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CJ McCollum, Carmelo Anthony Displeased With Media Player Rankings

Two NBA stars take exception to the process, if not the outcome, of ranking players.

By DavidMacKay
NBA: Portland Trail Blazers at Utah Jazz Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

As national media outlets roll out their annual off-season NBA player rankings, some lists have been met with heavy criticism. ESPN’s countdown, in particular, which reached players 51-75 this morning, received direct backlash from New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony, who, at no. 64, ranked one spot lower than untested Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball.

Portland Trail Blazers star C.J. McCollum also took umbrage to the process in general, offering his own suggestion for a rankings list.

Whether or not McCollum cares about his own ranking is unclear. He has yet to appear in ESPN’s countdown and came in at no. 39 in Sports Illustrated’s Top 100 on Monday.

Even members of the media have questioned the quality of the latest ESPN rankings, which are generally considered offseason filler. Trail Blazers digital reporter Casey Holdahl put it simply.

The ESPN 2018 player rankings published today are as follows:

  • 51. Brook Lopez
  • 52. Jrue Holiday
  • 53. Andre Drummond
  • 54. Danilo Gallinari
  • 55. Robert Covington
  • 56. Malcolm Brogdon
  • 57. Andrew Wiggins
  • 58. Harrison Barnes
  • 59. Danny Green
  • 60. Devin Booker
  • 61. Avery Bradley
  • 62. Eric Gordon
  • 63. Lonzo Ball
  • 64. Carmelo Anthony
  • 65. Marcus Smart
  • 66. Nicolas Batum
  • 67. Patty Mills
  • 68. Aaron Gordon
  • 69. Serge Ibaka
  • 70. Clint Capela
  • 71. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
  • 72. Tristan Thompson
  • 73. Jeff Teague
  • 74. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
  • 75. Dennis Smith Jr.

Do you think ESPN got it right? Where did they make mistakes? Let us know in the comments below.

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