The NBA’s 2025-26 season is right around the corner, and rankings of the league’s top players and teams are being released by media outlets everywhere. ESPN’s top 100 NBA players list never fails to stir up controversy, and this year’s rankings prove ESPN has either mastered rage-bait or needs new NBA analysts immediately.
Rankings always pose the question, “What have you done recently to deserve your spot?” Players should be ranked according to recent production, but ESPN seems to think otherwise.
Last year, before the 2024-25 season, ESPN ranked Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving 25 out of 100 in the NBA. Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo, Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Damian Lillard were among several players ranked superior, strangely.
In 2023-24, Irving averaged 25.6 points and 5.2 assists per game on incredible efficiency. He played Robin to Luka Doncic’s Batman as the 1-2 punch led Dallas to an NBA finals appearance. The All-Stars Adebayo, Maxey and Lillard all shone and Maxey even took home the most improved player award, but Irving’s combination of counting stats and contribution to team success that season was unrivaled and deserved a higher spot.
ESPN’s latest list is flat-out awful and feels like a joke. I can’t touch on every corrupt ranking, but young stars are disrespected throughout the entire list and declining players who don’t deserve to make the list anymore are ranked far too high up.
Speaking of players undeserving of their spot, Denver Nuggets’ Jonas Valančiūnas has no business being ranked No. 87. After pairing lackluster defense with declining averages of 10.4 points and 7.7 rebounds last season, he will now back up the NBA’s best player, Nikola Jokic, making even less production inevitable. Two blossoming young centers, Naz Reid and Walker Kessler are both ranked lower despite clearly outperforming Valančiūnas as they continue to improve each year.
Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, “NAW,“ is a very valuable role player, but simply is not better than Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle. The 19-year-old averaged 14.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists for the San Antonio Spurs. NAW put up 9.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists in a backup role last season. Castle, poised to improve after wowing early, sits at No. 99 while Alexander-Walker is ranked 96th despite probably peaking already. Do better, ESPN.
The hype surrounding Dallas’ first overall draft pick Cooper Flagg is immense, and rightfully so. Despite the hype, his 52nd ranking is far from justified, as he is yet to even play an NBA game, but is somehow still ranked ahead of several established stars.
Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, a premier defender, led the NBA with 229 total steals and three steals per game last season. New Orleans Pelicans forwards Trey Murphy III and Zion Williamson have both broken out. Murphy cracked a career-high 21.1 points and his All-Star teammate Williamson contributed 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists despite injuries. Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard played a key role in Indiana’s NBA Finals run last season, etching his name as a playoff riser. These four are all somehow ranked below Flagg, a disrespectful order that truly makes no sense.
Thunder forward Jalen Williams played a key role in Oklahoma City’s NBA Finals win last season and earned an All-Star selection, but No. 11 is an extremely lofty ranking for him. His teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the MVP of both the regular season and NBA Finals, clearly blazed the Thunder’s championship trail as their go-to guy.
Williams deserves his flowers, but a second option being ranked so high is ridiculous. 2023’s MVP Joel Embiid, reigning Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley, and superstars Cade Cunningham, Donovan Mitchell and Paolo Banchero unreasonably fall below Williams. Each of these players, aside from Mobley, is their team’s number-one option, clearing Williams statistically while still leading their teams to quality playoff success.
This list’s unjust rankings go much deeper, but those that I’ve mentioned are all completely asinine and embody the list’s flaws. Whether it’s players being laughably over ranked, criminally under ranked or names undeserving of even cracking the list, ESPN never fails to completely botch these rankings year after year.
Jack Muldowney is a freshman studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note the opinions expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Jack Muldowney about their column? Email them at jm760224@ohio.edu.
