Disclaimer: I had a hard time ranking raw prospects, especially if they haven't played a lot of minutes, and I'm not sure if they boosted or not. In most cases where I was on the fence, I tended towards ranking prospects lower than proven vets.
Tier 1
1. Johnuel Fland
It feels weird to have anybody in a tier of their own, but Fland is already a top 5 player, and he’s 5 years younger than anyone else in the next tier. He’s going to be at Curry/Kemba/Kyrie level at his peak.
Tier 2
2. Evan Mobley
3. Tyler Herro
4. Karl Anthony Towns
5. Deni Avdija
6. De’Aaron Fox
7. Deandre Ayton
8. Luka Doncic
This is a tier of superstars. These are all guys who are good enough to be the best player on a contender. You could make a case for both Mobley and Herro at 2. I think KAT is still the best player in the league, but his age drops him a couple of spots. Deni and Luka are the best wings in the league. Fox is an elite PG with no real flaws. Ayton’s shot blocking has dropped off slightly from his peak, but he’s still unquestionably a top 3 big.
Tier 3
9. Jaden Springer
10. Jalen Green
11. Cade Cunningham
12. Tibor Pleiss
13. Jayson Tatum
14. Vernon Carey Jr
This next tier is mostly players in their prime, with one exception for Tibor Pleiss, who is probably the best rookie contract player in the league. Springer and Cade give the Hornets the best pair of wings in the league. Jalen would jump to the next tier if his handles were slightly better. Tatum is getting older but is still just as good as any wings other than Deni/Luka. VCJ isn’t super hyped, but he’s very efficient, and rebounds surprisingly well for his letter rating.
Tier 4
15. Kenny Simms
16. Kaleb Glenn
17. Cam Thomas
18. Trae Young
19. Victor Wembanyama
20. Markelle Fultz
21. Hassan Whiteside
22. O.D. Anosike
This tier is more of a mixed bag. Glenn was a meme until he wasn’t. Simms and Wemby have stagnated slightly after huge rookie years, but still could be elite bigs. Cam Thomas is an efficient scorer on an incredibly team friendly team. Fultz and Trae have both improved in their late 20s and are now elite scorers on good efficiency. Anosike is pretty raw, but has a really high ceiling.
Tier 5
23. Josh Giddey
24. Payton Pritchard
25. Cameron Johnson
26. RJ Barrett
27. Corey Kispert
28. Jerrick Harding
29. Anthony Edwards
Giddey randomly developed the ability to score and rounds out the top 8 PGs with Pritchard and Harding. Cam Johnson and Kispert are both great scoring wings, while Ant is probably overpaid but is the best defensive wing in the league. RJ is a special case in that he has TO issues at SG and limited volume at PG, but is still quite valuable given that he always re-signs cheap, and is still a solid 3rd scoring option.
Tier 6
30. Charles Bassey
31. Chet Holmgren
32. Steeve Ho You Fat
33. Marvin Bagley III
34. Coby White
35. Paolo Banchero
36. Zijie Shen
This is mostly a tier of great bigs with some flaws - Bassey’s boards, presumably Chet’s post D, Paolo’s TOs, Bagley’s efficiency, and Shen’s allergy to offense. Despite that, they are all still solid #1 or elite #2 bigs. Rounding out the tier is Steeve Ho You Fat, who is having a great rookie season, and Coby White, who is having a career year efficiency wise but can’t stay healthy.
Tier 7
37. Jamal Murray
38. Andrew Albicy
39. Jimmer Fredette
40. Jamaal Franklin
41. AJ Johnson
42. Onyeka Okongwu
43. David Duke
44. Reggie Williams
45. Emmanuel Chukwubuikem Nzekwesi
46. Frantz Massenat
47. Tyrese Maxey
48. Trevor Keels
49. Pascal Siakam
50. Paul Reed Jr.
The exact ordering of players feels more ambiguous once we get to this tier. There’s a lot of raw prospects with (presumably) high potential who could totally bust or be really good. Jimmer and Jamaal, and J’Covan may have to move to SG though if they can’t improve their handles. Jamal, Onyeka, ECM, Duke, Siakam, and Paul Reed Jr. are all solid vets. Keels and Maxey take a lot of criticism, but both have improved shooting percentages this season.
Tier 8
51. Walter Kessler
52. Jabari Smith Jr.
53. D’Angelo Russell
54. Donovan Mitchell
55. Patrick Cartier
56. Greg Stiemsma
57. Joel Embiid
58. Noah Vonleh
59. Koch Bar
60. Donte Thomas
Mostly a tier of solid bigs who can be the 4th or 5th best player on a contender. Russell is still really good but could easily have the worst contract in the league in 2 seasons. Stiemsma is making max money to block shots and do pretty much nothing else. Him being this high is banking on him improving elsewhere, otherwise he’s just Koch Bar for more than double the money.
And in no particular order, rounding out the top 75
Alperen Sengun
AJ Johnson
Amath M’Baye
Andrew Goudelock
Daniel Gafford
Desmond Bane
Henry Walker
James Nunnally
Jaren Lewis
John Shurna
Keith Benson
Marko Guduric
Naz Reid
Kevon Looney
Robert Williams
Who did I miss? Who is too low or too high?
Tier 1
1. Johnuel Fland
It feels weird to have anybody in a tier of their own, but Fland is already a top 5 player, and he’s 5 years younger than anyone else in the next tier. He’s going to be at Curry/Kemba/Kyrie level at his peak.
Tier 2
2. Evan Mobley
3. Tyler Herro
4. Karl Anthony Towns
5. Deni Avdija
6. De’Aaron Fox
7. Deandre Ayton
8. Luka Doncic
This is a tier of superstars. These are all guys who are good enough to be the best player on a contender. You could make a case for both Mobley and Herro at 2. I think KAT is still the best player in the league, but his age drops him a couple of spots. Deni and Luka are the best wings in the league. Fox is an elite PG with no real flaws. Ayton’s shot blocking has dropped off slightly from his peak, but he’s still unquestionably a top 3 big.
Tier 3
9. Jaden Springer
10. Jalen Green
11. Cade Cunningham
12. Tibor Pleiss
13. Jayson Tatum
14. Vernon Carey Jr
This next tier is mostly players in their prime, with one exception for Tibor Pleiss, who is probably the best rookie contract player in the league. Springer and Cade give the Hornets the best pair of wings in the league. Jalen would jump to the next tier if his handles were slightly better. Tatum is getting older but is still just as good as any wings other than Deni/Luka. VCJ isn’t super hyped, but he’s very efficient, and rebounds surprisingly well for his letter rating.
Tier 4
15. Kenny Simms
16. Kaleb Glenn
17. Cam Thomas
18. Trae Young
19. Victor Wembanyama
20. Markelle Fultz
21. Hassan Whiteside
22. O.D. Anosike
This tier is more of a mixed bag. Glenn was a meme until he wasn’t. Simms and Wemby have stagnated slightly after huge rookie years, but still could be elite bigs. Cam Thomas is an efficient scorer on an incredibly team friendly team. Fultz and Trae have both improved in their late 20s and are now elite scorers on good efficiency. Anosike is pretty raw, but has a really high ceiling.
Tier 5
23. Josh Giddey
24. Payton Pritchard
25. Cameron Johnson
26. RJ Barrett
27. Corey Kispert
28. Jerrick Harding
29. Anthony Edwards
Giddey randomly developed the ability to score and rounds out the top 8 PGs with Pritchard and Harding. Cam Johnson and Kispert are both great scoring wings, while Ant is probably overpaid but is the best defensive wing in the league. RJ is a special case in that he has TO issues at SG and limited volume at PG, but is still quite valuable given that he always re-signs cheap, and is still a solid 3rd scoring option.
Tier 6
30. Charles Bassey
31. Chet Holmgren
32. Steeve Ho You Fat
33. Marvin Bagley III
34. Coby White
35. Paolo Banchero
36. Zijie Shen
This is mostly a tier of great bigs with some flaws - Bassey’s boards, presumably Chet’s post D, Paolo’s TOs, Bagley’s efficiency, and Shen’s allergy to offense. Despite that, they are all still solid #1 or elite #2 bigs. Rounding out the tier is Steeve Ho You Fat, who is having a great rookie season, and Coby White, who is having a career year efficiency wise but can’t stay healthy.
Tier 7
37. Jamal Murray
38. Andrew Albicy
39. Jimmer Fredette
40. Jamaal Franklin
41. AJ Johnson
42. Onyeka Okongwu
43. David Duke
44. Reggie Williams
45. Emmanuel Chukwubuikem Nzekwesi
46. Frantz Massenat
47. Tyrese Maxey
48. Trevor Keels
49. Pascal Siakam
50. Paul Reed Jr.
The exact ordering of players feels more ambiguous once we get to this tier. There’s a lot of raw prospects with (presumably) high potential who could totally bust or be really good. Jimmer and Jamaal, and J’Covan may have to move to SG though if they can’t improve their handles. Jamal, Onyeka, ECM, Duke, Siakam, and Paul Reed Jr. are all solid vets. Keels and Maxey take a lot of criticism, but both have improved shooting percentages this season.
Tier 8
51. Walter Kessler
52. Jabari Smith Jr.
53. D’Angelo Russell
54. Donovan Mitchell
55. Patrick Cartier
56. Greg Stiemsma
57. Joel Embiid
58. Noah Vonleh
59. Koch Bar
60. Donte Thomas
Mostly a tier of solid bigs who can be the 4th or 5th best player on a contender. Russell is still really good but could easily have the worst contract in the league in 2 seasons. Stiemsma is making max money to block shots and do pretty much nothing else. Him being this high is banking on him improving elsewhere, otherwise he’s just Koch Bar for more than double the money.
And in no particular order, rounding out the top 75
Alperen Sengun
AJ Johnson
Amath M’Baye
Andrew Goudelock
Daniel Gafford
Desmond Bane
Henry Walker
James Nunnally
Jaren Lewis
John Shurna
Keith Benson
Marko Guduric
Naz Reid
Kevon Looney
Robert Williams
Who did I miss? Who is too low or too high?
