Just a week ago we here at CBS Sports released our annual Top 100 NBA player rankings. We’ve analyzed the list a number of ways, including breaking down the top players in the Western and Eastern conferences, biggest risers and fallers, best players aged 22 and younger as well as the top 10 players 35 and older.
We’ve even broken down the list by certain positions. Basically, any way you can divide and group the list, we’ve done it. Up next, we’re looking at the Top 10 players who were second-round draft picks. Only nine second-round draft picks made the Top 100, showing that while it’s not uncommon to find a diamond in the rough after the first 30 picks of a draft, most of the top talent in the league comes in the first round.
But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a wealth of talent that comes out of the second round. There are a handful of former second-round picks that didn’t make our list but are still valuable players in the league. And with the way the top of this list looks, we’re seeing teams prioritize those second-round picks more than ever. You may not land a three-time MVP like the guy who claims the No. 1 spot here, but you may find a cornerstone piece like the next couple of guys on this list or perhaps an extremely important role player on a championship team.
Top 100 rank: NR
Brooks might’ve just missed the cut in our Top 100, but he’s still an impactful player, specifically on the defensive side of the ball. Part of Brooks’ importance relies on his ability to get in opponents’ heads, something he feeds off of, which then lends to an even better defensive performance. But that aside, he’s one of the best defenders in the league, and in his first season with Houston last year, Brooks had the best 3-point shooting season of his career. Brooks’ offensive development ensures he can be in the closing lineup because his defense is certainly needed in close games. — Jasmyn Wimbish
Top 100 rank: 94
At the very least, Nembhard is a pesky point-of-attack defender, smart passer and reliable spot-up shooter. He’s the kind of player the Pacers need next to Tyrese Haliburton, so opposing teams think twice about simply daring everybody else to beat them. Nembhard’s performance in the 2024 playoffs, however, suggests that, more than just a complementary player, he could be the kind of player opponents have to gameplan for in his own right. When Haliburton had to miss Games 3 and 4 against the Celtics in the conference finals, Nembhard stepped into a starring role as if it were his all along. That’s something to build on. — James Herbert
8. Nic Claxton, Nets
Top 100 rank: 91
Claxton has been out of the spotlight in Brooklyn, but his many defensive strengths — switching, ground coverage, rim protection — are just as impressive as they were when he was getting DPOY buzz near the end of the Durant-Irving era. With new coach Jordi Fernandez pledging to use him as more of a handoff hub on offense, the question now is just how much upside he has with the ball in his hands. He’s shown off his handles in transition, and he has kind of incredible touch around the basket, but Claxton’s usage rate has yet to rise above 15.6%. — James Herbert
Top 100 rank: 78
The Blazers gave Grant a five-year, $160M contract when they were still trying to make things work with Damian Lillard. Now that the Blazers are into rebuild mode, Grant no longer makes sense making that kind of money. He’s a really good player — 21 PPG on 40% 3-point shooting last season with great defensive length — who can help a lot of teams. Can the Blazers find a trade that works after committing way too much money to Grant last summer? — Brad Botkin
Top 100 rank: 73
The obvious appeal of Isaiah Hartenstein for Oklahoma City is his sheer bulk. Dereck Lively II bullied the Thunder out of the playoffs last spring. That’s not happening on Hartenstein’s watch. He’s a defensive metrics darling — D-EPM rated him the second-best defender in basketball last season behind only Jonathan Isaac — who will hold his own on the glass and is comfortable starting or coming off of the bench. But the secret sauce here is that unstoppable push shot from floater range. The Thunder quietly ran into shot-creation issues against Dallas. When the 3s aren’t falling and the shot clock is nearing zeros, it is really, really valuable to just be able to dump the ball on a big man that can consistently score outside of the dunker’s spot. — Sam Quinn
Top 100 rank: No. 61
The last few seasons of Middleton’s career have, unfortunately, been defined by his inability to stay on the court. He showed during the playoffs, particularly his Game 3 masterclass against the Pacers, that he’s still able to conjure up some moments of magic, but they come fewer and farther between these days. Between his injuries, age and Damian Lillard’s arrival, Middleton is moving into a different phase of his career, one where he is firmly a third option for the Bucks. — Jack Maloney
Top 100 rank: No. 60
There are position-less defenders and then there’s Jones. NBA.com matchup data tracks the players each player spends the most time defending. The top five for Jones could probably be a starting lineup: De’Aaron Fox, Paul George, Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker and Stephen Curry. He spent roughly the same amount of time on Victor Wembanyama, Lauri Markkanen and Tyrese Haliburton. There are other players in the league who can switch onto an eclectic group of opponents on a possession-by-possession basis. There isn’t another Herb Jones out there. Willie Green can make his primary assignment a point guard, a center or anything in between and feel comfortable knowing that he’s getting elite defense out of that matchup. — Sam Quinn
Top 100 rank: 56
One of the quintessential “he’s not what he used to be” players, Green remains a conductor on both ends. He can still guard any position and make impromptu defensive plays in the way Stephen Curry navigates the offensive end of the court on sixth-sense instincts. Quietly, Green shot nearly 40% from 3 last season on over two attempts a game. He knows he needs to be a threat and last season he more aggressively attacked the scoring runways defenses were all to happy to lay out for him. — Brad Botkin
Top 100 rank: 13
In May, Brunson became the fourth player in NBA history — and first since Michael Jordan in 1993 — to score 40 points or more in four consecutive playoff games. He had a total of 16 40-point games in 2023-24, postseason included; his former teammate Luka Doncic was the only player to have more than 10 such games. Not bad for a 6-foot-2 guy with a 6-foot-4 wingspan who went undrafted six years ago and, heading into his fourth season, couldn’t command a four-year, $55 million extension from the Mavericks. Now a full-fledged superstar, Brunson agreed to a four-year, $156.5 million extension this summer, which was seen as an enormous sacrifice. The deal will allow the Knicks to continue building a contender in Brunson’s image, with three of his college teammates alongside him for the long haul. Ideally, the addition of Mikal Bridges and the return of Julius Randle will mean that Brunson won’t have to drop 40 all that often in 2024-25, as New York was far too dependent on Brunson’s scoring last season. That iteration of the team scored like the Celtics with him on the court and like the Blazers with him on the bench. The only player whose presence on the court made a bigger difference to his team’s offensive efficiency is the three-time MVP ranked No. 1 on this list. — James Herbert
Top 100 rank: 1
The only player on earth who can virtually guarantee his team a quality shot every possession, Jokic’s dominance occurs both in plain sight and on less visible margins. There is no matchup he can’t exploit, inside or out, whether as a scorer or facilitator. His defense has made great strides. The fact that he has zero interest in being recognized as the world’s best player is, in part, what actually makes him the world’s best player. Every play he makes is free of agenda and ego. Jokic is the purest embodiment of a basketball player. — Brad Botkin
Looking for more NBA coverage? John Gonzalez, Bill Reiter, Ashley Nicole Moss and special guests dive deep into the league’s biggest storylines daily on the Beyond the Arc podcast.
Read the full article here
