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Sports Illustrated: NBA's Top 100 players for 2017

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Mar 31, 2015
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3 UConn players on the list: http://www.si.com/nba/2016/09/12/nba-top-100-player-rankings

80. Rudy Gay, SF, Kings

Rudy Gay and the Kings have arguably brought out the worst in each other. Gay has more or less stuck to his inefficient, isolation-heavy offense and laissez faire defense, while Sacramento has done him no favors by constantly cycling through GMs, coaches and point guards instead of constructing an on-court setup that might make better use of his physical gifts. Along the way, Gay (17.2 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.7 APG) has passed age 30, made slight improvement on his poor shot selection diet, and publicly expressed confusion with the Kings’ organizational direction. While Gay in Sacramento feels a bit doomed, there’s still a nagging sensation that he could be a salvageable asset in the right scenario. Couldn’t Gay age more gracefully and effectively if cast in a smaller and supporting offensive role and placed in a winning environment that would push him to play defense and help provide some cover from scrutiny and individual expectations? (Last year: No. 52)

+ Touches fell with Rajon Rondo's arrival, suggesting he’s a candidate to bounce back
+ Gay says he “feels better than I have in at least two years" after off-season Achilles surgery
– Ranks outside the top 100 players league-wide in PER, Win Shares and Real Plus Minus
– He’s won three playoff games total during his 10-year career

36. Kemba Walker, PG, Hornets

For years, the mention of Kemba Walker during our rankings process was met with dismissive disdain. Tries to do too much. Inefficient. Poor shot selection. Weak defender. Not good enough to be a No. 1 scoring option on a playoff team. This year, of course, everything is different, as Walker, 26, jumped from the land of the snubs to the top 40. Walker (20.9 PPG, 5.2 APG, 4.4 RPG) was a totally different player from a statistical standpoint last season: a much improved and more selective shooter, a more efficient scorer, a more effective player in crunch time, and a more trusting teammate. The arrival of some additional playmakers and floor-spacing options certainly helped, as did a faster pace and a new spread approach on offense that saw Charlotte’s assist ratio improve from No. 26 to No. 17 last season. Walker’s breakthrough is a familiar basketball story that never gets old: Everyone benefits when the basketball moves, even flashy lead guards who made their names by boasting a full arsenal of dribble moves and total confidence in their shot-making ability. (Last year: Not ranked)

+ In 2015-16, posted career highs in points, rebounds, FT attempts, FG%, 3P%, TS%, offensive rating, Player Efficiency Rating and Win Shares.
+ Ranked No. 6 with 142 points in the clutch, improving his FG% in clutch situations from 28.2% (2014-15) to 39.2% (2015-16)
– His first shot at winning a playoff series slipped away in demoralizing fashion
– Will need to adjust to a reconfigured rotation after losing Courtney Lee, Jeremy Lin and Al Jefferson

29. Andre Drummond, C, Pistons

It didn’t take long for Andre Drummond to validate Detroit’s decision to roll with him as the franchise center and move on from Greg Monroe. In his first year playing in a spread offensive system, the 23-year-old Drummond (16.2 PPG, 14.8 RPG, 1.4 BPG) put his elite size and strength to full use, posting career-highs in scoring and rebounding while helping Detroit post its best offensive efficiency ranking since 2008. Although he’s still an unpolished, inconsistent scoring option on the block and a major liability when hacked, Drummond compensates for those weaknesses by wearing down his opponents, pounding the offensive glass and finishing with authority when he gets a clean window in pick-and-roll situations. He hasn’t yet reached “Young Dwight Howard” levels when it comes to offensive impact (and he probably won’t ever get there), but Drummond has made steady progress since he entered the NBA as a teenager. This season marked Drummond’s third straight playing 80+ games, and that reliability, coupled with good health from his fellow starters, played a big role in Detroit’s defensive improvement. After years of below-average and disorganized defenses, the Pistons have been much better under Stan Van Gundy, with Drummond deserving credit for holding down the boards and covering up for some fairly weak-defending power forwards alongside of him. By the time Detroit got around to inking Drummond to a $130 million rookie contract extension this summer, the deal was hardly news. There just wasn’t anything to debate or discuss: He earned it. (Last year: No. 35)

+ A first-time All-Star and All-NBA selection last year, he led the NBA in rebounds, ranked in the top 30 in PER, Win Shares, and Real Plus Minus, and tallied a league-best 66 double-doubles (12 more than anyone else)
+ The best age-22 comparison point for his 2015-16 production (16.2/14.8/1.4, 7.4 Win Shares) is Hall of Famer Moses Malone (19.4/15/1.3, 6.1 WS)
– His ghastly 35.5% free-throw shooting last season was the lowest mark all-time among players with at least 500 attempts
– Although he’s one of the NBA’s most prolific dunkers, he has significant room to improve as a finisher around the basket, ranking in the 27% percentile in post-up scoring per Synergy Sports
 
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