For the seventh season in a row, ESPN.com is ranking the top players in the NBA. Who will be the best player this season? To get the final ranking, we asked our expert panel to vote on pairs of players. Kevin Durant vs. LeBron James. Kyrie Irving vs. John Wall. Russell Westbrook vs. James Harden. We asked, "Which player will be better in 2017-18?" To decide, voters had to consider both the quality and the quantity of each player's contributions to his team's ability to win games. Last year's rank in ( ) 76-100 | 75-51 | 50-31 100. Ryan Anderson | Houston Rockets (89) 99. Manu Ginobili | San Antonio Spurs (151) 98. Dion Waiters | Miami Heat (196) 97. Dirk Nowitzki | Dallas Mavericks (41) 96. Dennis Schroder | Atlanta Hawks (91) 95. Trevor Ariza | Houston Rockets (99) 94. Derrick Favors | Utah Jazz (39) 93. James Johnson | Miami Heat (NR) 92. Rodney Hood | Utah Jazz (66) 91. Nerlens Noel | Dallas Mavericks (126) 90. Gary Harris | Denver Nuggets (177) 89. Cody Zeller | Charlotte Hornets (137) 88. Nikola Mirotic | Chicago Bulls (95) 87. J.J. Redick | Philadelphia 76ers (52) 86. Markelle Fultz | Philadelphia 76ers (NR) 85. Andre Roberson | Oklahoma City Thunder(158) 84. Ben Simmons | Philadelphia 76ers (120) 83. D'Angelo Russell | Brooklyn Nets (62) 82. Greg Monroe | Milwaukee Bucks (102) 81. Lou Williams | Los Angeles Clippers (198) 80. Pau Gasol | San Antonio Spurs (61) 79. Markieff Morris | Washington Wizards (101) 78. Victor Oladipo | Indiana Pacers (48) 77. Gorgui Dieng | Minnesota Timberwolves (112) 76. Patrick Patterson | Oklahoma City Thunder (121) 75. Dennis Smith Jr. | Dallas Mavericks (NR) 74. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | Los Angeles Lakers (83) 73. Jeff Teague | Minnesota Timberwolves (57) 72. Tristan Thompson | Cleveland Cavaliers (68) 71. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | Charlotte Hornets (60) 70. Clint Capela | Houston Rockets (92) 69. Serge Ibaka | Toronto Raptors (71) 68. Aaron Gordon | Orlando Magic (75) 67. Patty Mills | San Antonio Spurs (115) 66. Nicolas Batum | Charlotte Hornets (44) 65. Marcus Smart | Boston Celtics (114) 64. Carmelo Anthony | New York Knicks (31) 63. Lonzo Ball | Los Angeles Lakers (NR) 62. Eric Gordon | Houston Rockets (86) 61. Avery Bradley | Detroit Pistons (54) 60. Devin Booker | Phoenix Suns (46) 59. Danny Green | San Antonio Spurs (100) 58. Harrison Barnes | Dallas Mavericks (74) 57. Andrew Wiggins | Minnesota Timberwolves (45) 56. Malcolm Brogdon | Milwaukee Bucks (NR) 55. Robert Covington | Philadelphia 76ers (162) 54. Danilo Gallinari | Los Angeles Clippers (70) 53. Andre Drummond | Detroit Pitons (20) 52. Jrue Holiday | New Orleans Pelicans (97) 51. Brook Lopez | Los Angeles Lakers (49) 50. Patrick Beverley | Los Angeles Clippers (160) 49. George Hill | Sacramento Kings (67) 48. Ricky Rubio | Utah Jazz (63) 47. Goran Dragic | Miami Heat (51) 46. Steven Adams | Oklahoma City Thunder (36) 45. LaMarcus Aldridge | San Antonio Spurs (23) 44. Jusuf Nurkic | Portland Trail Blazers (73) 43. Andre Iguodala | Golden State Warriors (55) 42. Otto Porter | Washington Wizards (116) 41. Hassan Whiteside | Miami Heat (32) 40. Al Horford | Boston Celtics (22) 39. DeMar DeRozan | Toronto Raptors (30) 38. Jae Crowder | Cleveland Cavaliers (56) 37. Eric Bledsoe | Phoenix Suns (43) 36. Myles Turner | Indiana Pacers (50) 35. Khris Middleton | Milwaukee Bucks (NA) 34. Kemba Walker | Charlotte Hornets (38) 33. Isaiah Thomas | Cleveland Cavaliers (29) 32. Joel Embiid | Philadelphia 76ers (58) 31. C.J. McCollum | Portland Trail Blazers (26)
combine this: We asked, "Which player will be better in 2017-18?" To decide, voters had to consider both the quality and the quantity of each player's contributions to his team's ability to win games. with this: Ryan Anderson is also a beneficiary of Houston's system, as just 18 of his 506 3-point attempts last season came with a defender within 4 feet. And the reason Anderson dropped in ranking must mean ESPN thinks the Melo trade will happen, and Ryan no longer beneficiary of MDA's offense. Melo to Houston confirmed
What's exciting is since Roberson jumped 73 spots due to All-Def 2nd team, Bev is clearly in top 75, with probably the biggest jump. Was 160 behind Roberson last year. He might even get higher than Rubio, assuming ESPN didn't drop him out of 100 already. Also why did Ben Simmons jump 40 spots just for being 1 year older, yet more injury prone?
ESPN cutting back on costs by shortening their list this yr from Top 200 to just Top 100. Seems some of these players jumping into Top 100 are solely because ESPN isn't doing a Top 200 list this year, yet want to name the player. Simmons was 120 last year and Ginobody didn't improve that much ... they just want both players on the list...since they aren't naming 200 this year. And need Roberson to jump 73 spots so they can say how much Westbrook made him better, yet still keep up the WB had no help argument.
D'Angelo Russell has James Harden lite potential. Im excited to see him with his own team, wouldnt shock me if he blew up next year and averaged like 25 /5/5. He has the ability, and i think in the long run he will prove to be much better than Lonzo Ball
Those D-Lo vs Harden stats are very striking. Keep in mind though that D-Lo at 21 was the #1 option on bad team while Harden was a #3 option and 6th Man on a contender. That brings down Harden's stats when he was 21.
