The List: Top 10 players 

By Joe Boozell, Special to NBA.com

Anthony Davis (left) and Steph Curry battle in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

It's easy to be prisoners of the moment, especially as it pertains to the NBA playoffs. The Warriors, Rockets, Hawks and Cavaliers are the four teams left standing, and for most NBA fans, players on those four teams are the only guys in the league that matter at this point.

And for good reason. Superstar players on each of these teams (sans the Hawks, perhaps) are the driving forces behind their respective success, and employing the right one can be the difference between a first round exit and an NBA title.

There are several young stars that will be watching the conference finals from home, but that doesn't mean they won't make it to this step at some point in their careers. Taking age, overall talent and multifaceted skillsets into account, here are the top 10 current NBA players to start a franchise with if given the opportunity.

10. John Wall

If Wall had returned a few games earlier from his left hand injury, who knows where the Wizards would be right now? What makes this guard with blazing speed so special is his ability to make his teammates better -- he led all playoff point guards in assists per game at 11.9 -- and he's clearly shed his reputation as nothing more than a physical specimen. He's transformed into one of the best all-around point guards in the game.

Plus, he's just 24 years old. Any front office executive would be happy to pencil Wall into their starting lineup at point guard for the next 10 years.

9. Kawhi Leonard

Defensive versatility is valued more than ever in today's '3 and D' NBA, and the 2014-15 Kia Defensive Player of the Year is the best in the league. Think about it closely: there's not a guy in the NBA you'd rather have guarding LeBron James or Stephen Curry in a playoff series. One is a 260-pound linebacker in sneakers; the other is arguably the best combination of shooting and ball-handling the league has ever seen in a 185-pound frame. Leonard is the league's ultimate neutralizer.

At 23, Leonard is developing a smooth offensive game that makes him a mismatch on that end as well. Any franchise would be ecstatic to have him.

8. Chris Paul

Paul is in the limelight for this wrong reasons this week, as his Clippers blew a 3-1 to the Rockets and once again failed to reach the Western Conference finals. Granted, he averaged 21 points and 10 dimes in the series against Houston -- both in line with his season averages, and he was dealing with a bum hamstring.

It's not as if Paul chokes in the playoffs -- just ask the San Antonio Spurs from two weeks ago. But a smallish point guard can only do so much. He's the best pure point guard of his generation, and the only reason Paul is not higher on this list is because he recently celebrated his 30th birthday. When starting a hypothetical franchise, age is a major factor.

7. Blake Griffin

All Clippers deserve to shoulder some of the blame for their collapse against the Rockets, but a lack depth should be the biggest culprit. It's very difficult to win in the West with a rotation of only six or seven competent players, even taking into account just how talented Paul and Griffin are.

Griffin wore down a bit as the playoffs grew longer, but he was a force for the vast majority of this postseason. Blake posted marks of 27 points, 12 rebounds and five assists against Houston, and teams can run offenses that revolve around Griffin's diverse skillset with great success. He shoots one heck of a commercial, too.

6. Russell Westbrook

Westbrook is among the league's most polarizing superstars, but there aren't many guys in the NBA who can do as much as he does on a basketball court. With Kevin Durant sidelined, Westbrook notched 28 points, seven boards and nine dimes per game on an undermanned Thunder squad and finished fourth in MVP voting this season.

At 26 years old, there is really nobody quite like Westbrook. He can be moody at times, and he's been accused of being a ball-hog. Still, that's nitpicking when it comes to breaking down one of the most dominant players in the league.

5. James Harden

It's funny how quickly NBA narratives can be flipped. When Houston was down 3-1, Harden was the guy who couldn't perform in the playoffs and Paul was the one who was finally going to break through.

Now, the roles are reversed. Harden carried the Rockets to the No. 2 seed in the regular season, and that proved to be pivotal in Sunday's Game 7. A coach could run a functional offense through Harden and spare parts, and he's just 25. He'll get his MVP award at some point.

4. Kevin Durant

Due to his murky injury status, Durant was probably the hardest player to rank on this list. A year ago today, he probably would have been first in terms of players you'd want to start a franchise with.

He's just 26 and has four scoring titles to his name. That's unheard of. Durant is a once-in-a-generation type of offensive talent -- a near 7-footer with pristine ball-handling abilities and lethal shooting stroke. Everyone in the NBA universe has their fingers crossed that his foot injury won't plague him beyond this season, but it'd be naïve not to at least consider that as a possibility.

3. Stephen Curry

He's the MVP, he's the best combination of shooting and ball handling in the NBA and he's just 27. Curry also happens to be one of the most likeable people in the league and his character has never been questioned. Sign me up.

Perhaps the best part of Curry's game is that it should age beautifully. If he wants to be, Curry will be a useful player in this league until he's 40 thanks to that gorgeous shooting stroke. He's a one-man offensive juggernaut, and the Warriors are the favorites to win this year's title thanks to him.

2. LeBron James

James has carried a Cavaliers squad without Kevin Love and with a significantly hobbled Kyrie Irving to the Eastern Conference finals, and honestly, he's done it fairly easily. When engaged, the four-time MVP is still the best player on Earth.

At the age of 30, his peak days are likely behind him or will be shortly. But with the sort of shape James keeps himself in, any team that has him would be automatic title contenders for the next four or five seasons, at least.

1. Anthony Davis

It's excruciating to rank any player ahead of LeBron on this sort of list, but thanks to youth, Davis gets the nod here. At 22, Davis could realistically be an All-Star for the next 15 seasons, and he's likely to have multiple MVP's sprinkled in there.

In the right system, he could win the Defensive Player of the Year award, and he was borderline Dirk-like on offense this season. His rookie season, he averaged a little more than 13 points per game. Now, that number is above 24. Davis is clearly putting the work into his game to improve it each offseason, and that's something that has NBA general managers across the league salivating.