Have you ever screamed about Aaron Wiggins at noon on a Tuesday?
No?
Then you have no idea the stress we endured making our NBA Player Rankings list. In a league of 450 players, well over 99 of them are productive on a nightly basis, providing crucial minutes for their respective teams. So it was impossible to include all good players on the list. These are the players who barely missed the cut — each of them is still massively important to their respective teams, and a few of them are in contention for some hardware when the season wraps up.
Check out NBA 99, FanSided’s list of the 99 best players in the NBA. These rankings are a living project, updated regularly throughout the year, exploring how each player has carved out their NBA niche and how it is evolving over time. If you love the list, share it! If you hate it, even more reason to share it!
Russell Westbrook
Brodie's redemption in Denver has been a splendid development this season. After bouncing around Los Angeles for a few years, it appeared Westbrook's thrilling career was headed for a less than thrilling conclusion.
Then he started playing with Nikola Jokic and now everything is better.
Sometimes it's that simple — just team up with the best player in the world and your problems will be solved. Of course, Russ is a much lower volume player than he was about a decade ago, but he's still been (mostly) good in Denver, doing an admirable job filling in for Jamal Murray in the starting lineup when Murray was injured.
Now the second-unit energy guy he was expected to be when Denver brought him on, Russ gives a little bit of everything. The former MVP will give 100 percent effort in every game until he retires, and that's awesome.
Dillon Brooks
One of the most notorious villains of the NBA, Brooks is having the most efficient season of his career as Houston has rocketed up to a real contender in the Western Conference. Shooting nearly 40 percent from deep, Brooks is no longer a detriment to a team's offense like he often was in Memphis, and he's a key cog in Houston's calling card, which is defensive intensity for 48 minutes.
There's a real value in being an irritant, and Brooks maximizes his ability to annoy opponents better than anyone else in the league.
Lu Dort
Both Dort and Thunder teammate Alex Caruso were debated about when making NBA 99; frankly, Oklahoma City has about 7 guys who are massively valuable for what has been a magnificent season, and we went with Aaron Wiggins due to him basically becoming the team's third-best offensive player.
Dort has a real case to be in the final conversation for Defensive Player of the Year. Getting put in the Dorture Chamber remains a nightmare for any opposing guard or wing.
Malik Beasley
One of the more reliable shooters in the league over the past few years, Beasley has been a Godsend for a resurgent Pistons team. Not only has Beasley been a great shooter, he's been elite on high volume.
As of publishing this piece, he's one made 3-pointer behind Anthony Edwards for most in the entire NBA. If he keeps this pace up through the end of the season, you're likely to see him on the next installment of NBA 99.
Payton Pritchard
A cult hero in Boston, the fifth-year guard from Oregon has a real shot at Sixth Man of the Year. A high-level sniper, PP3 is mostly praised for his shooting, but deserves some love for his rebounding and connecting chops, too.
An elite Boston team is better when Pritchard is on the court — and that's saying something.
Nikola Vucevic
He's been playing very low-stakes basketball for years, but Vucevic still deserves some love for going to work nightly and putting up nearly 20 & 10. The Bulls big man is also shooting the 3-ball better than he ever has before.
Things are relatively bleak in the Windy City, but Vooch is still getting busy on the block — and beyond the arc.
Jaden McDaniels
The offensive leap is here. No, really. Really really. McDaniels has been a lockdown perimeter defender for years, and was always tantalizingly close to morphing into an off-the-dribble offensive weapon too, but has never been able to consistently be a threat with the ball in his hands.
Until now? Maybe? It appears so! McDaniels has taken on more of a load with Julius Randle sidelined, and McDaniels looks more comfortable initiating offense, driving and finishing than ever. If this isn't a mirage, McDaniels will easily find his way back to the NBA 99 list sooner than later.