NBA Rank

[jonathanlambert33]

Every year, ESPN runs a segment called NBA Rank, where they rank the top 500 players in the NBA. They are in the midst of this process right now, and before the final results are divulged, I thought it might be a good time to take a peek at last years results and see if there are any patterns that emerged.

In 2012, 104 voters from various media outlets ranked each player on a scale of 1 to 10, and the players were assorted based on their average score. I compiled the data from each team into a painfully big spreadsheet and listed the top 12 ranked players on each team (besides Phoenix, who only had 11 listed players).

There were trades that happened at various times during the season, but in the interest of time and my sanity, I decided not to obsess over changing the information. I did alter Houston and Oklahoma Citys numbers by switching James Harden, Jeremy Lamb, and Kevin Martin to their proper teams (the ones they played with during the season).

The table reads fairly easily. Atlantas top-ranked player from 2012 was Al Horford, who was ranked 30th. Their next highest, Josh Smith, was 31st. Etc, etc.

Trend 1: Having a top 10 player

Qualifiers: Miami, Oklahoma City, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota, Brooklyn, Chicago, and the Los Angeles Lakers

Success rate: 85.7% (or 83.3% if you exclude the Bulls)

6 of the 7 NBA teams with a top 10 player made the playoffs. The exception? The injury-riddled Timberwolves, whose best player, Kevin Love, missed almost the entire season. It is also notable that Chicagos only top 10 player, Derrick Rose, missed the entire season.

http://www.bourbonstreetshots.com/2013/10/03/nba-rank-and-the-pelicans/

 

[Giantmetfan07]

Melo 17? I mean i don't suck the guy's dick either but that looks like a low rank for last year. im asusming his rank pops up a few spots this year.