ESPN released the first half of its annual top 100 NBA player rankings on Tuesday. The first half of the rankings revealed the rankings of players 100-51. Following a breakout season in his first year in New Orleans, Lonzo Ball jumped from No. 68 in last season’s ranking to No. 54 in this season’s ranking.
Last season, Ball averaged 11.8 points, 7.0 assists, 6.1 rebounds and shot 37.5% from range. Ball’s seasons featured a slow start and a slower finish inside the bubble with a stretch of the best basketball of his career. From December through March, Ball averaged 12.7 points, 7.3 assists, 6.7 rebounds and shot 39.2% from three-point range in a 45-game stretch.
The only players ranked above Ball in the first half of the list were Michael Porter Jr. at No. 51, Deandre Ayton at No. 52 and Jusuf Nurkic at No. 53. Ranked just behind Ball were Christian Wood at No. 55, Zach LaVine at No. 56 and Tobias Harris at No. 57.
Much of the debate on Ball’s ranking, though, came on the players ranked much lower than he. D’Angelo Russell, an All-Star just two seasons ago, came in ranked 69th. DeMar DeRozan’s ranking at 82nd was a large point of contention and led to plenty of debate on Twitter.