The Ringer unveiled our Top 100 NBA Players rankings yesterday, packed with 25,000 words of analysis, humor, and insights for your enjoyment. Dive in and explore!
Even with a list extending to 100 players, not everyone who will impact the 2024-25 playoff and championship races can be included. Today, we’ll highlight six X factors who didn’t make our Top 100 but could still influence contenders’ fortunes this season.
Note that several top contenders, such as Boston, New York, Oklahoma City, and Minnesota, won’t have any representation here, as all of their most important players are already in our Top 100. But the success of six other teams—and the shape of the season writ large—could hinge on whether the following players can thrive in their roles and break into the Top 100 as the season progresses.
P.J. Washington, Dallas Mavericks
Look away, Thunder fans; this graph might fill you with rage after your team’s narrow loss to Dallas in the second round of last season’s playoffs.
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Dallas likely wouldn’t have made it to the Finals without acquiring Washington at the deadline. The ex-lottery pick proved to be an essential two-way player and the Mavericks’ third-highest scorer during the playoffs.
But his clutch shooting against Oklahoma City was an outlier, which carries a warning sign for the future. Washington’s outlook—and that of the Mavericks more broadly—is very different if he’s making 3s at a significantly below-average rate, as he did over the rest of the 2023-24 campaign.
Washington’s defensive prowess will be crucial this season, as he will likely be assigned to guard the opponent’s top wing player each night. In a starting lineup featuring Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and an aging, injury-prone Klay Thompson, his defensive skills will be indispensable. Although Washington has shown progress as a defender in Dallas, he will face significantly tougher challenges this season.
Washington plays a crucial role for Dallas, given his perfect fit for the team’s roster. The Mavericks are solid in the backcourt with Doncic and Irving, and at the center position with Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford. However, the wing positions remain uncertain following the additions of Thompson and Naji Marshall and the departures of Tim Hardaway Jr., Josh Green, and Derrick Jones Jr. In this context, Washington (or the intriguingly promising Marshall) must rise to the occasion for the Mavericks to reclaim the Western Conference title.