OT: The Ringer Ranks Top 100 Players in the NBA

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A fantastic resource for NBA newbies and hardcore basketball fans.

And a real relief to have 5 players in the top 100 (with 2 in the top-40)!!!

THE TOP 100 PLAYERS IN THE NBA



Welcome to The Ringer’s Top 100 Players in the NBA, a year-round, around-the-clock ranking of the players making the biggest impact on the league right now. Throughout the regular season and into the offseason, our foursome of analysts—Rob Mahoney, J. Kyle Mann, Kevin O’Connor, and Michael Pina—will update this list based on recent results. Check back regularly for revised rankings, fresh analysis, new features, fan letters from Ringer friends and family, and more.

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27. Trae Young | Atlanta Hawks

A brilliant passer with limitless range on his jump shot...Has yet to meet a pick-and-roll defense that can slow him down.




Basketball doesn’t have five better offensive players than Young, the microchip behind Atlanta’s explosive attack. Young’s pick-and-roll playmaking is historically great. He led the NBA in points and assists last season, at 23 years old, because he anticipates everything before it happens and reacts accordingly with a knee straight to his opponent’s gut.

The floater is a giant killer. The stepbacks from State Farm Arena’s midcourt Hawks logo don’t let opponents take a breath. He’s fast, crafty, and a moving target for frustrated defenders who often have no choice but to (illegally) put their hands on him. Young sees all the passes and isn’t afraid to unleash them. Nobody throws a softer lob or slicker pocket pass. Help too far off the weakside corner and the ball is getting whipped there on a 40-foot frozen rope.

The downside comes on the other side of the ball, where Young’s slight frame is almost a fatal flaw. The NBA might not know five rotation players who place a greater strain on their team’s ability to get stops. The shortcoming makes Young such a polarizing star. Atlanta’s front office can’t surround him with just anybody and expect to win. But in the end, Young’s pros outweigh his cons. Offensive savants don’t grow on trees.

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39. Dejounte Murray | Atlanta Hawks

Old-school point guard with the length and intuition to be an ideal defender in the modern game.



As a Spur, Murray used to study Kawhi Leonard, particularly the way every part of his game leveled up after an offseason of work. Heading into his first season with the Hawks after the blockbuster trade that brought him to Atlanta, Murray’s career had taken a similar path. He had just made his first All-Star team by adding a consistent pull-up jumper to a well-rounded skill set. Now, he can positively impact pretty much every square inch of the court.

There aren’t any point guards like Murray. He can grab a defensive rebound and ignite a fast break. He can (and will) pick your pocket with some of the sport’s fastest hands. He shrewdly runs a pick-and-roll, uses pterodactyl arms to finish in the paint, and has a tremendous understanding of how to supply what his teammates need. Earning Gregg Popovich’s trust as a floor general isn’t easy. Murray did it before his 25th birthday.

Now Trae Young’s co-pilot in a complementary backcourt that should have Hawks fans dreaming about deep playoff runs, Murray has to leverage his brain as much as his physical ability. Cutting, screening, running the floor, making enough spot-up 3s to keep the defense honest—all are essential when next to Young. And even though that last objective, his outside range, remains a work in progress, don’t bet against Murray’s commitment to figuring it out.

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73. Kevin Huerter | Sacramento Kings

Sweet-shooting wing with great size and a collection of skills, with more room to grow.



Red velvet, the cake, is a delight: extremely rich, lots of icing, fun to consume, but ultimately indulgent empty calories. Red Velvet, the player, is similar: extremely rich (he signed a $65 million deal in fall 2021), the icing on any good offense, fun as hell to consume as a spectator, but aside from a Hawks playoff run in 2021 that is looking more and more like an outlier, we’ve yet to see him make heavy contributions on a contending NBA team. But that could change playing next to Domantas Sabonis in Sacramento.

With a stroke that sweet, it’s no surprise that Huerter’s attempts have always been heavy on jump shots, but in his first season with the Kings, we’ve seen a shift in the way that he takes them. Sabonis eases the pressure on Huerter to create for himself and allows him to focus on what he does best: moving without the ball and shooting. Huerter’s trigger is quick, and he’s better utilized when he’s screening and making quick passes if he’s not shooting it. This tweak paves the way for his passing upside, which may be significant. It’s the chief reason why he’s looked so good in Sacramento and why there’s renewed optimism about his potential.

Defensively, it’s been about holding up. Huerter is active and attentive, with nice size for a wing that aids him in stints on quicker handlers or bigger forwards, but he’s not powerfully built or gifted with such explosiveness that he can regularly take on those matchups.

It’s interesting to imagine how Huerter’s life might’ve been different had he immediately stepped into an offense like the Kings’. This new lease on hoop life could open doors for his future.

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80. Clint Capela | Atlanta Hawks

Backbone defender who can prop up an entire scheme in help and on the glass, offsetting his somewhat narrow offensive utility.



It’s easy to take Capela for granted—at least, until you realize exactly how much he does to help a good Atlanta team stay afloat. Maybe it’s the way opponents walk into layups when he’s not on the floor, or how defensive possessions can drag on and on when he isn’t around to secure the rebound. Hawks guards don’t always get the same clearance on the other side of a screen from another big, or the same runway to the basket without Capela rolling for the lob alongside them. These are small things until they’re not—mere details until they become the difference in the game.

It takes a formidable rim protector to prop up iffy defensive lineups the way Capela does, no matter his other limitations. A run of injuries has left the veteran center a bit less mobile and, as a result, even more traditional than he used to be. He can’t cover as much ground. He doesn’t have the same bounce, and can’t finish as consistently. Those would be issues against higher-level playoff competition. Against everyone else? They’re a slight tax to have a stout defender and rebounder manning the middle.

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97. De'Andre Hunter | Atlanta Hawks

Tantalizing wing with the ability to lift his team to new heights, but must stay healthy long enough to develop.



Kawhi Leonard popularized the muscular two-way wing who has big hands and a penchant for annual improvement. In his wake lie a few imitators who have an extremely slim chance of ever being as good, but could someday still replicate his all-around impact.

The Hawks signed Hunter to a four-year, $95 million extension in the fall with the hope that he can resemble Kawhi’s archetype. The results have been mixed, with injuries often derailing any signs of progress. But Hunter’s offensive responsibilities will always have a ceiling in Atlanta so long as Trae Young is running point.

That doesn’t mean his trajectory isn’t integral to the Hawks. Hunter needs to capitalize on any and every opportunity he gets, be it generating open shots out of a pick-and-roll, attacking closeouts, shaking up on the weakside and canning a wide-open 3, grabbing contested rebounds, or, most important of all, locking down whomever happens to pose the greatest threat when Atlanta needs a stop. There’s a world where Hunter is A-plus at all of those things; the Hawks want to live in that world as soon as possible.

The Ringer

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99. John Collins | Atlanta Hawks

Could be a double-double machine with impressive, efficient offensive numbers—if not for the sacrifices Atlanta needs him to make.



Ask Collins what his long-term goals are and he won’t hesitate. It’s not an All-Star appearance or Most Improved Player. What Collins really wants is to make the Basketball Hall of Fame. The good news is it’s always nice to aim high. The bad news is he’s never making the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Instead, Collins is everyone’s favorite trade rumor, in part due to his being guaranteed over $100 million through 2025-26. The glass-half-full read: He’s a hyper-athletic, above-the-rim, walking double-double who can hit wide open corner 3s. But he’s also grown out of favor in an offense that doesn’t involve him as much as another team might. Collins also isn’t the most versatile player. He can’t fit in any lineup regardless of who else is in it, which tends to strain his minutes and value.

He’s a good player, though. Collins may never be invited to Springfield, Mass., but he still has a ton of quality basketball left in his legs, whether with the Hawks or somewhere else.

The Ringer

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97. De'Andre Hunter | Atlanta Hawks

Tantalizing wing with the ability to lift his team to new heights, but must stay healthy long enough to develop.



Kawhi Leonard popularized the muscular two-way wing who has big hands and a penchant for annual improvement. In his wake lie a few imitators who have an extremely slim chance of ever being as good, but could someday still replicate his all-around impact.

The Hawks signed Hunter to a four-year, $95 million extension in the fall with the hope that he can resemble Kawhi’s archetype. The results have been mixed, with injuries often derailing any signs of progress. But Hunter’s offensive responsibilities will always have a ceiling in Atlanta so long as Trae Young is running point.

That doesn’t mean his trajectory isn’t integral to the Hawks. Hunter needs to capitalize on any and every opportunity he gets, be it generating open shots out of a pick-and-roll, attacking closeouts, shaking up on the weakside and canning a wide-open 3, grabbing contested rebounds, or, most important of all, locking down whomever happens to pose the greatest threat when Atlanta needs a stop. There’s a world where Hunter is A-plus at all of those things; the Hawks want to live in that world as soon as possible.

The Ringer

We need a superstar talent in the frontcourt and the 3 position seems ideal. Hunters not doing enough or maybe it's that he's not receiving enough attempts.

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99. John Collins | Atlanta Hawks

Could be a double-double machine with impressive, efficient offensive numbers—if not for the sacrifices Atlanta needs him to make.



Ask Collins what his long-term goals are and he won’t hesitate. It’s not an All-Star appearance or Most Improved Player. What Collins really wants is to make the Basketball Hall of Fame. The good news is it’s always nice to aim high. The bad news is he’s never making the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Instead, Collins is everyone’s favorite trade rumor, in part due to his being guaranteed over $100 million through 2025-26. The glass-half-full read: He’s a hyper-athletic, above-the-rim, walking double-double who can hit wide open corner 3s. But he’s also grown out of favor in an offense that doesn’t involve him as much as another team might. Collins also isn’t the most versatile player. He can’t fit in any lineup regardless of who else is in it, which tends to strain his minutes and value.

He’s a good player, though. Collins may never be invited to Springfield, Mass., but he still has a ton of quality basketball left in his legs, whether with the Hawks or somewhere else.

The Ringer

14.8 field goal attempts per game:

21.6ppg
10.1rpg
1.4 three point attempts per game at 40%

Year 2019-2020

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