RealGM

Posted: **Mon Oct 17, 2011 7:52 pm**

Blake Griffin comes in at #10 with an average score of 8.78

ESPN.com and the TrueHoop Network are ranking every NBA player -- and counting them down on Twitter (@NBAonESPN), from No. 500 to No. 1. As the rankings are announced, you can also find them here on the pages of ESPN.com.

How did we rank the players?

We asked 91 experts to rate each player on a 0-to-10 scale, in terms of "the current quality of each player."

Here is the full list of voters from ESPN.com, the TrueHoop Network, TrueHoop TV, Daily Dime Live, ESPN TV, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, espnW, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Insider, ESPN Fantasy, ESPN Games, ESPN Dallas, ESPN Los Angeles, ESPN Chicago, ESPN New York, ESPN Stats & Information, ESPN Topics and ESPN Analytics.

ESPN

In defense of Blake Griffin's top 10 ranking

When they realized that Griffin had made the top 10 after just one season, ahead of proven stars Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Pau Gasol, the Twitterverse immediately lambasted the choice. Wasn't Griffin's elite ranking nothing more than a lazy nod to Griffin's advanced dunkology and the tantalizing promise of what he might be? In terms of the official criterion of "current quality," was Griffin really already there?

It's a tough call. The scores were separated by a razor-thin margin, with Griffin edging out those behind him by a fraction of a point. Griffin consistently earned a nine rating from voters. There were clearly just enough doubts about the others -- whether about defense, intensity or leadership -- that Griffin was able to squeak by them.

Critics will argue that Griffin's counterparts bring a more complete suite of tools to the court, but that's not the exercise here. We're engaged in the old skills versus production debate. Griffin might not be any better than Gasol, Stoudemire or Anthony at their best, by overall measure, Griffin's contributions are enormous -- no matter how he's generating his shots.

John Krolik summed up why this is such a vital talent: "[T]he most valuable skill in basketball is not the ability to convert difficult shots, but create easy ones."

Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN

Posted: **Wed Oct 19, 2011 7:00 am**

There has been a lot of controversy over the ranking of Blake at number 10 as well as the ranking of a few other players. You're never going to fully agree with the way that these things play out. With 91 voters, they each have their own way of critiquing and measuring a player's value. It's best to not take them too seriously whether they be good or bad. At the end of the day it's just one person's opinion (or in this case, a small sample size).

I personally would have put him a little bit lower and give him some room to grow. Anywhere in the top 15 would by no means be a slap in the face to him. By the end of the next season, he could very well be a top 10 player and maybe even more. I feel the voters looked at him primarily for his potential. We get to watch him every game. We know the intangibles that he brings. We listen/read to the interviews and know the difference that he has made within the organization and on his teammates. We also know the impact that he brings on the court that goes beyond "dunking" or the "highlights". This guy just put up one of the best rookie seasons ever. If you take a look at the players that have matched or bettered his averages in points, rebounds and assists in a season, all but 5 of them are Hall-of-Famers. 3 of those 5 happen to be Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'neal. George McGinnis is 1 of the other 2 and his career was not too shabby.

Personally, I don't think that people realize some of the line-ups that we were putting out there most of the time. We have talent and the talent that we have should produce more wins and playoff contention. The problem is when that talent is either injured, battling through injury or too inexperienced.

Posted: **Wed Oct 19, 2011 9:39 pm**

I'm happy that Blake was ranked in the top 10. I just want the season to start so he can prove to everyone how he's improved and just how good he is.

RealGM

ESPN: NBArank instant analysis: Top 10 (Blake Griffin)

ESPN: NBArank instant analysis: Top 10 (Blake Griffin)

Re: ESPN: NBArank instant analysis: Top 10 (Blake Griffin)

Re: ESPN: NBArank instant analysis: Top 10 (Blake Griffin)