As far as lists of player rankings go, it’s hard to find any that is taken more seriously or any more discussed than Sports Illustrated’s annual ranking of the NBA’s Top 100 players. And for the first time in the ranking’s history, LeBron James was not listed as the No. 1 player in the league.
Sports Illustrated’s Rob Mahoney, who is doing the list solo for the first time after his partner Ben Golliver went to be the national NBA writer for the Washington Post, ranked both 2019 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and 2019’s regular season MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, ahead of LeBron. The ranking began in 2013.
And it’s hard to argue with Mahoney when you consider the evidence available to him. James, at 35 years old, is still a great player but his all-around impact on the game isn’t what it was when he was younger. His offensive stats last year were as good as they usually are, but his injury and the Lakers overall struggles made it hard for people to really notice. Also, missing the playoffs didn’t give him the opportunity to once again assert his dominance as he did the previous year in Cleveland.
James is reportedly “super motivated” to play this season after last year’s disappointment. Getting knocked off of the perch of the NBA’s most highly-regarded list will only throw more wood onto the fire for his “Revenge Season.”
