For the sixth season in a row, ESPN.com is ranking the top players in the NBA. Who will be the best player this season?

To get the final ranking, we asked our expert panel to vote on pairs of players.

LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry. Russell Westbrook vs. Kevin Durant. Damian Lillard vs. Chris Paul.

We asked, "Which player will be better in 2016-17?" To decide, voters had to consider both the quality and the quantity of each player's contributions to his team's ability to win games.

We'll roll out the rest of our top 200 players over the next week. If you want to get involved in the discussion or just follow along, #NBArank is the Twitter hashtag to use. You also can follow along @ESPNNBA and on Facebook.

On to the list ...

Randy Belice/Getty Images

Bulls | SG | @DwyaneWade

Last year's rank: 46

2016-17 projected RPM: -1.81

Insider profile: Wade's 2015-16 outstripped all expectations. Perhaps the most surprising number was his 74 games played, a far cry from what was expected, given his age and chronic knee issues. Wade re-emerged as Miami's most ball-dominant player last season and finished the season by uncorking repeated clutch heroics in the playoffs to bury the Charlotte Hornets and keep things close against the Toronto Raptors. Some of the shake that has made Wade perhaps the best pick-and-roll shooting guard in history remains, and he is able to get shots off against all but the best wing defenders. In recent years, Wade has added a post game to take advantage of smaller players, and his pump fake continues to bedevil overeager defenders. Read more »

#NBArank 31-40