No Washington Wizards on Sports Illustrated’s ‘Top 100 NBA Players of 2020’ list
By Ethan Smith
Did you really expect anything different? The Washington Wizards don’t have many Top 100 players.
If you subscribe to the groundbreaking idea that teams with the top talent win games, then don’t expect much from the Washington Wizards. Well, that is if you trust Sports Illustrated’s judgment.
This week, Sports Illustrated is releasing their Top 100 NBA Players list. No Wizards have yet been listed among those ranked 31-100. We’re all still breathlessly waiting to see who is listed in the top 30.
If anyone on the Wizards is going to crack the top half of the NBA’s talent pool, it’s Bradley Beal. After narrowly missing out on All-NBA honors last season, anything outside of the top 25 is probably too low for Beal. We’ll have to see who Sports Illustrated puts in the top 30, but he’s proven he’s among the best of the best in the NBA. 2K didn’t think too highly of him. Let’s see about SI.
If healthy, John Wall would certainly be among the Top 100. There’s still a (unlikely) chance he sneaks into the top 30. But if we’re forecasting the best players for the upcoming season, as Sports Illustrated is, it’s nearly impossible to justify including Wall in there. It’s unlikely that he’ll even play this season, and if he does, it certainly won’t be in a large capacity for the Wizards. Hopefully, he can bounce back and find himself back on the list next summer. Getting healthy (and staying healthy) is definitely more important than getting on this list.
In a past life, Isaiah Thomas would have probably found himself on this list, too. Like Wall, though, recent injuries have forced him out of the Top 100 conversation, for now. Thomas is hungry to prove he still has it. With the opportunity to have a large role in Washington, don’t be surprised to find Thomas back on the list next season.
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No one from the Wizards’ current roster was listed among the players ranked 31 through 100, but there was one notable former Wizard on the list. Otto Porter, now with the Chicago Bulls, came in at 57. One spot above Klay Thompson.