As part of its top 100 NBA player rankings for the 2017-18 season, ESPN unveiled players No. 51-75 on Tuesday. The expert panel who voted on players ranked Knicks’ forward Carmelo Anthony as the 64th-best player in the NBA — one spot behind Lakers’ rookie Lonzo Ball, who has yet to play a game, and one spot in front of Marcus Smart, a reserve guard on the Celtics last year.
ESPN’s controversial NBA Top 100 sparked a Twitter riot, featuring Carmelo Anthony and C.J. McCollum
Carmelo Anthony felt the disrespect after ESPN ranked him No. 64 in the NBA.
That’s a modest ranking for a three-time Olympic gold medalist and 10-time All-Star, and Twitter wasn’t having it.
That was the general consensus on social media: Melo might not be the player he was years ago, but to rank a perennial All-Star and one of the world’s best pure scorers just 64th in the NBA? It’s disrespectful.
Anthony felt the same way.
Melo’s ranking and the madness that followed compelled Portland’s C.J. McCollum to poke his nose into the discussion. McCollum, after all, has been recruiting Melo, who would need to waive his no-trade clause to accept a trade to the Trail Blazers.
What McCollum said, though, nearly broke Twitter:
McCollum sparked a short back and forth with David Aldridge, one of the best in the sports journalism arena.
ESPN wasn’t the only outlet to drop some rankings, either. Sports Illustrated also released its NBA rankings for players No. 11 to 100.
They ranked reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year Eric Gordon No. 83 with Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson No. 78, and had All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas No. 40 behind Hassan Whiteside and Khris Middleton, who were 34th and 35th respectively.
ESPN ranked Clint Capela at 70, Eric Gordon at 62, and Trevor Ariza 95th. Sports Illustrated had Capela 58th, Gordon 83rd, and Ariza at No. 62. Rockets GM Daryl Morey was nonplussed.
Then, other players chimed in.
No matter where you stand, there are a few takeaways from Tuesday night:
- Carmelo Anthony is not the 64th-best player in the NBA. Stephen A. Smith went on First Take Wednesday morning and said Melo is “probably in the top 20.” His co-host, Max Kellerman, said Anthony’s in the 30-to-40 range. Sports Illustrated ranked him 37th. Anyone arguably in the 20-to-40 range is not No. 64.
- Rankings will forever be an imperfect science. Only a fortune teller can predict what players will have the best season before it even starts. Anything else is educated conjecture. Players will always be mad at their rankings and reporters will always defend their opinions. It’s a vicious cycle that drives loads of traffic to websites and sparks conversation. Issa win-win.
- Some players actually do care about these rankings. Melo’s tweet and McCollum’s subsequent bashing of the ranking process says it all. Player play to win, but the ones who perform at the highest level want to be respected for it. Respect from their peers comes on the court. Who would have thought the same players who recycle lines about tuning out outside noise could care about a so-called expert’s opinion?
- Ranking reporters would probably be fun. Who would you have in your top 10? Be sure to include this guy somewhere in the 11-20 range.
- We’re also doing our own Power Rankings, but with a little twist. We’re trying to project the Top 101 players of 2021.
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