If you’re a basketball fan, you’ve probably already seen ESPN’s NBA Top 100 for this upcoming season, which they released last week.
Although it wasn’t as bad as it was in previous years, there were still some head-scratchers in there. LeBron isn’t in the top two, Ben Simmons and his broken jumper ranked at 15, and Klay Thompson was placed all the way back at 49.
In my list, I do things a bit differently. First of all, I don’t include rookies or people who have never played an NBA game before (for obvious reasons), so you won’t be seeing Zion Williamson or RJ Barrett in here. Also, I don’t include players who will be out the entire season. In this way, Kevin Durant, who will miss this season, will not be included, but players like Klay Thompson, Jusuf Nurkic, and Victor Oladipo, who are coming into the year hurt but will return at some point, will be included.
That being said, here is the first half of my NBA Top 100 for the 2019-20 season. I will release my second half (50-1) picks by next week, so stay tuned for that.
100. Bam Adebayo (PF/C, Miami Heat)
99. Evan Fournier (SG/SF, Orlando Magic)
98. Jarrett Allen (C, Brooklyn Nets)
97. Bogdan Bogdanovic (SG/SF, Sacramento Kings)
96. Marcus Morris (F, New York Knicks)
95. T.J. Warren (SF, Indiana Pacers)
94. Gordon Hayward (SF, Boston Celtics)
93. Harrison Barnes (F, Sacramento Kings)
92. Andrew Wiggins (SG/SF, Minnesota Timberwolves)
91. Enes Kanter (C, Boston Celtics)
90. Patrick Beverley (PG, Los Angeles Clippers)
89. Dario Saric (F, Phoenix Suns)
88. Ricky Rubio (PG, Phoenix Suns)
87. Goran Dragic (PG, Miami Heat)
86. Paul Millsap (PF, Denver Nuggets)
85. Hassan Whiteside (C, Portland Trail Blazers)
84. Fred Van Vleet (PG, Toronto Raptors)
83. Marcus Smart (G, Boston Celtics)
82. Brook Lopez (C, Milwaukee Bucks)
81. Caris LeVert (SG/F, Brooklyn Nets)
80. Domantas Sabonis (PF/C, Indiana Pacers)
79. Spencer Dinwiddie (G, Brooklyn Nets)
78. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (G, Oklahoma City Thunder)
77. Danny Green (SG, Los Angeles Lakers)
76. Montrezl Harrell (PF/C, Los Angeles Clippers)
75. Bojan Bogdanovic (SF, Utah Jazz)
74. Brandon Ingram (SF, New Orleans Pelicans)
73. Marvin Bagley III (PF, Sacramento Kings)
72. Otto Porter Jr. (SF, Chicago Bulls)
71. DeAndre Ayton (C, Phoenix Suns)
70. Gary Harris (SG, Denver Nuggets)
69. Jusuf Nurkic (C, Portland Trail Blazers)
68. Lonzo Ball (PG, New Orleans Pelicans)
67. Jaren Jackson Jr. (PF/C, Memphis Grizzlies)
66. Serge Ibaka (PF, Toronto Raptors)
65. Josh Richardson (SG/SF, Philadelphia 76ers)
64. Eric Gordon (SG, Houston Rockets)
63. Kyle Kuzma (F, Los Angeles Lakers)
62. Jaylen Brown (SG/SF, Boston Celtics)
61. Marc Gasol (C, Toronto Raptors)
60. Joe Ingles (SG/SF, Utah Jazz)
59. Eric Bledsoe (PG, Milwaukee Bucks)
58. Zach LaVine (SG, Chicago Bulls)
57. Malcolm Brogdon (G, Indiana Pacers)
56. JJ Redick (SG, New Orleans Pelicans)
55. Aaron Gordon (F, Orlando Magic)
54. Andre Drummond (C, Detroit Pistons)
53. Myles Turner (C, Indiana Pacers)
52. Buddy Hield (SG, Sacramento Kings)
51. Clint Capela (C, Houston Rockets)
Let me just make a few points for clarification. Based on stats, Andrew Wiggins might seem lower than he should be, but he is a terrible defender and an inefficient scorer with a poor work ethic, so I dropped him. On the other side, efficient and well-rounded players like Joe Ingles, JJ Redick, Serge Ibaka, and Eric Gordon are higher than what many of you might have expected. Some honorable mentions that just missed out on my list are Joe Harris (SG, Brooklyn Nets), Jeramy Grant (F, Denver Nuggets), Dion Waiters (SG, Miami Heat), Dejounte Murray (G, San Antonio Spurs), Bobby Portis (PF, New York Knicks), Jeff Teague (PG, Minnesota Timberwolves), and Jonas Valanciunas (C, Memphis Grizzlies).
As always, let me know what you think. Do you agree with my list? What changes would you make? Stay tuned for the second half of my list where I will detail the top 50 coming next week.
