We ranked the NBA's Top 101 of 2021. Now we rank our picks
Let’s see how our picks hold up after the fact.
SB Nation’s group of 10 NBA writers and editors came together to forecast the Top 101 players of 2021. If you missed our experiment, you should start here.
We listed the best players either currently in the NBA or projected to enter the NBA in the next few years. Then we drafted them off, one-by-one, based on who we felt would develop into the better talent in the next four years. Everyone seems to agree: Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo will be the league’s best players in four years. But our draft got harder and harder as more names came off the board.
I reviewed everyone’s picks today and decided to rank them, from best to worst, based on who will have assembled the most talent in 2021. This isn’t a ranking of who made the better team; we didn’t take into consideration positions and rotations in our draft. It’s just a look back at who made the best picks for the 2021 rankings.
Here’s how I ranked them:
10. Kristian Winfield
Joel Embiid (9)
Lonzo Ball (19)
Rudy Gobert (29)
Zach LaVine (39)
Jayson Tatum (49)
Tim Hardaway Jr. (59)
Frank Ntilikina (69)
Buddy Hield (79)
Dennis Schroder (89)
Caris LeVert (99)
Not afraid to admit I have the worst team of them all. Embiid has to be healthy and dominant for this to work. Lonzo’s gonna be really good, but how good in four years? Will my two Knicks flourish or falter in New York? Does Rudy Gobert have more to add to his game, or is a rim-running shot blocker what he is? Will Buddy Hield become the player Vivek Ranadive thinks? How good will Jayson Tatum be? Will Caris LeVert put it all together? What about Dennis Schroder? (My answer as of today: What about him?)
My team is full of questions — ones that won’t be answered for another four years. I guess that’s part of the beauty of this experiment. We have no idea how it’ll pan out.
9. Whitney Medworth
Kyrie Irving (8)
Paul George (18)
Andrew Wiggins (28)
Gary Harris (38)
Kyle Kuzma (48)
Mike Conley (58)
Jusuf Nurkic (68)
Kyle Lowry (78)
Hassan Whiteside (88)
Victor Oladipo (98)
I wanted to put Whitney on a separate list all by herself for picking Kyle Kuzma with her fifth pick, but she’s got Kyrie, Paul George and Andrew Wiggins.
8. Kofie Yeboah
Kawhi Leonard (6)
Devin Booker (16)
Dennis Smith Jr. (26)
De’Aaron Fox (36)
Kemba Walker (46)
Eric Bledsoe (56)
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (66)
Steven Adams (76)
Julius Randle (86)
Serge Ibaka (96)
Kofie had a pretty good draft. Booker’s about to turn into a star in Phoenix, and Kawhi’s only getting better with time. He was a little trigger happy with the point guards, but this is a good team, especially four years from now.
7. Ricky O’Donnell
Karl-Anthony Towns (3)
Stephen Curry (13)
Luka Doncic (23)
Draymond Green (33)
DeAndre Ayton (43)
Khris Middleton (53)
Jamal Murray (63)
Marcus Smart (73)
Jonathan Isaac (83)
Stanley Johnson (93)
Towns could legitimately be a top-5 or top-10 player in the next four years. Curry will always be the best shooter in the NBA, and Doncic is projected to take the league by storm in 2018. Not a bad draft here by Ricky.
6. Matt Ellentuck
Kristaps Porzingis (4)
Nikola Jokic (14)
DeMarcus Cousins (24)
Josh Jackson (34)
D’Angelo Russell (44)
Kevin Love (54)
Clint Capela (64)
DeJounte Murray (74)
Robert Covington (84)
Tristan Thompson (94)
If we were drafting teams with legitimate starting 5s, Matt would have a serious problem splitting minutes between four potential All-Star bigs. But it’s not. It’s a survey of talent on a team four years from today, and Matt E’s team has a lot of it.
5. Mike Prada
Kevin Durant (5)
Marvin Bagley (15)
Klay Thompson (25)
Michael Porter Jr. (35)
Jaylen Brown (45)
Thon Maker (55)
R.J. Barrett (65)
Rodney Hood (75)
Harrison Barnes (85)
Taurean Prince (95)
Any lineup with both Maker and Durant is a scary one. Prada went a little gung-ho on the high schoolers, projecting three of them to be top-100 players in four years, but if they turn out anywhere near the projections, this team could be better than I have it now.
4. Tom Ziller
Anthony Davis (1)
James Harden (11)
Markelle Fultz (21)
Jabari Parker (31)
Blake Griffin (41)
Isaiah Thomas (51)
Aaron Gordon (61)
Malcolm Brogdon (71)
DeAndre Jordan (81)
Evan Fournier (91)
Dion Waiters (101)
Any team with The Brow and The Beard has enough facial hair to win a championship.
3. Chris Greenberg
Russell Westbrook (10)
Ben Simmons (20)
Jimmy Butler (30)
Otto Porter (40)
DeMar DeRozan (50)
Andre Drummond (60)
Jahlil Okafor (70)
Willy Hernangomez (80)
Dario Saric (90)
Bol Bol (100)
If Jahlil Okafor gets a second chance and thrives somewhere outside of Philly, Chris’ team is almost flawless. Westbrook will have to adjust his game as he ages, but he’ll have help between Simmons, DeRozan and Butler. This is a team I’d want to play with in NBA 2K18.
2. Zito Madu
Giannis Antetokounmpo (2)
Damian Lillard (12)
Myles Turner (22)
C.J. McCollum (32)
Brandon Ingram (42)
Justise Winslow (52)
John Collins (62)
Ricky Rubio (72)
Avery Bradley (82)
Jae Crowder (92)
It equally pains me to give Zito No. 2 on this ranking of rankings, but he somehow took Portland’s core and put it on steroids. Dame and C.J. plus Giannis, Myles Turner and Brandon Ingram? That’s not a team I want to see in 2K.
1. Tim Cato
LeBron James (7)
John Wall (17)
Bradley Beal (27)
Skal Labissiere (37)
Gordon Hayward (47)
Nerlens Noel (57)
Jrue Holiday (67)
Chris Paul (77)
Donovan Mitchell (87)
JaMychal Green (97)
I hate giving Tim No. 1 at anything. But look at that lineup. Wall and Beal PLUS HAYWARD, LEBRON, AND CP3, with Nerlens and Skal in the mix, too? Good stuff, Tim. Good stuff.