With the NBA season just around the corner, Sports Illustrated has unveiled their annual NBA Top 100 ranking of the best from around the league.
After a breakout season as the NBA’s Most Improved Player and one of the most important players on the Raptors’ championship squad, Siakam has soared from his previously unranked standing all the way to 24th in the league this year according to SI.
Siakam slots in as top-ranked Raptor on the list, beating out Kyle Lowry (28th). Marc Gasol (42nd) and Serge Ibaka (80th) also make appearances, while Fred VanVleet comes to mind as a notable snub.
Considering he came into last season with the expectation of being a platoon starter with Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas, Siakam’s star turn was definitely unexpected. He missed out on the All-Star team, being snubbed in favour of Lowry and fellow MIP candidate D’Angelo Russell (ranked 44th by SI, mind you), but a strong playoff run has definitely done him some favours.
Maybe it’s a bit bold to have Siakam ahead of Lowry already, but with Kawhi Leonard out of town, it’ll be exciting to see if Spicy P can step into the shoes of a number one option and thrive. The guys at Sports Illustrated seem optimistic about his chances.
“What earned Siakam the Most Improved Player award last season wasn’t his energy or his defense. It was the emergence of a viable one-on-one game from a puff of smoke.. If Siakam is really this damn good at attacking creating for himself—revelations which vaulted him from outside our Top 100 last year all the way to 24 this year—who’s to say what he can’t do next?”
