In January 2022, HoopsHype polled 15 NBA executives and asked them to rank their top five players to build around who are 25 years old or younger. Earlier this month, HoopsHype repeated that exercise ahead of the 2022-23 season, and a few changes were evident.
Most notably for our audience, second-year Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green — who wasn’t on the January list at all — is No. 11 after an historic scoring binge to end his 2021-22 year.
Green, selected at No. 2 overall in the 2021 NBA draft, is tied on the list with Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, 2021’s first overall pick. Both players are slightly behind Atlanta’s Trae Young, Cleveland’s Darius Garland, and Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball while leading Oklahoma City’s Shai-Gilgeous Alexander and Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton.
In HoopsHype’s scoring system, the top player received five points, the second received four points, the third received three points, the fourth received two points, and the fifth player received one point for each ballot. The complete results can be read here.
Story: 15 NBA executives voted for the top players under 25 they’d build around. Luka Doncic was the clear top choice. Evan Mobley and Anthony Edwards moved up, while Trae Young, LaMelo Ball and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fell since our last @hoopshype poll. https://t.co/VpfLVWFKjI
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) September 14, 2022
