The NBA season is right around the corner, which means it’s time for media outlets to come out with their rankings and list of the best players in the league. Earlier today, ESPN revealed its list of the 10 best players in the league, where Knicks’ point guard, Jalen Brunson, just made the cut at 10, which is two spots better than the ranking he received last year.
Currently, he sits behind Anthony Edwards, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant, who rank sixth through tenth respectively, while
placing just ahead of Jalen Williams, Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Anthony Davis, and Donovan Mitchell, who round out the top 11 through 15.
Over on NBA.com, where they rank players within their own conference, Brunson ranks second in the East behind consensus top-five player in the world, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Knicks fans may, in their own biased opinion, rank Brunson higher. And rightfully so. While Curry, James, and Durant all have a championship pedigree and longevity on their side, there’s an argument to be made that Brunson has been on par, if not better, than those three, at least for stretches over the last couple of years. And it feels like at the end of every year, we see Brunson’s playoff performances elevate him to new heights, only for him to come down in preseason rankings the following season.
That being said, it all comes down to nitpicking. There are days when Curry, James, and or Durant are ahead of Brunson. Shoot, there are days when they still look like the top five players in the league. Likewise, there are nights, and even multiple week-long stretches, where Brunson looks like he belongs in the top five discussion. Such is the nature of trying to rank the best players in the world who are, in their own right, very talented and very accomplished.
Even if you disagree with Brunson’s meaningless preseason rankings, all one needs to do is look back a few years to put things into perspective. Prior to the point guard’s history-changing arrival in New York, Carmelo Anthony was the only player who could make the “top 10 players in the league” list over a two-decade span.
Now, we have a perennial All-Star point guard that has made multiple All-NBA teams, and is often considered a top two player in his conference, one of the most clutch players in the league, a playoff riser, and is climbing steadily as one of the franchise’s best players ever. And let’s be honest, Brunson likely doesn’t care about where he ranks and what the media thinks of him, so neither should Knicks fans.
