This will be Part III of a 10-part series ranking the top 100 players in the NBA for the 2024-25 season.
A few things to note before I start:
- This is a projective list of what I think will happen this upcoming NBA season.
- Does track record matter? Absolutely. Does last year matter? It matters the most. This list is based on what the players have shown they can do during the previous two or three years and how much it will carry over to this upcoming year.
- My criteria are simple: if I am building my team to win a championship, who do I want on my team? This is factoring in talent, availability, and how much I can trust you in the playoffs. It is a projective list in a vacuum, but I also tend to give a little bit of a boost to guys who have proven they can come up big in the playoffs.
- This is a ceiling-raising, not a floor-raising list. In other words, I am prioritizing players who can make a good team great, rather than a bad team good.
Click here for the rest of Driscoll’s Top 100.
Without further ado, here are the Top 80-71 players for the 2024-25 season.
80. Mitchell Robinson
2023-24 Stats: 5.6 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 1.1 BPG, 57.5% FG%, 55.4% TS%
Before I say anything about his play, Robinson would be higher on this list if he was not about to miss the first two months of the season. He would be a solid 10 to 15 spots higher if he were not injury-prone in the first place. He’s not a scoring threat; so what? He is one of the better defensive players in the NBA and, up until last year, was also one of the most efficient players. I’m not sure how healthy he will be when he returns, but if he comes back in his playoff form, he’ll be one of the two or three best backup centers in the NBA.
79. Grayson Allen
2023-24 Stats: 13.5 PPG, 3 APG, 3.9 RPG, 46.1% 3P%, 67.9% TS%
One of the NBA’s best three-pointer shooters comes in at No. 79. Allen was one of the only players on the Suns who surpassed expectations last year. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker played awesome, but that was expected. Allen has been a great three-point shooter for years now, but he exploded last year. If he were on a team without two iso scorers, it would be an ideal situation. I’m not sure what the Suns’ ceiling is, but if they want to get past the first round this year, Allen must have a similar season.
Grayson Allen pregame pic.twitter.com/p1UmucV6zj
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) October 12, 2024
78. Jabari Smith Jr.
2023-24 Stats: 13.7 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 0.7 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 57.1% TS%
When people talk about the young Rockets team, you usually only hear about Jalen Green or Alperen Sengun. As great as those two guys are, Smith has a ton of potential, too. He is pretty flawed offensively, but his flaws are fixable. He has improved his three-point shot since his rookie year and is a plus defender. A guy who can hit 36 to 38 percent of his threes and defend well usually finds his place in the NBA pretty easily.
77. Jaden McDaniels
2023-24 Stats: 10.5 PPG, 0.9 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 57.1% TS%
One of the NBA’s best perimeter defenders comes in at No. 77. None of his stats are great given that he is one of the worst scoring threats in the league. However, he is relatively efficient and his defense more than makes up for it. With perimeter defense, there are not a ton of stats to back up his value, but those who watch Wolves games know that he is extremely valuable to their defense, even with Rudy Gobert off the court.
76. Alex Caruso
2023-24 Stats: 10.1 PPG, 3.5 APG, 1.7 SPG, 1.0 BPG
Speaking of one of the NBA’s best defenders, Alex Caruso comes in at No. 76. The Bulls were five points better per 100 possessions with Caruso on the court than off the court, and that is with just defense. He is not that much of a plus on offense, but his defense more than makes up for it.
First time we get to see Alex Caruso’s defense on OKC! One of the best in the league. Here are some clips from their recent preseason game: On Ball, Gap Steal, Gap Block attempt, Wall Ups, Swipe Steal, and Ball Screen Navigation.
Every young player should be taking notes pic.twitter.com/R6QQVT3sXk
— Michael Jagacki (@Mike_Jagacki) October 9, 2024
75. Nic Claxton
2023-24 Stats: 10.3 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 66 FG%, 62.7% TS%
Claxton is in a weird situation. On one hand, he is one of the best defensive players and offensive rebounders in the league. However, outside of rebounding, he is extremely limited on offense. Less than five percent of his field goal attempts are shots more than 10 feet from the rim. Also, he is one of the worst playmakers in the NBA. With all this being said, he is probably the best player on his team. As much as I respect Claxton’s defense, he should never be the best or second-best player on a team. I think he can be an important piece on a really good team one day, but that’s not happening anytime soon.
74. Brook Lopez
2023-24 Stats: 12.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.4 BPG, 36.6% 3P%, 60.8% TS%
Lopez is a pretty hard player to rank given his age. In the 2022-23 season, he finished second in Defensive Player of the Year Voting (although I thought he should have won). However, he took a clear step back last year. Up until two seasons ago, he was already on a steep decline. If he continues to age, 2022-23 will begin to look more like an outlier. With this being said, I fully expect the Bucks to be a completely different team this year. They were a huge disappointment last year, but Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard will play awesome, and Lopez will likely be an X factor.
73. Myles Turner
2023-24 Stats: 17.1 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.9 BPG, 35.8% 3P%, 62.6% TS%
Mr. “Available in Trade Talks” himself. It’s pretty hilarious because I still remember when Turner was in trade talks back in 2017. However, over the last seven years, he has never been traded and has never signed with another team. It seems to have paid off for him; Turner has made a lot of money and was a key contributor to the 2024 Pacers, who made the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers are certainly an interesting team this year. Most people would tell you that the team will go as far as Tyrese Haliburton takes them, but Turner is going to be an X factor, too.
72. Keegan Murray
2023-24 Stats: 13.7 PPG, 5 RPG, 1 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 56.9% TS%
Keegan Murray went from being one of the more talked-about young guys in the NBA to being someone who no one really knows anymore. This mostly has to do with the fact that the Kings were worse than they were the year before. Funny enough, the advanced numbers will tell you Murray actually impacted winning a lot more his sophomore year than his rookie year. It will be interesting to see Murray in his new, smaller role with the addition of DeMar DeRozan.
Keegan Murray with the pick of the day pic.twitter.com/IoRWGEKAwk
— Barstool Iowa (@BarstoolUIowa) October 15, 2024
71. Naz Reid
2023-24 Stats: 13.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 0.8 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 41.4% 3P%. 59.5% TS%
The New Jersey legend comes in at No. 71. People can give credit to Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Rudy Gobert all they want. However, the Wolves’ bench unit outside of Reid was not good at all, and he carried them. Plus, it was not just Gobert and Towns that slowed down Nikola Jokic in the second round; Reid helped out a ton, too. With the Wolves trading Towns, Reid’s role should grow, and I think he will thrive.
Conclusion
We are getting to the bigger-name players now. Nos. 70-61 coming out next.
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