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ESPN released its top 10 NBA rankings for this season, with Giannis Antetokounmpo at No. 1 and reigning NBA champion Nikola Jokic at No. 2. Three of the top four superstars on the rankings are non-American, with the only exception being reigning MVP Joel Embiid, who holds three citizenships and just recently decided to play for Team USA in the upcoming Olympics.
After the "Greek Freak," Jokic (Serbia), Embiid (a citizen of the United States, France and Cameroon) and Luka Doncic (Slovokia) are Americans Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors at No. 5 and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics at No. 6.
Kevin Durant and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are seventh and eighth, respectively, while the superstar duo of the LA Lakers, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, complete the ESPN rankings at No. 9 and No. 10.
ESPN's top 10 rankings went viral, with many NBA fans roasting the network for its picks.
"Jokic is better than Giannis, what is this," a Twitter user posted.
"They don’t even have jokic number 1 lmao. Why should I take this list serious," another one wrote.
"KD has never been better than LeBron ONE season. Shai over Bron is a joke," another one tweeted.
"Anybody in front of Curry is disrespectful," a Twitter user wrote.
"Tatum is way to high. Everyone and most of 11-20 is better than him," another one posted.
"Embiid over Steph is laughable," a Twitter user wrote.
"They hated Jesus for telling the truth too," a user on Twitter posted.
"Lakers the only team with 2 Top 10 players put some respect on our name," a user tweeted.
"No excuse for Jimmy butler not being top 10," a Twitter user posted.
NBA superstars that were left off the ESPN Top-10 rankings
ESPN's top 10 rankings featured several megastars. At the same time, many great players were left off the top 10, with some of not even making the top 20 or top 30.
Let's see some superstars that were left off the top 10 and had fans questioning the criteria the ESPN journalists used for their selections.
In the top 20, but off the top 10 are Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns) and Jimmy Butler (Miami Heat) at No. 11 and No. 12, respectively. It came as a surprise that Butler is not in the top 10 after leading the Heat to the NBA Finals last season.
A few spots below are Damian Lillard (Milwaukee Bucks, No. 14), Paul George (LA Clippers, No. 18) and Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics, No. 19).
Kawhi Leonard of the Clippers is at No. 24 and newly-acquired Celtics star Jrue Holiday is at No. 26.
Outside the top 30, Kyrie Irving is at No.34, with the superstar of the Brooklyn Nets calling out the network for its rankings. Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies (suspended for the first 25 games) is at No. 35, 26 spots below his 2022-23 place. Fellow NBA superstars Klay Thompson (Warriors) and James Harden (Sixers) are even lower at No. 41 and No. 43, respectively.
The 2023-24 season kicks off on Oct. 24, with the Lakers facing the Nuggets and the Warriors taking on the Suns.
