ESPN Ranks the NBA's Top 100 Players: How Many Lakers Made it? Plus, D'Lo Vows Better Defense.

10/13/23 • 34 min

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

Every year, ESPN's hoops department ranks the top 100 players in the NBA. Every year, it causes a little bit of controversy, because people tend to get really worked up about rankings and lists. But while they're certainly arguable and definitely easy to overrate (does it really matter if someone is the 7th best player or the 9th, the 58th or the 62nd?) lists like these can be instructive.

Particularly in trying to figure out roster depth around the league, and how different teams compare to each other. So how do the Lakers stack up?

Well, they're the only team with two players in the top 10 - Anthony Davis (10) and LeBron James (9). Austin Reaves comes in at 66. And that's it. Many teams have more guys in the top 100 (Denver has four, the Knicks, surprisingly, have five). But when you start to peel back more layers, it's pretty clear the Lakers have a high end roster with a ton of depth. How many players who are average or above (don't poo poo average - half the league is below it) do the Lakers have in their rotation? Well, all of them. James, Davis, Hachimura, Russell, Reaves, Vincent, Wood, Prince, Vanderbilt and, if things progress, Max Christie as well. But they're at least nine deep with average or above or well above.

If that's your roster, your roster is good.

Speaking of Russell, after Wednesday's win in Anaheim, he talked about his defense and acknowledged that it's a big part of the reason he was taken off the floor in the postseason, especially against Denver. (His horrendous shooting didn't help, either.) He knows that has to get better if he wants not only to be a four-quarter contributor in the playoffs for the Lakers this year, but also to re-establish his value across the league.

Finally, The Athletic's John Hollinger put out a column this week highlighting players on good teams who could play important roles, but are relatively unknown to most basketball fans. On that list? Christie. When we look back on that column in the spring, how likely is it that he'll be correct?

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: NBA Rank - LeBron 9, AD 10 and Reaves 66.

SEGMENT 2: How LA's depth stacks up.

SEGMENT 3: Is Christie a legitimate breakout candidate?

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Particularly in trying to figure out roster depth around the league, and how different teams compare to each other. So how do the Lakers stack up?

If that's your roster, your roster is good.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: NBA Rank - LeBron 9, AD 10 and Reaves 66.

SEGMENT 2: How LA's depth stacks up.

SEGMENT 3: Is Christie a legitimate breakout candidate?

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

Jase Medical

Get $20 off these lifesaving antibiotics with Jase Medical by using code LOCKEDON at checkout on jasemedical.com.

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FanDuel This episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, Official Sportsbook of Locked On. Right now, NEW customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get TWO HUNDRED in BONUS BETS - GUARANTEED. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.

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Previous Episode

Without LeBron, Davis or Reaves, the Lakers, led by D'Angelo Russell, Get Preseason Win Over Kings.

Normally, when Anthony Davis and LeBron James don't play in a preseason game, it's easy to shrug your shoulders and basically ignore anything that happens over 48 minutes of ball. When those guys are missing, plus Austin Reaves and Jarred Vanderbilt, the temptation is to completely discount the game.

But for the Lakers, who are surely expecting James and Davis to miss a relevant chunk of games (some of which might come at the same time) it's actually really important to get a feel for how competitive they can be while those guys are on the sidelines. The hope was with improved depth and more firepower, the Lakers would be better suited to withstand those non-star games than they were last year. And if Wednesday's win over the Kings in Anaheim was any indication, the plan seems to have worked.

D'Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince and Rui Hachimura all cracked double figures in the starting lineup (not playing starters minutes), and were joined by Christian Wood (13 points in his most efficient outing of the preseason) off the bench. What the Lakers showed was that they have enough skill and firepower to hang and be a competitive team even with the All-Stars in street clothes. That could make a big difference in a tight Western Conference.

Russell continues to play really, really well, and has an interesting opportunity in front of him this year to reset the conversation around his value.

Finally, there are more interesting aspects of the NBA's annual GM survey we didn't get to earlier in the week. For starters, the Lakers were picked to finish third in the conference, and also received a tremendous amount of praise for their offseason. Basically, they got the best grades of any team not directly or indirectly involved in the Damian Lillard sweepstakes.

Plus, there's one category the Lakers should have gotten votes that could make a big difference in the standings this year.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers played a good game without their stars, which is a good sign for the season.

SEGMENT 2: D'Angelo Russell continues to play well.

SEGMENT 3: More NBA GM Survey results...

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Next Episode

Has Darvin Ham Settled on Taurean Prince as the Starting Small Forward for the Lakers?

The Lakers finished off another successful weekend of preseason basketball at the Crypt. Yes, they lost both games (Friday to Golden State, Sunday to Milwaukee) but in the moments where rotation players were on the floor, the Lakers continued to play very solid basketball. And the offense, particularly, has been outstanding. Not just the shooting from 3-point range, but all around the floor.

Anthony Davis has looked great in his minutes, with a solid shooting stroke and the activity level the Lakers need from him. Darvin Ham called him the "heart and soul" of the team, and this is no accident. What exactly are Ham (and Rob Pelinka, and LeBron, who also speak in similar terms) trying to accomplish with this kind of praise?

And what about the outside shooting? Is it too early to believe that the Lakers are just destined to be a high quality shooting team? What would that mean for them, because even when they've been good, the perimeter shooting has been a little dodgy. If that changes?

One reason it has, at least in the rehearsal games? Taurean Prince, who hit four of five 3-point attempts on Friday, then another two of five on Sunday. Overall, he's been remarkably efficient, and has helped elevate that starting unit with excellent spacing, good energy and timely runs to the basket. While Ham still hasn't confirmed anything, it seems like Prince has that starting small forward gig sewed up. Not just because Vanderbilt is dealing with a heel problem that kept him out of this weekend's games, and will do the same in the preseason finale - essentially a dress rehearsal for the regular season opener. Ham wouldn't commit to Vanderbilt being available for the opener, either, for that matter, which is a change from last week.

So if Vando doesn't start... when does he play?

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: Reaction to this weekend's games. The Lakers looked good, even if the scores didn't show it.

SEGMENT 2: AD is having a great preseason, the shooting looks good, and Taurean Prince seems to have won the SF job.

SEGMENT 3: If Vando doesn't start... when does he play?

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