This will be Part V 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.
Author’s note: All-League defender Herb Jones was inadvertently left off the list. He would fall in the 50-60 range. He is one of the better perimeter defenders in the league and does not get talked about nearly enough.
Without further ado, here are the Top 60-51 players for the 2024-25 season.
60. Zach LaVine
2023-24 Stats: 19.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 3.9 APG, 0.8 SPG
2022-23 Stats: 24.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 4.2 APG, 0.9 SPG
Let’s start things off with one of the weirder situations in the league. LaVine clearly wanted out over the summer, and the feelings seemed mutual with the Bulls’ front office. Neither got what they wanted, but it seems like it might pay off. LaVine has looked awesome in the preseason. Also, the return of Lonzo Ball is going to be one of the more fun stories in the league. The Bulls likely won’t make the playoffs without the play-in, but they have the potential to be a fun team given the low expectations.
59. Draymond Green
2023-24 Stats: 8.6 PPG, 1 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 6 APG
I know, I know. “Draymond Green is washed; you can’t trust him!” I agree that you can’t trust him a ton, but I do not think he is washed at all. The Warriors were over five points better with him on the court than off the court last year. This was mostly because he carried the Warriors’ defense when he was playing. He’s not as great of an offensive player anymore, but he’s still a very good playmaker. In addition, though at low volume, he’s 45.7 percent on catch-and-shoot three-pointers. For the most part, the only thing you have to worry about is his tendency to get suspended. The suspensions are still a concern, but he should be better this year.
Jarrett Allen with the tip in 💪pic.twitter.com/tqz59HxZbZ
— Cavs Nation (@CavsNationCP) October 19, 2024
58. OG Anunoby
2023-24 Stats: 14.7 PPG, 1.4 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 59.5 TS%
Knick fans are going to hate this. Anunoby is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league and I certainly will not take that away from him. However, he cannot stay on the floor. Anunoby has not played in over 70 games in a season since his rookie year in 2018. As great as his perimeter defense is, when you are an average offensive player and are not available for at least 20 games a year, you don’t belong in the top 50.
57. Darius Garland
2023-24 Stats: 18 PPG, 6.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 56 TS%
I had a pretty hard time deciding where to rank Garland. On one hand, he had his worst season since his rookie campaign last year. On the other hand, he is still one of the more underrated offensive players in the league. Last season, he was one of six players to average 18 PPG and 6.5 APG while shooting 37 percent from three. The Cavaliers can probably finish as high as the No. 3 seed, but there is a world where they have to endure the play-in tournament. Garland will be an X factor in deciding this.
56. Brandon Ingram
2023-24 Stats: 20.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 5.7 APG, 57.8 TS%
Speaking of players who had disappointing seasons last year, Ingram comes in at No. 56. Ingram will be put in an interesting situation this year, especially if Zion Williamson gets injured at some point. The Pelicans have committed to starting 6-foot-7 defender Herb Jones at center early this year. As phenomenal of a defender as Jones is, asking a guy who is only that tall to go pound for pound with a bunch of 7-footers is a tall task. If Zion gets injured, Ingram will have to spend some time running the four where the center position is thin. I am not sure how effective Ingram would be in this role, but it’ll be interesting, to say the least.
55. Jarrett Allen
2023-24 Stats: 16.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 1.1 BPG, 0.7 SPG
One of the most underrated defenders in the league comes in at No. 55. People thought Allen was the fourth-best player on the Cavs last year, but I think he was probably second behind Donovan Mitchell. Allen finished among the top 10 in Defensive Player of the Year voting and was an essential piece to the Cavaliers’ elite defense. The main thing with Allen has been his availability, but he did play 77 games last year, so that is a good sign. Just like Garland, Allen will also be an essential piece to the team’s ceiling.
Jarrett Allen with the tip in 💪pic.twitter.com/tqz59HxZbZ
— Cavs Nation (@CavsNationCP) October 19, 2024
54. Brandon Miller
2023-24 Stats: 17.3 PPG, 0.9 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 37.3 3P%
The bronze medalist for the Rookie of the Year race comes in at No. 54. All of the advanced numbers tell you that Miller’s rookie season was a disaster. I used advanced stats for a lot of my arguments, but this is a time I will scoff at them. Miller is a 6-foot-9 wing who can shoot the three-ball pretty well. His defense was not as good, but this is an area where I am confident he will grow. I especially believe this because former Celtics assistant coach Charles Lee is now the head coach of the Hornets. He is known for his player development approach, so I am excited to see how he will do.
53. Khris Middleton
2023-24 Stats: 15.1 PPG, 5.3 APG, 0.9 SPG, 38.1 3P%
Similar to Green, many consider Middleton washed and unreliable. Though I am confident in my Green take, I am far more confident in this Middleton ranking. You look at the scoring numbers and they are far from impressive. However, he was injured for a lot of last year and lit it up in the playoffs. He averaged 24.7 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and had a 59.5 TS%. This was without Giannis Antetokounmpo for the playoffs, as well as Damian Lillard missing two of the six games. I do not expect Middleton to put up this type of production over the course of an 82-game season.
52. Kristaps Porzingis
2023-24 Stats: 20.1 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.9 BPG, 37.5 TS%, 64.7 TS%
As a Celtics fan, this one hurts. If we were not factoring health and availability into this, Porzingis would be at least 15 or maybe even 20 spots higher. When you have a guy who can defend the rim at an elite level, has great post moves, and is a zone-breaking machine, there is not much you can’t do with your team. People think that he isn’t too valuable to the Celtics since they won so much without him, but the reality is that they could have been so much better if Porzinigs was healthy. Porzingis is missing at least the first 20 to 25 games of the season. Even if he comes back healthy, the Celtics are going to be extremely cautious. They will wrap him in bubble wrap until the playoffs, and hopefully, he will be the best he can be come playoff time.
Injury Report for tomorrow vs. New York:
Kristaps Porzingis (left posterior tibialis tendon surgery rehabilitation) – OUT
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 21, 2024
51. Franz Wagner
2023-24 Stats: 19.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.1 SPG
One of the better young two-way players in the league wraps up the back half of the Top 100. On offense, even though he is a weak three-point shooter, he makes up for it with his shot creation and playmaking. According to Basketball Index, he is in the 94th percentile in “Playmaking Talent.” On the other side of the ball, he is an awesome team defender who is not afraid to take on tough tasks.
Conclusion
We’re halfway there. Nos. 50-41 next.
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