Orlando Magic: About That Sports Illustrated Top 100 List

Yesterday I had a chance to look properly at Sports Illustrated’s annual top 100 players in the NBA list. If you haven’t seen it already, do check it out. It makes for an entertaining read while on your lunch break or travelling somewhere. Obviously I poured through the piece keeping an eye out for how the Orlando Magic players would do there.

If I was being honest, I felt the Magic would likely have two players make the grade, with either able to break into the top 50.

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As it turned out I was right on that one, but that was about as close as I got in terms of predicting which Magic players would land where. I did get one more thing correct, and that was guessing that center Nikola Vucevic would be the highest ranking member of the team on the list.

He came in at 67, which is a pretty good mark for a guy who only figures to climb that list over the next couple of years.

Right now you’re probably thinking the same thing I was at the time. Victor Oladipo would be the second guy on that list, and he would surely not be too far behind his teammate. The second and final player from Orlando came in at number 78, only it wasn’t Oladipo. That honor went to Tobias Harris, the forward who this summer signed a new four-year contract with the team.

In theory this too is all right, but I just can’t really shake the fact Oladipo couldn’t make that list.

Starting with my opinion, I would put Oladipo in there over Harris. There’s probably room on the list for the two, but let’s not get into an argument about which other player would then have to make way to accommodate them both.

Harris had his best season to date as a pro last year, and deserved the new contract and admiring glances he received from other teams across the league. But Oladipo has been installed as the face of this team since day one, and last season he too continued to get better.

Luckily for us, Sports Illustrated also created a smaller list of players they felt could consider themselves snubbed for not making the list. Oladipo was there, and so too was point guard Elfrid Payton, an encouraging sign for a guy who has only been in the league one year and has no real jump shooting ability of any kind.

If I was a betting man, I think he will crack the list this time next year, coming in between 80 and 85. But back to the now, and trying to examine why Oladipo was shafted.

He led his team in minutes played (35.7) while posting career highs in points (17.9), rebounds (4.2), Player Efficiency Rating (17.9, was up on his rookie year of 13.8) and total win shares (another decent leap, going from 1.3 to 3.5). Defensively he was often tasked with guarding opponent’s best backcourt player, while also being asked to shoulder a lot of the scoring burden as well.

He did all of this, despite having a pretty poor supporting cast most of the time.

Do I think he had a better season last year than Roy Hibbert (95th) and Reggie Jackson (94th) while also having higher upside for the future than those two? I do, and I also think one of them could have absolutely made way for the two way guard who also had some big moments during Team USA camp in Las Vegas this summer.

The argument against Oladipo making the list was that it’s hard to gauge just how important big numbers are on a rebuilding team.

That’s understandable, but if that’s the case and they are the rules, why then was DeMarcus Cousins (14th) not dropped down a few spots for the same reason? Similarly, Kevin Love (17th) used to routinely hear all the time that his impressive numbers didn’t mean much when playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Love is coming off his worst season as a professional as a result of injuries and joining a new team in the Cleveland Cavaliers, but his standing is still healthy.

So why then is Oladipo being punished where other players are not? He had a better individual season than Love, while he puts up pretty good numbers on a lottery team like Cousins. Am I saying Oladipo is at either of those other player’s level? Not at all, but he should not have been left off this list. On a more positive note though, it was great to see Harris recognized for his play last year.

At times he can drift through games, but there’s not doubt he’s a more complete offensive player than at any point in his career before.

His 36 percent three-point shooting, a career high, is music to the ears of Magic management, who will know that, along with Channing Frye, they have frontcourt options who can stretch the floor more than ever this coming season. It’s also hard to argue with Vucevic’s standing either. I looked higher up the list to try and justify slotting him in a little higher, but it’s hard to do.

Again it’s great to see him get some love though, as he does some amazing things for an overlooked squad.

He led the team in points (19.3), rebounds (10.9) and Player Efficiency Rating (21.6, league average is 15) and like Oladipo, he did so without much help. Offensively he’s a top five center in the league when he’s in the mood, although on the other end there is work to be done. As of this moment, he’s the best hope this team has of producing an All-Star next season.

Oladipo likely would have something to say about that though, which makes his exclusion all the more puzzling.

Being realistic however, this is where the Magic are right now as an organization. Two players make the list, and honestly what that likely means is another trip to the lottery next summer. Mario Hezonja could come out of nowhere to take the league by storm, while Payton too will likely crack that list next time out.

So while it’s harsh on Oladipo, it’s fair on where this team is as a whole. The hope is that it will look better for this team in 12 months time.

Next: NBA Draft: Best Player Ever Selected in all 60 Spots

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