Sports Illustrated’s The Crossover opened a can of worms ranking Russell Westbrook outside the top 5 NBA player ranking. Debates ensued over how the reigning MVP hadn’t made the top five, let alone the top three on this list.
Other lists are rolling in with ESPN giving Russ a bit more love ranking him fifth. The full ESPN top 10 list is as follows:
- LeBron James
- Kevin Durant
- Kawhi Leonard
- Stephen Curry
- Russell Westbrook
- Anthony Davis
- Chris Paul
- James Harden
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Draymond Green
In the seventh year of these annual rankings ESPN held the reigning MVP in the same position as last season (5).