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January 18, 2007
Davis Sports Deli.com's
NBA Top 25 Under Age 25
By: Patrick Crawley, Aaron Fischman & Joshua Fischman
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 inside dominance of Dwight Howard to the innovative ball movement and court vision of Chris Paul, the young players of the league are factoring prominently in the success of their respective teams. For evidence, just look at the recent improvement of Dwight's Magic or Chris' Hornets and the poor performance of the Cavs without LeBron.
Seeing as the players under 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 in the NBA under age 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 develops a list of the Top 30 players in the league under age 25. In determining our individual lists, each of us uses 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 has built his individual list, we compile the data and average the rankings for each player listed. If two players are tied with the same average ranking (say Player A and Player B), we take whichever player is ranked higher on the majority of the individual lists. So, let's say Player A is ranked 12th on my list, 11th on Aaron's and 11th on Joshua's (whereas Player B is 13th, 9th and 12th respectively). Both have the same average ranking, but Player A is higher on more lists, and therefore gets the nod over Player B.
With the average rankings determined, our team pares down the list to the Top 25 and lists them here on the site along with age, previous ranking and a few comments about his skill and potential. We update the Top 25 list on the Friday of every other week (so...every two weeks). We take recent play and injuries into account as well an increase or decrease in numbers. Player movement is documented in the "Movement" section along with + or - indicators. Once a player has his 25th birthday, he will graduate from our list. Graduates and runners-up will be posted directly after the Top 25 list.
Without further ado, here it is: the Fourth Edition of the world famous Top 25 Under 25 list. We hope you enjoy it.
If you'd like a reference for comparison, feel free to take a look back at our Top 25 Third Edition. Don't worry, it's free.
Rank |
Player |
Prev. Rank |
Age |
Movement |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. |
(1) |
23 |
-- |
(Somewhat) redeemed Cleveland's loss in the '07 Finals by hitting a game-winning shot against the Spurs on 1/17. Since he's a superstar, he didn't get the off. foul call. | |
2. |
(2) |
22 |
-- |
Absolutely kills teams in his own division. Paul averages 29 points, 9.1 assists and 3.1 steals per game against Southwest opponents. | |
3. |
(3) |
22 |
-- |
Leads the league in double-doubles with 36 (which is 9 more than the closest contender: Carlos Boozer). That includes the 5 games where he has gone for 20-20. | |
4. |
(4) |
23 |
-- |
Melo's back has begun to flare up again. Must be all of that shadowboxing he does to prepare for the Knick-Nugget Brawl rematch. He wants a piece of Nate Robinson. | |
5. |
(5) |
23 |
-- |
D-Will is one of the most efficient players in the league. He shoots over 50% from the field and over 40% from downtown while scoring 19.5 ppg. | |
6. |
(7) |
23 |
+1 |
Bosh has been terrific lately. Terrific at getting to the line. Terrific shooting from the field. He's so terrific, in fact, that Toronto fans won't shut up about him. | |
7. |
(6) |
23 |
-1 |
Raise your hand if you get the feeling that Jefferson is one of those players who will be severely undervalued throughout his whole career. I have both hands raised. | |
8. |
(8) |
22 |
-- |
Smith is in limbo. He has been at #8 for three straight weeks on our list. It's a bit like those couples who are engaged for 5 years. Just make the leap already, Josh! | |
9. |
(9) |
23 |
-- |
Roy is back on track after a VERY tough game against the Warriors last week. By the way, the Blazers are 17-3 in their last 20 games. | |
10. |
(12) |
21 |
+2 |
Rudy flirts with the Top 10 so much you'd think he was James Bond putting the moves on Moneypenny. He won't move up though, unless he improves his ball-handling. | |
11. |
(10) |
23 |
-1 |
He's a very good all-around player (19 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.5 apg, 2.2 spg). But nothing about him stands out as exceptional. Kind of like American Gladiators... | |
12. |
(16) |
24 |
+4 |
Kings fans are so glad to see Martin back, they may even forget how crappy Arco Arena is. Mini-Mart's efficiency against Dallas on 1/14 was spectacular (14-16 FG). | |
13. |
(13) |
22 |
-- |
Deng is a very good mid-range scorer who tends to take games off. Maybe he's saving himself for the playoffs... | |
14. |
(11) |
19 |
- 3 |
He has been sliding down our rankings these past few weeks. Perhaps he is depressed that his former Longhorns teammates are doing better without him. | |
15. |
(15) |
20 |
-- |
What would you do if Bynum came back 8 weeks from now looking like Oliver Miller in his eatin' days? My friend Gary, a Lakers fan, would probably cry himself to sleep. | |
16. |
(14) |
22 |
- 2 |
Aldridge is enjoying his best rebounding month (8.4 rpg in Jan.) of the season. I suppose he feels like he has to make up for his lowest FG% of the season (43%). | |
17. |
(18) |
22 |
+1 |
According to Jeff Van Gundy, Ellis has an advantage over others because he's ambidextrous with his feet. I no longer listen to anything JVG says. | |
18. |
(17) |
21 |
-1 |
Look for Marv to make a Rudy Gay-like jump next season. Once he makes that jump, I promise to start calling him Marvin again. | |
19. |
(20) |
24 |
+1 |
Granger is a very good young player. It's too bad the Pacers brass didn't start giving him steady minutes until this season. | |
20. |
(19) |
24 |
-1 |
He's almost 25 years old but don't think about Gordo as an old man just yet. Against Golden State on 1/18, he threw down a monster dunk in traffic. | |
21. |
(21) |
24 |
-- |
Harris gives away too many turnovers, misses too many ill-advised shots and has too many mental lapses on the court. Are we sure he's 24? Did he skip a few b-days? | |
22. |
(26) |
23 |
+4 |
The Aussie has scored 20+ in his last three games, which proves to the nation that he CAN be a big-time scorer. Unfortunately, the nation does not watch the lowly Bucks. | |
23. |
(27) |
23 |
+4 |
Outlaw has a knack for being in the right place at the right time, which is why coach Nate McMillan feels comfortable leaving him in the game during crunch time. | |
24. |
(22) |
23 |
-2 |
Guess what? Felton is still inconsistent. I know I'm beating a dead horse, but it's a big problem. If he played for the Celtics, KG would be ripping him a new one right now. | |
25. |
(23) |
21 |
-2 |
Goodbye, Yi. Goodbye, Horford. Goodbye, Andris Biedrins' dignity. Not a good week for the youngsters... |
On the Cusp: Al Horford (Atlanta), Linas Kleiza (Denver), Rashad McCants (Minnesota), Josh Childress (Atlanta) and Nate Robinson (New York).
Graduated: None