How many Timberwolves made the new top ranking of the NBA’s 100 Greatest Players?

The start of the 2024-25 NBA season is just around the corner and ESPN has released its annual NBA rankings, ranking the association’s top 100 players. How many wolves made it? Which should have been higher or lower? Let’s dive in and offer our thoughts.

Conley, entering his 18th NBA season, remains as steady as can be. Perhaps the most telling statistic about Conley’s impact on the Timberwolves: Minnesota went 53-23 with Conley as a starter and 3-3 in the six games he missed before reaching the Western Conference Finals. He continues to be an outstanding presenter (5.9 assists per game), who, alongside Anthony Edwards, excels in playing without the ball and last season shot a career-best 44.2% from 3-point range. achieved. – Tim MacMahon

This feels just right for Conley, who still deserves to be on the roster at age 37.

From Minnesota cult hero to NBA Sixth Man of the Year, Reid makes his Top 100 debut. He has emerged as a key player for the Wolves, averaging 13.5 points and 5.2 rebounds in 81 games, both as a key reserve and as a starter (the team was 10-4 when Reid last season started). The Wolves will lean on Reid even more after trading for Karl-Anthony Towns. – Jamal Collier

I don’t know if Reid deserves to be higher than 87th right now, but I would bet he moves up the list next year.

Four years into his career and yet still only 24 years old, the 6-foot-3, 185-pound McDaniels – who has a 7-foot wingspan – was picked by Minnesota management to be Scottie Pippen to Anthony Edwards’ Michael Jordan for years come. In the modern NBA game, where positions are becoming increasingly fluid, McDaniels is a prototypical defender who can switch to all five positions and suffocate the opponent from the sidelines to the perimeter. The Wolves also bet heavily on him, trading a former franchise pillar in Towns just as McDaniels’ salary jumped from $3.9 million to $23 million – meaning they’re expecting a corresponding increase in production from McDaniels. – Dave McMenamin

McDaniels also makes his top-100 debut after being named second team All-Defense last year. It would be great if he could become more of a goalscorer this season. If that happens, he could also move up next year’s list.

DiVincenzo was a big part of the Knicks’ offense last season, hitting a whopping 283 triples in the 2023-24 season – third-most in the NBA and nearly twice as many as the season before when he played alongside Stephen Curry in Golden State worked. The 27-year-old could also still have a lot of potential. He averaged nearly 23 points in the seven-game Eastern Conference semifinal series in New York. Expect DiVincenzo to be a key contributor for the Wolves, taking full advantage of his shooting abilities now that Karl-Anthony Towns is a Knick. –Chris Herring

I actually think this might be a bit low for DiVincenzo, as he will fit perfectly in the Wolves’ backcourt. He and Reid could compete against each other for Sixth Man of the Year honors this season.

The 29-year-old has had turbulent moments during his six seasons with the Knicks; especially in the playoffs. But the team undoubtedly missed his playmaking and scoring punch last postseason while Randle was nursing his dislocated shoulder. Randle, a two-time All-NBA player who has generally been one of the league’s healthiest players in recent years, is now headed to Minnesota, where he will play alongside rising superstar Anthony Edwards. It will be interesting to see how Randle’s presence impacts the Wolves’ spacing, but his passing ability is underrated and he has the potential to help the team’s offense significantly. –Chris Herring

That feels a little low for a two-time All-NBA player (aka Top 15), but Randle probably has something to prove after moving to Minnesota. Without the pressure from New York, he should have a big season ahead of him.

After a difficult year of transition with the Timberwolves, Gobert anchored the NBA’s top-ranked defense en route to his record-tying fourth Defensive Player of the Year award. He also averaged a double-double (14.0 points, 12.9 rebounds per game) for the eighth straight season. There is a narrative that Gobert is played off the floor in the playoffs, but Minnesota outscored playoff opponents by 95 points in his 512 minutes and was minus-28 in 256 minutes without him. – Tim MacMahon

With Karl-Anthony Towns (30th on this list) gone, Gobert is now the Wolves’ second-best player. His options on offense are limited, but all he really needs to do is set screens and finish at the rim. The four-time DPOY remains elite at the other end of the floor.

Edwards was the breakout star of the 2024 season with an All-Star appearance, an All-NBA selection and a dominant playoff performance that culminated with a Wolves victory over the defending champion Denver Nuggets in the second round. Edwards averaged 27.8 points on 48% shooting and led the Wolves to their first conference final since 2004. This summer, he continued that success and played a key role in Team USA’s gold medal campaign at the Olympics in Paris. With the NBA in the midst of an unprecedented run of international players dominating both the MVP race and discussions about the league’s best players, the 23-year-old has a chance to claim the title of the next best U.S.-born player in the league To secure the league. – Jamal Collier

That’s high praise for Edwards, who improved three spots from last year’s list after the best season of his career. He is one spot behind Kevin Durant and ahead of players like Jalen Brunson, Jaylen Brown and Devin Booker. Edwards, who finished seventh in MVP voting last year, absolutely has top-10 talent. Can he prove that all season long as the undisputed alpha of this Wolves team? Shooting efficiency, off-ball movement, playmaking and defensive focus are all things to consider for Ant this year. When he’s on his game, he’s as dangerous as anyone in the league.

The Wolves are the only team in the NBA with seven players in the top 100. The Celtics, Thunder and Knicks each have six. That says a lot about their talent and depth this season.