NBA: Surprises and Debates in ESPN’s Top 100. Who Shines?

Deep Dive into the NBA’s Top 100 Players: Surprises in the Ranking?

ESPN’s countdown of the top 100 NBA players for the 2025-26 season has yet to reveal its top 10, but it has already generated many surprises. Before reaching the final elite group, our panel of experts analyzes this year’s list, answering the most burning questions. Do LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant deserve a spot in the top 10? Which players were ignored and which were underrated? We analyze the main questions from our NBA Rank 100, including where Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton would have been if they hadn’t suffered injuries. What position in the ranking was the most surprising?

Victor Wembanyama is amazing, but the top 10 is too high for him at the moment. I’m not saying he won’t get there, even by the end of next season. But he simply doesn’t have the credentials or performances under pressure of the other top ten players in the league.

Jamal Collier

The disrespect to Tyler Herro (No. 68). Yes, Herro will be out at the start of the regular season due to a foot injury, but this is a player who was selected as an All-Star last season. For the fourth consecutive campaign, Herro averaged at least 20 points and finished 2024-25 with five games of at least 35 points, a career-best 47.2% from the field, and 5.5 assists per game. He played 77 games last season, the most of his career.

Bobby Marks

I agree with Bobby about Herro. I would add that Herro was not the focal point of the Heat’s offense last season and still averaged almost 24 points per game with 38% from 3-point range. Everyone remembers Pat Riley calling out Jimmy Butler III (No. 18) about 17 months ago. Nobody remembers that Riley also called out Herro in that same press conference, and Herro responded with the best season of his career. Herro also behaved like a professional and a leader during the Butler saga. Herro should be in the 40-55 range.

Jorge Sedano

Ivica Zubac (No. 36). Not because he isn’t worthy of the jump, but because I’m surprised that the basketball world is finally realizing his game to this degree. Zubac wasn’t ranked in the top 100 last year, and he didn’t make the cut above players like Jonas Valanciunas (No. 87 this year) and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (now unranked). This year, Zubac is ranked above Jamal Murray (No. 46), Joel Embiid (No. 47), and Rudy Gobert (No. 49). Zubac is three spots away from Ja Morant (No. 33). Zubac’s ninth season in the NBA was his best, averaging 16.8 points and 12.6 rebounds with elite interior defense, but the Clippers’ center, now 28, has been a long-time stable starting center.

Anthony Slater

While playing only 58 games in the last two seasons is a significant factor, Joel Embiid’s ranking (No. 47) was surprisingly low based on his talent level. When healthy, Embiid is one of the best players in the league, won the MVP in 2023, and averaged at least 30 points in three consecutive campaigns. In 2023-24, he became the first player to record more points than minutes played since Wilt Chamberlain in 1961-62. Embiid will far exceed his ranking, as long as he can stay healthy. His ranking reflects the panel’s confidence that he can do so.

Matt Williams

Who deserved to be in the top 100?

That Keegan Murray isn’t in the top 100 is mind-blowing. He’s a legitimate and versatile player on both sides of the court at 6-foot-8 and regularly has to take on the toughest defensive assignment for the Kings. Besides being a good defender, he’s a career 38% shooter from the 3-point line and doesn’t need to have the ball in his hands to make an impact. He moves well without the ball, cuts to the basket, and runs the court. If he were on any other team, he’d be ranked in the 55-70 range.

Sedano

Jalen Duren. His Pistons teammate from the same 2022 draft class, Jaden Ivey (No. 85), made it to the end of the top 100, but that spot could easily have gone to Detroit’s pivot. Duren is not perfect and has some areas of his game that need polishing. But he is a force on the boards who created many problems on the glass and second-chance opportunities during the postseason, while averaging a double-double in the first-round series against the Knicks.

Collier

I’m going to cheat and say two: Herbert Jones and Jordan Poole. Did voters forget that Jones was named to the NBA’s First Defensive Team in 2024? I understand that the top 100 is “what have you done for me lately” and that Jones doesn’t fit the criteria, considering he played 20 games, the fewest of his career, due to multiple injuries. Poole’s career highs in points, assists, steals, and three-point percentage for 2024-25 will go unnoticed because the Wizards won only 18 games last season.

Marks

Poole is a great answer. I feel like his reputation is unfairly tarnished by his blooper reel and the dramatic last 12 months of his chapter with the Warriors. In 2022, during a mega leap in his third season, he averaged 18.5 points per game as an important part of an NBA champion team. Circumstances became difficult the following preseason, but we have seen him be a key cog in a winner at the highest level. We have seen him lead the league in free throw percentage. We have seen how much the Warriors miss his secondary scoring since they traded him. Then we saw him shake off a bad first season with the Wizards for a productive and efficient second season in D.C.

Slater

Duren and Jones came to mind, but I’ll mention Ausar Thompson of Detroit. The Pistons made a big leap last season and finished 10th in defensive efficiency, thanks in part to Thompson’s play on that end. According to GeniusIQ tracking, he ranked in the top five in field goal percentage allowed as a contesting defender in 2024-25 among players who contested at least 400 shots. One area of growth is his outside shot: Thompson only made 15 of 60 jump shots last season.

Williams

Players who will reach the top 100 next season

Who will stay in the top 10?

LeBron, Curry, and Durant remain in the top 10. Who of this Hall of Fame trio will achieve it again next season?

I’d give Curry the best chance. He still has a seemingly endless supply of stamina and gravity to make defenses bow to his will every time he rises from the 3-point line. Despite their ages, there will be high expectations on the three players to make deep playoff runs in a crowded Western Conference this season. The Warriors, Lakers, and Rockets have made big moves in the last year, putting pressure on the trio to not only continue playing like stars, but also to stay healthy enough for their teams to compete.

Collier

Maybe I’m in the minority, but it could be argued that if the three remain healthy, James, Durant, and Curry will land in the top 10 next season. James is entering year 23 and will turn 41 in December, but that doesn’t mean Father Time has caught up with him. As of December 30th of last season, James averaged 25.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.7 assists in the regular season. As for Durant, he shared the honor with Nikola Jokic as the only players last season to average 25 points on 50% shooting and 40% from three.

Marks

Assuming the three return for the 2026-27 season, James, Durant, and Curry will remain in the top 10. Only three players averaged 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists after James turned 40 on December 30: James, Jokic, and Luka Doncic. Durant has a new team, but his game translates to any environment. Last season, Durant hit 51% of jump shots. The only player with a higher rate since player tracking began in 2013-14? Durant, again, in 2022-23. According to Genius IQ tracking, Curry averaged almost 5 mph when moving on offense, among the top 10 in the league last season, and his pace will be interesting to watch as he ages. He also averaged four three-pointers per game for the ninth time in his career in 2024-25, by far the most in NBA history.

Williams

I’m not betting against any of these three. Curry’s shooting ability will allow him to age better than the trio. However, have we seen how James still looks entering year 23? Durant was also very efficient last season, and his skills are exactly what the Rockets needed. It’s the main reason they will have a chance to win the West.

Sedano

I’ll rank Curry, James, and then Durant. Curry enters the season in the most predictable role of the three. He will be the center of the Warriors’ ecosystem, as he has been for over a decade. If he’s healthy, it’s simple to expect his season to look a lot like last season, visually and statistically, which puts him in the top 10. Durant will adapt to a new situation in Houston. James is adapting to life alongside Doncic (top 10). Those are more unpredictable environments.

Who could climb into the top 10?

What player outside the top 10 will get there next season?

This is easy for me. Cade Cunningham (No. 12) is an absolute star, and the leaps he continues to make will catapult him to the upper echelons of superstardom. His combination of size and skill, reminiscent of Doncic in many ways, particularly the way he can see over defenses, is the reason the Pistons are the team to watch in the Eastern Conference. Cunningham’s pick-and-roll game is already elite, and he has the potential to grow into a three-level scorer. In addition, his wingspan and defensive acumen allow him to defend multiple positions.

Sedano

Anthony Davis (No. 14). This is probably a controversial or at least risky opinion, given the recent injury history. But if Davis stays healthy, there has to be an extreme level of motivation for him to remind people loudly that he’s not just the other guy in the Doncic trade. The story sets up quite well for Davis: if the Mavericks have a surprising season, maybe a top-six playoff seed, they will have done it without Kyrie Irving for most or all of the regular season. No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg (No. 52) will generate headlines, but Davis is the best current player on the Mavs’ roster and is still in his prime.

Slater

Donovan Mitchell (No. 15). The Cavaliers were a big disappointment in the playoffs last season, but none of that was Mitchell’s fault. He has been consistently excellent since his arrival in Cleveland. Let’s say the Cavs once again dominate the regular season and are finally ready to make a playoff run, maybe to the Finals, Mitchell will almost certainly be a major player in it. Then he would ride the same momentum as Tyrese Haliburton after a solid postseason.

Collier

Paolo Banchero (No. 17). If the first five games of the 2024-25 regular season were any indication, Banchero is poised to have an All-NBA caliber campaign. Before suffering a right oblique tear, Banchero was averaging 33.2 points. He then finished the season averaging 25.9 points, a career high. And after adding Desmond Bane (No. 39) and Tyus Jones this offseason, the Magic are projected to finish in the top three of the Eastern Conference.

Marks

Alperen Sengun (No. 25), after his first All-Star appearance last season and an exceptional EuroBasket run, has the ability to reach the top 10. Although it came in a series loss, Sengun shined for the Rockets in the first round against the Warriors, becoming the fifth player in league history to average 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists in his first career playoff series. Furthermore, increased defensive attention towards Durant should only continue to unlock Sengun’s game. Where would Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton have been if they had been healthy?

Both would have a strong argument for the top 10. Tatum would undoubtedly retain his place in the top five due to his consistent excellence, but Haliburton’s performance in the playoffs was so otherworldly that it rewrote these rankings. Sure, Haliburton had some scoring misses, but his impact on the court single-handedly ignited a team through a run to Game 7 of the Finals, something not many players ranked 11th to 17th (aside from Devin Booker at 16th) can argue. And while Jalen Williams (No. 11) was excellent during the Finals, Haliburton’s impact in the middle of the series almost shifted the balance to Indiana, and Haliburton didn’t have the MVP gravity to share the court.

Collier

Tatum is easily in the top 10 if he’s healthy. It’s hard not to recognize a player who consistently averages at least 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Haliburton’s ranking is more complicated due to the quality of players in the 10-20 range. But let’s put Haliburton at 17 and move everyone from Banchero back one spot.

Marks

Both would be in my top 10. Tatum has consistently shown that he is a top-tier player in the NBA, and although Haliburton doesn’t necessarily have the flashiest numbers, his passing ability and performances in crucial moments put him in that top 10 category for me.

Sedano

Tatum is easily in the top 10, and close to the top five. He feels like he’s lived in that fifth spot on MVP ballots for half a decade, and he’s only 27. He had never been better than last season before his injury. As Bobby mentioned, Haliburton is more complicated. He had a handful of spectacular and historic moments in the playoffs, but his overall postseason wasn’t overwhelming. He averaged 17.3 points and 8.6 assists and made 46% of his shots. He had great games and quiet games. Haliburton was the face of what was a Pacers machine, but still, in my estimation, he belongs more in the 20 to 30 range than in the top 10 at the moment.

Tatum would have been in the top 10 if he were healthy after a season in which he averaged a career-high in assists and joined Larry Bird and John Havlicek as the only Celtics to average 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Haliburton would be in the 11-15 range after a trip to the Finals and an All-NBA selection. Even before the playoffs, Haliburton went on a run after the All-Star break, averaging 20.6 points and 11.0 assists while committing only 26 turnovers in a span of 21 games.

Williams

Bold Predictions for Next Season

Make a bold prediction for any player in ESPN’s top 100.

Wherever he lands in the top 10, Giannis Antetokounmpo will move up this list next season. He has only become more efficient and dominant in recent years and will take on even more responsibility for Milwaukee this season. It will set up Antetokounmpo for a monster year and perhaps a case for the top spot.

Collier

Amen Thompson (No. 37) will enter the top 20. I’m not ready to put Thompson on the All-NBA team yet, but the defensive work last season in Houston justifies talking about the NBA All-Defensive team and Defensive Player of the Year honors this season. Thompson had a breakout second-year season, leading the NBA in effective field goal percentage allowed as a contesting defender. He ranked fifth in estimated defensive plus-minus. Of course, his offense is still a work in progress, as he shot 27.5% from 3-point range and 68.4% from the free-throw line.

Marks

Wembanyama will be the fourth player in NBA history to win both MVP and DPOY (Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Antetokounmpo). It is certain that he will win the DPOY as long as he plays the required number of games. I believe that for him to win the MVP in a loaded Western Conference, the Spurs will have to be one of the top six seeds. I am willing to bet that there will be some things that go well for them and that the Spurs will have improved enough to reach that benchmark.

Sedano

After ranking 90th last season and 89th in these rankings, Andrew Wiggins will continue the trend and finish in 88th place before the 2026-27 season. That’s a rather unspectacular answer, but there’s something unspectacularly consistent about Wiggins’ game. He was the central player in a mid-season trade with Butler, moved across the conference to a new situation, and yet maintained his statistics almost perfectly static. So, I’m predicting a decent and discreet season, a possible trade out of Miami, and that 88th position in the summer of 2026.

Williams

I will give predictions on two players, both on the Hawks: Jalen Johnson (#44) will be a top 25 player next season, and Trae Young (#29) will be in the top 15. Before Johnson saw his season come to an end due to a labrum tear, he was averaging career highs across the board and was a key part of the Hawks’ offense. Young is coming off a season in which he averaged a league-leading 11.6 assists per game for a Hawks record. The addition of Kristaps Porzingis (#50) will benefit Young as the Hawks look to reach the Finals for the first time since 1961, when the franchise was in St. Louis.

Williams