The New NBA Elite

Every year a few guys make that transition from very good player to legitimate league superstar. Last season saw Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Dwayne Wade and Manu Ginobili make that transition. While each of those guys played very well in previous seasons, last season they stepped their game up to elite status. Here’s a look at a few faces that will make that jump this year. These are the stars that will become megastars.

→Ron Artest
All the Pacers need is one great season from Artest. If he gives them a full year without any distractions and plays the way he can, there isn’t a team in the league who can stop them. If that year is this year, the Pacers will win everything and be completely dominant in doing so. Artest showed flashes of how good he can be in the few games he played last season averaging 24ppg and 6rpg. Expect him to come back and take over. He’ll probably have to knock the rust off in the preseason, but as soon as the regular season hits, nobody will be able to stop him on either end of the court. Artest has the potential to be a top-five player in the league, this may be the year he realizes that potential.

→Lebron James
A lot of people would make the case that Lebron is already one of the leagues elite. If he is, then he is like Amare Stoudemire was before Steve Nash: a developing great player with an developing team. Lebron finally has a team that can do his play justice. While he’s not going to win any championships this year, he is going to make some serious noise. He might even win a playoff series or two. Everyone talks about how the Cavs are in need of a perimeter shooter; suppose Lebron starts making his shots. He’s not as good as a Kobe Bryant or a Ray Allen yet, but this could be the year that he steps up to play at that level.

→Elton Brand
Last season, like many seasons, Brand had numbers that were similar to those of Tim Duncan. Both players averaged 20 ppg and had nearly identical numbers in blocks, steals, and fg%. Brand averaged 1.5 fewer rpg last season, but he played on a team that was one of the best at out-rebounding their opponents. The biggest difference in their numbers was the 22 games more that Duncan won last season. Don’t expect the Clippers to win 59 games next season, but do expect them to make the playoffs. They’ve made some really serious moves and are poised to break out of obscurity. The acquisition of Cutino Mobley will put Corey Magette back at the 3, where he belongs and take pressure off of Brand. A point guard squad of Shawn Livingston and Daniel Ewing should be enough to get this team into the playoffs as well. All the pieces are finally in place in LA they just need Elton Brand to step up and take over. Looks like Billy Crystal and Frankie Muniz finally have a good reason to be Clippers fans.

→Dirk Nowitzki
He’s already one of the best players in the league and the amount Dirk has to step up to be even better, isn’t that much. Playing without Nash took him out of his comfort zone last season and he responded by improving his game. It looks like he’ll be playing without Michael Finely next season so the load on him will be even greater. If Dirk can spend even a little time improving his defense, the Mavs will be serious championship contenders this season. A new coach, a new supporting cast and a new Dirk could be just what the Mavs need to be the best team in the NBA.

→Mike Bibby
When Chris Webber was traded the big catch phrase that was thrown around was, “addition by subtraction.” Everyone seemed to expect Peja Stojakovic to become the superstar on the Kings. While he’s a very good player, Mike Bibby stepped up huge at the end of last season. Expect a similar performance for the entire upcoming one. After the Webber trade Bibby averaged 22 ppg and just over 7 apg. Now that the Kings have had half a season and an off-season to figure out who they are in the post-Webber era, Bibby is all set to become one of the game's elite playmakers and scorers.