ESPN's NBA Top 100 Ranking: Three Europeans in Top 5 and Rudy Gobert's plunge / News - Basketnews.com

12 European players crack ESPN's NBA Top 100 Players Ranking. Giannis Antetokounmpo secures the No. 1 spot, while Rudy Gobert loses 46 positions.

Credit: RS-Scanpix, David Berding/Getty Images/AFP Credit RS-Scanpix, David Berding/Getty Images/AFP

For the 13th consecutive season, the US sports giant -- ESPN -- has unveiled its NBA player ranking, showcasing the Top 100 players in the premier basketball league worldwide.

Domantas Sabonis

Position:PF, CAge:27Height:211 cmWeight:109 kgBirth place:Portland, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

The NBArank panel, an assembly of nearly 150 reporters, editors, producers, and analysts, was tasked with ranking players based on their anticipated contributions for the sole upcoming season, 2023-24.

In total, 12 Europeans have made the Top 100 chart, with the standout trio of Luka Doncic at 4, Nikola Jokic at 2, and Giannis Antetokounmpo claiming the top spot as the league's best player.

However, a few European players experienced a drop in their rankings from the previous year. Jonas Valanciunas, Clint Capela, Nikola Vucevic, and notably Rudy Gobert slipped, with the Frenchman plummeting from 18th in 2022 to 64th in 2023.

Contrastingly, new entries Franz Wagner and Lauri Markkanen, absent from the previous year's list, emerged as influential contributors.

Wagner, fresh off an impactful performance in Germany's FIBA World Cup victory, showcased his prowess by averaging 18.6 points in his sophomore season for the Orlando Magic. Meanwhile, Markkanen, securing an All-Star spot and the NBA's Most Improved Player award, saw a significant jump in his scoring average to 25.6 PPG in his first season with the Utah Jazz.

On top of that, No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama came 47th as a rookie without any NBA game experience. Experts strongly believe that he is a special prospect that the NBA has not seen since LeBron James.

And don't forget to check out Gamblizard for the best Casino Bonus in Canada!

The rundown of European players in the 100-1 range is as follows:

Jonas Valanciunas - 99th (84th place in the 2022 ranking) Clint Capela - 84th (79th) Nikola Vucevic - 75th (57th) Rudy Gobert - 64th (18th) Kristaps Porzingis - 62nd (86th) Franz Wagner - 52nd (unlisted) Victor Wembanyama - 47th (unlisted) Lauri Markkanen - 28th (unlisted) Domantas Sabonis - 22nd (47th) Luka Doncic - 4th (3rd) Nikola Jokic - 2nd (2nd) Giannis Antetokounmpo 1st (1st)

ESPN's decision to crown Giannis Antetokounmpo as No. 1 is grounded in his historic achievement of joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to average at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists while shooting 50% from the floor. His pivotal role in guiding the Milwaukee Bucks to the best record in the NBA in 2022-23 solidified his top ranking.

Experts also speculate that the outcome of Milwaukee's postseason could have been different had Giannis not suffered a back injury, sidelining him for crucial games in their first-round loss to the Miami Heat.

Player rankings for 2023-24, from 10 to 1 Player rankings for 2023-24, from 50 to 11 Player rankings for 2023-24, from 100 to 51 Thank you for being with us! Subscribe to BN+ and browse ad-free.