ESPN NBA Rank 2018-19: 5 players they ranked too high

ESPN's preseason player rankings for the 2018-19 season were released, and as with most of their publications, they drew a lot of flak for making some poor selections. As with their rankings every year, there are obvious double standards which they failed to identify when their writers pose arguments for why specific players are at specific spots on their top players' lists.

The entirety of the list resembles a hastily hashed-together collection of seemingly prophetic words which are eminently liable to be proved inaccurate and the misuse of specific stats to estimate players' overall impact on their teams' seasons. While time will definitely flesh out these flawed chains of reasoning, there are some flaws which are obvious right at the outset if one bothered to truly introspect the list.

Let's take a look at 5 players they have overrated going into the season:

#1 Stephen Curry

If this was a list based only off the offensive side of the game, a case could genuinely be made about Steph Curry as the second best player on the planet - perhaps even for #1. However, the only unanimous MVP in the history of the league has a significant flaw in his game that opponents have mercilessly exploited over the course of the playoffs over the years - he is, at best, a passable on-ball defender.

He is not actively a detriment to Golden State's excellent defense, but he is by far the weakest link of their Death Lineup.

The very best players of their times tend to have few weaknesses or none, and that is one way of describing LeBron's game as well as that of the 2-time reigning Finals MVP, Kevin Durant. Durant is as elite a scorer as Steph during the regular season, but the unstoppable nature of his shot allows him to rack up 20 points in his sleep even in pressure-cooker games.

Arguments can be made that Durant is indeed a better offensive player than Steph even today, in a vacuum. And since we're compiling a straightforward list of the best players in the world in a vacuum, Steph falls short of the Durant-LeBron pedestal atop the list of best players on the planet.

#2 Giannis Antetokounmpo

European products have typically been overhyped before they arrive in the NBA over the past 20 years (courtesy a 41-year-old German still going strong near Fort Worth), but Giannis is the rare European player who is receiving a fair share of mid-career hype.

For what it's worth, most of the hype is well-warranted. As physical specimens go, Giannis is already up there with peak LeBron as one of the most freakish athletes to ever play in the league. His vertical, speed, strength, skillset and versatility have helped him become one of the most dominant stat-sheet stuffers of all time - he was the only player in league history to lead his franchise in all 5 major box score statistics in 2016-17, and did a 4/5 this past season.

And yet, there's a significant shortcoming in his game that Anthony Davis doesn't have - a reliable jumpshot from mid-range. Davis can create his own shot from virtually any spot on the floor, and he is a respectable 3-point shooter as well (although on low volume).

Right now, Davis is the more complete, well-rounded and dominant player, and unlike Giannis, he already has a playoff series win against his name. A 3rd place finisher in MVP voting should definitely be ranked above Giannis, even if you count some of his health issues against him.

#3 Joel Embiid

Oklahoma City Thunder v Philadelphia 76ers

As long as we're considering Anthony Davis as a power forward (even though he's likely to be the Pelicans' default starting center this season), the notion of Embiid being the game's best two-way center should be counted as quite valid.

There's a lot to like about Embiid's game. He has the whole package on offense, thriving the most in the traditional sense from the low post region, but with the ability to stretch defenses out to the 3-point line. He's an adequate playmaker, devastating rim-runner, a willing screener and one of the best pick-and-pop roll men in the league.

With that being said, Embiid has no playoff resume to speak of, thus far. While he racked up volume stats against the Heat and the Celtics after a comeback from an orbital fracture surgery, he was clearly not well-conditioned and at one point, a clear liability on defense against Al Horford.

Embiid does belong in the conversation of the league's elite and after a healthy offseason for the first time in 4 years, he has a chance to prove himself right. But for now, there are seasoned veterans like Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler and LaMarcus Aldridge who should be considered better than him for the upcoming season.

#4 Damian Lillard

Portland Trail Blazers v New Orleans Pelicans - Game Three

For all of Damian Lillard's virtues, and there are several of them undoubtedly, the 2017-18 season did anything but to enhance his resume as a top-10 player in the league - specifically, the playoffs.

Hounded by soft and hard double-teaming tactics through the length of the 4-game series, Lillard averaged 8 points per game lower than his regular season scoring average on sub-40 shooting from the floor and sub-30 3-point shooting percentage. Coach Alvin Gentry essentially coached him off the floor, and even a 38-point outburst by McCollum did not dissuade Gentry from continuing to use his tactics in Game 4 against Lillard - because it was working.

The exposure of such a fatal flaw in his game means that he is, at least in my eyes, no better off this year than he was last year. ESPN projected the Blazers to finish outside the playoff berths this season, and yet they have the nerve to project Lillard as a top 10 player in the league despite being a defensive liability still.

#5 Nikola Jokic

Jokic is one of the hardest players to accurately rank, but I'm going to go ahead and say that ESPN definitely placed the wrong big man in their top 12.

We get it, people. No center in the history of the game has been the kind of true point guard that Jokic has routinely been for the Nuggets. He damn near averaged a triple-double for an entire month of the regular season, and he is about as skilled an offensive player as a big man at his size can get. We get all of that - Jokic is a true unicorn.

Unicorn or not, however, he's a putrid defender who is simply too slow to not be exploited during the playoffs, if the Nuggets manage to make it to that stage this year. Guarding the likes of Russell Westbrook and LeBron James on switches is not ideal for a center who, with all due respect, plays at a plodding pace at best.

Jokic is a plus defender for one of the worst defenses in the league. That does not say much, or indeed anything, at all, about his defense. LaMarcus Aldridge deserved to be ranked right there at that #12 spot, but that's a rant reserved for another time.