If you feel like the Denver Nuggets just won the NBA title a few weeks ago, you’re not alone. The offseason has flown by amid Damian Lillard and James Harden rumors, and so here we are within a month of the start of training camp for the 2023-24 campaign. We’ll wait to see where, or whether, Lillard and/or Harden will actually report.
In the meantime, it’s time for CBS Sports’ annual list of the league’s top 100 players as we sit on the cusp of a new season. This is, to be clear, a futures post. These aren’t based on past performances or career accomplishments. It’s our staff’s average ranking of the top 100 players in the NBA based on how we see them performing this upcoming season.
Some may think that any list that doesn’t have LeBron James flirting with the upper echelon just doesn’t feel right. There certainly is a recent history of superstar athletes across the sports spectrum fending off Father Time, and our Bill Reiter writes on that very topic.
And, as always, once the season tips off, there will be some players who will exceed expectations. Others will fall short. Such was the case when comparing the 2023-24 rankings to our top 100 list from a year ago. This season’s rankings feature plenty of players who’ve jumped up and slid back — and we’ve got both a jump and a slide of 50 at least spots. In fact, there’s a separate story on just the extreme boosts and buckles.
Other points to debate: Which team has the most selections? Are there any teams that don’t have any? Rookies are eligible, and more than a couple made the cut — yup, despite not yet having logged a minute of playing time.
As always, be sure to let us know what you think in the comments.
Each of CBS Sports’ eight NBA staff writers — Brad Botkin, James Herbert, Jack Maloney, Sam Quinn, Bill Reiter, Ameer Tyree, Colin Ward-Henninger and Jasmyn Wimbish — submitted individual lists of their top 100 players in the NBA for the upcoming 2023-24 season, and results were calculated by assigning a point value to each player’s place on each writer’s list. A…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-top-100-player-rankings-nikola-jokic-stephen-curry-giannis-eye-no-1-lebron-james-falls-out-of-top-10/
Author : Brad Botkin
Publish date : 2023-09-12 10:07:44
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