NBA Top 50: Rudy Gay (No. 39)

FanHouse's Tom Ziller argues his ranking of the top 50 players in the NBA.

At age 21, Rudy Gay became a 20-point scorer. Now per-game numbers are less than elegant, and arbitrary round-number cut-offs are often nutty. But 20-point scorer -- that means something in the NBA. If you can score 20 a night in this league, that means you can get buckets. It's a pretty valuable skill, assuming your shooting percentages aren't off-the-map awful.

Gay's percentages aren't awful ... in fact, they are pretty good. Rudy transitioned to more of a perimeter game in his sophomore season, taking a three once every four shots. His rate from downtown needs improvement, but 35% for a kid still finding his way, thrust into a featured role ... that's not bad. Fifty-one percent on two-point goals, that's darn fine. Twenty points on a shade under 17 shots won't change the world, but it's good, efficient bucket-getting.

Of course, this is the cake. We drool over Gay, though, because of his frosting.

Last season, Gay became part of the rare 1-1-1 club known mostly to fantasy players: guys who average at least one steal, block and three-pointer per game. It's a sweet look into flexibility, which, on a talent-deprived roster, is important. Rudy showed better shot-blocking skill his rookie season, and you'd like to see that come back. But the thievery and offensive versatility should be a major boon to Marc Iavaroni's offense as O.J. Mayo and Mike Conley develop.

Gay's rebounding is about as good as it will get ... which is to say it's good and should stay good. There are plenty bigger small forwards in the league, but Gay's athleticism allows him to hang inside. It also allows him to be an elite finisher. If Conley turns into a top-flight distributor, Gay's offensive efficacy will reach incredible levels.

This season, assuming Mayo doesn't decide to claim 20 shots per game (I really am assuming he won't), Gay should be a 22/6 small forward who racks up steals, some blocks and a handful of highlight flushes. On a team lacking ... everything, he's the clear Alpha and clearly the best shot at Memphis stardom in the pipeline. Heckuva fun player to watch, and he happens to be pretty good in the ledger as well.