(Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images for ESPN)
The NBA season is just around the corner, which means that it was a matter of time before ESPN released its often-controversial player rankings.
Every single season, the fans, players, and pundits debate about these rankings, and it’s impossible to please everybody.
This season followed that trend, and we’ll share with you the top 10 players chosen by the sports network, so you can make your own conclusions (via NBA Central).
ESPN’s player rankings:
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo
2. Nikola Jokic
3. Joel Embiid
4. Luka Doncic
5. Stephen Curry
6. Jayson Tatum
7. Kevin Durant
8. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
9. LeBron James
10. Anthony Davis
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 12, 2023
At No. ESPN chose Anthony Davis, which seems like a bit of a reach.
Don’t get me wrong, Davis is by all means a top-10 talent, and he’s even been the best player on Earth for a couple of nights, but besides being injury-prone, he’s struggled to string good games together.
LeBron James gets the nod at No. 9, and that’s kind of ridiculous.
It’s not that he should be ranked higher or lower; the sole fact that he’s entering his 21st season in the league and is still considered a consensus top-10 player is borderline absurd; what a player.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander climbed the ladder and entered the season at No. 8, which was also a bit surprising.
He’s one of the rising two-way stars in the league, but he needs to prove that he can stay healthy.
Talking about health, Kevin Durant was the seventh-best player despite his age and injury-proneness.
Jayson Tatum and Stephen Curry were No. 6 and No. 5, respectively, which is kind of crazy to think if you consider the fact that they were in the NBA Finals just two years ago.
Luka Doncic and Joel Embiid crack the top four despite their lack of playoff success, but there’s no denying that they’re properly ranked from an impact perspective.
Also, what does Nikola Jokic have to do to be considered the best player on Earth? Despite his historic playoff run and being the reigning NBA champion, he still lost the top spot to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The post ESPN Shares It’s Top-10 NBA Players For This Season appeared first on The Cold Wire.