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The 100 Best NBA Players for 2022-23 Season (Using ESPN and Sports Illustrated Rankings)

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With the 2022-23 NBA season quickly approaching, ESPN and Sports Illustrated both released their annual player rankings going into the season. Presumably objectivity was both ESPN and SI’s goals, but we know that unconscious bias sneaks in. Not to mention when readership and clicks are your performance metrics, you might be tempted to allow controversy to factor into your final decisions.

If we’re to pick one list over the other, we would give ESPN’s full list the nod over Sports Illustrated’s player rankings. Based on our knowledge and three decades of experience observing the NBA, we don’t know how Sports Illustrated chose players like Monte Morris, Gordon Hayward and Robert Covington over Russell Westbrook, Christian Wood and Buddy Hield (more on that later in this article).

No doubt ESPN had a couple obvious misses themselves (no Bojan Bogdanović?), but their selections and placements could easily be justified in hindsight.

Joel Embiid is this era’s Shaquille O’Neal; mixing power and size with the ability to score from outside the paint. Luka Doncic is the center of the universe for the Dallas Mavericks. Giannis Antetokoumpo is a menace on both sides of the floor. Steph Curry has transformed the game from distance. All of these players impact the dynamics of the games they appear in.

Best Player Methodology

The way we determined our rankings wasn’t rocket science. As step one of our methodology, we used the power of simple math by adding the player rankings from both ESPN and Sports Illustrated list then divided that number by two to determine their average ranking. When a player appeared on one list and not on another, we omitted those players from this step of the process. More on that later. This first which we’ll call addition yielded eighty-five players that had overlap on both lists.

At this point (step #2), we sorted the combined ranking by their average ranking.

The only time we deviated from that formula was when there was a tie. For example, both Dejounte Murray and CJ McCollum netted out at 39.5 when we factored in both lists. In those cases (step #3), Interbasket used our knowledge of those players to pick one over the other. Generally speaking, we looked at how they impacted the game past their own scoring ability. Think defense, passing, competitiveness, hustle, and other intangibles.

The 100 Best NBA Players for 2022-23 

Based on the above methodology, we were able to a top 85 without sweating it. Here’s the first 85 players on Interbasket’s 100 Best NBA Players of the 2022-23 Season using Sports Illustrated and ESPN’s rankings as the foundation for our list.

The Best 100 NBA Players of the 2022-23 Season
Rank Player Team Avg Rank ESPN SI
1 Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks 1 1 1
2 Nikola Jokić Denver Nuggets 2 2 2
3 Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors 4 5 3
4 Luka Doncic Dallas Mavericks 4.5 3 6
5 Joel Embiid Philadelphia 76ers 4.5 4 5
6 Kevin Durant Brooklyn Nets 6 8 4
7 LeBron James Los Angeles Lakers 6.5 6 7
8 Jayson Tatum Celtics 8 7 9
9 Kawhi Leonard Los Angeles Clippers 10 12 8
10 Devin Booker Phoenix Suns 11 10 12
11 Ja Morant Memphis Grizzlies 11.5 9 14
12 Paul George Los Angeles Clippers 13 15 11
13 Damian Lillard Portland Trail Blazers 13.5 14 13
14 Jimmy Butler Miami Heat 13.5 17 10
16 James Harden Philadelphia 76ers 14 11 17
15 Karl-Anthony Towns Minnesota Timberwolves 14 13 15
17 Trae Young Atlanta Hawks 16 16 16
18 Anthony Davis Los Angeles Lakers 19 20 18
19 Bradley Beal Washington Wizards 20 19 21
20 Bam Adebayo Miami Heat 21.5 23 20
21 Jaylen Brown Boston Celtics 22 22 22
22 Chris Paul Phoenix Suns 22.5 21 24
23 Rudy Gobert Minnesota Timberwolves 23 18 28
24 Donovan Mitchell Cleveland Cavaliers 23.5 24 23
25 Jrue Holiday Milwaukee Bucks 26 26 26
26 Brandon Ingram New Orleans Pelicans 27 29 25
28 DeMar DeRozan Chicago Bulls 29 28 30
27 Khris Middleton Milwaukee Bucks 29 31 27
29 Zion Williamson New Orleans Pelicans 29.5 40 19
30 Anthony Edwards Minnesota Timberwolves 30 25 35
31 Zach LaVine Chicago Bulls 30 27 33
32 Pascal Siakam Toronto Raptors 31 30 32
33 Kyrie Irving Brooklyn Nets 34.5 33 36
34 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Oklahoma City Thunder 38.5 48 29
35 Fred VanVleet Toronto Raptors 39 38 40
36 Dejounte Murray Atlanta Hawks 39.5 42 37
37 CJ McCollum New Orleans Pelicans 39.5 45 34
38 Evan Mobley Cleveland Cavaliers 40 36 44
39 Cade Cunningham Detroit Pistons 40.5 35 46
40 Draymond Green Golden State Warriors 40.5 43 38
41 Jamal Murray Denver Nuggets 40.5 50 31
42 LaMelo Ball Charlotte Hornets 41.5 41 42
43 Marcus Smart Boston Celtics 42 34 50
44 Andrew Wiggins Golden State Warriors 42.5 32 53
45 Scottie Barnes Toronto Raptors 43.5 39 48
46 Domantas Sabonis Sacramento Kings 46 47 45
47 Darius Garland Cleveland Cavaliers 46.5 46 47
48 Tyrese Maxey Philadelphia 76ers 48 44 52
49 De’Aaron Fox Sacramento Kings 48.5 54 43
52 Mikal Bridges Phoenix Suns 50 49 51
50 Deandre Ayton Phoenix Suns 50 51 49
51 Tyrese Haliburton Indiana Pacers 50 59 41
53 Klay Thompson Golden State Warriors 51.5 37 66
54 Jarrett Allen Cleveland Cavaliers 54.5 52 57
55 Jaren Jackson Jr. Memphis Grizzlies 56.5 53 60
57 Tobias Harris Philadelphia 76ers 57 56 58
56 Robert Williams III Boston Celtics 57 58 56
58 Ben Simmons Brooklyn Nets 57.5 76 39
59 Kyle Lowry Miami Heat 59.5 60 59
60 Tyler Herro Miami Heat 61 61 61
61 Desmond Bane Memphis Grizzlies 61.5 68 55
62 Nikola Vucevic Chicago Bulls 62.5 57 68
63 O.G. Anunoby Toronto Raptors 64.5 75 54
65 Jordan Poole Golden State Warriors 68 55 81
66 Jerami Grant Portland Trail Blazers 68 64 72
64 Jalen Brunson New York Knicks 68 67 69
68 Jalen Green Houston Rockets 69.5 62 77
67 Michael Porter Jr Denver Nuggets 69.5 72 67
69 Clint Capela Atlanta Hawks 70.5 79 62
70 John Collins Atlanta Hawks 73 73 73
71 Aaron Gordon Denver Nuggets 73.5 83 64
72 RJ Barrett New York Knicks 76 63 89
73 Jonas Valanciunas New Orleans Pelicans 77 84 70
75 Al Horford Boston Celtics 79 70 88
74 Julius Randle New York Knicks 79 71 87
76 Harrison Barnes Sacramento Kings 79 74 84
77 Spencer Dinwiddie Dallas Mavericks 80 69 91
79 Kristaps Porziņģis Washington Wizards 80.5 86 75
78 Malcolm Brogdon Boston Celtics 80.5 87 74
80 Myles Turner Indiana Pacers 83 66 100
81 Dillon Brooks Memphis Grizzlies 85.5 77 94
82 Seth Curry Brooklyn Nets 87 96 78
83 Anfernee Simons Portland Trail Blazers 88.5 91 86
84 Josh Giddey Oklahoma City Thunder 90 81 99
85 Jusuf Nurkić Portland Trail Blazers 93 88 98

This might be the first top 100 list in the history of basketball rankings where the bottom of the list is more interesting than the top. The top half of this list wasn’t controversial at all. Save for a couple instances, most players landed within a couple spots of their rankings on either ESPN or Sports Illustrated’s lists.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic and Joel Embiid were solidly in the top five (despite SI ranking Doncic at #6) while Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Jayson Tatum fought it out for the next three spots. Antetokounmpo and Jokic were ranked #1 and #2 on both lists and Steph Curry had the next highest average rank so he was locked into the third spot.

We’re thankful we could rely on a mathematical equation to determine 85% of our list. Everything considered, we would have placed Kawhi Leonard much higher than the #9 rank that he averaged out to, but we didn’t have to.

The Top 100 NBA Player Snubs 

What about the final fifteen players? Step four of our process was considering the players that appeared on one of the lists, but not on the other. With fifteen players to fill out our top 100 player rankings meant that there were 30 players from both ESPN and SI’s list that only ranked on one of their annual rankings. Here’s those players.

Players With No Overlap
Player Team Rank List
DeAndre Hunter Atlanta Hawks 63 SI
Gordon Hayward Charlotte Hornets 65 SI
Russell Westbrook Los Angeles Lakers 65 ESPN
Keldon Johnson San Antonio Spurs 71 SI
Terry Rozier Charlotte Hornets 76 SI
Lonzo Ball Chicago Bulls 78 ESPN
Cam Johnson Phoenix Suns 79 SI
D’Angelo Russell Minnesota Timberwolves 80 SI
Caris LeVert Cleveland Cavs 80 ESPN
Franz Wagner Orlando Magic 82 SI
Paolo Banchero Orlando Magic 82 ESPN
Norman Powell Los Angeles Clippers 83 SI
Herb Jones New Orleans Pelicans 85 SI
Jordan Clarkson Utah Jazz 85 ESPN
Mike Conley Utah Jazz 89 ESPN
Alex Caruso Chicago Bulls 90 SI
Buddy Hield Indiana Pacers 90 ESPN
Robert Covington Los Angeles Clippers 92 SI
Christian Wood Dallas Mavericks 92 ESPN
Dorian Finney-Smith Dallas Mavericks 93 SI
D'Angelo Russell Minnesota Timberwolves 93 ESPN
Brandon Clarke Memphis Grizzlies 94 ESPN
Bojan Bogdanović Detroit Pistons 95 SI
Keegan Murray Sacramento Kings 95 ESPN
Ivica Zubac Los Angeles Clippers 96 SI
Monte Morris Washington Wizards 97 SI
Kevin Love Cleveland Cavs 97 ESPN
Mitchell Robinson New York Knicks 98 ESPN
Grant Williams Boston Celtics 99 ESPN
Bogdan Bogdanovic Atlanta Hawks 100 ESPN

Another consideration to keep in mind is that Sports Illustrated, for some reason, didn’t include rookies in their rankings even though players like Paolo Banchero, Keegan Murray, Chet Holmgren and Jabari Smith showed immense talent in their summer league appearances. For the purpose of filling the remainder of this list, we’ll include rookies in our rankings.

The Final List

Players #85-100
Our Rank Player Team Rank List
86 Russell Westbrook Los Angeles Lakers 65 ESPN
87 Christian Wood Dallas Mavericks 92 ESPN
88 Paolo Banchero Orlando Magic 82 ESPN
89 Buddy Hield Indiana Pacers 90 ESPN
90 Jabari Smith Houston Rockets N/A N/A
91 Herb Jones New Orleans Pelicans 85 SI
92 Bojan Bogdanović Detroit Pistons 95 SI
93 Jordan Clarkson Utah Jazz 85 ESPN
94 Franz Wagner Orlando Magic 82 SI
95 Keegan Murray Sacramento Kings 95 ESPN
96 Keldon Johnson San Antonio Spurs 71 SI
97 Mitchell Robinson New York Knicks 98 ESPN
98 Caris LeVert Cleveland Cavs 80 ESPN
99 Mike Conley Utah Jazz 89 ESPN
100 Bogdan Bogdanovic Atlanta Hawks 100 ESPN

We’re not a Russell Westbrook fan by any means, but the fact that Sports Illustrated left him completely off their list all but invalidates their list as legitimate. That was a play to be controversial, stir the pot against a divisive player and they got what they wanted. I don’t need to go over why Westbrook is one of the NBA’s 100 best players – we’re annoyed that we even had to type that. So Westbrook is an easy selection for our first open position. The same goes for SI snubs Christian Wood and Hield at numbers #87 and #89. If we had more room to play with, Duke rookie would have been much higher.

The only player not listed on either ranking that we think deserves a spot is Jabari Smith (#90), we think that he’ll get a lot of minutes, shots and opportunities to show his immense skillset now that Wood has moved on from the Rockets.

Herb Jones impact on the defensive end and an improving offensive game is undeniable. The first player that we believe ESPN got wrong. The other Bogdanović (Bojan) was the second omission that ESPN got wrong in our opinion; the new Detroit Piston is #92.

As far as our honorable mention is concerned, we just couldn’t find space for Kevin Love, D’Angelo Russell, Jonnathan Kuminga, James Wiseman, and Terry Rozier.

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