NBArank is back! See which stars barely missed the top 25on September 20, 2022 at 12:53 pm

NBArank is back for its 12th season counting down the best players in the league.

Where are MVP candidates such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic? What about rookies and young stars ready to take the leap into the upper tier of NBA players?

Where is LeBron James, who is entering his 20th season?

To get the final NBArank prediction, we asked our expert panel to vote on pairs of players: LeBron vs. Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry vs. Ja Morant, Luka vs. Jayson Tatum … and the list goes on.

We asked, “Which player will be better in 2022-23?” Voters had to predict what they expected from each player during the season.

Let’s kick things off with our rankings of players Nos. 100-26.

Note: ESPN’s NBArank panel, composed of over 200 reporters, editors, producers and analysts, were asked to rank players based on their predicted contributions — quality and quantity — for the 2022-23 season only.

Forecasting the East, West and NBA champs for 2022-23

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Atlanta Hawks C

2021 NBArank: NR

Why he could exceed his ranking in 2022-23: Although the Celtics reached the 2022 NBA Finals, Boston never quite looked the same after Williams injured his knee late in the regular season. If he can be healthy for the entire season, Williams will be a leading candidate for Defensive Player of the Year and could skyrocket up these rankings.

— Bontemps

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Chicago Bulls