5 Most head-scratching NBA player rankings in ESPN’s Top 100
By Cal Durrett
NBA player rankings #4: DeMar DeRozan listed at 28
For whatever reason, DeMar DeRozan continues to be underrated despite coming off the best season of his already terrific career. While he’s unlikely to repeat that career season at the age of 33, he’s certainly better than this 28th ranking and that should still be the case next season. My criteria is pretty straightforward: are 28 players better than him? In DeRozan’s case, I think it’s evident that there aren’t.
His game should age fairly well since he doesn’t rely as heavily on speed and athleticism as much as other top-scoring wings. He also plays to his strengths by avoiding taking shots that he knows he cannot hit. You won’t see him launch any step-back threes, instead focusing on getting to his spots inside of the arc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaoxfA7mfs8
That, combined with his elite footwork and midrange excellence, should keep him from slipping too much, which makes ESPN’s decision to place him 28th seem all the more odd.
So where should ESPN have ranked DeRozan? Based on last season, and taking into account some drop-offs, I would say DeRozan should probably be around 20. 28 is simply too low for a player of his caliber, and I don’t expect many others to surpass him next season, so yeah, ESPN definitely got this rating wrong.