5. Rudy Gay, Sacramento Kings
DeMarcus Cousins deserves all the hype he receives, but don’t forget about Rudy Gay. A first-round pick in 2004, he’s consistently contributed as a top-tier and efficient scorer. The Connecticut product tallied a personal-best 21.1 points per game last season, shooting 45.5 percent for the third time in his nine-year career.
Perhaps unfortunately for Gay, the Kings signed Rajon Rondo, who will either distribute at an elite level and positively impact the small forward or destroy what was a good thing in Sacramento.
Darren Collison was arguably the perfect point guard, so as long as George Karl doesn’t insist on pairing Rondo with Gay a majority of the time, he’ll once again be one of best players at the position.