Bleacher Report Top-100: Where Are Thunder Stars in Expert, 'Community' Rankings?
The annual Bleacher Report top 100 NBA players list has been released, but this year there is an additional community list that takes into account regular NBA fan opinions.
Four Oklahoma City Thunder players made the list: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.
Gilgeous-Alexander received much love from the community vote, ranking as the eighth best player in the entire NBA, compared to an 11th placement in the expert list. The superstar guard asserted himself as one of the best players in the league last season, after averaging over 30 points per game and leading OKC to a play-in spot. The community ranked Gilgeous-Alexander over the likes of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, which shows how much more well know and respected he has become amongst the casual NBA fan.
The next highest ranking player is Giddey, ranking at 52 in the community vote. This comes after a much-improved 2022-23 campaign and an impressive 2023 FIBA Tournament run with Australia.
Followed closely behind is Holmgren, debuting at 60. It is a little high considering the center hasn't stepped foot on an NBA court yet, but with the skillset and intangibles he possesses, it is very possible he could rank even higher by the end of next season. The fellow Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama ranked ahead of Holmgren at 43, a substantial difference in opinion from the community.
The last Thunder player ranked was Jalen Williams at 82, which is low considering the forward was one of the top-performing rookies last season. He was ranked lower than fellow rookie from last season Keegan Murray, who Williams placed higher than in the Rookie of the Year vote.
Even though there can be disagreements about the exact rankings of the four Thunder players, it is impressive that Oklahoma City landed as many players in the top 100 as they did.
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