RealGM

1. Nikola Jokic
2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
3. Luka Doncic
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo
5. Victor Wembanyama
6. Anthony Edwards
7. Stephen Curry
8. LeBron James
9. Kevin Durant
10. Jalen Brunson

11. Jalen Williams
12. Cade Cunningham
13. Evan Mobley
14. Anthony Davis
15. Donovan Mitchell
16. Devin Booker
17. Paolo Banchero
18. Jimmy Butler
19. Jaylen Brown
20. Kawhi Leonard

21. Bam Adebayo
22. Pascal Siakam
23. James Harden
24. Chet Holmgren
25. Alperen Sengun
26. Derrick White
27. Karl-Anthony Towns
28. Tyrese Maxey
29. Trae Young
30. Scottie Barnes

31. Jaren Jackson Jr.
32. Franz Wagner
33. Ja Morant
34. Domantas Sabonis
35. De’Aaron Fox
36. Ivica Zubac
37. Amen Thompson
38. Darius Garland
39. Desmond Bane
40. Aaron Gordon

41. OG Anunoby
42. Julius Randle
43. Lauri Markkanen
44. Jalen Johnson
45. Jarrett Allen
46. Jamal Murray
47. Joel Embiid
48. Mikal Bridges
49. Rudy Gobert
50. Kristaps Porzingis

I think Steph, LeBron and KD are too high, I would move up Mobley, Ant and Donovan Mitchell.

Thin Zion should be in the Top 50.

Kawhi too high lols
AD should be top 10, but health is a concern
Sabonis should be higher
Trae higher

The GB just voted on top 25 and came up with this:

https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2474482&p=119634894&hilit

There are some differences but at first glance it's pretty similar.

Considering durabiliity issues, I would rank LeBron and Durant 5 or 10 spots lower due to the ther age and the tear down of their bodies after 2 decades of NBA.

I would ranki Kawhi 10-20 lower due to his knees and the risk of a suspension.

- I don't think Wemby deserves to be in the top-10 yet.

- AD should be in the top-10

- KAT is too low.

- Scotty Barnes is WAY too high.

- Embiid is too low.

- Gobert wasn't a top-50 player last year and he may decline again this year.

Luka can't be above Giannis. The glaze is strong with this one.

Giannis has an argument for #1 or #2.

Barnes is too high imo.

19/8/6 on 46/27/75 (52% TS is 3% less efficient than league average).

I have Giannis above current Luka a bit as well due to Giannis playing both sides. It may not look as nice but his game is 30/10 with top 20 league defense.

Honestly... it's not "horrible" but if you go by the simple logic of "would you take any player ranked 2-50 over player 1? No. How about any player ranked 3-50 over player 2? No." etc., etc., then i have some select disagreements. I'm probably taking KAT (27) over Evan Mobley (13); Aaron Gordon (40) over Derrick White (26); and Jamal Murray (46) over Darius Garland (38)

Also, what's the point of even including Embiid? It's not like his game regressed like that. He's either top 10'ish or just keep him off the list, but the whole "oh he's the 47th ranked player" ... lol... no. Might as well just say he's the 137th ranked or 253rd ranked player in that case.

They got the top 7 players right (though Luka over Giannis is wrong). LeBron and KD way too high. Embiid I get is hard to rate but 47 seems too low. Amen is also too high imo as is Garland. I assume this is supposed to be a projection for next season though, so in that context I guess it's not terrible

Caneman786 wrote:Luka can't be above Giannis. The glaze is strong with this one.

Giannis has an argument for #1 or #2.

Luka is on the Lakers now,you don't think ESPN is gonna push the big market narrative as much as they can?

They've actually done more egregious listings with big market players than putting a top5 player in the top3.

Edit.Just checked and they had Luka #2 last year actually.They dropped him one spot,lol.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/41796364/nba-rank-2024-rankings-top-10-players-league

Too high: Jalen Williams, KD, Kawhi, ANT, and Derrick White.

Too low: Embiid.

Randle is too low, I enjoy J dub, but 11 is pushing it.

Having Luka above Giannis is embarrassing, yet perfectly on brand for ESPN. Clowns.

Ruma85 wrote:Randle is too low, I enjoy J dub, but 11 is pushing it.

Second best players on a title team always seem to get a big bump the following year. I remember Jamal Murray jumped a bunch after the Nuggets title run, into the top 20 at least. Now he's behind Aaron Gordon on the list at 46 (which I think is fair, even if he has the ability to go nuclear some games). I like Jalen Williamas a lot, and he brings versatile perimeter defense that is super valuable on top of his offensive game, but I don't think he's better than AD, Donovan Mitchell, and some of the other guys in the 10-20 range. I see him in the 15-20 range, and I can see him 20-30 if he wasn't on a team that fit him well, though he's always going to be really valuable due to his versatility.

Anthony Davis should be replaced with Victor

Just after a quick read, I think Giannis still is the 2nd or 3rd at worst. Move down SGA or Luka.
AD is waaaaaaay too low.

And the Nuggets have a big problem if Jamal is that low.

Jokic vs Giannis is a discussion.

Giannis vs Shai or Luka isn't. That's ridiculous.

Allen top 50 is a war crime. He’s horrible every PO series