Fortified by acquisitions of various degrees, the lords of the rings find themselves back in the hunt for title No. 5, leaving us wondering how deep LeBron James and Stephen Curry can pull from their respective reservoirs to make it to June — one more time.

The trade for Luka Doncic and immediate connection he made with LeBron James has transformed the Lakers into legitimate title contenders.

For first-time readers of this feature, eight members of The Sporting News staff collaborated to rank the top 30 players in the NBA playoffs (including Play-In teams). Participant