ESPN NBA Rank for 25-26

[Moranis]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/46304114/nba-rank-2025-2026-flagg-beal-reaves-best-players-100-51

Pritchard made the top 100, coming in at 97

97. Payton Pritchard, G, Boston Celtics
2024 NBA Rank: Unranked

The reigning Sixth Man of the Year is coming off a career-best 14.3 points per game, but the Celtics are about to enter a gap year with superstar Jayson Tatum (Achilles) sidelined. Which could mean, ultimately, that there should be more of an opportunity for Pritchard, especially with veteran guard Jrue Holiday traded to Portland. Pritchard could even break his way into the starting lineup alongside Derrick White and Jaylen Brown, a potentially potent trio for Boston. The Celtics like to say no one on the team works harder than Pritchard, and, given the circumstances, this could be the season in which he really blossoms. -- Baxter Holmes

Signature stat: Pritchard made 246 3s off the bench last season-- most in a season in NBA history.

Fantasy projection: 13.7 PTS, 3.8 REB, 3.6 AST

[Moranis]

Only Celtic in 51-100.  White and Brown will be top 50 and Tatum obviously will if they include him.  Not sure how the injury affects that.  So 4, top 100 players, but all small and one is out for most of the year.  Vastly different than last year.

[Who]

I said the other day I rate Pritchard somewhere around the 20th best PG in the league. Top 20 at 5 separate positions = 100 players.

Pritchard at 97 is right around where I would have him.

[Muzzy66]

This could be a huge year for Pritchard.

Last season Pritchard had 33 games where he played over 30 minutes.  That's a good sample size - over 1/3 of the season.  Over those 33 games he averaged 18.3 points, 4.9 reb, 4.5 assists, 1.06 turnovers on 49.4% FG, 41.5% 3PT, 95.5% FT.   

Those Steve Nash-like shooting/scoring numbers and CP3-like playmaking numbers.  In fact, that assist:turnover ratio of 4.3 would be good enough for 4th in the NBA last season.

1st - Tyrese Haliburton (5 ast:TO)
2nd - Tyus Jones (4.7 ast:TO)
3rd - Chris Paul (4.7 Ast:TO)
4th - Mike Conley (4.2 Ast:TO)
5th - Jimmy Butler III (4.1 Ast:TO)

Having a point guard who can give you that kind of efficiency as a scorer and reliability as a ball handler/playmaker is huge.  That is pretty much the textbook definition of what you want from a point guard.   

A guy who holds on to the ball well and keeps mistakes good decisions with the ball means minimal turnovers.  A guy with good shot selection means less missed shots, which again means less long rebounds that could potentially lead to easy scores for the opponent.  All of this means less fast break scoring opportunities for your opponent and forces opposing teams to find ways to score against a set defence. 

And Pritchard is solid enough defensively (he's small, but he plays HARD) that he can hold his own within a sound team defensive scheme.

If he can continue to put up anything close to those numbers as a starter for us next year then he could be an absolute difference maker for this team.

[Moranis]

Here is 50-11

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/46306594/nba-rank-2025-2026-williams-harden-morant-best-players-50-11

Tatum is not ranked and neither is Haliburton, Lillard, Irving, Dej. Murray, or VanVleet.  ESPN projecting them to miss most, if not all, of the year.

White is 26 and Brown is 19.  So Boston has just 3 top 100 players with PP at 97 from yesterday.

KP is 50.  Jrue was 91 on yesterday's list (forgot to mention).

26. Derrick White, G, Boston Celtics
2024 NBA Rank: 39

It wasn't long ago that White's omission from this list was a major talking point. Now, he's firmly ensconced inside the top 50, a credit to his development and to his role in all of Boston's winning in recent seasons. With Jayson Tatum out, White -- like Jaylen Brown -- could have a chance to burnish his individual accomplishments, and with an increase in individual stats could have a shot at making his first All-Star team this season. Some of that might depend on whether he can keep a Celtics team that has lost Tatum, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis in the playoff mix. -- Bontemps

Signature stat: Brown is one of two players to average three made 3s and one block per game (with Victor Wembanyama).

Fantasy projection: 16.5 PTS, 5.0 AST, 1.1 BLK


19. Jaylen Brown, G, Boston Celtics
2024 NBA Rank: 14

With Jayson Tatum sidelined for the season with an Achilles tear, Brown will have a chance to see what life is like as the leading scorer in Boston -- with all of the responsibility that comes along with it. Presuming he has no lingering issues from offseason knee surgery, Brown could easily surpass his career high in scoring (26.6 PPG in 2022-23). Still, it remains to be seen how competitive this season's Celtics squad will be, even in the lesser Eastern Conference. -- Bontemps

Signature stat: Brown finished with a career high in assists; the Celtics had a 66% effective field goal percentage off his passes, fourth best among those with 500-plus assist opportunities.

Fantasy projection: 24.9 PTS, 6.2 REB, 4.2 AST

[Moranis]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/46306892/nba-rank-2025-rankings-top-10-players-jokic-durant-lebron

Biggest surprise for me was Wemby at 5

[Goldstar88]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/46306892/nba-rank-2025-rankings-top-10-players-jokic-durant-lebron

Biggest surprise for me was Wemby at 5

I thinks it?s about right, tbh.  Wemby didn?t play the whole season last year, but he did average 24pts, 11rebs, 4ast, 4blks, 1stl with 48/35/84 shooting splits. At 21, He?s already a dominant two way player and should only get better.

[aefgogreen]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/46306892/nba-rank-2025-rankings-top-10-players-jokic-durant-lebron

Biggest surprise for me was Wemby at 5

I thinks it?s about right, tbh.  Wemby didn?t play the whole season last year, but he did average 24pts, 11rebs, 4ast, 4blks, 1stl with 48/35/84 shooting splits. At 21, He?s already a dominant two way player and should only get better.

For me, Wemby's health is still a big question mark.  If he can stay healthy, he could end up the best defensive player in history. But with his frame, it's a big if.  I would love to be proven wrong and his health be no issue at all. He's of course a special player.

[Goldstar88]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/46306892/nba-rank-2025-rankings-top-10-players-jokic-durant-lebron

Biggest surprise for me was Wemby at 5

I thinks it?s about right, tbh.  Wemby didn?t play the whole season last year, but he did average 24pts, 11rebs, 4ast, 4blks, 1stl with 48/35/84 shooting splits. At 21, He?s already a dominant two way player and should only get better.

For me, Wemby's health is still a big question mark.  If he can stay healthy, he could end up the best defensive player in history. But with his frame, it's a big if.  I would love to be proven wrong and his health be no issue at all. He's of course a special player.

His health is definitely a concern, but I believe the list is assuming that the players are healthy/available.

[Who]

ESPN had a small survey to go along with their ESPN Rankings. It consisted of 20 people who were scouts, coaches, execs in the NBA.

Who will be the MVP?

Nikola Jokic: 7
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 5
Luka Doncic: 4
Victor Wembanyama: 2
Giannis Antetokounmpo: 1
Anthony Edwards: 1

Who is the best player right now?

Nikola Jokic: 19
Luka Doncic: 1

Landslide for Jokic. Surprising nobody picked SGA.

Who will be the best player in 2030?

Victor Wembanyama: 16
Luka Doncic: 2
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 1
Jayson Tatum: 1

Best American

Who is the best American player right now?

Stephen Curry: 11
Anthony Edwards: 8
Donovan Mitchell: 1

That seems right given Tatum is injured.

Who will be the best American player in five years?

Anthony Edwards: 11
Cooper Flagg: 5
Jayson Tatum: 2
Paolo Banchero: 1
Jalen Williams: 1

Copper Flagg getting a lot of love here.

Rookies

Who will be Rookie of the Year?

Cooper Flagg: 19
Kon Knueppel: 1

Who will be the best player from the class of 2025 ... in five years?

Cooper Flagg: 18
Dylan Harper: 1
Ace Bailey: 1

LeBron

Where will LeBron James be at the start of the 2026-27 season?

Los Angeles Lakers: 7
Retired: 5
Cleveland Cavaliers: 4
Golden State Warriors: 2
Dallas Mavericks: 1
Miami Heat: 1

I would like to see LeBron go back to Cleveland and try to get them one more title before he retires. He has never looked right in a Lakers uniform.

Offseason Moves

Which team had the best offseason?

Atlanta Hawks: 7
Denver Nuggets: 4
Houston Rockets: 3
Oklahoma City Thunder: 2
Orlando Magic: 2
LA Clippers: 1
Los Angeles Lakers: 1

Which team had the worst offseason?

New Orleans Pelicans: 9
Phoenix Suns: 4
Sacramento Kings: 2
Chicago Bulls: 1
Los Angeles Lakers: 1
Memphis Grizzlies: 1
Philadelphia 76ers: 1
Portland Trail Blazers: 1

No Celtics on this list despite dumping Jrue & Porzingis.

What was the best move of the offseason?

Rockets trading for Durant: 11
Magic trading for Desmond Bane: 5
Hawks trading for the Pelicans' draft pick: 2
Nuggets trading for Cam Johnson: 1
Lakers re-signing Doncic: 1

What was the worst move of the offseason?

Pelicans trading an unprotected pick swap: 11
Trail Blazers trading for Jrue Holiday: 3
Suns waiving and stretching Bradley Beal: 3
Pacers losing Myles Turner in free agency: 1
Suns trading for Mark Williams: 1
Kings signing Dennis Schroder: 1

What was the most surprising move of the offseason?

Turner to Bucks/Lillard waive and stretch: 16
Hawks signing Alexander-Walker: 1
Knicks firing coach Tom Thibodeau: 1
Trail Blazers trading for Holiday: 1
Jonathan Kuminga still with the Warriors: 1

What was the biggest trend of the offseason?

Teams trying to avoid the aprons/financial flexibility: 7
Teams prioritizing size: 6
Teams prioritizing youth and depth: 4
Free agency continuing to be a nonfactor: 1
Restricted free agents getting squeezed: 1
Waiving and stretching contracts: 1

Predictions

Who will win each conference and the NBA title?

East

Cleveland Cavaliers: 9
New York Knicks: 7
Atlanta Hawks: 2
Milwaukee Bucks: 1
Orlando Magic: 1

West

Oklahoma City Thunder: 18
Denver Nuggets: 2

NBA title

Oklahoma City Thunder: 18
Denver Nuggets: 2

Winner is coming out of the West this year. Fair prediction. East is weak this year with BOS and IND superstars getting hit by injury. Cleveland is the only hope but they receive little trust given their underperformance in the past.

[slamtheking]

LeBron

Where will LeBron James be at the start of the 2026-27 season?

Los Angeles Lakers: 7
Retired: 5
Cleveland Cavaliers: 4
Golden State Warriors: 2
Dallas Mavericks: 1
Miami Heat: 1

I would like to see LeBron go back to Cleveland and try to get them one more title before he retires. He has never looked right in a Lakers uniform.

This would apply to anyone who's put on a Laker uniform

[Vermont Green]

Which team had the worst offseason?

New Orleans Pelicans: 9
Phoenix Suns: 4
Sacramento Kings: 2
Chicago Bulls: 1
Los Angeles Lakers: 1
Memphis Grizzlies: 1
Philadelphia 76ers: 1
Portland Trail Blazers: 1

No Celtics on this list despite dumping Jrue & Porzingis.

I was surprised at this.  I guess if you consider that if Tatum did not get injured, BOS is still a contender, even with the player losses.  Plus they view POR trading for Holiday as a bad trade for POR so maybe by inverse, they see this as at least not bad for BOS.

[Roy H.]

Which team had the worst offseason?

New Orleans Pelicans: 9
Phoenix Suns: 4
Sacramento Kings: 2
Chicago Bulls: 1
Los Angeles Lakers: 1
Memphis Grizzlies: 1
Philadelphia 76ers: 1
Portland Trail Blazers: 1

No Celtics on this list despite dumping Jrue & Porzingis.

I was surprised at this.  I guess if you consider that if Tatum did not get injured, BOS is still a contender, even with the player losses.  Plus they view POR trading for Holiday as a bad trade for POR so maybe by inverse, they see this as at least not bad for BOS.

Our offseason was understandable, and even could be given a "mission accomplished" relative to team goals.  But, I'm convinced it was the worst in the NBA.  We lost Jrue, KP, Horford and Kornet, and arguably didn't bring in any surefire long-term rotation players.  Did any team lose nearly as much firepower?

[mobilija]

Lakers on both best and worst offseason. Too funny but totally LA

[Moranis]

Which team had the worst offseason?

New Orleans Pelicans: 9
Phoenix Suns: 4
Sacramento Kings: 2
Chicago Bulls: 1
Los Angeles Lakers: 1
Memphis Grizzlies: 1
Philadelphia 76ers: 1
Portland Trail Blazers: 1

No Celtics on this list despite dumping Jrue & Porzingis.

I was surprised at this.  I guess if you consider that if Tatum did not get injured, BOS is still a contender, even with the player losses.  Plus they view POR trading for Holiday as a bad trade for POR so maybe by inverse, they see this as at least not bad for BOS.

Our offseason was understandable, and even could be given a "mission accomplished" relative to team goals.  But, I'm convinced it was the worst in the NBA.  We lost Jrue, KP, Horford and Kornet, and arguably didn't bring in any surefire long-term rotation players.  Did any team lose nearly as much firepower?

phoenix?  Lost Durant, beal, and Jones i.e. 3 of their 5 top scorers from last year plus Nurkic and replaced them with basically Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, and Mark Williams.  Clear talent downgrade.