Reaction to ESPN’s NBA Player Rankings
Last week ESPN released their annual NBA rankings and to no surprise, not many people were happy with them. This is the 12th season of the rankings, and it is something new every year. Players getting snubbed ranking them too high or too low. Usually, I don’t pay attention to these rankings but this year’s just rubbed me the wrong way.
Before I start my rant I’ll explain how the players are ranked. ESPN asked 200 reporters, editors, producers, and analysts to rank players based on their contributions, quality, and quantity for the 2022-23 season only. Here’s a look at the top 10.
Top 10
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Nikola Jokic
- Luka Doncic
- Joel Embiid
- Stephen Curry
- Lebron James
- Jayson Tatum
- Kevin Durant
- Ja Morant
- Devin Booker
To have both Lebron James and Kevin Durant outside of the top five is insane to me. Durant is one of the best scorers the game has ever seen. One of the reasons why he fell so low is that he got hurt last season. Before he got hurt he led the Nets to the number one spot in the east and was at the top of the MVP list. In the 55 games, he did play he averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game.
Last season James had injuries he was dealing with as well but he put up numbers when he was on the court. 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game. In year 20 he has shown no signs of slowing down. Just looking at how long he has been doing this and at a high level puts him in the top five. I understand playing games matters but when the two of them are on the court it’s hard to put five other players in front of them.
Curry should be top three plain and simple. He won his fourth NBA championship and was Finals MVP and he is somehow fifth on this list. The all-time three-point leader is as skilled as they come and is almost impossible to guard.
This list caught a lot of people off guard it even made Stephen A. Smith tell everyone multiple times that he had nothing to do with the list.
"There is no way in hell I don't have LeBron James and Kevin Durant out of my top 5... Ain't no way in hell 5 players in the world are better than LeBron James and Kevin Durant. That is impossible!"@stephenasmith on the latest ESPN NBA player rankingspic.twitter.com/zgqdihXX6Q
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 22, 2022
My top 10:
- Kevin Durant
- Steph Curry
- Lebron James
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Nikola Jokic
- Jayson Tatum
- Luka Doncic
- Joel Embiid
- Devin Booker
- Ja Morant
A lot of media outlets will have Giannis over Bron but I still don’t have it that way. Like I said before this is his 20th season and he is still putting up numbers. He still goes toe to toe with guys like Giannis and holds his own. James’ ability to shoot is what gives him the edge over Giannis and until he can shoot with some consistency James will have the spot.
Jokic is in front of Tatum because of the back-to-back MVP but also the Nuggets are nothing without him. The Joker controls the game and runs everything at his own pace. He is a walking triple-double last season he averaged 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per game. He is a seven-footer that can score anywhere on the court and can run the fast break. With Jamal Murry coming back they might be able to put together a big playoff run.
Embiid down to eight was hard for me to do but Doncic surprised everyone with the run he went on in the west. Taking down the Suns the way they did and competing with the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals was big for me. Tatum leading the Celtics to the finals and winning the Eastern Conference Finals MVP was big for me. If you have Embiid higher I wouldn’t mind it.
Booker over Morant yes indeed. Booker is a better scorer than Morant and he is more dependable down the stretch in tight games. That is mainly due to the fact he can shoot. This is no slight to Morant I love his game, fast, strong, and intense. Don’t be surprised if Morant cracks the top five by the end of the year. I believe his experience in the playoffs last season will pay off this season.
The NBA should do what the NFL does, have players rank each other. The ones doing the rankings for the NBA only watch the game. Having those that play the game do the rankings, will make the rankings more accurate. It will give them more credibility and make more sense for the players to rank each other.
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