Aldridge placed No. 21. I'm not going to lie: I was a little surprised to see that Aldridge was already 28 when we were making the list. He's only 14 months younger than Chris Bosh! Just like his fellow Dallas native, Aldridge's game might be more suited to being the No. 2 player on a good team. If he can get himself in a situation where he's the No. 3 player (*cough* Houston) on a great team, he'll have a chance to win multiple championships, too. He's not flashy and his rebounding stats have always been a little low, but a 6'11, 240-pound player with his size, athleticism and shooting touch will be an excellent player for a very long time. - Jonathan Tjarks Lillard placed No. 42. There are two major things to remember about young players and, specifically, rookies. One is that players tend to be better at age 27 than age 22. The curve is a bell in most cases. Players peak in their late 20s. In theory, having an awesome 21-year-old is better than having an equally awesome 23-year-old, because history says that when the 21-year-old is 23, he'll be more awesome than the 23-year-old had been. But the other thing is that the rookie season is just about every player's most difficult. There's a huge learning curve between college or international ball and the freaking NBA. It's even bigger for players coming from lower conferences or leagues: You go from playing against future insurance agents to future Hall of Famers. That Damian Lillard had such a spectacular season facing that learning curve -- despite being further along the age curve (22) than other elite young point guards -- says something. In conclusion, Dame! - Tom Ziller Batum placed No. 61. He needs to become more efficient, and he needs to finally put those defensive tools to use and become that lockdown guy on the perimeter. But if he can do those things -- and I don't think either is out of the question -- he'll be a really nice player for a long time. He's not yet 25, and for whatever reason, I think he still has a lot of potential. He's never going to be an all star, but if his defensive ability catches up to his physical tools, he'll be pretty good. -Conrad Kaczmarek http://www.sbnation.com/2013/8/19/4615826/top-100-nba-players-2017-list
42. Damian Lillard Damian Lillard facts Age in 2017: 27 Current Team: Portland Trail Blazers 2012-13 PER: 16.4 Perfect! No. 42 is the meaning of life in Hitchhiker's Guide. Without Lillard, the Blazers' life has no meaning right now. They'll hitchhike a ride as far as he'll take them. -Dave, Blazer's Edge There are two major things to remember about young players and, specifically, rookies. One is that players tend to be better at age 27 than age 22. The curve is a bell in most cases. Players peak in their late 20s. In theory, having an awesome 21-year-old is better than having an equally awesome 23-year-old, because history says that when the 21-year-old is 23, he'll be more awesome than the 23-year-old had been. But the other thing is that the rookie season is just about every player's most difficult. There's a huge learning curve between college or international ball and the freaking NBA. It's even bigger for players coming from lower conferences or leagues: You go from playing against future insurance agents to future Hall of Famers. That Damian Lillard had such a spectacular season facing that learning curve -- despite being further along the age curve (22) than other elite young point guards -- says something. In conclusion, Dame! -ZILLER TJARKS: Serious question: Is he that much better than Jeff Teague? He's already 23, so he's much closer to his ceiling than your average rookie. He took six 3-pointers a game last season, which seems like a lot if you aren't Steph Curry. I think he'll be a good point guard in the NBA for a long time, but there are a lot of good point guards these days. ZILLER: Uh, Jeff Teague is two years older than Lillard and had lower numbers across the board last season. (Lillard was even more efficient as a rookie than Teague was as a fourth-year.) So yes, Damian Lillard is that much better than Jeff Teague. Furthermore, the fact that Lillard can take that many threes at age 22 and shoot them so well (37 percent, or the equivalent of shooting 55 percent on two-pointers, which is difficult if not impossible for most guards) is a boon for the Blazers, not a burden. FLANNERY: We're all guilty of playing the age game on this list, but guys like Teague didn't have the kind of season Lillard had at his age. The dude can play, and while I agree that others project higher, I think the pendulum has swung too far on Lillard.
Oh boy, made the mistake of scrolling further in the list. Beal, Barnes, Noel (!), Rubio, Monroe, Jrue all ahead of Dame. Gimme a break. These fools project that Dame will not only plateau, but that these other players won't? Don't work both ways
I think Dame is ranked around 40 in the league right now. Pretty ridiculous to think he won't improve from that ranking in 4 years.
Before last season I thought it was a year at a crossroad. We had a sure bet in Aldridge, some role players and a bunch of question marks. If none of those question marks developed to have stud potential I figured the team should look at trading LaMarcus and doing a complete rebuild. Well we far exceeded my expectations with a ROY performance from Dam. Two studs are exponentially easier to build a contender around than one. Now we are looking for only a 3rd piece; we are over half way towards building a contender. Now if Damian peaks as the 42nd ranked player that changes things. A player at that level is not going to be a major piece to a title. If that becomes evident from our play over half a season we can explorer trading LaMarcus and committing to years of tanking. In that case we might follow the 6ers path and explorer trading a middling talent like a 42nd ranked Lillard. I believe it is more likely our team is well in the playoff hunt next season and Lillard rises far up this list. If the Blazers had a better record Damians accomplishments wouldn’t be discounted as good stats on a bad team. If the Blazers make the playoffs Lillard will get far more exposure.
Jahlil Okafor who just finished his junior year of HIGH SCHOOL is ranked at #29 almost even with LaMarcus and far above Damian. What a bunch of crap. Top high school prospects flop all the time. Damian will be in his prime by then. There is almost no chance some kid comes in and dominates like that his first few years. How long did Garnett or Kobe and other hall of famers need to become all-stars? More than two years. And they were the studs that exceed expectations. This kid is just as likely to be a Darko or Kwame. This is definitely a joke, it’s just some guys list of his favorite 100 younger players.
I bet there are a few lists from 2006 that said Greg Oden would be a top 3 player in the league by now.
I thought it was interesting how hard they're swingin' off Blake Griffin's nut sack. Ranking him the 10th best player in 2017 saying he'll be "an evolutionary Barkley."
#15 Dwight Howard #10 Blake Griffin Well, we know that Los Angeles dominates NBA media. They hate Howard.
42 is 2nd best player on more than half the teams in the league. Is he 2nd best on the Blazers behind LMA now?
