This will be Part IV 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 70-61 players for the 2024-25 season.
70. Jalen Green
2023-24 Stats: 19.6 PPG, 3.5 APG, 0.8 SPG
If you look at his numbers blindly, it would look like this ranking for Green is way too high. However, I bet a lot of Rocket fans think this is way too low. In March, he averaged 27.7 PPG with 61.3 TS%. Green fell off a bit in April, but the fact that the 22-year-old showed us a short span of him playing like a superstar is super promising. Do I think he will average 27 for the entire year? Of course not, but don’t be surprised if he gets to the 22-25 range with much better efficiency.
69. Michael Porter Jr.
2023-24 Stats: 16.7 PPG, 7 RPG, 0.6 BPG, 0.6 SPG, 39.7 3P%, 60.1 TS%
Porter is one of the more polarizing players in the NBA. On one hand, he is a wing who is an elite shooter with size, so the sky is usually the limit with guys like him. However, he is an awful playmaker and puts in very little effort on the defensive end. Everyone is concerned about the Nuggets this year because Kentavious Caldwell-Pope left. This leaves a big hole in their perimeter defense. This is especially a big deal because Nikola Jokic is not the best rim defender, either. The Nuggets will need Porter to step it up on that end, as well as improve his passing skills, if they want to have a shot at winning the title again.
68. Jerami Grant
2023-24 Stats: 21 PPG, 0.8 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 40.2 3P%, 57.3 TS%
This is another player who is pretty tough to rank. Once, I thought that Jerami Grant had the potential to be an All-Star caliber player. Even though he is not that, he is debatably the best player on a pretty bad team. Grant is very similar to Porter in regard to the fact that he is a great three-point shooter but not much else. With this being said, you get a little more effort from Grant on the defensive end, and we probably get more willingness to facilitate more on offense.
I really hope Jerami Grant continues to operate as a passer like he did tonight. It completely opened up the entire offense for everyone.
— Tye Forshee (@tyefor) October 19, 2024
67. Aaron Gordon
2023-24 Stats: 13.9 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 0.8 SPG, 55.6 FG%, 60.7 TS%
The unsung hero for the 2023 Nuggets comes in at No. 67. People will try to say that Porter was the third-best player, but as far as impact on winning goes, Gordon was clearly the third-best player, in my opinion. Despite being a pretty bad three-point shooter, he is a solid playmaker and finisher. He is also impressive on defense where he can guard at least the two to four positions. With Kentavious Caldwell-Pope leaving, Gordon will most likely be the best defensive player on his team, so it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to his role.
66. CJ McCollum
2023-24 Stats: 20 PPG, 4.6 APG, 0.9 SPG, 42.9 3P%, 59.2 TS%
The president of the NBA Player’s Association comes in at No. 66. For years McCollum lived in Damian Lillard’s shadow, and since the two split, he has been just as good. Even though he is still a pretty bad defender, McCollum is one of the best three-point shooters in the NBA. McCollum, who shot his career high from behind the arc last year, will likely be back to playing shooting guard this year with the addition of Dejounte Murray. This will be a fascinating backcourt to watch given their opposite play styles.
CJ McCollum NBA Media Day 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Aaw32HP4Mu
— NBACentel (@TheNBACentel) September 30, 2024
65. Dejounte Murray
2023-24 Stats: 22.5 PPG, 6.4 APG, 5.3 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 36.3 3P%, 55.5 TS%
Speaking of Dejounte Murray, he comes in at No. 65. After having a career season in 2022, it has been a massive falloff for him. Despite what the basic number says, most of the advanced stats imply he does not contribute a ton to winning. Many might say this is because it has to do with the awkward fit between him and Trae Young. This might be true, but his fit with New Orleans may not be much better. Murray should have his best defensive season since 2022, but it is going to take a lot from him to contribute to winning as much as he used to.
64. Bradley Beal
2023-24 Stats: 18.2 PPG, 5 APG, 1 SPG, 51.3 FG%, 43.0 3P%, 60.7 TS%
This feels low given that it is 24 spots lower than where I placed him last year. That is especially true when you factor in how efficient he was from three. However, when you are a pretty brutal defensive player and not a great playmaker, it is tough to keep you as high as you used to be. If Beal was on a team that did not have two primarily iso scorers, he could be a solid third option somewhere, but I do not see the Suns winning a ton with those three guys teamed up.
63. Coby White
2023-24 Stats: 19.1 PPG, 5.1 APG, 37.6 3P%, 57 TS%
The guy who I think should have won Most Improved Player last year comes in at No. 63. White is in one of the toughest situations in the NBA. I think the Bulls are going to stink this year, but the front office has shown pretty much no commitment to rebuilding. Many thought they would trade Zach LaVine over the summer, but he seems untradeable. The best way to look at it from his lens is that he has zero pressure to play well (for now) and he can pretty much do what he wants, which is exactly what I expect him to do.
Coby White last night: 23 points, 4 assists, 6-9 from the field, 5-7 from 3, 6-6 from the FT line, +10 in 31 minutes…Coby White is only 24, getting better, and easily the most underappreciated burgeoning star in Chicago. pic.twitter.com/K3Ka4OcGpa
— See Red Fred (@cbefred) October 17, 2024
62. Mike Conley
2023-24 Stats: 11.4 PPG, 5.9 APG, 1.2 SPG, 44.2 3P%
One of the more underrated players of the 2010s comes in at No. 62. I mentioned this with Al Horford, but Conley’s longevity is unreal as well. He was the starting point guard on the 2011 No. 8-seeded Grizzlies, who took down the top-seeded Spurs. 13 years later, he was the starting point guard on a team that made it to the Western Conference Finals. Is he going to regress? It’s unclear, but bravo to him for being a great team player for such a long time.
61. Fred VanVleet
2023-24 Stats: 17.4 PPG, 8.1 APG, 1.4 SPG, 38.7 3P%
VanVleet had a super solid season last year. It was overshadowed by two young stars, Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green, and the fact that the Rockets were not that good. Many people expect the Rockets to be a lot better this year. I definitely think they will improve, but it is going to be tough for them to win more games given how stacked the West is. VanVleet is a veteran with championship experience. The combination of Sengun and Green improving with VanVleet’s leadership skills is going to be awesome.
Conclusion
We’re now approaching the NBA All-Star-caliber players. The fact that we are seeing names like Beal and VanVleet this low shows how deep the league is now. Nos. 60-51 up next.
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