Jordan Poole’s rocky couple of seasons with the Wizards appears to be turning a corner, if The Ringer’s NBA player rankings are any indication.
Once per month during the season, The Ringer updates its ranking of the top 100 best players in the NBA, and Poole charted on the list for the first time this year in the latest update. He barely made the cut, sitting at number 100, but even making the list at all with the season the Wizards are enduring is a testament to Poole’s massive improvement.
Here is his one-sentence bio listed below Poole’s name: “Audacious, jitterbug creator showing some—some!—newfound restraint.” The Ringer staff listed Poole’s strengths as his pull-up shooting ability and his ball handling skills.
Poole is averaging 20.4 points per game this season, tying his career high from his last year with the Golden State Warriors, and he’s hitting 38% of his shots from downtown. Contrast that to last year, where Poole squeaked out 17.4 points per game on 32.6% from deep.
The player rankings are voted on by The Ringer staff, and changes over time are charted on each player’s profile. The current top player is Nikola Jokic, who has not sacrificed his throne at any point this season. He is followed in the top 10 by (in order): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Anthony Edwards, Donovan Mitchell, and Kevin Durant.
Poole’s in-depth profile on the website alternates legitimate fair criticism with praise about his much-improved (and calmed-down) game. “We’re just as surprised as you are,” his profile reads. “Poole has spent much of his time as a Wizard (and much of his career, for that matter) out in the wilderness—indulging his every want, following his baser instincts, and living without much regard for anything beyond himself.”
Poole is the only Wizard who made the list. Until this iteration of the list, no Wizard made the cut this year save for a brief appearance at the very bottom by Bilal Coulibaly earlier in the season. The Brooklyn Nets (Cameron Johnson, number 74) and Detroit Pistons (Cade Cunningham, number 15) are the only other teams with only one player on the list.
It’s been so long since Poole has charted, in fact, that he is mistakenly listed as a member of the Golden State Warriors.
Poole may have been in contention for the Most Improved Player award had the Wizards not been… well, putrid this season. Cade Cunningham or Evan Mobley will likely claim the award (though two Clippers, Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac, are arguably the most deserving of the award).