Last season, Bryant reversed a trend of five straight seasons of declining play. He saw way more PT and put up his most shots per game since 2005-06 although he had his worst shooting season since he was a soph. Kobe made up for that with great work from the line, although the extra minutes translated into more turnovers. He heads a remade lineup that is brimming with stars and should burst out of the gates as one of the top teams in the NBA.

Lob City was born when CP3 came to town, and the Clippers immediately went from also-ran to the playoffs. Paul missed some time with some minor injuries, but he enjoyed a big bounce-back effort. He used his outside game more than ever, but also managed to get to the charity stripe more often. Paul continues to be an excellent source of steals as well as points, assists and treys. He’s dealing with a thumb injury that will cost him some preseason games, but when the regular season kicks off, expect Paul to be good to go, so don’t downgrade him at all unless the injury lingers well into October.