“BLASPHEMOUS to Leave LeBron James off Any Top 5 List!”: Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe Re-Make ESPN’s NBArank Top-10

The recent ESPN NBArank 2023 Top 100 list has received a ton of backlash from all sections of the NBA community. Players and fans have unanimously dubbed the rankings ‘ridiculous’ and called out the ‘experts’ responsible for the listing for the flaws in their methods. Even ESPN’s very own Stephen A. Smith refused to agree with the hierarchy presented in the list, proclaiming it to be ‘blasphemous’. The veteran commentator recently teamed up with his co-host Shannon Sharpe on First Take to remedy the top 10 rankings of ESPN’s NBArank 2023.

Giannis Antetokounmpo topped ESPN’s NBArank list, followed by 2023 Finals MVP Nikola Jokic, 2023 league MVP Joel Embiid, Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic, and four-time NBA Champion Stephen Curry. During a recent segment of First Take, Stephen A. Smith deemed the ranking ‘BLASPHEMOUS’ for denying LeBron James a Top 5 spot. In response, he came up with his very own list to counter the ESPN rankings.

Stephen A. Smith tries to fix the ESPN Top 10 rankings

Before revealing his own Top 10 for 2023, Stephen A. Smith had some harsh words for the expert panel who compiled ESPN’s controversial rankings. “I cannot have a Top 5 list without having LeBron James on the list. That’s just Blasphemous! I can’t do that. So LeBron James has to be Top 5,” Smith told his co-hosts on First Take.

The 56-year-old then displayed his own list that had Nikola Jokic leading the pack for his dominant performance in the 2023 playoffs. Smith upgraded LeBron James a few places from the ESPN list to put him at number 5. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, and Joel Embiid occupied the second, third and fourth positions respectively. The veteran analyst ended up placing Luka Doncic in #8, right behind Kevin Durant at #6 and Jayson Tatum at #7. The last two spots were reserved for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Davis.

Smith explained that he had to remove Doncic from his Top 5 because he doesn’t play any defense. Additionally, he also ended up demoting Joel Embiid a few spots because he has failed to lead his team to the promised land time and again in the playoffs. On the other hand, Stephen Curry might not be as dominant on the hardwood as Embiid at the moment, but he has proven his worth in the postseason, leading the Golden State dynasty to four-NBA Championships. Therefore, he was #3.

Shannon Sharpe also had his list ready. The NFL Hall-of-Famer kept his Top 5 pretty similar to the ESPN list. However, he did swap Giannis and Jokic’s positions in the first two places.

ESPN’s NBArank 2023 has had its detractors

A lot of players and analysts have criticized the NBArank listing. Memphis Grizzlies star Jaren Jackson Jr. declared the list to be clickbait. Former Philadelphia 76ers guard and ESPN contributor JJ Redick also expressed his concerns with the list.

He called out the ESPN basketball ‘experts’ for snubbing Derrick White from the Top 100 after his his dominant postseason showing this year. However, Redick also revealed the ridiculous way the list is compiled through an algorithm by the team of experts, which explained a lot of the confusion behind the rankings.