Radio personality Colin Cowherd, who hosts “The Herd” on Fox Sports One, delved into his list of the top young players in the NBA during his show Monday.
The criteria Cowherd used was pretty simple. He selected who he thought were the current best players in the league 25 years old or younger.
Here’s how Cowherd’s list shook out:
1. Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo
2. Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid
3. Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic
4. Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic
5. Boston Celtics guard Jayson Tatum
While those are certainly some of the premier players in the NBA, there is a major flaw with Cowherd’s rankings. Half of those players are over the age of 25 and the only players who fit into his original criteria are the 23-year-old Doncic and Tatum, who just turned 24 in early March.
Antetokounmpo and Jokic are actually both 27 years old while Embiid is a year older than both of them.
Even though it is a flawed list for obvious reasons, Tatum being in this conversation shows the national notoriety he has gained in just his fourth season in the NBA.
Tatum, who notched 26.9 points, 8.0 rebounds along with 4.4 assists per game in the regular season and has the Celtics on the verge of a first-round series sweep of the Brooklyn Nets, has reached the upper echelon of players in the NBA and with his young age, there’s still room for him to continue to grow moving forward.
