The 2023-24 NBA season is a little over a month away from starting, so it’s now an opportune time to preview the upcoming season.
CBS Sports used the downtime to create its annual top-100 NBA players list. Its NBA staff ranked the best 100 NBA players heading into the new season based on how they think they’ll perform.
Buy Thunder TicketsHow the rankings were formulated as explained below:
“Each of CBS Sports’ eight NBA staff writers — Brad Botkin, James Herbert, Jack Maloney, Sam Quinn, Bill Reiter, Ameer Tyree, Colin Ward-Henninger and Jasmyn Wimbish — submitted individual lists of their top 100 players in the NBA for the upcoming 2023-24 season, and results were calculated by assigning a point value to each player’s place on each writer’s list. A player ranked No. 1 received 100 points, while a player ranked No. 100 received one point, and the cumulative point totals were used to determine the order for this year’s edition of the CBS Sports NBA 100.”
The Oklahoma City Thunder have four players in the rankings, let’s look at where they rank and the justification for it.
No. 68: Chet Holmgren
“If you watched Holmgren in Summer League, you understand the hype around him. He’s already an elite shot-blocker who can stretch the floor as a legitimate 3-point shooter. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being arguably the best driver in the league, Holmgren is going to feast on pick-and-pops and kick out jumpers.”
No. 65: Jalen Williams
“Williams scored 27-plus points four times after the All-Star break, but the most encouraging part of his rookie season is how well he projects to fit alongside Oklahoma City’s other young talent. A big, strong wing who can guard multiple positions, create for himself and play off the ball, he has the potential to be the type of star who makes other stars better.”
No. 61: Josh Giddey
“Giddey has already become an important part of the Thunder’s impressive young core. The Australian guard is one of the league’s most creative passers and made a big leap as a scorer last year. Giddey’s biggest weakness is his jump shot, but he converted 48.1% of his field goals last season after shooting under 42% from the field as a rookie. His outside shot is a work in progress, but his rebounding and playmaking on the break make him one of the NBA’s best under-the-radar creators.”
No. 11: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
“Gilgeous-Alexander is the most prolific driver in the league, but he’s not the head-down, bowling-ball type. He gets downhill because he keeps defenders off-balance — they know he’s comfortable going left or right, and they’re worried about his pull-up, his stepback and his spin move. He gets to the line because opposing teams can’t keep him out of the paint and he has impeccable footwork when he gets there. The Thunder once had a slithery guard with similar offensive strengths, but traded him before he made his first All-Star or All-NBA team. Gilgeous-Alexander, who earned both honors last season, isn’t going anywhere. And in the same year that he bumped his scoring average up to 31.4 per game, he became a more committed individual defender.”
