2019-2020 Top 100 NBA Players: 30-21
New Addition
(Last Year’s Rating Difference)
30. CJ McCollum (Portland) SG/PG: While CJ McCollum has always been the 2nd option behind Damian Lillard, he really showed last season why he’s just as valuable. McCollum bumped his scoring average up from 21 to 25 during the postseason which included his amazing Game 7 performance in Denver. McCollum still needs to work on his passing to become an elite guard in the West like Lillard and Curry. (-2)
29. D’Angelo Russell (Golden State) PG/SG: After a few down years, D’Angelo Russell finally broke through with the Nets last season. He made his 1st All-Star game last season and became one of the better stories in basketball. Now with Golden State, he’ll be paired with Steph Curry which is interesting to say the least. He’ll be a great mentor to learn from but can they coexist on the court? (+44)
28. Victor Oladipo (Indiana) SG: Victor Oladipo was well on his way to having another impressive season before he ruptured his right knee. He’s expected to be back at some point during December. Once he comes back, he’ll be coming back to a Pacers team with real expectations. If everything goes right for Oladipo, the Pacers could make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. (-6)
27. Nikola Vucevic (Orlando) C: In his 8th season in the league, Nikola Vucevic made his 1st All-Star Game. Vucevic is coming off a career year as he averaged a personal high 21 points and 12 rebounds a game. He also led the Magic to the playoffs for the 1st time in 8 years. Vucevic now needs to show he’s not a one hit wonder and get the Magic back to the playoffs. (+25)
26. Khris Middleton (Milwaukee) SF/SG: Like Vucevic, Khris Middleton made his 1st All-Star Game last year for the Bucks. He served as the perfect Robin to Giannis’ Batman as the Bucks had the best record in the league last year. But if the Bucks want to win the Finals this year, Middleton needs to continue his All-Star play into the postseason. (+11)
25. Kristaps Porzingis (Dallas) PF/C: Kristaps Porzingis missed all of last year with a torn ACL and now finds himself on a new team. But before that, he was a 22 year old All-Star that looked like a legend in the making. Now in Dallas, KP is now teamed up with Luka Doncic and has a chance to form something really special. KP will hit the ground running for the upcoming season and if he looks like what he did with the Knicks, the Mavs could become the team of the future. (-5)
24. Devin Booker (Phoenix) SG: Devin Booker has all of the tools to be an NBA Star. He’s just 22 years old and averaged 27 points and 7 assists per game. But there is one major problem with Devin Booker, winning. In his 4 seasons with the Suns, he has put up great stats but he has never won more than 24 games in a season. Is he a star or just a guy who puts up stats on a bad team? (+2)
23. Rudy Gobert (Utah) C: Rudy Gobert is a dinosaur but he plays like a damn T-Rex. Gobert won the Defensive Player of the Year once again and has become one of the best centers in the NBA. Gobert also had his best offensive year as he finished with career highs in 16 points and 13 rebounds. At 27, Gobert is just entering his prime and he’s on a team that do real damage in the postseason. (+7)
22. DeMar DeRozan (San Antonio) SG/SF: DeMar DeRozan had the difficult task of replacing Kawhi Leonard. In his 2nd year with the Spurs, DeRozan appears to have become more comfortable with his new team. The story remains the same for DeRozan as he’s a dynamic wing but struggles with his 3 point shot. The question that now remains for DeRozan and for the Spurs is can they reach another level. (-4)
21. Bradley Beal (Washington) SG: Over the last 3 seasons, Bradley Beal has become one of the guards in all of basketball. He’s only missed 5 games in that time and averaged career highs in point, rebounds, and assists last year (26-5-6). But the Wizards are a mess right now as a franchise so it may just be a matter of time before Beal gets shipped out to a contending team. (+3)
Steve Santoro
