December 1, 2007     

 

Davis Sports Deli.com's
Top 25 NBA Players Under Age 25

By: Patrick Crawley, Aaron Fischman & Joshua Fischman

 

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                  A Quick Explanation of our Top 25 Rankings

                 In watching the NBA this season, Aaron, Joshua and I couldn't help but get excited by all the young talent in the league. From the size and
                 athleticism of LeBron James to the low-post dominance of Dwight Howard to the innovative court-vision of Chris Paul, the young players
                 of the league are factoring prominently in the success of their respective teams. For evidence of this, just look at the team records of Chris'
                 Hornets, LeBron's Cavs and Dwight's Magic.

                 Seeing as the players under the age of 25 are some of the most exciting to watch, our crack team of analysts wanted a forum to measure
                 the success of these players against one another. As such, we decided to create the Davis Sports Deli's Top 25 Under 25 list (the best
                 25 players under the age of 25).

                The Top 25 Under 25 list is a compilation of the efforts of Aaron, Joshua and myself. After a great deal of research and analysis, each of
                us developed a list of the Top 30 players in the league under age 25. In determining our individual lists, each of us used a subjective rating
                system based on current statistics, future potential and the ability of a given player to reach that potential. For instance, a player like
                Gerald Green would score high on the potential scale but, with poor numbers the past few seasons, he doesn't do well in terms of the other
                two criteria. As such, you won't see Gerald Green on our list anytime soon.

                After each of us built his individual list, we compiled the data and averaged the rankings for each player listed. If two players tied with the
                same average ranking (as was the case with Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony), we took whichever player was ranked higher on the
                majority of the individual lists. So, in this case, Carmelo Anthony gets the nod because he was ranked second on Aaron's list, second on
                Joshua's list and fourth on my list (whereas D-Howard was 3rd, 3rd and 2nd, respectively).

                With the average rankings determined, our team pares the list down to the Top 25 and lists them here on the site along with age, position
                and a few comments about his skill and potential. We'll update our Top 25 every two weeks, taking recent play and injuries into account.
                Player movement will be documented in the "Movement" section with + or - indicators. Once a player turns 25, he will graduate from our
                list.

                Without further ado, here is the first version of our Top 25 Under 25 list. We hope you enjoy it.

 

 

 

 

Ranking

 

Player

 

Position

 

Team

 

Age

 

Movement

 

Comments

LeBron James

G-F

Cavaliers

22

N/A

Undisputed best player under 25, avging career high in ast & pts.

Carmelo Anthony

F

Nuggets

23

N/A

Great scorer, but all numbers have decreased from '06.

Dwight Howard

F-C

Magic

21

N/A

Can reach Shaq-type numbers by expanding low post off.

Chris Paul

G

Hornets

22

N/A

Clearly the best PG under 25, numbers get better each yr.

Al Jefferson

C

Timberwolves

23

N/A

Surviving in the West with daily double-doubles.

Chris Bosh

F-C

Raptors

23

N/A

Explosive player who contributes abundant pts and reb.

Deron Williams

G

Jazz

23

N/A

Will have to show us something remarkable to pass C.P.

Josh Smith

F

Hawks

21

N/A

Monster athlete who averages over 3 blks/game.

Andre Iguodala

G

76ers

23

N/A

Helping fans in Philly forget the departure of Iverson.

Kevin Martin

G

Kings

24

N/A

Avgs third-most pts of anyone under 25, but age limits him

Kevin Durant

F

Sonics

19

N/A

Incredible length allows for 19.5 ppg, but FG% is poor.

Brandon Roy

G-F

Trailblazers

23

N/A

'06-07 ROY will see scoring increase as FG% goes up.

LaMarcus Aldridge

F-C

Trailblazers

22

N/A

Has already doubled his scoring total from last season.

Luol Deng

F

Bulls

22

N/A

Kobe rumors seemed to fluster him; but he's worth keeping an eye on.

Rudy Gay

F

Grizzlies

21

N/A

Athletic upside belies a youthful scoring inconsistency.

Danny Granger

F

Pacers

24

N/A

Can board & shoot a high % from 3, but often fouls.

Marvin Williams

F

Hawks

21

N/A

Better pts, reb & stl in same amt of minutes as '06.

Raymond Felton

G

Bobcats

23

N/A

10th in the NBA in Ast/game, but needs to improve A/T.

Andrew Bynum

C

Lakers

20

N/A

Amazingly, avgs double-double in under 26 min/game.

Ben Gordon

G

Bulls

24

N/A

Pts are down, FG% is down, morale is low in Chicago.

T.J. Ford

G

Raptors

24

N/A

High A/T, high FG%, but lacks ability to stay healthy.

Devin Harris

G

Mavericks

24

N/A

Solid PG on a good team, but needs more ast to climb.

Mo Williams

G

Bucks

24

N/A

Increased ast/game is indicator he's not focus of Buck off.

Andris Biedrins

F-C

Warriors

21

N/A

Best FG% in the NBA shows that he's a finisher inside.

25.

Andrew Bogut

C

Bucks

23

N/A

Must play more consistently, b/c he is in risk of falling out.