Sam Amick

USA TODAY Sports

Your roster is empty. The league is your oyster, with every current player available and the first pick in this fantasy-style NBA draft yours for the taking. So, we asked the league's general managers, who do you start with?

It shouldn't be shocking to hear that LeBron James is still considered the best basketball player in the world, as 16 of 27 executives who took part in this USA TODAY Sports anonymous poll picked the Cleveland Cavaliers star who has four MVP awards and two titles to his credit. But that they would still start a rebuilding effort with the soon-to-be 30-year-old is revealing, a clear sign that they don't expect him to slow down anytime soon now that he's starting over again in his home state — especially now that he used a no-carbohydrates, no-sugar diet to shed more than 10 pounds in this latest offseason.

Yet as reigning MVP Kevin Durant told USA TODAY Sports recently, this conversation about who's the, well, king of this mountain shouldn't begin and end with the self-proclaimed King James anymore. The results here bear that out, as the Oklahoma City Thunder star came in second place with seven votes from general managers who admire the 26-year-old's incredible game. A second consecutive MVP award would only bridge this gap even more, along with the continued improvement of Durant's defense and the playmaking that was better than ever last season.

If Durant needs even more motivation to continue his ascent, he should consider this much: Anthony Davis is coming on fast, with plenty of personnel prognosticators anticipating MVP-caliber play in his next few seasons. Three of the 27 GMs said they would take the New Orleans Pelicans big man as their first building block – quite a statement considering the company he's keeping both here and beyond.

Yet Davis, who was taken first overall out of Kentucky in 2012, deserves all the respect that's so quickly coming his way. He's a special kind of two-way player, a 21-year-old whose offensive production soared from Year One to Year Two (13.5 points per game to 20.5) and whose experience in international play (Olympic gold medal in 2012; FIBA World Cup gold medal last summer) have taken his repute to a whole new level.

Last but certainly not least, the legendary Tim Duncan managed to earn a vote from one GM who clearly has a soft spot for the Big Fundamental. Forget the fact that he's 38 years old and admits that he considered retiring last summer. The NBA's resident Benjamin Button has five championships to his esteemed name and has looked younger with every passing year of late, so why not go with the proven product?

Truth be told, there's not a bad pick among them.

Contributing: Jeff Zillgitt