Celtics Star Bests Kawhi Leonard, Former MVP On NBA Rank List
Which Celtics stars made the countdown?
Payton Pritchard was the only Boston Celtics representative in part one of ESPN’s “NBA Rank” on Tuesday, counting down the top 100 players in the Association.
Former Celtics Aaron Nesmith and Jrue Holiday cracked the countdown as well (which revealed Nos. 100 to 51) on Tuesday.
ESPN continued the list on Wednesday, unveiling Nos. 50 to 11 and one former Boston star, as well as two current standouts made the cut.
Center Kristaps Porzingis was No. 50 on the list after being ranked 46th one year ago. The Celtics traded Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks in July.
“Health continues to be the biggest question mark for Porzingis, especially at this stage in his career. His performance in the 2025 playoffs was limited by an upper respiratory illness that bothered him both in the regular season and into the second round as he failed to capitalize on a strong run to the Finals with the Celtics in 2024,” Jamal Collier wrote. “Now, Porzingis has a chance to make an impact with a fresh start in Atlanta as one of the prized acquisitions of Atlanta’s offseason.
Boston guard Derrick White shot up to 26th on the countdown after being No. 39 last year.
“It wasn’t long ago that White’s omission from this list was a major talking point. Now, he’s firmly ensconced inside the top 50, a credit to his development and to his role in all of Boston’s winning in recent seasons,” Tim Bontemps wrote. “With Jayson Tatum out, White — like Jaylen Brown — could have a chance to burnish his individual accomplishments, and with an increase in individual stats could have a shot at making his first All-Star team this season.”
Speaking of Jaylen Brown, the four-time All-Star is down to 19th on the list after being No. 14 ahead of the 2024 season.
“JB” is notably ranked ahead of former MVP James Harden (No. 23) and fellow Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard (No. 20).
“With Jayson Tatum sidelined for the season with an Achilles tear, Brown will have a chance to see what life is like as the leading scorer in Boston — with all of the responsibility that comes along with it,” Bontemps wrote. “Presuming he has no lingering issues from offseason knee surgery, Brown could easily surpass his career high in scoring (26.6 PPG in 2022-23). Still, it remains to be seen how competitive this season’s Celtics squad will be, even in the lesser Eastern Conference.”
The top 10 will be revealed on Thursday.
