This is the second half of this topic and the more in-depth half of ESPN's Top 100 NBA Players list. I get that this is a slightly weird topic to write two long articles about, but I'm also ranking players myself through these posts, so bear with me here.
First up: Julius Randle. He averaged 21 points per game last season on 41% from the field and was a key reason why the Knicks sucked. He was just super inefficient, and I tend to put him in the same class as Westbrook: high-usage players that you can't win with. ESPN put him at 71, ahead of Jonas Valanciunas (who is wayyyy too low at 84), Malcolm Brogdon, and Josh Giddey (who is criminally underrated right now). That being said, I think I would've left him off the list completely, especially if you think of this list as a list of players I want to help me win a championship next season, which I do. You might think that's stupid, but isn't winning an NBA championship the whole point?
Darius Garland is also way too low. ESPN put him at 46, just a few spots behind Tyrese Maxey and CJ McCollum. Maxey and McCollum are great, but Garland was just an all-star who averaged 21.7 PPG and 8.6 APG on above-average efficiency - especially when you factor in his role on the Cavs.
I have a hard time believing that Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, and Evan Mobley should already be considered top 40 NBA players. Top 40 assets? Absolutely. But would I rather have Evan Mobley (36) or Mikal Bridges (50) for this upcoming season? I would rather have the DPOY runner-up in Bridges, who can space the floor, create a bit off the dribble, and is a pain in the butt in transition. Will Mobley be up there with that group soon? You bet, but he's not there quite yet.
I feel the same thing with Cade Cunningham. He played exceptionally well for the Pistons, but having him above LaMelo Ball and Dejounte Murray is a mistake. Murray can do almost everything Cade can offensively while adding near-elite defense. LaMelo simply put up better numbers across the board while also playing on a better team. He was more efficient and a better playmaker (from what we could see - I admit that Cade was in a tough spot with his teammates).
Scottie Barnes was a deserved winner of the ROTY award, but having him over Tyrese Haliburton, Jarrett Allen and Jaren Jackson Jr is criminal. Haliburton is top 3 in most underrated players. After getting traded to Indiana, Haliburton showed that he can be the focal point of an offense while scoring and creating for others. Haliburton put up 17.5 PPG and 9.6 APG after being handed the keys to the team. I do not doubt that he'll be an all-star soon, especially as he continues to increase his defensive abilities, which are already fantastic for his age. He's already one of the most intelligent players in the league at age 22. Allen and Jackson are similar in the defensive aspect - they'll be competing for All-Defense honors for the next decade. Barnes' defense is elite, but he doesn't quite have the rim protection that Allen and Jackson do. Plus, it's not like Barnes is running the offense. He's more of a receiver thus far, similar to Allen and Jackson, but I'll take the latter two's defense any day.
Three more players that I thought were ranked too highly were Nikola Vucevic (57), Tobias Harris (56), and Kyle Lowry (60). The former two averaged decent stats, but they tend to disappear in big games, be inefficient or take a back seat to other players. Lowry is very impactful despite his lower stats, but he's ahead of his teammates Tyler Herro, who puts up better stats and is the focal point of the Heat offense most of the time.
RJ Barrett and Tyrese Haliburton should be ahead of all three of these guys. RJ has become a solid scoring option. His efficiency isn't jaw-dropping, but you rarely see him take ill-advised shots. It's just that his team sucks and has no spacing. Randle, who I mentioned earlier, has quite a poor shot selection at times and misses a lot of open looks. Randle shot 33.3% on wide-open shots and Barrett shot 48%. Plus, Barrett's defense is outstanding for a young player, especially against wings like Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell.
Lastly, I'm going to mention some questionable rankings. Ranking Clint Capela, a classic rim runner and protector, ahead of Kristaps Porzingis and Josh Giddey is definitely something I wouldn't do.
Keegan Murray being on the list at all is interesting. The only other rookie on the list is Paolo Banchero, who was the first overall pick. Some notable players not on the list include Derrick White (13 PPG and 5 APG on a Finals team) and Ricky Rubio (13 PPG and 6.6 APG, while he was healthy the Cavs were the best team in the Eastern Conference for a while). If I wanted to win a championship, I would take Rubio and White above Murray, at least for this season. If I were in a long rebuild, Murray would definitely be taken over Rubio and White.
I was also genuinely shocked to not find Josh Hart on this list anywhere. He put up 15 PPG, 7 RPG, and 4 APG while shooting 50% from the field (which is very good for a wing player). His Player Impact Estimate (an imperfect stat that favors taller players) was 11.7, ahead of Anthony Edwards, Evan Mobley, De'Aaron Fox, and Jordan Poole.
All four of those players were on the list, and pretty high on it too. Not that Hart should be ahead of them, but this should at least tell you what type of player we're talking about here. He's not flashy or a star by any means, but he's dependable and can fill various roles - roles that need to be filled if you want to win a championship. He's also one of the funniest and most charismatic players.
I could write another 1000 words on this topic, but I'll spare your eyes.