Its arguable.

[Real Men Wear Green]

you are conflating team success with individual play. the clippers was steamrolling opponents with Chris Paul sitting out.

They went 6-6 without him. You are badly twisting reality.

Their bench is a starting 5 caliber team onto themselves.

as for Melo, I wasn't arguing the reality that he's a max player but the legitimacy of that contract.

Nothing written to defend such a statement is going to be intelligent.

Melo is a player that you have to carefully build around his game can only thrive in very contrived niche circumstances. Guy like him aren't worth the max imo because you have to compromise other parts of your roster just to let him shine.

Yeah, this was very well supported by...nothing.

[MaxFly]

I called Bryant the 4th or 5th best player in the league despite playing on the current 8th seed and you get offended. This is why you Kobe "stans" are seen as a bunch of idiots. Melo isn't a max player? He's making the max. All-Star starter. Going to be All-NBA. Stop arguing with reality.

He has a point. You can't say...

somehow with Howard, Nash and Gasol they're on pace for the 8th seed

...without taking into account the fact that Gasol has missed 25+ games, Nash has missed 20+ games, and Howard is still working himself back into shape while currently playing injured with a torn shoulder. This is one of those instances where team record has very little to do with how good a player actually is. I wouldn't say that Melo is on par with Bryant, less put him over Bryant. Certainly not this season.