Three Nuggets in ESPN’s top-100 players so far, but two drop spots
Oct 16, 2024, 11:07 AM | Updated: 1:55 pm
It’s top-100 list time in the NBA as the regular season kicks off next week for the Denver Nuggets and every other team.
ESPN is unveiling the 100 best players in the league in stages, and right now we know Nos. 11-100. The top-10 will be revealed on Thursday, with Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic hopefully checking in at No. 1 coming off his third MVP in four years.
This is the 14th year ESPN has done this list, and their formula is pretty interesting for coming up with it.
Here’s the criteria they follow: “To get the final NBA Rank prediction, we asked our expert panel to vote on player vs. player matchups from more than 15,000 possible pairings. Voters were asked, “Which player will be better in 2024-25?” and had to predict how each player will perform this season.”
That seems fair enough, although people are inevitably going to have problems with where their favorite players rank. In the case of the Nuggets, three familiar names are in the top-100, but two dropped from their spots a season ago.
Michael Porter Jr. is No. 89, down from No. 68 last year. Aaron Gordon is No. 49, which is actually up two slots from a season ago. And Jamal Murray fell to No. 31 after being ranked No. 17 in 2023.
In the case of Porter and Murray, it’s predictable why the fell. Both struggled in the playoffs last year, particularly in the second round against Minnesota. Porter scored in single-digits in five of the seven games against the Timberwolves.
And Murray averaged only 18.4 points per game versus Minnesota and shot 33.3% from three-point range. He also played poorly for Team Canada this summer in the Olympics, something that was fresh on voter’s minds.
Gordon, however, received praise from ESPN as he moved up the list. They wrote he “might be the most valuable role player in the league.” Gordon has thrived playing with Jokic since a trade in the spring of 2021.
The Nuggets having four players on this list is pretty cool. But clearly the pressure is on Porter and Murray to rise to the occasion as Denver seeks its second NBA title in three years.
And if Jokic isn’t No. 1 on Thursday, you know Nuggets fans will be outraged. Stay tuned.
