On Thursday, ESPN revealed the top 10 spots on its annual ranking of the top 100 players in the NBA. These rankings can either serve as validation or motivation for plenty of NBA players and, of course, the rankings are always subject to debate.
Where Los Angeles Lakers superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis rank among the best in basketball depends on who is doing the ranking. Some feel neither of them deserves to be on the list of the top 10 players in the league, but ESPN disagrees with that sentiment.
James came in at No. 9 on this year’s list, although he fell three spots from No. 6 last year due to a right foot injury he suffered in February.
Via ESPN:
“The 38-year-old James continues to press the limits of his prime to unprecedented levels,” wrote Dave McMenamin. “He will become just the sixth player in league history to reach his 21st season and will be an important piece on a championship contender.”
James will have much more talent around him than he had the last two seasons, which should, at least in theory, help him reverse what McMenamin called the “string of bad luck for his body” that has forced the superstar to miss significant time in four of his five seasons in L.A.