The Complex All-NBA Team

With the 2013-14 NBA regular season nearly completed, it’s perfectly reasonable to take a step back and use this time before the playoffs to examine each player’s performance over the past year. We’ve seen Kevin Durant make yet another leap and likely secure his first MVP award, LeBron James having the typical Hall of Fame-level LeBron season, and the likes of Anthony Davis and Stephen Curry asserting themselves as the next generation of stars.

More than almost any other time in league history, the talent taking the court every night virtually guarantees that fans will get to see at least one standout player in any given game. Every position in the NBA is stacked with players who are capable of being All-Stars, making this season in particular one of the toughest years to select All-NBA teams in recent memory.

Despite it being difficult to choose, we’ve narrowed down the list of the league’s top players by position and will present the top three at each one. Looking at their entire careers but placing added importance to what they have done lately. Check out the Complex All-NBA Team.

Team: San Antonio Spurs
2013-14 stats: 67 G, 16.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 5.7 APG

Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs continue to find a way to stay not just relevant, but among the top teams in the entire NBA. After what should've been a crushing blow in last year's Finals, they instead finished with the best record in the entire league and appear ready for another deep playoff run. The play of Parker has been instrumental in this revival, as the Frenchman has continued to be one of the most efficient scoring point guards in the game.

He finished third in the NBA in field goal percentage on drives to the hoop (52.6 percent), going to the basket an average of over 10 times a game.

Team: Miami Heat
2013-14 stats: 53 G, 19.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.5 SPG

It speaks to the relative dearth of standout two guards in the NBA right now that Dwyane Wade is still among the top three. That is not to say, though, that Wade can't still play; he's been excellent this season when he's been on the floor, posting easily the best field goal percentage of his career (.548) while averaging his fewest minutes per game ever. The Heat have been saving him for the playoffs. Expect an outstanding postseason from a rejuvenated Flash.

Team: Indiana Pacers
2013-14 stats: 80 G, 21.7 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.9 SPG

It's been a really weird year for Paul George. For the season's first half, he and the Pacers were the toast of the NBA; George was being touted as the clear No. 3 choice for MVP, and people were already speculating that Miami's quest for a three-peat was doomed. Since March, though, his shooting has gone in the tank; he's scoring 19.6 points per game on an abysmal .379 field goal percentage, whereas before then he was scoring 22.6 per game on .440 shooting.

His struggles have correlated strongly with those of his whole team, as the Pacers went 8-10 in March and are 3-3 in April heading into their final regular season game. The upcoming playoffs will tell us a lot about what kind of player George is to become.

Team: Los Angeles Clippers
2013-14 stats: 79 G, 24.1 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.6 BPG

Perhaps no player increased his value in the eyes of the NBA this season more than Blake Griffin. With Chris Paul missing 20 games over the course of the year, Griffin has been the Clippers' most reliable player, a guy who has developed from simply a dunking, somewhat clumsy post player into an all-around dominator with 15-plus foot range. More than anyone else, he has thrived under new coach Doc Rivers, who in an effort to both boost Blake and save Paul's energy has handed Griffin significantly more offensive responsibility.

Griffin has even been taking the ball up the court, something that even a year or two ago would've been seemingly inconceivable.

Team: Houston Rockets
2013-14 stats: 70 G, 18.4 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.9 SPG, 1.8 BPG

It speaks to how talented Dwight Howard is that we can look at him averaging 18-plus points, 12-plus rebounds, and nearly two blocks per game and just say "meh." Only 14 players in NBA history have done that even once; Howard has averaged 18-12-2 five times already in his career, one off the all-time record shared by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Hakeem Olajuwon. It may not always be pretty, but Howard is one of the best of his generation down on the block and has opened up the floor for Houston's many shooters this season.

He's largely responsible for the Rockets' 10-win increase from last year, and his playoff experience makes them a threat going forward as well.

Team: Golden State Warriors
2013-14 stats: 78 G, 24.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 8.5 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG

Stephen Curry came into the season with huge expectations after a record-setting shooting performance in 2012-13 and a playoffs in which he captivated the basketball-viewing world. He has certainly delivered, submitting another outstanding shooting campaign while dramatically elevating his per-game assist totals and field goal percentage. He also has been able to remain healthy for the second full season in a row, an obstacle many were fearful he wouldn't be able to clear after he struggled with injuries early in his career.

While his slight build makes him a liability on defense, Curry's staggering offensive output nevertheless makes him one of the league's best players.

Team: Phoenix Suns
2013-14 stats: 76 G, 20.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 5.9 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.3 BPG

Despite missing the playoffs, the Phoenix Suns have been undoubtedly the NBA's most pleasant surprise in 2013-14. Goran Dragic has been a major reason for that, as he has thrived in new coach Jeff Hornacek's uptempo system and elevated his play beyond anything we could have imagined before the season. Dragic is one of the best players in the NBA at getting to the basket and finishing; per NBA.com's SportVU data, he has had the fourth-most drives (712) and the fifth-best field goal percentage on those drives (51.6%) in the entire league.

Phoenix going from 25 wins to 47 doesn't exactly hurt our opinion of Dragic, either.

Team: Oklahoma City Thunder
2013-14 stats: 80 G, 31.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 5.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.7 BPG

It's hard to find the right words to describe Kevin Durant's dominance this season. If you watch the Thunder play, Durant is double-teamed as soon as he gets over midcourt on pretty much every single possession. He launches shots from the most impossible angles, and yet his sweet shooting stroke makes it all look so effortless it's not even fair. His incredible length and release point make it virtually impossible to block his shot, which is a major reason why he was able to rattle off 41 consecutive games of 25-plus points, the third longest such streak in NBA history.

He'll deservedly earn an MVP trophy this season after spending his whole career in LeBron James' shadow, and he's got a legitimate shot at an NBA title as well.

Team: New York Knicks
2013-14 stats: 77 G, 27.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.7 BPG

The New York Knicks may have been the league's biggest disappointment this season, but Carmelo Anthony (for the most part) has not been the problem. Melo's on-court performance has been typically strong, as he once again will finish in the top 10 in PER, points per game, and minutes played. The most intriguing aspect of Anthony's career, now, is what he will do next. Can Phil Jackson convince him to stay in New York? Is he looking to chase a ring somewhere else? Where would that even be?

While the sinking ship in New York has damaged a lot of players' reputations this year, Melo has managed to emerge relatively unscathed and will be a very hot commodity this offseason.

Team: New Orleans Pelicans
2013-14 stats: 67 G, 20.8 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.3 SPG, 2.8 BPG

The New Orleans Pelicans may have been a big disappointment in 2013-14, but they've got a star in the making in Anthony Davis. "The Brow" just turned 21 years old about a month ago, but already looks like he will be a top 10 player in the NBA for the next 10-plus years. His athleticism combined with an unusually high skill level for a man of his size makes him a matchup nightmare, and he is the first player in almost a decade to block 300 or more shots over his first two seasons.

Davis' all-around game has quickly made him into one of the biggest rarities in basketball: a very young, mature franchise cornerstone around whom a team can build for the next decade.

Team: Los Angeles Clippers
2013-14 stats: 61 G, 19.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 10.7 APG, 2.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG

Even though he missed 20 games this season due to injury, there's no doubting that Chris Paul is still the top point guard in the NBA. His commanding presence on the floor is what gives the Clippers direction, and his intensity gives them their swagger. Statistically, CP3 has backed his attitude up with another tremendous season as one of the league's best two-way players. He's had another strong effort offensively, leading the NBA in assists per game and putting up the second-best rebounding numbers of his career to go with nearly 20 points a night.

On the other end, he's once again leading the league in steals per game and seems a lock to make his sixth NBA All-Defensive team. Paul truly is one of the league's most complete players.

Team: Houston Rockets
2013-14 stats: 73 G, 25.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 6.1 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.4 BPG

Another member of the "all offense/no defense" all-stars, James Harden nevertheless proved this year that he is a legitimate star in the NBA. He's been a workhorse for the Rockets, averaging 38.0 minutes per game and posting virtually identical averages to his outstanding 2012-13 season. He actually improved his shooting this year as he put up a .456 field goal percentage, a nearly two percent bump over his previous season.

He certainly was aided by the arrival of Dwight Howard, whose commanding presence in the post opened up the floor for Harden on offense and also helped hide him a bit more on defense.

Team: Miami Heat
2013-14 stats: 77 G, 27.1 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 6.4 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.3 BPG

How do you choose between the likely league MVP and the guy who is the best player of his generation, possibly one of the 10 best ever? Well, there's no right answer. We're going with LeBron James, though, simply because of the fact that he is relied upon to make his team go more than any other player in the NBA, Kevin Durant included. With Dwyane Wade limited to 53 games all season and no real point guard on the roster, James has been handed the responsibility of being the focal point of the offense at all times, setting up his teammates, and guarding the other team's best player on the defensive end.

He managed to do all this and submit a season that, pretty much any other year, would have won him an MVP trophy. Good enough for us.

Team: Minnesota Timberwolves
2013-14 stats: 76 G, 26.2 PPG, 12.5 RPG, 4.4 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.5 BPG

Another unsuccessful regular season for the Minnesota Timberwolves in which they'll finish either at or just below .500 does not mean that Kevin Love has regressed. In fact, offensively speaking, he's actually gotten better. The power forward averaged career bests points and assists per game, finished third in the NBA in PER, and finished with the second-best three-point percentage of his career despite a dramatically increased workload in that area. The knock on Love will continue to be that his defensive acumen is somewhere between subpar and abominable, and that he still has never made the playoffs in his six years.

However, he's still one of the most dominant one-way players in the game, and will be a playoff fixture once he's got the pieces around him.

Team: Chicago Bulls
2013-14 stats: 79 G, 12.6 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 5.4 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.5 BPG

There have been nine seasons in the history of the NBA in which a center has recorded 415 or more assists. Joakim Noah's 2013-14 campaign is one of them. Despite a roster depleted due to Derrick Rose's injury and the trade of Luol Deng, Noah has carried the Bulls all year and has them positioned for either the No. 3 or 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. He's done it by being the type of all-around player teams covet out of the center position, averaging career bests in points, rebounds, and assists per game and even posting four triple-doubles.

He's missed just two games despite being banged up seemingly all season, and his toughness and tenacity will make the Bulls a very tough out in the playoffs.