Zach Randolph, Dime #19

5. Pau Gasol – 31 YEARS OLD
&
4. Zach Randolph – 30 YEARS OLD
Talk to Z-Bo and I’m sure he’ll tell you what he’s told me before: he’s been putting up numbers his whole career, and that he hasn’t changed at all. Perception becomes your reality. Fair enough. But something was definitely different with his game last year. He shot a higher percentage, crashed the offensive glass like a mad man and passed more often than he has in the last five years. Compare that to Gasol, who had a more impressive regular season (his true shooting percentage was 58.9 compared to Randolph’s 55.2, and his efficiency and assist rates were both nearly doubling Z-Bo’s), but completely fell off in the playoffs. Anytime Carl Landry is bullying you, there are issues. Some of that comes back to their roles: Randolph is the team’s leader and go-to player while Gasol is just the second in command (no wonder Z-Bo led in usage rate: 25.08 to 21.74). Now of course, Gasol will never do that as long as he wears the purple & gold (Kobe won’t let him). But that’s a story all to itself. The point is that in the playoffs, Randolph played like a lion and Gasol played like a swan. With two even players, that was my breaking point.

3. Steve Nash – 37 YEARS OLD
What changed for Nash last year? Not a whole lot. He didn’t shoot as well (under 50 percent for the first time since he came to Phoenix) – but that’s like complaining because an Andre 16 wasn’t life changing – and his teammates took a collective Vince Carter dive. But Nash was still kicking it. Rajon Rondo might never admit it, but Nash is still the best passer in the league and he’s still one of the most impactful offensive players (he’s also still awful on defense). Tell me this: out of all the players on this list, who is most likely to take a 25-win team and turn it into a 50-win one by himself? Nash may not win you a title, but he’ll get you in contention.

[Related: Steve Nash's Boxing Workout]

2. Dirk Nowitzki – 33 YEARS OLD
Should he be No. 1? If you want happy endings. Could I be a prisoner of the moment and catapult him to the top of this list? I could, but it wouldn’t really make sense. He took over in the playoffs, the Luke Skywalker counteracting the “evil” in South Beach. But Dirk was always really good in the playoffs. He just never had anyone to back him. That, combined with a desperation you could actually see, brought Dirk’s overall presence to the next level. But his game didn’t really change. Eventually, you assumed he would figure it out. I’ll give you the overview of his year: he shot better. Everything else was worse. That championship convinced a lot of people that the German was getting better with age. Nowitzki didn’t prosper; He just survived. And that’s all winning a title is: survival.

1. Kobe Bryant – 33 YEARS OLD
Don’t believe the hype. The collective offseason campfire grows so long and cold with this lockout that people are rehashing the same storylines. By this point, we should be reading about Bryant coming back to training camp, steely-eyed and determined to put last season behind him. Instead, it’s the same story: he’s old…he fell off. Everyone believes it now. Being the best player in the league is one thing (he’s not), but being the best over 30 is another (he still is). This choice was difficult (in another world, I would’ve just said screw it and taken the easy road, putting Dirk & Kobe at 1A/1B). Am I being naïve? It’s possible. But I still believe in the Bionic Man. By the time Bryant is finished, he’ll probably have 10 all-time records, countless individual awards, metal knees and prosthetic arms. I’m not going to let a tiny sample size in the playoffs convince me Dirk is now better when Kobe was better throughout the whole season (although I did do that w/ Gasol & Z-Bo), and had Dirk playing catch up for over a decade. I guess we will find out soon.

What do you think? What would your list be?

Follow Sean on Twitter at @SEANesweeney.

Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.

Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.