Top 25 Under 25: Ranking the NBA's best young players, including rookies
Part 3: Luka Dončić lead players ranked 1 to 5
On Wednesday we continued our ranking of the top NBA players under the age of 25 with players 6 to 15.
Today we look at players 1 to 5 — three major NBA stars and two rookies with superstar potential.
A few things to keep in mind:
For this list, players need to be in the NBA and under the age of 25 at the start of the regular season on October 19.
(If I were to include players currently not in the NBA, France’s Victor Wembanyama, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, would be ranked high on this list.)
To get an accurate rating, I combined three sources of information:
First, I used two highly regarded analytics models (DARKO and LEBRON) to rate each player. You can see each player’s score next to their name with a “D” for DARKO and an “L” for LEBRON. Second, for NBA rookies, I used the 2021 NBA Draft Tier system I employed just before the draft to rate NBA rookies. Finally, I asked a handful of NBA GMs and scouts to rate each player under 25.
In the case of NBA rookies and sophomores, I asked GMs and scouts to rate them based on the impact they would have in the league by the time they are 24.
This is especially important to understand for younger players like Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green.
I am not saying that those players are currently better than the 23- and 24-year-old players on the list. They might not be for three or even four years. What I am saying is that they are projected to be better than most of those players by the time they turn 24.
Using that methodology, here’s a look at players 1 to 5 on my list:
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Note to readers: The first 11 players on our Top 25 Under 25 is free for all readers. Players 1-14 will be for subscribers only. For full access to the full Top 25 Under 25 and to Mock Drafts, Big Boards, scouting reports on all of the top players in the 2022 draft as well as the ability to comment on articles and special discussion boards, Zoom calls and more interaction with me in the coming weeks please join our community as a full subscriber.