After being unranked as a Denver Nugget entering the 2025-26 NBA season, UCLA alumnus Peyton Watson has cracked the Top 100 of ESPN's rankings.
The newest member of the Cleveland Cavaliers was slotted as the 96th best player in the league according to "The Worldwide Leader in Sports," in its recent article titled, "NBA Rank 2026, players Nos. 100-51: Four rookies make their debuts."
"Watson's impact last year with Denver and his role this season have him cracking the top 100 for the first time," ESPN NBA Insider Bobby Marks wrote. "Before injuring his right hamstring Feb. 4, Watson was averaging 14.9 points while shooting 49.6% from the field and 41.7% on 3-pointers. (His 53% clip on corner 3s last season ranked sixth in the NBA among players
with at least 1,000 minutes.) Following his offseason trade, Watson is likely to slide into the starting small forward role with Cleveland."
ESPN's fantasy projection for Watson is that he will have per-game averages of 14.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks.
As for his signature stat, ESPN noted that "Watson ranks second in field goal percentage allowed as the contesting defender since entering the league in 2022-23 among players to challenge at least 2,000 shots."
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This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Where does UCLA alumnus Peyton Watson rank in ESPN's NBA Top 100?
