How does Gilgeous-Alexander handle the responsibility of producing nightly and the frustrations and failures that come with it? That was down to 24.4 against the LA Clippers, but Jokic dominated the glass (13.4 rebounds) and averaged 6.6 assists. ESPN has got to put some respect on DeMar DeRozan’s name. Green was a steady presence for a young Warriors group early last year after they lost Stephen Curry, but his play fluctuated during a lost season. Who will be the best players this season? -- Andrew Lopez, Secret skill: Damian Lillard has the clutch-time reputation, but don't overlook McCollum as one of the league's best closers. There's a reason much of the league spent this offseason hoarding cap space in preparation for Giannis' possible unrestricted free agency next summer. New, 20 comments. For the first time in the 10-year history of NBArank, teammates finished 1-2. ESPN released the first half of its annual top 100 NBA player rankings on Tuesday. Jamal Murray attacks the basket, but Kawhi Leonard rises to the occasion to stuff the dunk using his middle finger. Mike Schmitz is an NBA draft expert and a contributor to DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analytics service utilized by NBA, NCAA and international teams. 81 on ESPN’s list. See where all 30 teams rank after the first week of the 2020-21 NBA season. -- Eric Woodyard, One big question: Gilgeous-Alexander was the leading scorer on the 5-seed in the West, building on his promising rookie season with the Clippers. Here are the top 10 players, from No. To get the final NBArank prediction, we asked our expert panel to vote on pairs of players: LeBron James vs. Giannis Antetokounmpo. ESPN 2020-2021 Player Rankings: 97. 41-74 on Monday and 11-40 on Tuesday. To get the final NBArank prediction, we asked our expert panel to vote on pairs of players: LeBron James vs. Giannis Antetokounmpo. More: Durant "ready for anything" in Nets' new smallball lineups. ESPN’s annual pre-season Top 100 NBA Players list always promises to cause a stir and 2020 was no different. One big question: Is Holiday the missing piece in Milwaukee? 10 to No. Kemba Walker On Being Ranked No. -- Young, One big question: Beal probably just had the best season in his career but was perturbed, and rightly so, when he wasn't recognized as an All-Star or All-NBA performer. 9. 56 on ESPN’s top 100 player … 50 down to No. You have come to the Philippines Edition, for other ESPN editions, click here. His half-in, half-out stance on playing in the Orlando bubble didn't inspire confidence. ESPN released a new list ranking the best players in NBA history. A. Sherrod Blakely has ranked his Top 100, and now it's time to find out how the best of the best stack up. -- Brian Windhorst, One thing to watch for: Before the Nets signed Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, LeVert was arguably the face of their young, tenacious squad. More: Teams that can make real offers for Harden. (4:09). Leonard's first season in Los Angeles (and the Orlando bubble) didn't have the same kind of storybook ending as 2019 in Toronto. Next for Doncic: Leading the Mavs to a series win for the first time since their 2011 championship. ... Danilo was the 2018-2019 Clippers’ best player, a … He represents the Bucks' biggest upgrade after they fizzled in the past two playoffs despite winning the most regular-season games in the NBA. The NBA on ESPN and ABC. More: How Luka compares to the all-time NBA greats. So, entering the upcoming 2020-21 season, where does Green rank among his NBA peers? But as he enters his sixth season, that big bag of tools needs to translate to the most important skill: consistent winning. -- Friedell, One big question: Now with a signed max deal and as the franchise cornerstone, is Tatum the kind of player who can tilt a playoff series his team's direction or is he ultimately a great No. We are ranking the top NBA players for the 10th year. 11: More: Players 100 to 51 | Rookies to rise | Harden trade candidates, One big question: The lowest-rated 2020 All-Star, Sabonis must prove he can continue to play at the high level he reached last season as one of just three players to average a point-rebound double-double with at least five assists per game (Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo were the others). You could argue the future of the Celtics is bound in this question. While Smart has always been a willing shooter, now he's a capable one. LaMarcus Aldridge (SA Spurs, 95), Jarrett Allen (Brooklyn Nets, 94), Brook Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks, 86), Montrezl Harrell (Lakers, 76) and Myles Turner (Indiana Pacers, 74) in the ESPN list. Two days ago ESPN finally finished the release of their ranking of the top 500 basketball players in the NBA with the top spot going to LeBron James.. … He declared he won't be rushing back, but all Boston is concerned about is whether he will be ready for the postseason. At the same time, when last we saw Durant fully healthy in the first two rounds of the 2019 playoffs, he was making a case as the league's most dominant individual force, and reports from players who have played with him during rehab have been encouraging. December 28, 2020 Power Rankings, Week 1: Lakers, Bucks and Nuggets start season on top NBA's Top 100 Players for 2019-20: Ranking the Top 25 Who are the top 25 players in the NBA heading into the 2019-20 season? -- Kevin Arnovitz, One thing to watch for: With Gordon Hayward in Charlotte and Kemba Walker sidelined temporarily, the chance for Brown to take another step forward and put himself in position to be named an All-Star is there for the taking. Adebayo has evolved into one of the craftiest, most versatile big men in the game, a defensive stalwart who can also function as an offensive fulcrum in Miami's offense. Still, Leonard is primed to outperform his No. -- Young, One thing to watch for: Middleton can seem laid-back, but he gets buckets. "I feel like every single year I've gotten better," LeVert said. Two seasons ago, George had his best campaign ever and finished third in MVP voting. Neither did his overall performance there once he decided to play. To quote "The Wire," "The King stay the King." Having to rely less on deep pull-up 3s and finesse finishes will make him one of the tougher covers in the NBA. It will be up to Green to set the tone emotionally for Golden State. But will Sabonis maintain that playmaking role with Victor Oladipo healthy? Just how good Durant is 18 months after suffering an Achilles rupture during his final game with the Warriors is one of this season's swing questions. With two seasons left on his contract before he can become a free agent, it's a real question and probably should be the central issue on the franchise's mind. 2? The Boston Celtics stars made the cut in the Worldwide Leader’s ranking of the top 100 NBA players. But he's been inconsistent enough for questions to linger. We asked, "Which player will be better in 2020-21?" Previous ranking: 7. Now 34 years old, Smith has played in the NBA since 2004, and his career overlapped significantly with that of Nowitzki (1998 to 2019). 5 ranking. Harden tumbled five spots in the rankings after back-to-back top-four finishes, and it's tough to say how much that reflects his uncertain future in Houston after a short training-camp holdout and a trade request. Derrick White 95. He also spent this offseason working on his 3-point shot (after shooting a career-low 32.6% 3s in 2019-20) and being able to go left more comfortably. Irving had season-ending surgery to repair a right shoulder injury in February. He remains a determined defender and savvy playmaker whose streak of six consecutive All-Star appearances is tied for fourth longest in the NBA. 1, Antetokounmpo must improve his scoring against defenses designed to keep him out of the paint. Dinwiddie said heading into this season that he envisions his role to be similar to Draymond Green's role on the Warriors: "If we're gonna liken ourselves to Golden State, the glue -- the multipurpose utility guy." While Siakam shot a respectable 35.9 percent last season, he shot just 24.8 percent from behind the arc in the postseason. Ranking the NBA's best players: Giannis and Kawhi at the very top ... Who's the best player in the NBA? 1 candidates, Nikola Jokic hits a clutch turn-around hook shot on Rudy Gobert to lift the Nuggets to the Game 7 win vs. the Jazz. He has all the tools -- the size, the talent, the multi-positional skill and the instinct -- to rise to this level. And, with Gordon Hayward gone and Kemba Walker injured, there will be more shots for Smart this season than ever. -- Friedell, One big question: Will Jackson ever become the rebounder that his size and athleticism suggest he should be? -- Bontemps, One thing to watch for: Last year brought a new role for Brogdon as a leader in Indiana following three seasons in Milwaukee. He has the keys to the car. Despite ranking 37th in usage as a rookie, Morant finished ninth in helpers at 7.3 per game in 31 minutes a night. OG Anunoby 62. 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(2:10) ... ESPN.com is predicting the top players in basketball with NBArank. It's a goal he can attain if he continues to improve and the Raptors remain in the mix atop the East. Clearly, our panel put more weight on Harden's uneven postseason performances. Stephen Curry vs. James Harden. Who will be the best players this season? -- Bontemps, One thing to watch for: Towns is a prototypical modern big, with shooting, passing and handling skills. Walker will miss the start of the season after getting a stem cell injection in the knee and undergoing a 12-week strengthening program. He got better as a shooter, working out a quicker off-dribble release. Voters had to predict what they expected from each player in the 2020-21 regular season and postseason. Every year before the NBA season begins, ESPN compiles a list of the top 100 players in the league. You're bound to get a wide range of answers to that question, but ESPN still has Green ranked firmly within the top 50. Leonard was complicit, as he shot 6-of-22 in the deciding Game 7. It was Davis who hit the biggest shot of the playoffs, a 3-pointer to win Game 2 of the Western Conference finals. -- Kevin Pelton. To get the final NBArank prediction, we asked our expert panel to vote on pairs of players: LeBron James vs. Giannis Antetokounmpo. Among the 13 players to average at least 24 points last season, Mitchell ranked dead last in free throw rate. While LeBron James and high-usage stars like Luka Doncic and James Harden figure to finish ahead of Morant, I'd expect the 21-year-old guard to work his way into the mix as one of the NBA's best facilitators this season. Still, the Rockets will rightly expect a prime package of players and picks if and when they trade Harden. Westbrook was still an All-NBA player last season and, for all the analysis of his supposed decline, produced two of the best, most efficient months of his career before the season shut down. Young needs to decide whether he wants to be a floor general for an annual contender or an electrifying individual performer who leads the league in SportsCenter Top 10 highlights. Nowitzki was also considered a defensive liability at times, whereas Olajuwon was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra recently acknowledged that the team would watch Butler's minutes closely early in the year. Lillard was nearly as good in the bubble, winning Player of the Seeding Games for his 37.6 points and 9.6 assists as the Blazers claimed the eighth seed. This is the lowest Curry has ranked since breaking out as a star in the 2013 postseason. Dejounte Murray 82. And from Embiid's perspective, the causes for concern are clear: health and compatibility. The Clippers, trendy picks to win the title, were shocked in the second round after holding a 3-1 series lead on the Nuggets. After two first-round picks and two pick swaps were attached to his deal to facilitate a trade to Oklahoma City, Paul quieted the critics by leading the Thunder to the playoffs with an All-NBA Second Team performance. The former Real Madrid floor general will allow Murray to focus more on scoring efficiently, as opposed to creating so much of the perimeter offense, which should lead to fewer tired-leg nights. The two-time Defensive Player of the Year insists that he's focused solely on basketball -- "That's why I have an agent," he said -- but issues could arise if Gobert enters the season feeling unappreciated without a long-term commitment from the Jazz. -- Tim Bontemps, Cause for concern: After a devastating quad tendon injury 23 months ago, Oladipo hasn't regularly shown the ability to influence the game at both ends as he did his first season in Indy. He slammed the door on the Nuggets in Game 7 two seasons ago with a flurry of midrange mastery, and did it again to beat the Grizzlies in the play-in last summer. The Clippers hope he feels more comfortable and ready to thrive in his second season with the team. Voters had to predict what they expected from each player in the 2020-21 regular season and postseason. As for the rest of the Rockets, Wall checks in at No.