Ranking who the best NBA players are is always a hot topic.
Unlike other sports, individual rankings are a lot easier to judge.
On Friday, ESPN completed their rankings of the top 100 players for the 2022-23 NBA season.
They finished by revealing their top five players for the upcoming season.
ESPN’s Top 5 Players For The 2022-23 NBA Season:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
- Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)
- Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks)
- Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers)
- Steph Curry (Golden State Warriors)
This is an intriguing list that many fans will probably take issue with.
For starters, LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers) did not even crack the top five, and he is coming off a season where he averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists per contest.
The Lakers did not have a good year (11th seed in the west), but James was still very clearly elite.
ESPN ranked James sixth.
Another big name that did not crack the top five was Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets).
The 12-time NBA All-Star led a Nets team that got swept in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
However, he averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists per contest.
Durant shot 51.8% from the field and the assists were a career-high.
He was one of the few bright spots for Brooklyn.
ESPN ranked him eighth.
Overall, there is no accurate way to determine these things because they are based on opinion.
Yet, Curry led his team to their fourth title in the last eight seasons, so one would think he would be in the top three.
The first game of the 2022-23 regular season will take place between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers on October 19.
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