According to ESPN’s 2015 #NBArank, the Sacramento Kings have some pretty bad players. Sacramento has four players in the dreaded 300-400 range and only two in the top 100.
Not even 2014 All-Star and self-proclaimed MVP candidate DeMarcus Cousins could crack the top 10!
So without further adieu, lets take a look at where they rank, who ranked just below and just above them, and whether or not the ranking is justified.
390. Quincy Acy
- Alonzo Gee
391. Russ Smith
This one is pretty silly. Quincy Acy is coming off his best year as a pro and played for an atrocious Knicks team. Acy is a solid defender and has one of the league’s most intimidating beards. You go ahead and tell him where he’s ranked. See what happens.
354. Caron Butler
- Brandon Rush
355 Cameron Payne
If we are talking about strictly on the court rankings, this one might be fair. But Caron Butler is an absolute godsend for any team that needs serious locker room leadership. Plus his nickname is “TuffJuice.” Nobody named TuffJuice should ever be ranked this low. For shame, ESPN.
325. Seth Curry:
- R.J. Hunter
326. Andre Roberson
Seth Curry should be ranked in the top 200 based on family lineage alone. Have some respect.
315. James Anderson
- Delon Wright
316. Alexis Ajinca
James Anderson wasn’t even in the league last year so I think being ranked 315 isn’t that bad. He seems like he can make some shots and defends now and again, but I don’t trust any player that the Spurs gave up on after one year.
242. Omri Casspi
- Nik Stauskas
243. Isaiah Canaan
Umm…are you kidding me? Omri Casspi was arguably the Kings’ best bench player last year and seemed to really excel under George Karl. You have the nerve to actually rank Nik “I couldn’t throw a rock in the ocean last year” Stauskas ahead of him? Unforgivable.
223. Rajon Rondo
- Marreese Speights
224. Marvin Williams
If Rondo can’t return to 80 percent of his former Celtics glory version, than I think this ranking is fair. If he can, then I think he is being highly underrated. Either way, it’s just weird to see him amongst the Marreese Speights’ and Marvin Williams’ of the world. Also, I had to look at Speights’ first name 10 times before I actually believed he spelled it like that.
175. Willie Cauley-Stein
- Josh McRoberts
176. Gerald Henderson
Trill has a bunch of potential so I think this ranking is pretty good. With being that said, if he isn’t as effective as the guy ranked 174, I will be kind of bummed out. Get outta here, McBob.
167. Ben McLemore (III)
- Mike Dunleavy
168. Mirza Teletovic
The way McLemore has looked in the preseason, I think if he ended up being the 167th best player in the league this year it would be quite the blessing. Looks lost most of the time when he’s on the court despite showing flashes of brilliance. If this kid could put it together, it would be such a come-up for Sacramento. I like his hair this year though…..
164. Marco Belinelli
- Kosta Koufos
165. Corey Brewer
Oh I guess you didn’t know that George Karl was about to unleash the Italian beast. Well he is. If there was a 7th man of the year, I think he’d win it this year. But there’s not. They should make that a thing.
163. Kosta Koufos
- Patty Mills
164. Marco Belinelli
You know how people acted like Timofey Mozgov was God’s or LeBron’s (same thing really) gift to the 5-spot towards the end of last season? You know how Mozgov at #78 is ranked 85 spots ahead of Kosta Koufos? Well did you know that Koufos is actually a better player? Now you do.
145. Darren Collison
- C.J. McCollum
146. Arron Afflalo
This is going to look really silly when Darren Collison wins 6th man of the year this season. He has been the Kings’ best player in training camp and preseason and it looks like he’s going to be perfect for Karl’s system.
70. Rudy Gay
69. Danilo Gallinari
71. Nicolas Batum
Rudy Gay was ranked #51 last year and then he proceeded to have the best season of his career but somehow he dropped 19 spots. What in the world is that? Did so many people get better this year that Gay slipped? C’mon ESPN. Also, Danilo Gallinari at #69? He’ll be hurt by the time I’m done typing this sentence.
12. DeMarcus Cousins
11. John Wall
13. LaMarcus Aldridge
So the most dominant big man of the small-ball era isn’t even a top-10 NBA player this year? Ya are shady. What if the Kings make the playoffs this season and Cousins averages 25 and 12? Are you still going to rank him #12? I don’t think so playboy.
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