Top 100 NBA players — 40. Kyle Lowry, Heat
Kyle Lowry is easy to trust. Very few star players over the years have embraced the game’s minutiae like Lowry. He hustles. He grifts. He’s unselfish, but can just as easily hit the big game-swinging shot. He has seen his production dip slightly in Miami, but such is life in a new home. He’s still the ultimate glue guy.
Top 100 NBA players — 39. Domantas Sabonis, Kings
For all the justified outrage over trading Haliburton, the Kings did get an All-Star in return. Domantas Sabonis might not be good enough or elevate the Kings fast enough to make the trade look good (Haliburton probably passes Sabonis on this list in the next year or two), but he’s still highly productive and deserves respect on his own merits. He’s one of the best passing bigs in the NBA and his footwork in the post is positively poetic.
Top 100 NBA players — 38. Deandre Ayton, Suns
Too many people chalk up Deandre Ayton’s success to “oh, Chris Paul!” when in reality, Ayton has put in a ton of work to shape his game to Phoenix’s needs and the modern NBA. He gets better every month it seems. He’s one of the NBA’s most polished roll men. That was not the case coming out of college. He’s one of the NBA’s best rim protectors, with high level instincts, comfort guarding in space, and real competitive fire. Also not the case coming out of college. The tools have always been there, but it Ayton and Ayton alone who could have put them together. He’s a premier two-way big because of his own talent and work ethic.
Top 100 NBA players — 37. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s efficiency numbers would look a whole lot better if his running mates weren’t Josh Giddey and Aleksej Pokusevski (please do not take this as Giddey/Poku slander, as both are divine in their own way). The Thunder are bad, which can cast an inevitable shadow on Gilgeous-Alexander’s production. Don’t let that fool you. He’s already All-Star material, and he will only look better as the team around him improves. Gilgeous-Alexander’s size, poise, and sense of pace are rare for such a young guard. He doesn’t need speed to blow defenders out of the water. He has skill and smarts.
Top 100 NBA players — 36. Ben Simmons, Nets
We have not seen Ben Simmons since his rather infamous flameout in Game 7 of the Hawks series. We may see him again before the 2022 season is out, but even with an extended absence to chew on and the bitter taste of his Philly tenure fresh in the mouthes of many… he’s a great basketball player. Simmons, jumper or no jumper, brings a lot to the floor. He’s going to win Defensive Player of the Year one day, he’s lightning in a bottle in transition, and it’s hard to imagine a better spot for him than next to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.