Atlanta Hawks Ascending Star Player Left Off Of ESPN's Top 100-Players List

Jalen Johnson did not crack the top 100 players in the league in a recently released list from ESPN

Oct 8, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) brings the ball up the court against the Indiana Pacers during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Whatever sport you are talking about, top-100 player rankings are usually one of the hottest talking points leading up to a season. Everyone has different opinions on who is ranked where and that is one thing you can say about the recently released top-100 NBA players list from ESPN.

Yesterday, ESPN released the first part of their top-100 NBA player rankings and there was one notable omission on the list and that was Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, one of the best young players in the NBA. Johnson was nowhere to be found on the list and that is one of the biggest things that jumps out to you when reading the first half of this list.

Johnson is seen as one of the ascending talents in the NBA coming into the 2024-2025 season and it has to do with the growth that he showed last year. Johnson went from a player who was just a young talent to one of the most important players in the franchise. He saw improvements in every major category last season, from points per game (5.6 to 16), assists per game (1.2 to 3.6), rebounds per game (4.0 to 8.7), three-point shooting percentage (28.8% to 35.5%), and minutes per game (14.9 to 33.7). Johnson was one of the favorites to win the Most Improved Player Award and likely would have taken home the hardware if he was able to meet the 65-game threshold last year.

If you did not want to rank Johnson in the top 50 or 60 players due to the games that he missed this past season, that is one thing. But to not rank him in the top 100 seems a bit egregious.

Not only was Johnson not included in the top 100, but neither was Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Depending on who you ask, Bogdan Bogdanovic should have been not only a finalist for the NBA's 6th Man of the Year Award but won the award. Timberwolves forward Naz Reid took home the hardware at the end of the season. By every measure, Bogdanovic was one of the top sixth men in the NBA and one of the most important bench players in the NBA.

Bogdanovic should be one of the top contenders for the award again this year and Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes named him as one of the darkhorse winners for the 6th Man of the Year.

"You never want to catch yourself assuming you know better than the oddsmakers, but how could anyone avoid that thought upon seeing Bogdan Bogdanović behind 17 other players in Sixth Man of the Year odds?

The veteran combo guard was fifth in voting last year, displayed a raucous level of defiant competitiveness in the Olympics and figures to occupy an even bigger role for an Atlanta Hawks team that traded away Dejounte Murray. Bogdanović's production has been rock-steady throughout his seven-year career, with a scoring average ranging from a low of 11.8 to last year's high of 16.9 points per game.

A 38.4 percent career clip from three means you can count on Bogdanović to provide plus shooting to go with stellar secondary facilitation. Capable of running the show on the ball, bending defenses away from it and toggling between both roles as necessary, the 31-year-old is basically everything you could want in a top reserve.

The Hawks feel destined to post a win total in the 30s, which could make it hard to convince voters that Bogdanović's bench contributions actually matter. But team success isn't quite the same deal-breaking factor for Sixth Man as it is for MVP. That Bogdanović finished as high as he did last season offers hope he can climb the ranks even if Atlanta disappoints."

There were a lot of things wrong with the top 100 list, but not having Bogdanovic or Johnson in there is ridiculous.

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