For the past 12 seasons, ESPN has released a list of who they think are the top 100 NBA players going into the season, and this year (just like every year) some of the rankings are a bit controversial. ESPN releases their top ten separately from the other 90 players, and I’m going to re-order that top ten because there are a few things that I don’t agree with. Plus, if I rearranged the entire top 100 like I want to, we’d be here all day. So, without further ado, here is my re-ordered list of the top ten players for the 2023-24 NBA season.
10. Anthony Davis – ESPN Rank: 10
Anthony Davis remains at number 10 in my ranking, but I’m not completely sold on him being a top ten player based off of last season. The man still has problems staying on the court, as he only played 56 games in the 22-23 season. I honestly think either Devin Booker, Damian Lillard, or Jimmy Butler should be brought up from the top 11-15 to take his spot, but this is a re-ranking of the top ten so I’m not going to bring in any players outside of that. I’m not saying AD isn’t one of the best players in the league, because when he’s on the court he is most definitely a force to be reckoned with. However, his glass bones and paper skin keep him from being a consistent threat because teams don’t actually have to worry about playing against him on a nightly basis. The only thing keeping him from being firmly in the top ten is health concerns, so I’m interested to see if he’ll hit the 65-game threshold in the upcoming season.
9. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – ESPN Rank: 8
ESPN had this man ranked above Lebron James, and I absolutely could not let that slide. Gilgeous-Alexander is coming off his best season, averaging 31.4 points per game while shooting 51% from the field, and the Thunder did win a play-in tournament game, so he definitely deserves to be in the top ten. With that being said, putting him above Lebron James is outrageous to me. Lebron has been, and still is, one of the best players the league has ever seen. He is a better overall player than Gilgeous-Alexander is, with Gilgeous-Alexander lacking in the defensive and three-point shooting department. So while Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the most promising young players in the NBA, Lebron is Lebron and I don’t think anything else needs to be said.
8. Jayson Tatum – ESPN Rank: 6
Jayson Tatum is one of the best wing players in the league, and he has been the centerpiece that has made the Celtics a championship contender for the past few years. With that being said, ESPN has him ranked above both Lebron James and Kevin Durant, and I don’t think he has reached that tier of players just yet. Tatum is a very well-rounded player, getting it done on offense while also being a solid defender, but his team success hasn’t quite reached the level it should be at for a player of his caliber. The Celtics have made a few late postseason runs in the past few years, never reaching the ultimate goal of winning a ring. I think if the Celtics can make it to the finals this year, and possibly win it all, that would put Tatum in talks with the Lebrons and Kevin Durants of the league.
7. Kevin Durant – ESPN Rank: 7
I kept Kevin Durant at number seven because he has been pretty consistent as a player for the past few seasons, always making a huge impact and carrying the majority of the offensive load on whatever team he is playing for. I think him climbing this list depends on how far he takes the Suns this year. In 2021 Durant came in at number one on this list after his stunning performance in the Eastern Conference finals, taking the eventual champions in the Bucks to seven games. I think if he can perform like that in the postseason this year, he could very well see himself in the top three of this list next time around.
6. Luka Doncic – ESPN Rank: 4
ESPN had Luka ranked above Stephen Curry and Lebron James, and I think this is the same situation that we saw with Jayson Tatum in the sense that I feel he hasn’t quite reached that tier of players yet. The Stephen Currys and Lebrons of this league have cemented themselves in history and are guaranteed future Hall-of-Fame inductees. Luka is well on his way to becoming a player of that caliber, but he isn’t there yet. With that being said, Luke is still certainly one of the best players in the league right now, as teams have yet to find an answer for him. With that being said, I think Luka could climb this list if he can take the Mavericks to the postseason. It’s no secret that the Dallas front office isn’t the best at getting Luka the help he needs, so this is all on him, but it’s hard to put him higher when his team finished below .500 (38-44) and missed the playoffs and the play-in tournament completely.
5. Lebron James – ESPN Rank: 9
I just want to know who in the world thought it was okay to put Lebron James as the ninth best player in the NBA. I might be one of the biggest Lebron haters there are, but I’m also not blind to the fact that he is one of the best players to ever step foot on a basketball court. There are health concerns that are arising as Lebron continues to age, as he has only played in 278 out of 389 regular season games he could have played in since joining the Lakers. But the fact that he makes any team he is on a contender cannot be ignored. Teams have been trying to figure out how to stop this man for 20 years, and they still haven’t done it. So even though the now 38-year-old Lebron James is starting to show some signs of this age (it took him long enough), he still continues to put up 25 points or more on his opponents on a nightly basis, while still being one of the best overall players to ever touch a basketball.
4. Joel Embiid – ESPN Rank: 3
Joel Embiid was the 2022-23 regular season MVP after finishing in second place the previous two years, so in this sense he is definitely one of the best players in the league. His ball handling skills and shooting ability as a seven footer are unguardable, as he averaged 33.1 points per game last season. However the biggest problem with Embiid is his lack of team success. The Sixers lost in the second round last year, succumbing to the Celtics in seven games. He has been in the debate of who the league’s best player is, along with fellow stars Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, for a few seasons now. The difference is, both Giannis and Jokic have seen postseason success, with both of them having a championship under their belt. If Joel Embiid wants to climb this list and surpass them as the best big man, and potentially player in the league, he needs to bring the Sixers a ring.
3. Stephen Curry – ESPN Rank: 5
ESPN ranked Luka Doncic and Joel Embiid ahead of the Baby-face assassin and I don’t think either one of them deserves to be put ahead of Curry. He has been, and still is, the best point guard in the league, and his performance in the 22-23 postseason was one of the best we saw from anyone in the NBA. He finished third in MVP voting and led the league in scoring, averaging 32 points a game. Stephen Curry is unlike any player this league has ever seen, with his slightly below average stature and uncanny ability to shoot the lights out and pick apart defenses with ease in virtually every game he plays in. I think if he puts up similar stats to last season and leads the Warriors on another deep postseason run, he could see himself top this list next year.
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo – ESPN Rank: 1
I agree with ESPN’s top two, just not the order of them. Giannis is one of the most unstoppable players in the league, averaging a double-double with 30 points and 10 rebounds a game last season. However, Giannis and the Bucks were eliminated in the first round last year by the Miami Heat, and while the Heat had a finals run unlike any other we’ve seen before, they had no business beating a team like the Bucks. While Giannis does have a ring under his belt, he has been known to struggle in the postseason, and for this reason I feel like he is not the number one player in the league for this upcoming season.
1.Nikola Jokic – ESPN Rank: 2
Last year’s NBA Finals MVP is topping this year’s top ten best players list for me. Jokic’s skill set as a center is absolutely incredible, with him being able to pass and shoot like a guard. He isn’t overly strong or athletic, but his footwork, technique, court vision, and soft touch around the basketball allow him to decimate defenses and find teammates for open looks. Jokic led the Nuggets to their first NBA championship in franchise history, and are looking to repeat that success in this upcoming season. It was close, but in my opinion Nikola Jokic is the best player in the league going into the 2023-24 NBA season.