The 2025-26 SLN Top 100: Nos. 100-76

[jwoo]

Congrats gang, we made it to Season 30. I wanted to take on a big project to commemorate that (and help bankroll some camps, but mostly to commemorate) and it's been like eight seasons somehow since I last attempted to rank the best players in the league. SO: here I am, ranking the best players in the league.

In the past, I've done this in a google sheet for speed. After hearing tales of Ashes' in-depth articles of the past in old leagues, this project is going to be a lot more time consuming but also hopefully very fun to read and discuss. My aim is to roll this out as fast as I can but also have a nice stream of content to read, so it will be in four installments of 25 players each.

As far as evaluating players is concerned, I'd be the first to admit that this is a tough task and not perfect at all. None of us have time to look at every box score (but I tried to look at a lot of them!). This is really my list and my opinion. But lists are fun and a nice way to appreciate the many cool and fun players in our beautiful league, many of whom don't get recognized for their hard work. I look at this year's stats because this is a rating in the present, but I also look at past years' stats/various successes and sometimes, draft notes (for player construction hints) to try to figure out which guys I generally believe are better relative to others.

I don't have a hard rubric doing this but things I value a lot — efficiency, lack of turnovers, versatility (aka can this guy be used in a range of contexts effectively), raw letter grades for rebounding and outside scoring, and lastly, I tend to tip the cap to players who are on winning teams. (We used to do this exercise at Sports Illustrated every year and it fucking sucked splitting hairs between good role players, so I kinda just picked guys I really liked and wanted to write about for the last 20 spots or so).

Enjoy and please discuss/debate in the comments. I will try to have 75-51 done tonight or tomorrow depending how much time I have, this is an ambitious project, but I just paid 1000 RP for Trey Murphy and I'm feeling frisky!

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100. Caleb Martin, SG, Knicks

As this list will probably indicate, I really tend to like role players who find ways to chip in even when they aren't scoring — Caleb has never been the most consistently efficient, but he has some offensive splash games and will often contribute boards and stocks at a good rate for a wing. Takes care of the ball and also takes care of his twin brother who in this version of SLN retired early and works a 9-to-5. He played a huge role on the really good Hawks teams and is still in his prime years — think he was a great addition for the Knicks.

99. Kel'el Ware, C, Grizzlies

When I wrote on his draft profile his dad was named Jor'el Ware I was totally joking but it turns out this guy is actually named after Superman. That basically makes him the A'ja Wilson of SLN, since she's named after a Steely Dan record. There are a number of older big men who are better rebounders and shot-blockers, but Ware seems to be on an awesome trajectory, and he does two things well already that give him an amazing floor — he's a reasonably good shooter from the line, and he takes good care of the ball. He's not all that dissimilar from what Isaiah Jackson looked like two seasons ago — he's actually ahead of that trajectory minus the NDL boosts — point being, the stocks and overall profile point to a potentially elite defensive center in the making.

98. Trey Murphy, SF, Raptors

Disclaimer, I wrote this 12 hours before I traded for Trey Murphy and I clearly meant every word of it based on the bag I mailed Kipke this morning. Call this a hipster pick but whatever. Murphy was one of the most underrated pickups of the year by Denver, as the odd man out in Sacramento. I don't know exactly what his stats are since he got to the Nuggets but I think it's all pretty legitimate - he doesn't rebound well but he looks like he's going to be efficient, play quality defense, not turn it over, and shoot enough to be a non-zero offensively. He's 25 and I think will wind up being a lineup fixture for the rest of his career. He's also on a cheap deal for a couple more seasons.

97. Denzel Valentine, SF, Magic

Maybe another homer pick but I've appreciated Denzel Valentine ever since he was on my team for like a week last year. He's turnover-prone if you funnel him too much volume, but the guy is pretty efficient, plays adequate defense and rebounds it well. It's basically everything you want in a role-playing wing if you can weather the occasional unwanted turnover. I personally would rather always have the guy that chips in across several areas than one whose only skill is volume scoring. He is reliable and boring and I like that. He's quietly been useful everywhere he goes.

96. Tyler Herro, SG, Lakers

Yes, we all abhor Tyler Herro's turnovers. But do I think he could be really valuable in the right team context? Probably. The A+ shooting made it hard for me to leave him off the list. He sucks at defense and rebounding, but if you had four really good defenders around him and were playing at a slower pace, I think his efficiency would be very nice to have around. He can really score in a way that could theoretically outweigh the drawbacks.

95. Austin Reaves, SG, Bullets

If Reaves were in Tyler Herro's role, he'd probably look a lot like Tyler Herro. Just with a little more defense. He's very efficient and has flat B inside/flat A outside, but he also has passing and turns the ball over a decent amount. Still, curious what he would do on a team that featured him offensively. If he started at the two only maybe those TOs would come down. I think an interesting trade candidate for some other team since he's a bit surplus in Washington, but I generally think he's solid.

94. Gradey Dick, SG, Spurs

I know what you guys are thinking. SIKE. I'm going to write an entire paragraph without making a single Gradey Dick pun. Try me. I generally don't over-rank the volume scorers with no defense types, but I think this guy is on a really good path right now and has been both efficient and non-turnovery in his first year as a featured starter post-supercamp. I gave him the bump ahead of the other two whiteys behind him on this list based on what we're seeing this season in the TOs/splits/boards department — but he'll need to keep improving in other areas to make the leap to stardom, versus stagnating here.

93. Brandon Clarke, PF, Nets

Honestly think this guy was vastly underrated before he popped to flat A rebounding and nearly won me a playoff series. He doesn't turn it over much, isn't a total zero offensively, blocks shots, and I like him so much more than I did IRL when people on the internet called me nasty shit because I said he wasn't worth a top five pick in that draft. He wasn't, but I do think his SLN value is real in this dead rebounding environment and I think he's underrated overall.

92. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, PF, Celics

An extraordinarily boring player who is making too much money but still turning in useful seasons, MKG has successfully outlived most of the players in his draft class. I don't think he is especially strong, and he doesn't shoot enough to play wing minutes unless you're running inside offense, but the guy gets a lot of rebounds, takes care of the ball, and hates scoring, so that makes him broadly useful even as his career nears an end (probably).

91. Dereck Lively, C, Nets

Lively already has flat A defense and is on his way to becoming one of the best defensive bigs in the league. The turnovers are a little troublesome maybe, but he's also on a roster that doesn't have a ton of perimeter firepower/has run balanced. More shooters around him probably cut back on some of the offensive drawbacks. A very valuable player with room to grow in a lot of areas — flat A defensive bigs to me are almost always awesome (except maybe Evan Mobley, I dunno).

90. Lonnie Walker, SG, Celtics

Lonnie Walker made the list mostly because he has A- inside scoring (maybe it's mega-jumping?) and had two very nice seasons before this one. He's something short of a star player, but he's better than an average shooting guard and plays some modicum of defense. The turnovers aren't the best and he doesn't rebound, but he's one of the better middle-tier two-guards and I feel like he'd wreck in balanced. Who is the real Lonnie??? If he gets back to where he was before this season, he might be a little too low on the list.

89. Matisse Thybulle, SF, Nuggets

Thybulle is one of the weirdest players in the league, and another guy where usage and fit matters a ton. He's probably a little overpaid, but his unique combo of truly elite stocks and nearly non-existent usage makes him the most quirky shot-funnel wing in the league. Would be fun to see him fully optimized on an inside-oriented team one day — Denver has used him off the bench as a supersub in spite of the bad boards, I could see him as a starter on a team funneling shots to their bigs. I had a really hard time knowing where to rank him because of the fit questions, it's a hard exercise, but — again, vibes only.

88. Thon Maker, C, Sonics

Incredibly boring and extremely useful, Thon has far surpassed his IRL career with a very workmanlike run in Seattle, where he's put up strong defensive numbers and stayed out of the way otherwise. As I went through the bigs in this rough tier of the league, I had a hard time leaving him off. So I included him. I prefer him to Jordan Bell (who missed the cut by a hair) but not by much. Maker does a lot of work for the very good Sonics. No wonder he's be Evil Reed Richards the way dat ass be expanding.

87. Lou Williams, PG (SG), Hornets

You could say he's declined quite a bit, but this fucking guy is still slashing 48/96/47 and scoring 24 points in 27 minutes as a starting PG with sub-two TOs at age 39. He is the fourth Beatle on a Hornets team with literally four players and has enjoyed one of the longest, most consistent careers in SLN history. Like Jamal Crawford and Monta Ellis before him, buckets never die. It's really amazing that he's still a quality starter — and I wonder if a smart GM could use his old-man lack of minutes to their advantage in platooning him with a sick defensive PG or something.

86. Chris Boucher, SF, Heat

While Boucher's scoring seems to have largely eroded, he does a number of very valuable things that can shine in the right team context. He's a great defender at both forward spots, he's very stocky, he rarely turns it over, and he makes free throws at a reasonable clip. In a balanced or inside-oriented team (or in a role that utilized him as a big and not a wing, as he's been deployed in Miami), I feel like he could be capable of a bit more production. Regardless, he's evolved into a really fun role player with a rare A/B defensive skillset.

85. Nerlens Noel, C, Lakers

Nerlens is one of the last true OG butts who never shoot and do all the other stuff. While his blocks have regressed over the years, the crux of what he is as a player is still quite valuable in outside offenses due to the total lack of volume. The fact he's a decent free throw shooter for a big and has the quickness to defend fours is a bonus. He is on a large salary but watch him re-sign for peanuts, as they all do. I have generally been a fan of him for a long time, and he's still got them stocks.

84. Kevon Looney, C, Celtics

Loon is a lot like Nerlens, just with more blocks and less steals, fewer TOs and the inability to ever play more than like 27 minutes a game. I have missed this guy quite a lot since he left me: he's incredibly consistent game to game and is a dying breed of centers who are allergic to shooting. He's more of an awesome role player than a foundational piece (which he kinda was at peak for a few years) at this point due to the minutes thing, but he's still plenty good and worthy of mention.

83. Victor Oladipo, SG, Warriors

I am fairly sure Victor Oladipo has gas in the tank, but right now he's mired in a bench role on a Golden State team that has better wings ahead of him. I feel like he could start at the two on a number of teams, or log some PG minutes off the bench (with more TOs, presumably) and put up nice scoring stats off the bench if deployed that way. The ratings still look good and it's harder than you think to find well-rounded wings like this right now. I had a hard time moving him higher than this just due to the smaller role factoring in, but I still think he's solid and would outperform guys who are starting in other places.

82. Zion Williamson, PF, Nets

Here is where the list starts to get fun. This is definitely going to be a controversial placement because most of the league thinks he's totally useless and loves to make that known, but Zion has A+ inside scoring and has started to finally cook people on the offensive end slash rebound at a useful level. No, actually! The spiel has always been that if you built an inside team around him and really optimized, think he'd be good, and while I know a lot of people would beg to differ, I think it would just be a really fun challenge. Due to those circumstances I don't know if it ever happens for him quite in that way but if I had nothing to lose (or just had minutes to give him) I would try to take a shot on him — particularly if his next contract winds up being affordable. He's weird and we like weird.

BONUS SECOND PARAGRAPH: The question of fit/team building and the fact we just don't understand some of how the game works is part of why it's a tough exercise to actually rank SLN players. I felt Zion needed to be on the list based on the season he's having, and would love to see someone experiment around him as he enters his prime. If his outside rating ever gets to flat C where he can play small forward, that would make things interesting. But this is all conjecture, and much like in real life, we'll continue wondering whether this guy can ever lead a winning team.

81. Walker Kessler, C, Knicks

The Knicks have made a jump this season and I think Kessler's emergence as a really good starter has a lot to do with it. He does turn it over, but he also sprinkles in good offensive games here and there, and the A-/A- big man ratings are harder and harder to find. I don't think he's far away from making a leap into the elite group of defensive bigs from a ratings perspective, and while New York is slightly net negative in rebounding differential, Kessler has been the guy really holding it together for them up front as their older bigs have declined a bit. This guy is a stud and I'm personally fine with the turnovers considering the blocks, boards, and room to grow. He's probably too slow to play anything other than the five, but that's totally fine in an era where a lot of teams are lacking a strong defensive anchor at the five.

80. Zach Edey, C, Magic

Another prodigious ass, Edey is kind of like if you took all the best parts of Ivica Zubac and Udoka Azubuike but put them in a more offensively gifted player who is younger with high potential. He's not quite across the high efficiency threshold yet (maybe in balanced?) but I think he's on his way there. He turns it over a bit, but he's also developed stocks at a very fast rate and played a huge role on a Finals team in just his second season last year. The Edey/Kessler/CMB trio will be fun to watch develop over time, but all three look like they're on their way to graduating from quality role players to truly elite butts, and those guys are scarce these days.

79. Mo Bamba, C, Warriors

In SLN world this man actually deserves songs written about him: Bamba has overtaken Looney and Nerlens as the best big who never shoots in the league. He also has Desagana Diop's agent and never cashes in on his dollar value. Three blocks a game coupled with A- rebounding coupled with zero volume and low turnovers makes this man very attractive, particularly if you're running an outside offense. Not many of these guys left and he's become arguably the top one in this mold, despite having just B defense at the moment. An excellent role player almost anywhere.

78. Collin Murray-Boyles, PF, Raptors

Did you know CMB stands for Copious Manly-Buttocks? CMB has exceeded all expectations with two insane TCs and has become one of the best bench players in the league (I'm biased but actually, look at his numbers lol). He gets boards, he gets lots of blocks and steals, he doesn't turn it over that much after his recent handles camp, and he has pretty decent inside scoring to where he sometimes adds real value on offense. My favorite thing about him is that based on his draft notes, he can defend the 3 a little bit — so while he can't start at SF (nor would you want him to with that outside rating), he can soak up those extra backup SF minutes in balanced or inside offenses and supply great defense for another 8-10 minutes per game most nights. For a guy who is only 20 years old, he's crazy advanced, and the versatility he offers is a bonus.

77. Lonzo Ball, PG, Raptors

This man has rediscovered value over the past few seasons despite playing in offenses that don't maximize him as a scorer. I probably am a little biased but he's clearly one of the best defensive PGs in the league, rebounds, takes pretty good care of the ball, and can facilitate winning in non-traditional FBB ways at his position. The downside here is that you're giving something up offensively at times — he's super streaky, usually not that good at scoring, and can sometimes pop for high-TO games due to his large amount of passing. But still, I think his role on winning teams and the rarity of point guards with all of steals, blocks and positional defense makes him a very strong option if you have firepower at other positions. Wonder if he ever winds up in an outside offense (who knows!) - LaVar knew what he was talking about, it turns out.

76. Dyson Daniels, PG (SG), Mavericks

It annoys me to rank the young PG i traded away slightly ahead of my current PG and the guy I traded him for (for now) but Dyson has basically become a more offense-oriented and less stonky/rebound-y version of Lonzo. He scores it a lot better than IRL Dyson if you play him at point guard, he controls turnovers really well, and his steals are north of two per game while still on his rookie contract. He hasn't gotten talked about a ton but I think he probably deserves to get paid well this off-season and is a legit good starter —not that it needed saying after he helped the Kings win a title last season. Curious how much better he can get from here and whether he has another leap in him as a scorer, but I think he's at the very least a quality player for a long time moving forward.

Tune back in later for the 75-51 rankings, which I will start working on later today probably.

[Clinton]

Mo too low, go figure

[jwoo]

embrace debate!!!

[Clinton]

Dipo carried us into the playoffs last season and yeah at 1 he had some cool numbers in Pre-2. Zion above him hurts but yeah i like Zion too so whatever

Dipo couldve been a starter this season…

[Clinton]

embrace debate!!!

Delly > Nembhard

[Jesse]

Looking forward to seeing Kelly Oubre in the top 10. Find me a Wing with better stats

[Jesse]

Zach Edey is offended being just 2 spots higher than Zion

[mantypas/CavsCzar]

not enough Colin Sexton talk

[jwoo]

Looking forward to seeing Kelly Oubre in the top 10. Find me a Wing with better stats

for a sum of 100 RP per spot you can decide where to rank him

[Wes]

Peep some of our last 2 sims to see what Reaves looks like starting at SG as the #2 option!