Sports Illustrated is out with its annual listsicle of the top 100 NBA players for the upcoming season. And may I say that prognostication has never been easier — at least for Nos. 1-3. Beyond that, let the nit-picking begin:
1. LeBron James. SI has been releasing preseason top 100 rankings for six years. James has been No. 1 six times. The take of SI’s Ben Golliver: “Like Michael Jordan before him, James the athlete will eventually be eclipsed by his own legend.”
2. Kevin Durant. And this is the sixth time in six years that Durant has finished No.