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ESPN NBA insiders Tim Bontemps, Zach Kram, Bobby Marks, Kevin Pelton and Jeremy Woo compiled this list of the top 25 players in the NBA under 25 years old

  1. Victor Wembanyama

  2. Anthony Edwards

  3. Cade Cunningham

  4. Jalen Williams

  5. Alperen Sengun

  6. Amen Thompson

  7. Evan Mobley

  8. Cooper Flagg

  9. Chet Holmgren

  10. Jalen Johnson

  11. Scottie Barnes

  12. Franz Wagner

  13. Paolo Banchero

  14. Jalen Duren

  15. Deni Avdija

  16. Stephon Castle

  17. Kon Knueppel

  18. Dylan Harper

  19. VJ Edgecombe

  20. Dyson Daniels

  21. Jalen Suggs

  22. Alex Sarr

  23. Josh Giddey

  24. Ausar Thompson

  25. Reed Sheppard

Solely for discussion purposes. I’m not going to take much issue with them ranking Wemby at 1 and this is an updated list FYI. I think one came out either last year or earlier this year and there is no change in the top 2.

However, my argument for Ant at 1 would be if we are listing the best players under 25, Anthony Edwards is clearly the best player on this list at this point in time. These guys are obviously factoring in potential instead of production and playoff success. Edwards has led the Wolves to back-to-back Conference Finals as the team’s best player. Something no other guy on this list has even come close to accomplishing. In addition, I would also factor in availability. Wemby has shown he can’t stay on the court and given his size, it points to a career that could potentially be plagued by injury. In his last 106 possible regular season games (all of last year and all of this season so far) he’s played in 58 games. That’s only 54% of games. For comparison, Edwards has played in 99 of 106 possible regular season games. That’s 93% of possible games. If we want to factor in playoffs, that jumps to 95% (130/137)

21 comments

  1. Ant at 2 is fine, I’d have him at 1 until Wemby A. gets through a season healthy and B. Wins atleast 1 playoff series.

  2. Ant should be #1. Wemby hasn’t played a single playoff game yet or made an all NBA for him to be ranked #1

  4. While i get wemby being 1 i still think its ridiculous to have wemby over ant when wemby hasnt proven he can stay healthy and his team hasnt had any post season success yet while ant thus far has been a hyper durable guy whos led his team to b2b conference finals appearances while having the stats to back his case

  5. 1. ant
    2. Prolly Vic
    3. Cade
    4. Banchero
    5. Chet
    6. Jdub
    7. Barnes
    8. Amen
    9. sengy
    10. Johnson

  6. I’ll take a great player who plays 98% of his games over a potential once in a lifetime player who plays 50% of his games.

  9. Look at where they have chet and where they have flagg and then ask yourself if this is ragebait

  10. Jalen Williams at 4? Glazing the fuck out of OKC I see. He’s good, but he’s not THAT good. I’d take Sengun, Thompson, and Banchero over him any day!

  11. That’s literally a game difference like what lmao the Spurs drafted 2 slashing guards who went #4 and #2 in the draft and who are going to be stars and also have Fox. Why wouldn’t they be winning games?

  12. Both players are my guys and obviously, Wemby’s ceiling should be considered illegal if he can stay healthy but Ant definitely deserves the #1 spot for now.

    Ant has been spectacular in the playoffs with unforgettable moments such as dismantling the Phoenix Suns, beating the defending Champions Denver Nuggets and sent Luka and Lebron home packing.

  13. i mean i don’t think wemby at 1 is egregious or anything and he has the higher ceiling but i’m not sure why he seems to be exempt from all the general standards players of being consistently available or showing it in the playoffs.

  14. What has wembanyama actually done in the NBA? 

    The guy is already injury prone, never made the playoffs, never made an All NBA Team, never had a winning record and the Spurs didnt miss a beat with him sitting out.

    I get he is supposed to have crazy Potential. 

    “Wemby has already mastered all the easy things”  – that glazing is disgusting. 

    We are talking about a 7’5 C who shoots 50% from the field. News flash: thats bad! Really bad for a player of wembys proportions. And his 2fg% actually went DOWN

    We are talking about a player who shoots too many Jumper cause he gets pushed around by 6’4 guards in the paint cause his strength is abysmal and his Center of gravity is way too high (No surprise: 7’5)

    We are talking about a player who is a walking turnover machine: 3.5 tov, 15.1 tov%

    Fact is wemby is still pretty raw. He may have the highest Potential in the NBA, but he is NOT a top 10 Player and certainly not better than Edwards! 

    Give Ant his respect for once! 

  15. Top five is solid, but Ant should really be number one. The actual counting stats are not even close. Wemby is also 48-81 in his career.

  17. What a bullshit list. I don’t see Jalen Clarke anywhere on it.

    He’s going to be a two way goat, y’all gonna see

  18. Time will tell, but I think a case can be made that Cade, Wemby, and Chet will be better than Ant overall.

    Ant’s defense has really regressed this season, and it went backward last season as well. If you just focus on his offense it looks great, but if you look at both sides he’s plateauing as a player.

    In the last 3 seasons Ant’s DRtg went from 110 to 112 to 115, and his defensive EPM went from +1.1 to +0.1 to -0.5.

    If Ant can return to his defense of two seasons ago then the sky’s the limit, but the trendline doesn’t look good.

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